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INDIA’S CRIES
TO
BRITISH HUMANITY,
RELATIVE TO
INFANTICIDE, BRITISH CONNECTION WITH IDOLATRY,
GHAUT MURDERS, SUTTEE, SLAVERY, AND
COLONIZATION IN INDIA ;
To WHICH ARE ADDED,
HUMANE HINTS
FOR THE
MELIORATION OF THE STATE OF SOCIETY
IN
BRITISH IN DIA -
By JAMES PEGGS,
…”
LATE MISSIONARY AT CUTTAck, orissa.
Chirº Çuition, rebigen and enlarget,
WITH A BOOK ON COLONIZATION IN INDIA.
“It was painful to me to think, how few relics, if the English were now expelled from
India, would be left, of their religion, their power, or their civil and military magnificence.
Still little, very little, is done, in comparison with all which is to do.”—Heber.
LONDON :
PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR, BY
SIMPKIN AND MARSHALL, STATIONERS’ COURT.
sold BY WAUGH AND INNfs, EDINBURGH ; AND KEENE, DUBLIN.
1832.
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42.
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PR E FA C E
To THE SECOND EDITION.
THE Author, during his residence in India, having wit-
nessed the horrid rite of burning a widow with the body of
her deceased husband,-the miseries of pilgrimage to the
great Temple of Juggernaut in Orissa (the celebrity of which
is increased by British regulation and support), -the exposure
of the sick and the dead on the banks of the Ganges, and
other cruelties of Hindoism, has, since his return to his native
country, in 1826, laboured to diffuse information respecting
these things, and to urge the propriety and facility of their
suppression. In prosecution of this object, he has published
two editions of a pamphlet entitled, “The Suttees' Cry to
Britain;”# two editions of “Pilgrim Taa’ in India ;” an
edition of “Ghaut Murders in India ;” and a small edition
of “ Infanticide in India.”—The principal part of these
pamphlets have been put in circulation. Through the liberal
exertions of numerous friends, a considerable number have
been circulated gratuitously in this country, and also in the
different Presidencies of India, among the various Function-
aries of Government. To shew the propriety of these exer-
tions, and to encourage similar and extended efforts, the
Author (though with much hesitation) is induced to refer, to
an extract of a letter from the private Secretary of the Go-
vernor General of India, Lord W. Bentinck, in Déc. 1828,
acknowledging the receipt of the Suttee and Pilgrim Tax
Pamphlets, which had been forwarded to his Lordship.—“I
am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter to the
Governor General, dated the 7th of April last. His Lord-
ship desires me, at the same time, to present his best thanks
for the copies of your Pamphlets which accompanied it; and
to assure you, that the one on the Suttee question relates to a
subject which has engaged his particular attention.” In per-
fect accordance with these sentiments is the following notice,
which, says, a correspondent in India, in March, 1829, ap-
pears daily in the papers:—“The Governor General invites
* The Coventry Society for the abolition of Human sacrifices in India,
}. published an abridgement of this pamphlet, entitled, “A Voice from
mdia.” + -
iy . l’EEFACE.
the communication of all suggestions tending to promote any
branch of national industry; to improve the commercial in-
tercourse by land or water; to amend the defects in the ex-
isting establishments; to encourage the diffusion of education
and useful knowledge; and to advance the general prosperity
and happiness of the British empire in India.” Surely a
brighter day has dawned on the East.
To this edition is added—‘The present state of Infanticide
and Slavery in British India.” Upon these subjects but little
correct information appears to be possessed. A very general
impression prevails that Infanticide is abolished; and a late
celebrated writer on India has stated—“No slavery legally
exists in the British territories at this moment;” with what
surprise will the reader hear, that there are two volumes of
Parliamentary Papers on Infanticide, and that a voluminous
collection of Papers, of nearly 1,000 folio pages, on Slavery
in India, were “ordered to be printed by the Hon. House of
Commons, Mar, 12, 1828.”—From these valuable documents
full and accurate information may be procured.
For the Parliamentary Papers on the Burning of Hindoo
Widows, Infanticide, the Temple of Juggernaut, and Slavery
in India, the Author is under the highest obligation to T. F.
Buxton, Esq., M. P., and to W. Smith, Esq., M. P. If this
volume contain information of a nature calculated to pro-
mote the welfare of British India, it is chiefly to be attributed
to the important materials supplied by these valuable Papers.
The Author's labour, in a considerable part of the work, has
been little more than selection and arrangement; and, with-
out such important materials, he should never have presumed
to publish upon the different topics discussed in these pages.
The necessity of circulating information respecting the state
of India, for the purpose of promoting the abolition of the
cruelties of heathenism, appears evident. “Shall superstition
be suffered to issue her decrees, from year to year, and from
age to age, against the lives of poor defenceless and discon-
solate widows [and, it may be added, of female infants, pil-
grims, and the sick exposed by the Ganges], -hundreds of
whom are annually sacrificed to its relentless cruelty, and yet
no voice be lifted up on their behalf Them where are hu-
man sympathies 2 and what are nature's claims? But no :—
humanity can refrain no longer. A cry has at length been
raised for the daughters of sorrow on the plains of India. It
has reached the British Isle, and reverberated from her shores:
it has sounded in the ears of her Legislature:–it is heard in
the midst of our city:—it is a loud and bitter cry!”
PREFA CE. V
It is hoped that this revised, uniform, and enlarged edition,
of the various piercing plaints of India to British humanity,
will be encouraged by a humane and liberal public. The
infatuated Suttee,_the murdered female Infant, the perish-
ing Pilgrim (allured to the shrines of Idolatry, rendered more
celebrated by British connection and support), -the sick ex-
posed by the Ganges, and the degraded Slave, present their
cry to Britain; and shall not that cry be heard and reiterated,
from “Dan to Beersheba,” till the Senate and the Throne
hear, and feel, and redress their wrongs?—“The continued
sanction of these enormities is one of those national delin-
quencies, which press like an incubus, with intolerable weight,
on the prosperity and stability of our country; while it op-
poses an almost insurmountable barrier to the free progress
of the Gospel.” (Mis. Reg. Aug. 1829.) The proceeds of the
editions of those parts of the volume which have been pub-
lished in Pamphlets, have been devoted to gratuitous circu-
lation and missionary exertions in India. The profits of this
edition are to be devoted to liquidate the debt, on the Sabbath-
school Rooms belonging to the Author's friends in Coventry.
It is a source of the highest gratification to him, still to labour
for the welfare of the millions of India; and the promotion of
this great object, in connection with those of a local nature in
Britain, is peculiarly grateful to the writer's feelings. With
great diffidence, and humble dependance on Divine Provi-
dence, this work is sent forth into the world. May “the Father
of the fatherless, and the Judge of the widow,” even “God in
his holy habitation,” incline those who hold in their hands
the destinies of India, to regard “India's Cries to British
Humanity;” and thus bring upon themselves “the blessing
of them that were ready to perish, and cause the widow’s
heart to sing for joy.”
Coventry,
Feb. 15, 1830.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
TO THE THIRD EDITION.
As the present period is eventful for India, and many be-
neficial changes are anticipated in its administration, the
Author trusts that the re-publication of this volume may direct
attention to the evils of which it treats. He has been encou-
raged to undertake this edition, by the public spirit of some
Gentlemen in the Staffordshire Potteries; one engaging to
procure him forty subscribers; a second subscribing for
twenty copies; a third for fifty, and a fourth for one hundred
and fifty. To this edition a book is added on Colonization
in India, a subject of great interest, viewed in connection with
the civilization and evangelization of British India. Every
part of the work has been carefully revised, and additional
information given, particularly on the subject of British connec-
tion with Hindoo Idolatry; the successful measures pursued
for the suppression of the Suttee, and its probable prevalence
at the present period; and the nature and extent of Slavery in
the East. The profits of this edition, as of the former, are
devoted to a benevolent object in this city. The Hindoos
say, “It is the duty of a king, to pursue every object till it be
accomplished.” The recent abolition of the Suttee should
encourage the friends of India, not to relax their efforts till
every inhuman custom is “buried 'midst the wreck of
things that were ;” and as a modern writer observes, “In
effecting these desirable movements, dare much ;-dare what-
ever your own good sense suggests, whatever the common
sense of mankind will approve. Doubt not of success;–suc-
cess is fond of a confident suitor. In their admiration of your
promptitude and boldness, men will forget to murmur, or, at
least, fear to oppose you.”
Coventry,
Gosford Terrace,
Dec. 10, 1832.
CONTENTS.
*-*
BOOK I.
INFANTICIDE.
CHAP. I.
Introductory remarks—sketch of the early and extensive preva-
lence of Infanticide and Human Sacrifices in various countries
CHAP. II.
Infanticide in India. Origin—nature—crime—extent—present
state—demoralizing influence
- CHAP. III.
Success of efforts, ancient and modern, for the suppression of
Human Sacrifices and Infanticide—Difficulties of the entire
abolition of Infanticide in India . . -
CHAP. IV.
The necessity and propriety of adopting measures for the entire
Page,
I
13
38
and immediate abolition of Infanticide—decisive steps requisite
—objections answered—facilities enjoyed for its abolition—
concluding remarks. * e e *
BOOK II.
BRITISH CONNECTION WITH IDOLATRY.
CHAP. T.
Origin, nature, proceeds, and appropriation of the Pilgrim Tax.
—Traces of British connection with Idolatry and Mahomed-
anism, in various parts of India - * .
CHAP. II.
The idolatrous establishments chiefly supported by the Pilgrim
Tax system at Juggernaut, Gya, Allahabad, &c. . & &
CHAP. III,
The miseries resulting from this System, and its general character
53
| 10
119
viii CONTENTS,
CHAP. IV.
The facility and advantages of the repeal of the Pilgrim Tax—
confirmation of the statements . g * ſº . ... 135
Page.
CHAP. V.
Objections to the repeal of the Pilgrim Tax System obviated—
concluding appeal † • . e * . 153
BOOK III.
GHAUT MURDERs.
CHAP. T.
Origin—nature—atrocity—and appalling scenes connected with
the practice, of exposing the sick on the banks of the Ganges 169
CHAP. II.
Extent of the prevalence of this inhuman practice . ſº . I83
CHAP. III.
The impossibility of detecting murder with the permission of
this custom—palliation of it absurd—the propriety of adopting
measures for the suppression of its atrocities—utility of at-
tending to the sick—confirmation of the statements—con-
cluding remarks tº e * * & º g . 191
Book I v.
SUTTEES.
CHAP. I.
Introductory remarks—origin—nature—number—cause of for-
mer prevalence in Bengal—and atrocity of Suttees g . 213
CHAP. II.
The Suttee not an integral part of Hindoism, shewn in the
review of a pamphlet written in Bengalee, in defence of the
burning of Hindoo widows {º g g * te . 229
CHAP. III.
The tendency of partial interference to promote the increase,
celebrity, and legality of the Suttee—authorities to shew the
propriety, safety, and facility of the abolition of the practice 242
CONTENTS.
ix
CHAP. IV.
Nature and success of efforts by the British Government in
India, for the abolition of the Suttee—probable prevalence of
the practice at the present period—necessity and propriety of
persevering exertions till it is annihilated . g &
BOOK W.
S L A V E R Y.
CHAP. I.
Introductory remarks—origin, nature, and evils of Slavery in
India. e tº º º
CHAP. II.
Page.
. 254
. 279
Nature and success of efforts for the abolition of the slave Trade
in India—melioration of Slavery by the Hindoos, Mussul-
mans, French, Dutch, and British • • tº
CHAP. III.
The present state and extent of Slavery in Hindostan
CHAP. IV.
Methods proposed for the melioration and abolition of Slavery in
India—answers to objections to its abolition, arising from the
supposed kind treatment of slaves—the preservation of children
and adults in famine by selling themselves for support—the
indifference of the slaves to emancipation—decreasing the
population of an island or district—Mahomedan prejudices
prohibiting any other than slaves attending their women, and
that they cannot dispense with slaves—and the interest of the
slave-owners and the government—concluding remarks
BOOK WI.
COLONIZATION.
CHAP. I.
Introductory remarks—general outline of Colonization in India
—necessity of Colonization in India, arising from the state of
its agriculture and manufactures, the general inattention to
improvement, and the pernicious influence of cast—the extent
of uncultivatedland, and the condition of some of the native tribes
. 312
. 328
360
X CONTENTS. x
. • Page.
—the state of learning, morals, and religion—the paucity of
European inhabitants and Christian ministers—and the slow
progress of the civilization and evangelization of India . , 387
CHAP. II.
The utility of Colonization in India, apparent in the improve-
ment of its produce—the increase of British trade and com-
merce with India, and the Eastern world—the permanence of
the British powerin Hindostan—increase of the civilization and
consequent happiness of its inhabitants—and the accelerated
progress of Christianity, with all its valuable institutions—
confirmation of the statements . * ſº ge te . 418
CHAP. III.
Answers to objections to Colonization in India, arising from the
number and character of its population—the supposition that
the Natives would be deprived of their property by the set-
tlers—apprehended injurious tendency to the present measures
adopted for the improvement of India—probable character of
the emigrants—and its tendency to promote the independence
of India—concluding remarks, on the relation of Britain to
India, China, and the Eastern world . ſº * • . 454
APPENDIX.
Humane Hints for the melioration of the state of Society in
British India . e e * tº tº i. ſº . 475
References to the Engravings.
Temple of Gya, before the Title-page.
Destruction and Preservation of Infants in India . . . I
Temple of Juggernaut . . g & g & wº 77
Juggernaut and his Brother and Sister . & e e . 77
Dole Jattra, or swinging of Juggernaut o § e & 77
Idol Juggernaut . e gº g o * o wº . 113
Procession of Juggernaut's Car . ſº tº e tº . 121
Ganges’ Water-carrier . © . ſº * * > • e . 126
Temples of Bobuneswer . t • . * g . 129
Exposure of the Sick . * e º ſº •' . . 169
The Suttee { } . o & {- * . 213
Burying alive a Hindoo widow . & . . . . . 213
A Suttee by burying alive . * & © iº . . . 259
Temples of Gorucknaut . . e tº & e & , 279
A Hindoo School . • & * * * & , & •
Relieving the sick on the banks of the Ganges tº . . 475
EXTRACTS FROM REVIEWS.
The Suttees' Cry to Britain-"we strongly recommend the perusal
of Mr. Peggs's Pamphlet, which, to the feeling testimony of AN EYE-witness of
the horrible practice he describes, adds a mass of information, and documents of
the most valuable and decisive nature.”—Eclec. Rev. June, 1827.
“This interesting Pamphlet is every way deserving of serious perusal and
extensive circulation.”—Chris. Guardian, June, . -
“To this Publication, we solicit the attention of such readers as desire to make
themselves acquainted with the farther details of this important question” (the
Suttee).--Orient. Her. May, 1829. - - - - -
“Mr. Peggs's Appeal is forcible, but dispassionate; and we hope that, in behalf
of the widows in India, he will not plead in vain.”—Imp. Mag. July, 1827, and
May, 1828. ) . . . . - - - * -
“A valuable collection of papers.”—Evan. Mag. Aug. 1828.
“The able Pamphlet before us contains much information, collected from the
most authentic sources.”—Wes. Mag. June, 1827. - . .
“This excellent Pamphlet is evidently the result of much labour and research.”
—Bap. Mag. June, 1827. -
See also “Congregat. Mag.” Jam. 1828–" Missionary Reg.,” “Asiatic
Journal,” “Sailors” (“Part. Bap. Mag.,” “Gen. Bap. Repos.,” 1827.-‘‘The
World Paper,” April, 1829.
BRITISH Connection witH IDOLATRY IN INDIA.—“We earnestly recom-
mend the perusal of these facts and observations to the consideration of the
Christian public.”—Eclec. Rev. March, 1828.
“The Pilgrim Tax levied by the Indian Government on idolaters going on
pilgrimages, whatever was its design, has had the acknowledged effect of sanc-
tioning and legalizing this destructive and wicked superstition. The Rev. J.
Peggs, late a Missionary mear the Temple of Juggernaut, has recently published
a Pamphlet, in which he has collected abundant testimony to the duty, facility,
and advantages of the entire and immediate abandonment of this permicious
system.”—Mis. Reg. Feb. -
“This Pamphlet relates to a subject which appears to have received a very in-
adequate share of public attention, and with the details of which, we suspect,
many of the best informed and most influential members of society are very im-
perfectly acquainted. ...We cordially recommend it to the attention of our
readers.”—Bap. Miscellany, Oct. -
“Great credit is due to the excellent Author of these two Pamphlets [the
Suttees' Cry and Pilgrim Tax], for the pains which he has taken in collecting
information concerning some of the most cruel and destructive superstitions of
India, and in presenting it to the British public in a cheap form. We know of
no publications in the English language, which, in so small a compass, contain
so much information on these subjects, so interesting to every friend of humanify
and religion.”—-Wes. Mug, May. -
“We believe that the Pamphlet before us, is the only exposure of the system
which has found its way through the press to the English public. We hope it will be
widely circulated, and followed by others, in increasing numbers, until the evil is
at an end, and the disgrace wiped away.”—-Month. Rep. Dec. 1829.
“Indeed it is mo secret that Mr. P. has addressed the public in a very able
work on this subject.” J. Poynder, Esq.--Ais. Jour, Oct. 1830, p. 100.
See also “Congregat. Magazine,” Jan., and Feb.-‘‘Bap. Magazine,” “Gen.
Bap. Repository,” “The World,” April, 1828.
xii EXTRACTS FROM REVIEWS.
GHAUT MURDERs AND INFANTICIDE PAMPHLETs.—See “Bap. Mag.” April,
1829. “Imp. Mag.” “Gen. Bap. Rep.” 1829.-‘ Ori. Quar. Rev.” Jan. 1830.
“INDIA’s CRIEs to BRITISH HUMANITY.—“We believe Mr. Peggs is actu-
ated by sincere and philanthropical motives in putting forth this publication, and
that his experience has afforded him many opportunities of witnessing the
practices which he condemns, in their most odious and repulsive forms.”—Asi.
Jour. March, 1829; Oct. 1830.
“The perusal of this work, which has been some time before the public, has
afforded us very considerable pleasure and instruction. Mr. Peggs's meritorious
exertions, in drawing the attention of the British Government of this country to
the horrid and inhuman practices prevailing in India, under the cloak of religious
sanction, deserve great praise.”—East India Mag. March, 1832.
“Mr. Peggs's volume, especially in its enlarged form, is an admirable book of
reference on the most prominent miseries of India, and a loud call upon the peo-
ple of England to combine their efforts to obtain a complete extinction of those
enormities.”—Wes. Meth. Mag. April, 1830. -
“This volume furnishes on this subject (the abolition of Suttees), and on the
several subjects to which its title-page refers, the most accurate and ample infor-
mation. Mr. Peggs has entitled himself to the thanks of the British public
for his reiterated appeals. We beseech our readers to acquaint themselves with
his statements, and to let no opportunity be neglected of advancing his
benevolent aim.”—The World, July, 1829.
“These publications are the fruits of Mr. P.'s observation and reading, and de-
mand attention from all who desire to free their country from the guilt of con-
niving at the atrocious practices therein exposed.”——Mis. Reg. March.
“A very valuable little volume.”—J. S. Buckingham, Esq.
“The public are much indebted to Mr. P., for his enlightened and indefatigable
labours in the cause of humanity. He has fairly made out his premises, that, all
the murderous customs now practised by the Hindoos, may be abolished with safety and
honour to the British Government. We earnestly entreat our readers to peruse
these Tracts. They are altogether resistless in their appeals.”—Evan. Mag.
March, 1829.
“Those who, like Mr. Peggs, furnish us with a faithful representation of facts
on which to ground our efforts for the melioration of the state of the Hindoos,
deserve the thanks, not of India alone, but of every friend of humanity in the
country which governs India. For the zeal and industry, with which this gen-
tleman has been enabled to lay before the public so large a body of important
facts, and for the benevolence with which he has long laboured to redress the
miseries of the heathen population of India, his Christian brethren of every de.
nomination, must feel deeply indebted to him. We hope that his exertions will
result in success; and that his appeal, to the natural sympathies and benevolent
principles of his countrymen, will not be unheard or disregarded.”—Monthly
Rep. Dec. 1829.
See “Cong,” March, “Imp. Mag.,” May, 1829.-‘Friend's Mag,” April,
i; Mag,” June, 1830.-‘‘Bap. Mag,” Nov. 1831.-“New Meth. Mag,” May,
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BOOK I.
I N F A N T I C ID E.
CHAP. I.
Introductory remarks—sketch of the early and eartensive
prevalence of Infanticide and Human Sacrifices in various
countries.
THE abolition of Infanticide in British India has been the
subject of history, and the triumph of the philanthropist.
“Moor's Hindoo Infanticide” was published in 1811; and in
1815 appeared “Cormack's Account of the Abolition of Fe-
male Infanticide in Guzerat, with Considerations on the
question of promoting the Gospel in India.” Through the cir-
culation of these publications—the well-known suppression of
the destruction of children at Saugur Island, by the Marquis
Wellesley in 1802—and, the little that is known in Britain
respecting the Peninsula of Guzerat, a very general impression
prevails that Infanticide is abolished in India. It is a
painful, but necessary task to remove this impression—to show
that the evil still exists to a considerable extent, and to rouse
the friends of humanity and religion to prosecute the abolition
of this and every sanguinary custom in British India.” The
Parliamentary Papers on Hindoo Infanticide, of June 1824,
and July 1828, fully substantiate the fact, that, notwithstand-
ing the philanthropic and successful efforts of Colonel Walker
and Governor Duncan to abolish this unnatural custom, it has
revived; and that the most decisive measures are requisite to
* “As late as 1818, it was calculated that there were not less than 1,000
infants destroyed; and in a population of 12,000 males, there were not more
than thirty females alive! The barbarous custom, it is to be feared, con-
tinues in full force, as was evident from a census of the Jahrejah villages,
which we saw in 1826; though some think it is on the decrease.”—Elwood’s
Overland Journey to India. Asi, Jour, Nov. 1830.
B
2 IN FANTICIDE.
effect its entire abolition. When shall every cruel custom,
now prevalent in Hindostan, be abolished, and thus the
progress of Christianity in that country facilitated? Let the
sentiments of the eloquent Burke be known and considered:
—“The blood of man should never be shed but to redeem the
blood of man. It is well shed for our family, for our friends,
for our God, for our kind. The rest is vanity—the rest is
crime.”
The prevalence of human sacrifices, and the continuance of
female Infanticide, in the nineteenth century of the Christian
era, and in the British Dominions, is a fact deeply interesting
to every philanthropic mind. The learned Jacob Bryant has
given a comprehensive view of the nature and extent of these
sacrifices in different ages and countries. “One would think
it scarcely possible,” says he, “that so unnatural a custom as
that of human sacrifices could have existed in the world; but
it is certain that it not only existed, but almost universally
prevailed. The Egyptians of old brought no victims to their
temples, nor shed any blood at their altars. But human vic-
tims, and the blood of men, must here be excepted, which, at
one period they offered to their gods. The Cretans had the
same custom, and adhered to it a much longer time. The
nations of Arabia did the same. The people of Duma, in
particular, sacrificed every year a child, and buried it beneath
an altar, which they made use of instead of an idol; for they
did not admit of images. The Persians buried people alive.
Amestris, the wife of Xerxes, entombed twelve persons alive,
for the good of her soul. It would be endless to enumerate
every city, or province, where these practices obtained. The
Cyprians, the Rhodians, the Phoenicians, those of Chios,
Desbos, Tenedos, all had human sacrifices. The natives of
the Tauric Chersonesus offered to Diana every stranger whom
chance threw upon their coasts. Hence arose that expostu-
lation in Euripides, upon the inconsistency of the proceeding,
wherein much good reasoning is implied. Iphigenia wonders,
as the goddess delighted in the blood of men, that every villain
and murderer should be privileged to escape; nay, be driven
from the threshold of the temple; whereas, if an honest man
chanced to stray thither, he was seized and put to death. The
Pelasgi, in a time of scarcity, vowed that they would give,
the tenth of all that should be born to them for a sacrifice,
in order to procure plenty Aristomenes, the Messenian,
slew three hundred noble Lacedemonians, among whom was
Theopompus, the king of Sparta, at the altar of Jupiter, at
Ithome; without doubt the Lacedemonians did not fail to
INFANTICII) E. 3.
make ample returns, for they were a severe and revengeful
people, and offered the like victims to Mars. Their festival
of the Deamastigosis is well known, when the Spartan boys
were whipped, in the sight of their parents, with such severity
before the altar of Diana Orthia that they often expired under
the torture. Phylarchus affirms, as he is quoted by Porphyry,
that of old, every Grecian state made it a rule, before they
marched towards an enemy, to solicit a blessing on their under-
takings by the sacrifice of human victims.
“The Romans were accustomed to the like sacrifices.
They devoted themselves to the infernal gods, and constrained
others to submit to the same horrid doom, Hence we read in
Titus Livius, that in the consulate of Omilius Paulus and
Terentius Varro, two Gauls, a man and woman, and two in
like manner of Greece, were buried alive at Rome, in the ox-
market; where was a place under ground walled round to re-
ceive them, which had before been made use of for such cruel
purposes. He says it was a sacrifice, not properly Roman,
that is, not originally of Roman institution; yet it was fre-
quently practised, and that by public authority Plutarch
makes mention of a like instance, a few years before, in the
consulship of Flaminius and Furius. There is reason to think,
that all the principal captives who graced the triumphs of the
Romans were, at the close of that cruel pageantry, put to
death at the altar of Jupiter Capitolinus ! Caius Marius
offered up his own daughter, for a victim to the Dii Aver-
sumce, to procure success in a battle against the Cimbri, as
we are informed by Dorotheus, quoted by Clemens; it is like-
wise attested by Plutarch, who says her name was Calpurnia.
Cicero, making mention of this custom being common in
Gaul, adds, that it prevailed among that people even at the
time he was speaking; whence we may be led to infer that it
was then discontinued among the Romans; and we are told
by Pliny that it had then, and not very long, been discouraged.
There was a law enacted, when Lentulus and Crassus were
consuls, so late as the 657th year of Rome, that there should
be no more human sacrifices. But, however discontinued
they may have been for a time, they were again renewed; for,
not very long after this, it is reported of Augustus Caesar,
(when Persia surrendered in the time of the second triumvirate,)
that besides multitudes executed in a military manner, he of.
fered, upon the Ides of March, three hundred chosen persons,
of the equestrian and senatorian order, at an altar dedicated
to the manes of his uncle Julius. Even at Rome itself, this
custom was revived; and Porphyry assures us that, in his
B 2
4 IN FANTICIDE.
time, a man was every year sacrificed at the shrine of Jupiter
Latiaris. Heliogabalus offered the like victims to the Syrian
deity, which he introduced among the Romans. The same is
said of Aurelian.*
“The Gauls and the Germans were so devoted to this shock-
ing custom, that no business of any moment was transacted
among them, without being prefaced by the blood of men.
They were offered to various gods, but particularly to Hesus,
Taranis, and Shautates. These deities are mentioned by
Lucan, where he enumerates the various nations that followed
the fortunes of Caesar. The altars of these gods were far
removed from the common resort of men, being generally
situated in the depth of woods, that the gloom might add
to the horror of the operation, and give a reverence to the
proceeding. The persons devoted were led thither by the
Druids, who presided at the solemnity, and performed the
cruel offices of the sacrifice. Tacitus takes notice of the
cruelty of the Hermunduri in a war with the Catti, wherein they
had greatly the advantage; at the close of which they made
one general sacrifice of all that were taken in battle. The
poor remains of the legions under Varrus suffered, in some
degree, the same fate. There were many places destined for
this purpose all over Gaul and Germany, but especially in the
mighty woods &f Arduenna, and the greater Hercinian forest,
a wild that extended above thirty days’ journey in length.
The places set apart for the solemnity were held in the utmost
reverence, and only approached at particular seasons. Lucan
mentions a grove of this sort near Masselea, which even the
Roman soldiers were afraid to violate, though commanded by
Caesar. Claudian compliments Stillico that, among other ad-
vantages accruing to the Roman armies through his conduct,
they could now venture into the awful forest of Hercinia, and
follow the chase in those so much dreaded woods, and other-
wise make use of them.
“These practices prevailed among all the people of the
North. The Massageta, the Scythians, the Getes, the Sar-
matians, all the various nations upon the Baltic, particularly
the Suevi and Scandinavians, held it as a fixed principle,
* “In Homer and Virgil, we have accounts of human sacrifices, com-
municated in such a way as indicates no abhorrence in the poet, and was
meant to inspire none on the part of the reader. Casar informs us that it
was a prevalent maxim among the Gauls, that the deity could not be ap-
peased unless the life of one man, which had been forfeited by guilt, were
atoned by the life of another who was innocent.”—De Bel. Gal. L. vi. c. 15.
(Cormack's Inf. p. 56.) AUTH.
INFANTICIDE. 5
that their happiness and security could not be obtained but
at the earpense of the lives of others. Their chief gods were
Thor and Woden, whom they thought they could never suffi-
ciently glut with blood. They had many celebrated places of
worship, especially in the island of Rugen, near the mouth of
the Oder, and in Zealand. But the most reverenced and fre-
quented was at Upsal, where there was every year a grand
celebrity, which continued for nine days. During this term
they sacrificed animals of all sorts, but the most acceptable
victims, and the most numerous, were men /
“Of these sacrifices none were esteemed so auspicious and
salutary, as a sacrifice of the prince of the country. When
the lot fell for the king to die, it was received with universal
acclamations; this once happened in the time of a famine, when
they cast lots, and it fell to the king Domalder to be the people's
victim, and he was accordingly put to death. Olaus Triliger,
another prince, was burnt alive to Woden | They did not spare
their own children / Harold, the son of Gunild, the first of
that name, slew two of his children to obtain a storm of wind.
Saxo Grammaticus mentions a like fact; he calls the king Ha-
quin, and speaks of the persons put to death as two hopeful
young princes. Another king slew mine sons in order to pro-
!ong his own life / Such instances did not often occur; but
the common victims were very numerous.
“The manner in which the victims were slaughtered was
diverse in different places. Some of the Gaulish nations
chined them with the stroke of an axe. The Celts placed the
man who was to be offered for a sacrifice upon a block, or an
altar, with his breast upward, and with a sword struck him
forcibly across the sternum; then, tumbling him to the ground,
from his agonies and convulsions, as well as from the effusion
of blood, they formed a judgment of future events. The
Cimbri ripped open the bowels, and from them they pretended
to divine. In Norway they beat men's brains out with an ox-
yoke. The same operation was performed in Iceland, by
dashing them against an altar of stone. In many places they
transfixed them with arrows. After they were dead they sus-
pended them upon the trees, and left them to putrefy. One
of the writers above quoted mentions, that, in his time, seventy
carcases of this sort were found in the wood of the Suevi.
Dithmar, of Mursburgh, an author of nearly the same age,
speaks of a place called Sedu, in Zealand, where there were,
every year, ninety and nine persons sacrificed to the god
Swantowite. . During these bloody festivals a general joy
prevailed, and banquets were most royally served. They fed,
6 INFANTICIDE.
and gave a loose to indulgence, which, at other times, was not
permitted ! They imagined that there was something myste-
rious in the number nine, for which reason these feasts were,
in some places, celebrated every ninth year, in others every
ninth month, and continued for nine days; when all was ended
they washed the image of the deity in a pool, and then dis-
missed the assembly. Their servants were numerous, who
attended during the term of their feasting, and partook of the
banquet. At the close of all, they were smothered in the
same pool, or otherwise made away with ! .
“The like custom prevailed in a great degree in Mexico,
and even under the mild government of the Peruvians, and in
most parts of America. In Africa it is still kept up, where,
in the inland parts, they sacrifice some of the captives taken
in war to their fetiches, in order to secure their favour.
Snelgrave was in the king of Dahoomi's camp, after his inroad
into the countries of Adra and Whidaw, and was a witness to
the cruelty of this prince, whom he saw sacrifice multitudes
to the deity of his nation. The sacrifices, if we except some
few instances, consisted of persons doomed by war, or assigned
by lot to be offered. But, among the nations of Canaan, the
victims were peculiarly chosen. Their own children, and
whatever was nearest and dearest to them, were deemed the
most worthy offering to their god.
“The Carthaginians, a colony from Tyre, carried with them
the religion of their mother country, and instituted the same
worship in the parts where they settled. It consisted in the
adoration of several deities, but particularly of Kronus; to
whom they offered human sacrifices, and especially the blood
of children ' If the parents were not at hand to make an im-
mediate offer, the magistrates did not fail to make choice of
what was most promising, that the god might not be defrauded
of his dues! Upon a check being received in Sicily, and
some other alarming circumstances happening, Hamilcar,
without any hesitation, laid hold of a boy, and offered him on
the spot to Kronus; and, at the same time, drowned a num-
ber of priests to appease the deity of the sea. The Cartha-
ginians, upon a great defeat of their army by Agathocles, im-
puted the miscarriage to the anger of this god, whose services
had been neglected; and, seeing the enemy at their gates,
they seized two hundred children of the chief mobility, and
offered them in public for a sacrifice. Three hundred per-
sons, who were somehow obnoxious, offered themselves volum-
tarily, and were put to death with the others / The neglect
of which they accused themselves, consisted in sacrificing
INFANTICIDE. 7
children purchased of parents among the poorer sort, who
reared them for that purpose ! and not selecting the most pro-
mising, and the most honourable, as had been the custom of
old. There were particular children brought up for the
altar, as sheep are fattened for the shambles: and they
were brought and butchered in the same manner; but this in-
discriminate way of proceeding was thought to have given
offence. It is remarkable that the Egyptions looked for the
most handsome person to be sacrificed. The Albanians pitched
upon the best man of the community, and made him pay for
the wickedness of the rest. The Carthaginians chose what
they thought the most excellent, and at the same time most
dear to them, which made the lot fall heavy upon their chil-
dren. This is taken notice of by Silius Italius in his fourth
book. Kronus, to whom those sacrifices were exhibited, was
an oriental deity, the god of light and fire; and therefore
always worshipped with some reference to that element. The
Carthaginians introduced him into Africa; he was the same
as the Orus of the Egyptians, and the Alorus of the eastern
nations. He was universally adored in Cyprus, but particu-
larly in this part, which Porphyry supposes to have been
Salamis. This deity was the Moloch of the Tyrians and Ca-
naanites, and the Melech of the east; that is, the great and
principal god, the god of light, of whom fire was esteemed a
symbol; and at whose shrine, instead of viler victims, they
offered the blood of men. -
“Such was the Kronus of the Greeks, and the Moloch of
the Phoenicians; and nothing can appear more shocking than
the sacrifices of the Tyrians and the Carthaginians which
they performed to the idol. In all emergencies of state, and
times of general calamity, they devoted that which was most
necessary and valuable to them for an offering to the gods,
particularly to Moloch. Besides these undetermined times
of bloodshed, they had particular and prescribed seasons every
year, when children were chosen out of the most noble and
Teputable families. If a person had an only child, it was
the more liable to be put to death, as being esteemed more
acceptable to the deity, and more efficacious of the general
good. Those who were sacrificed to Kronus, were thrown
into the arms of a molten idol, which stood in the midst of a
large fire, and was red with heat. The arms of it were
stretched out, with the hands turned upwards, as it were to
receive them, yet sloping downwards so that they dropt into a
glowing furnace below. To other gods they were otherwise
slaughtered, and, as it is implied, by the very hands of their
8 INFANTICIDE.
parents. Justin describes this unnatural custom very pathe-
tically. Such was their blind zeal, that this was continually
practised; and so much natural affection was still left unex-
tinguished, as to render the scene ten times more shocking
from the tenderness which they seemed to express. They
embraced their children with great fondness, and encouraged
them in the gentlest terms, that they might not be appalled,
begging them to submit with cheerfulness. If there was any
appearance of a tear rising, or a cry escaping, the mother
Smothered it with her kisses, that there might not be any show
of constraint, but that the whole might be a free-will offering!
These cruel endearments over, they stabbed them to the heart,
or otherwise opened the sluices of life, and with the blood,
warm as it ran, besmeared the altar and the grim visage of
the idol. These were the customs which the Israelites learned
of the people of Canaan, and for which they are upbraided
by the Psalmist: “They did not destroy the nations concern-
ing whom the Lord commanded them, but were mingled
among the heathen, and learned their works; yea, they sacri-
ficed their sons and their daughters unto devils, and shed in-
nocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their
daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan,
and the land was polluted with blood: thus were they defiled
with their own works, and went a whoring with their own
inventions.”
“These cruel rites, practised in so many nations, made
Plutarch debate with himself, ‘Whether it would not have
been better for the Galato, or for the Scythians, to have had
no tradition or conception of any superior beings, than to have
formed to themselves notions of gods who delighted in the
blood of men;–of gods who esteemed human victims the
most acceptable and perfect sacrifice : Would it not,’ says
he, “have been more eligible for the Carthaginians to have
had the atheist Critias, or Diagoras, their lawgiver, at the
commencement of their polity, and to have been taught that
there was neither god nor demon, than to have sacrificed in
the manner they were wont to the god which they adored
Wherein they acted not as the person did whom Empedocles
describes in some poetry, where he exposes this unnatural
custom. The father, with many idle vows, offers up unwil-
lingly his son for a sacrifice, but the youth was so changed in
feature and figure that his father did not know him. These
people used wilfully to go through this bloody work, and
slaughter their own offspring. Even they who were childless
would not be exempted from this tribute, but purchased chil-
INFANTICIDE. 9
dren of the poorer sort, and put them to death. The mother
who sacrificed her child stood by, without any seeming sense
of what she was losing, and without uttering a groan. If a
sigh by chance escaped, she lost all the honour which she
proposed to herself in the offering, and the child was notwith-
standing slain. All the time of this celebrity, while the chil-
dren were murdering, there was a noise of clarions and tam-
bors sounding before the idol, that the cries and shrieks of the
victims might not be heard.’ ‘Tell me,’ said Plutarch, “if the
monsters of old, the Typhons and the Giants, were to expel
the gods, and to rule the world in their stead, could they re-
quire a service more horrid than these infernal rites and
sacrifices P’”%
“Mr. Bryant,” says Colonel Walker, “does not appear to
be aware of the existence of human sacrifices among the Hin-
doos; and it is melancholy to add to the list of human infir-
mity, by citing the translation of the Rudheradhyaya from the
Calican Puran, by Mr. Blaquiere, as an evidence of this bar-
barous rite being sanctioned by the Hindoo Legislature. It
was not only enjoined, but in the ancient rites of the Hindoos
was frequently practised, under the denomination of Mer
Med, or Wud, the sacrifice of a man. There is, at this day,
a numerous class of Brahmuns who are accused of this prac-
tice. They are called Kurrada, and are inhabitants of the
Concan. The object of their worship is Maha Lukshmee, to
whom human sacrifices are acceptable; and the more so if
the victim is a Brahmun, learned in the shastras. The public
performance of this sacrifice has long since fallen into disuse;
but a sect of the Kurrada Brahmuns are accused of effecting,
by the secret operations of poison, that object which they
dare not avow. I know several Kurrada Brahmuns, in re-
spectable public situations, intelligent, charitable, and humane,
who would abhor the commission of this detestable crime, and
who, though they admit the former existence, most strongly
deny its present practice; but the power of prejudice is some-
times stronger than the most complete evidence of moral con-
duct; and many people, under the influence of this passion,
would decline to eat food prepared by a Brahmun of this
tribe, of which he himself should not at the same time
partake.”f
* Annual Register, vol. x. 1767. Par. Papers on Hindoo Infanticide,
June 1824, pp. 53–58.
+ Par. Papers on Hindoo Infanticide, 1824, p. 52. On this subject see
an article in the Asiatic Journal, May 1823, p. 680.
10 INFANTICII) E.
The Preliminary Discourse of Sale's Koran (p. 174) affords
information of the existence of Infanticide in Arabia. “The
law of Mahomed put a stop to the inhuman custom, which
had been long practised by Pagan Arabs, of burying their
daughters alive, lest they should be reduced to poverty by
providing for them, or to avoid the disgrace which would
follow, if they should be made captives, or become scandalous
by their behaviour. The manner of doing this is differently
related;—some say that, when an Arab had a daughter born,
if he intended to bring her up, he sent her, clothed in a gar-
ment of wool or hair, to keep camels or sheep in the desert;
but, if he designed to put her to death, he let her live till she
became sia: ºyedrs old, and then said to her mother, “Perfume
and adorn her, that I may carry her to her mothers / This
being done, the father led her to a well, or a pit dug for the
purpose, and, having bid her look down into it, pushed her in
headlong, and then filled up the pit. This custom, though
not observed by the Arabs in general, was very common
among several of their tribes; and particularly those of Koreith
and Kendeh; the former being accustomed to bury their
daughters alive in Mount Abu Dalama, near Mecca. In the
time of ignorance, while they used this method to get rid of
their daughters, Sasaa, grandfather to the celebrated poet Al
Farazdak, frequently redeemed female children from death,
giving for every one two she-camels big with young, and a
he-camel; Al Farazdak alluded to this when, vaunting him-
self before one of the Califs of the family of Meya, he said,
‘I am the son of the giver of life to the dead / For which
expression, being censured, he excused himself by alleging
the words of the Koran, “He, who saved a soul alive, shall be
as if he had saved the lives of all mankind.’”
“The Missionaries in New Zealand had repeatedly heard
that female Infanticide was practised among its inhabitants;
and, in 1824, the fact was confirmed by a chief, who a short
time previously had saved his own child from this fate, out of
the hands of its inhuman mother! She had twice attempted
to put it to death soon after it was born. The brethren en-
tered into a free conversation with the natives on the subject,
and they spoke of it with pleasure rather than otherwise; and
referred them to several of the most respectable females, with
whom they were acquainted, who had thus destroyed their
children. The manner of putting them to death is, by what
they call ro-mea, or squeezing the nose, as soon as they are
* Par. Papers as above, pp. 58, 59.
INFANTICIDE. 11
born; then the hypocritical mother cuts herself with shells,
and makes a great outcry about her dead child. The reasons
which they assigned for this practice were two:-the first,
and perhaps the principal one, was that they were no good to
them in war; for they would only shout and make a noise,
but not fight. The other was, that where the offspring is nu-
merous, they make the mother too much work, &c., therefore
she kills the girls, but saves the boys! We endeavoured to
show them the impolicy and wickedness of such proceedings,
telling them that it was murder, in the sight of God; but they
said it was not, it was only ro-mea, or Squeezing the nose.
Oh when will the bright rays of the Gospel chase away their
gloom, and deliver them from their wickedness!”
“However extraordinary,” says the philanthropic Colonel
Walker, “the practice of female Infanticide, among the
Jahreja Rajpoots (in India) may appear, it is not confined to
them. The practice prevails with the Rajkoomars and other
tribes in Bengal. The custom of putting their infant daugh-
ters to death has also been discovered to exist with the Rha-
tore Rajpoots of Jeypore and Joudpore; but this fact, when
reported in Europe, was doubted and denied to be possible.
It is confirmed, however, by every intelligent native of that
country; nor does there appear any ground for questioning its
existence. The custom is traced to other tribes of Hindos-
tan, and in particular to the Jauts and Mewats, which latter
are a sect of Mussulmans. It would be interesting to develope
the laws and customs of the most distinguished people of
antiquity which sanctioned Infanticide. If we except the fa-
bulous history of the Amazons, I am not aware that we have
any account of a positive law or custom for the regular and
invariable destruction of children of either sex. Romulus is
said to have laid the citizens under an obligation to educate
all their male children, and the eldest of their daughters /
The requiring this obligation from the citizens must have
been suggested, by the necessity for restraining the prac-
tice of Infanticide; and Romulus probably trusted in pro-
curing wives for his males from the other tribes in his neigh-
bourhood, with as little difficulty as the Jahrejas do at present.
“Montesquieu proves that the same motives prevailed with
the Roman fathers for exposing their children as with the
nations of India, who commit Infanticide. “We find not any
Roman law that permitted the exposing of children. This
was, without doubt, an abuse introduced towards the decline
* Smith's History of Missions, vol. ii. p. 748.
I2 INFANTICIDE.
of the Republic, when luxury robbed them of their freedom;
when wealth divided was called poverty; when the father
believed all was lost which he gave to his family, and when
the family was distinct from his property.” It appears that
infants, newly born, were placed on the ground: those who
were agreeable to the father he took up, or educated; those
who were displeasing to him he neglected and exposed. In
Greece, Infanticide, or the exposure of children, appears to
have formed a part of the policy of those states. Solom gave
permission, by law, to parents to kill their children / Aris-
totle appears an advocate for the exposing of children; and
conceives, where this is not the case, that the number of those
brought forth ought to be limited. He proposes expedients
for this purpose, more barbarous than any usage of the
Jahrejas. The Greeks appear to have been led to expose
their offspring from the sterility of their territory, and the ap-
prehension of want, excited by a redundant population. The
same motive, arising from a fear of famine, has induced the
government of China, if not to permit, at least to tolerate, pa-
rents to sell and expose their children.
“In Robertson's history of America we are informed that
the difficulty of training up an infant to maturity, amidst the
hardships of savage life, often stifles the voice of nature among
the Americans, and suppresses the strong emotions of parental
tenderness. Some of these women are stated, in particular,
to destroy their female children in their infancy. At Otaheite,
and other islands of the Pacific, a peculiar society exists who
destroy their children;% and other nations, in a rude state,
have been found, who do not suffer those to live, who are born
with any natural defect. However disgusting it may be to
human nature, we find that many nations have tolerated or
permitted parents to destroy their own offspring; but the cus-
tom of eacclusively murdering females, (although the regula-
tions of Romulus evidently point to their destruction, in pre-
ference to that of the males), and a systematic Infanticide,
seem to be confined to the Rajpoots of India.”f
“We may assume it is an unquestionable fact, that the
earistence of female Infanticide prevails to a greater eartent in
India than has yet come under the observation of the British
* This has been happily abolished: see Ellis's Tour in Hawaii, pp. 303
–305. The Rev. Mr. Knott, a Missionary in the South Sea Islands, stated
that a female presented to him a child, and said that it was indebted to him
for its life: she had had five children and murdered them all !
+ Par. Papers, vol. i. pp. 44, 45.
INFANTICIDE. 13
Government. The knowledge of this fact would, until lately
have been productive of little more than gratifying a melan-
choly and speculative curiosity. The case is now very much
altered; and the inquiry at this moment might be attended,
not merely with the discovery of the fact, but enable us, by
the means we possess at present, to suppress this revolting
crime within the region of Hindostan. Many of the Dis-
tricts, in which the practice is supposed to prevail, have either
fallen under the influence or the actual Government of Great
Britain. Many of those people are become our subjects, and
we are bound in duty, as well as honour, to reclaim them
from the reproach of killing their own children / I am cer-
tain that the Company's Government requires no other excite-
ment nor encouragement for undertaking this humane work,
than that which would result from the probability of their
success.” -
Who does not blush for the degradation and depravity of
human nature ? In Christian countries these well authenticated
statements appear almost beyond credibility: but the ancient
prevalence of human sacrifices may dispose the reader to re-
ceive, with painful credence, the affecting accounts of the pre-
sent state of Infanticide in British India.
CHAP. II.
Infanticide in India. Origin—nature—crime—extent—
present state—demoralizing influence.
Infanticide appears principally to exist, at the present period,
in India and China. Of its prevalence in China a Missionary
writes:—“A man came to me for medicine, with whom I con-
versed privately. I asked him how long he had left China,
and whether he ever thought upon his family there He
said he frequently thought on them, and intended next year
to visit them, for he had three sons, and one daughter who
was married. ‘I had another daughter,’ he added, “but I did
not bring her up.’ ‘Not bring her up !” said I, ‘what then did
* Par. Papers, 1824, pp. 127, 128. For further information upon this
subject, see Grotius' de Satisfi Christi, c. a. Dr. J. Owen, de Nat. Verac
Theol. c. viii. pp: 33-41. Magee's Work on Atonement and Sacrifice,
Dis. v. Arrowsmith's Medico-legal Essay on Infanticide, 1828. *
i4 INFANTICIDE.
you do with her P ‘I smothered her,’ said he. ‘This year,
also, I heard by letter, that another daughter was born : I
sent word to have that smothered also, but the mother has
preserved her.’ I was shocked at this speech; and still more
at the indifference with which he uttered it. “What!” said I,
‘murder your own children | Do you not shudder at such an
act º' “Oh no,” said he, “it is a very common thing in China;
we put the female children out of the way to save the trouble
of bringing them up : some people have smothered five or six
daughters!” My horror was increased by his continued in-
difference, and the thought that such crimes are perpetrated
in China with impunity. What an awful view does this pre-
sent of the “Celestial Empire,” loaded with crime, deluged
with blood, and ripe for destruction "
Of the internal state of China, little is known in Europe,
but the paramount influence of Great Britain in Hindostan,
renders the subject of Hindoo Infanticide peculiarly interest-
ing in this country.
“The people in some parts of India,” says the late Rev.
W. Ward, “particularly the inhabitants of Orissa, and of the
eastern parts of Bengal, frequently offer their children to the
goddess Gunga. The following reason is assigned for this
practice:—When a woman has been long married, and has
no children, it is common for the man, or his wife, or both of
them, to make a vow to the goddess Gunga, that, if she will
bestow the blessing of children upon them, they will devote
the first-born to her. If, after this vow, they have children,
the eldest is nourished till a proper age, which may be three,
four, or more years, according to circumstances; and, on a
particular day appointed for bathing, in any holy part of the
river, they take the child with them, and offer it to this god-
dess; the child is encouraged to go into the water, till it is
carried away by the stream, or is pushed off by its inhuman
parents. Sometimes a stranger seizes the child, and brings
it up; but it is abandoned by its parents, from the moment it
floats in the water, and, if no one be found more humane than
they, it infallibly perishes! The principal places in Bengal
where this species of murder is practised are, Gunga Saugur,
where the river Hooghly disembogues itself into the sea;
Voidyuvatee, a town about fourteen miles to the north of
Calcutta; Trivinee, Nudeeya, Chakduh, and Prayag, or
Allahabad.*
* See the proceedings of the British Government with regard to Infanti-
cide at these places, in the latter part of this book.
IN FANTICIT) E. 15
“The following custom appears to prevail, principally in
the northern Districts of Bengal. If an infant refuse the mo-
ther's breast, and decline in health, it is said to be under the
influence of some malignant spirit. Such a child is sometimes
put into a basket, and hung up in a tree where the evil spirit
is supposed to reside. It is generally destroyed by ants, or
birds of prey; but sometimes perishes by neglect, though fed
and clothed daily. If it should not be dead at the expiration
of three days, the mother receives and nurses it again; but
this seldom happens. The late Mr. Thomas, a Missionary,
once saved and restored to its mother an infant which had
fallen out of a basket at Bholahat, near Malda, at the moment
a jackal was running away with it. As this gentleman and
Mr. Carey were afterwards passing under the same tree, they
found a basket hanging in the branches, containing the
skeleton of another infant, which had been devoured by ants.
“A friend at Ludiana, in a letter written in 1812, says,
‘The custom of murdering female infants is very common
among the Rajpoots. One of these fellows had been induced,
by the tears of his wife, to spare the life of a daughter born to
him. The girl grew up, and had arrived at the age of
thirteen ; but, unfortunately for her, had not been demanded in
marriage by any one. The Rajpoot began to apprehend the
danger of her bringing a disgrace upon the family, and resolved
to prevent it by putting the girl to death. Shortly after
forming this design, he overheard, or pretended to have over-
heard, some of his neighbours speak of his daughter in a way
that tended to increase his fears, when he rushed upon the
poor girl and cut off her head ' The native magistrate con-
fined him for a year, and seized all his property. But this
was because the girl was marriageable; infants are murdered
with impunity.’
“The Jatus, a people who abound in these parts,” says a
friend, in a letter from Agra, in 1812, “destroy their female
children as soon as born; but, being now afraid of the English,
they remove their pregnant women before the time of delivery
into the district of the Rajah of Burtpore, that they may com-
mit these horrid murders with impunity. The dark places of
the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty "#
The origin of Infanticide appears very obscure. The fol-
lowing extracts from the Par. Papers on the subject, printed
June 1824, cast considerable light upon the subject. J. Dun-
can, Esq., Resident at Benares, first directed the attention of
* Ward's View of the Hindoos, vol. ii. pp. 122–125.
16 INFANTICIDE.
the Bengal Government to the existence of Infanticide among
their subjects, in Oct. 1789. “It is no unfrequent practice,”
says this gentleman, “among the Rajkoomars to put their
daughters to death. This horrid custom is said to exist also
among other tribes, more especially in the Vizier's dominions.
It is thought to be founded in the Rajkoomar tribe, on the
*nherent eartravagant desire of independence entertained by
this race of men, joined, perhaps, to the necessity of procuring
a suitable settlement in marriage for these devoted females
were they allowed to grow up; and the disgrace which would
ensue from any omission in that respect.”
“In the north-western parts of Hindostan,” says the late
Rev. W. Ward, “the horrid practice of sacrificing female
children, as soon as born, has been known from time imme-
morial. The Hindoos ascribe this custom to a prophecy, de-
livered by a Brahmun, to Dweep-sing, a Rajpoot king, that
his race would lose the sovereignty through one of his female
posterity. Another opinion is, that this practice has arisen
out of the law of marriage, which obliges the bride's father to
pay almost divine honours to the bridegroom:t hence persons
of high cast, unwilling thus to humble themselves for the
sake of a daughter, destroy the infant. In the Punjab, and
neighbouring Districts, to a great extent, a cast of Seiks, and
the Rajpoots, as well as many of the Brahmuns and other
casts, murder their female children as soon as born. A gen-
tleman, whose information on Indian customs is very correct,
states that this practice was, if it is not at present, universal
among all the Rajpoots.”f
A native of Mandavee, in the country of Cutch, thus
describes the origin of the practice:—“It is notoriously known
to be the established practice among those of the Jahreja tribe
in the country of Cutch, and the adjoining district of Cattywar
(in the peninsula of Guzerat), not to bring up their daughters,
but to put them to death at their birth. The legend that I
have heard, accounting for this strange practice, is as follows:
—In former times one of the head men of those Jahrejas had
several female children; and as, among the Hindoos, it is in-
cumbent to provide husbands for their daughters whilst they
are in their nonage, the Jahreja chieftain applied to his family
Brahmun, to pursue the necessary measures for getting the
* Par. Papers, 1824, p. 6.
+ At the time of marriage the girl's father, taking hold of the knee of the
boy, worships him, by presenting offerings of rice, flowers, paint, &c., and
promises to give him his daughter. Vol. ii. pp. 122–125.
† Ward's View, vol. ii. p. 124.
INFANTICIDE. 17
children contracted in marriage with the sons of his equals in
the tribe, and of like valour and power. The Brahmun, after
making every inquiry, returned without effecting his object;
reporting that, although he had exerted all his endeavours to find
proper alliances for his female children, he had not traced any
one who was of competent qualifications to be his son-in-law :
wherefore (said the Brahmun), since to retain these, your
female offspring, in the family house, after their arriving at
the age of womanhood, is contrary to the rules of religion, I
will take them with me, and will burn them in the fire, on
condition that it be stipulated on your part, to destroy, at
their birth, all issue of the same sex that shall be born in your
family. I now lay my solemn malediction on you and yours,
if you fail to perform the same; in such manner, that, if you
shall preserve any of your future daughters, they shall pass
their lives in want; nor shall good attend the father or mother
of such children. It is further reported that the Brahmun
took away those innocent girls, and consumed them in the
flames; and that, in conformity to the stipulation and
denunciation aforesaid, the people of the Jahreja tribes,
dwelling in the country of Cutch, and in the Pergunnahs of
Hallar, and other places within the Peninsula of Guzerat,
have, to the present day, continued to adhere to the practice
in question.”
“Being interrogated respecting Adeeba, the daughter of
Ralakjee, former Rajah of Cutch, who was married to one of
the Guico war Rajahs, he replied,—‘It is true Adeeba is still
surviving at Booj, the capital of Cutch, yet there are but few
exceptions to the general rule, because, from the effect of the
malediction pronounced, no good ensues from their preserva-
tion; insomuch that if any daughters of this tribe are married
into other houses, the grain in such houses becomes less
plentiful; nor do such women produce sons, but are the
occasion of feuds arising in the families into which they were
thus transplanted! Throughout the country of Cutch there
may be six or eight houses wherein the Jahreja masters of
families bring up their daughters; otherwise, the practice is
general; and, besides what happens within the limits of that
country, the Jahreja chieftains of Moorvee, Goondul, and
Jamnagur, in the Peninsula of Guzerat, also kill their female
infants. Those who occasionally preserve their daughters,
are induced by the consideration of acquiring the merit of
having sons born to them. As when a man has a succession
of female children in his family, he will, at the suggestion of
any one, be induced to believe that, by bringing them up,
C
18 IN FANTICIDE.
sons will also be born to him ; whence chiefly Jahreja
daughters are sometimes met with, of whom there is, within
my recollection, another instance, in the case of the Roe
chieftain of Cutch, by name Vijrajee, who has married a
daughter of his to the son of Attabye, the Rajah of Bhowna-
guth; that lady may now be about twenty or twenty-two years
of age, but I have not heard that she has had any male issue,
but that, on the contrary, her husband and she do not agree.”
Colonel Walker endeavours to account for the rise of this
singular practice as follows:—“The Jahrejas relate that a
powerful Rajah of their cast, who had a daughter of singular
beauty and accomplishments, desired his rajgor, or family
Brahmun, to affiance her to a prince of desert and rank equal
to her own. The rajgor travelled over many countries without
discovering a chief who possessed the requisite qualities; for,
where wealth and power were combined, personal accom-
plishments and virtue were defective; in like manner, where
the advantages of the mind and the body were united, those
of fortune and rank were wanting. The rajgor returned and
reported to the prince that his mission had not proved
successful. This intelligence gave the Rajah much concern;
he, however, strongly reprobated every match for his daughter
which he conceived inferior to her high rank and perfection.
In this dilemma the Rajah consulted his rajgor, and he advised
him, to avoid the disgrace which would attend the princess's
remaining unmarried, by having recourse to the desperate
expedient of putting his daughter to death. The Rajah was
long averse to this expedient, and remonstrated against the
murder of a woman, which, enormous as it is represented in
the shastras, would be aggravated when committed on his own
offspring. The rajgor at length removed the Rajah's scruples,
by consenting to load himself with the guilt, and to become,
in his own person, responsible for all the consequences of the
sin' Accordingly the princess was put to death, and female
Infanticide was, from that time, practised by the Jahrejas.”f
“I have met with an account of Infanticide,” the Colonel
further observes, “which ascribes its origin to a circumstance
more probable, than the disappointment felt by the Rajah at
not finding a suitable match for his daughter. It is said that
one of the early Mussulman invaders of the Jahrejas' country,
who experienced the determination with which they defended
their liberties, united policy to arms, and sought to consolidate
their interests in the country, by demanding the daughters of
* Par. Papers, 1824, p. 23. t pp. 31, 32.
INFANTICIDE. 19
the Rajahs in marriage. The high-spirited Jahrejas would
not brook the disgrace, and pretended they did not preserve
their daughters; but, fearful of the consequences, and that
force would be resorted to in order to obtain what was refused
to entreaty, they listened to the advice of their rajgors in this
extremity, and, deluded by the fictitious responsibility which
they accepted, the practice of Infanticide originated, and has
since been confirmed. In consistency with this relation is an
account which I have heard of one of the Rajahs of Noanuggur,
whose daughter was demanded in marriage by the Emperor
of Delhi, and which also throws some light upon the doubtful
point, whether a grown-up daughter is ever put to death. It
appears, that although much discredit would attach to a
Jahreja who killed his daughter, after having preserved her
for any time, yet that such occurrences, however unfrequent,
are not without precedent. In some period of the history of
the Jahrejas, it is said that one of the Jams was despoiled of
his country by the king of Delhi, who promised to restore it,
provided Jam gave him a daughter, whom he had preserved,
in marriage. This must have been a legitimate daughter, as
Jam disdainfully rejected the alliance. After some time was
given to reflection, Jam was counselled by his friends
apparently to comply, and to depart for Delhi, accompanied
by his daughter; when he might evade the disgrace, save his
honour, and recover his country, by putting his daughter to
death, and give out that she died of sickness or fatigue during
the journey. The plan was put into execution, and this
conduct does not appear to have received the disapprobation
of the cast; probably it was applauded.”
The nature of Infanticide, or the manner in which the
practice is perpetrated, is involved in considerable obscurity.
J. Duncan, Esq., Resident at Benares, in 1789, in his inquiries
upon the subject, was informed that the Rajkoomars “killed
their infant daughters, or allowed them to die, by denying
them all sustenance from their birth.”f The same gentleman,
when Governor of Bombay, in a conversation with Gajra Bye,
daughter of one of the Guicowar Princes, of Guzerat, in 1804,
incidentally ascertained the existence of Infanticide in Cutch.
On inquiry from Captain Seton, stationed at Mandavee, it
was stated,—“The custom mentioned in Gajra Bye's relation
is in force to this day. Every female infant born in the
Rajah's family, if of a Ranne or lawful wife, is immediately
* Par. Papers, 1824, pp. 52, 53. On the Origin of Infanticide see an
extract from Col. Tod, Asi. Jour., Oct. 1830, p. 166. t p. 7.
C 2
20 IN FANTI CIDE.
dropped into a hole dug in the earth and filled with milk,
where it is drowned.”*
“Curiosity,”says Colonel Walker, “will naturally be excited
to learn the methods observed in committing these Infanticides;
and whether they are attended by any compunction and
ceremony. The common expressions for Infanticide are
* Deekree Marne me Chal,' or ‘the custom of killing daugh-
ters;’ and ‘Naree Deekree Marne me Chal, or ‘the custom
of killing young daughters.” In conversation, and in
discussing the subject with the Jahrejas, the term used was
‘JDeekree Babut,” or ‘the article of girls.” Although the
Jahrejas spoke freely of the custom of putting their daughters
to death, without delicacy, and without pain, they were more
reserved on the mode of its execution, and appeared at
first unwilling to be questioned on the subject. They usually
replied, that it was an affair of the women; it belonged to
the nursery, and made no part of the business of the men.
They at last threw off this reserve.
“The following is the translation of a memorandum from
Wassonjee Eswarjee, a Nagur Brahmun, who attended the
camp, in the quality of Vakeel, from the Gondul Chief. “When
the wives of the Jahreja Rajpoots are delivered of daughters,
the women, who may be with the mother, repair to the oldest
man in the house; this person desires them to go to him who
is the father of the infant, and do as he directs. On this the
women go to the father, who desires them to do as is cus-
tomary, and so to inform the mother. The women then
repair to the mother, and tell her to act in conformity to
their usages. The mother next puts opium on the nipple of
her breast, which the child inhaling with its milk, dies' The
above is one custom, and the following is another; when the
child is born, they place the navel-string on its mouth, and it
expires. If a father wishes to preserve a daughter, he previ-
ously apprizes his wife and family, and his commands are
obeyed. If a mother entertains a wish of preserving a
daughter, and her husband is averse to it, the infant must be
put to death ! There are, however, instances where the
influence of the mother has succeeded in saving the infant,
by obtaining the revocation of the decree for its destruction;
but these instances of maternal solicitude are either unfrequent
or but seldom successful. The father sometimes expressly
orders the infant to be put to death, probably when he sus-
pects some intention of the mother to preserve it; but, in
* Par. Papers, p. 20.
INFANTICIDE. 21
general, this sanguinary intimation is unnecessary; a total
silence on the part of the husband, is considered to imply his
wn alterable resolution, that the child, if a female, should
perish /
“To render this deed, if possible, more horrible, the mother
as commonly the executioner of her own offspring / Women
of rank may have their slaves and attendants, who perform
this office; but the far greater number execute it with their own
hands. This compliance of the women must appear the
more extraordinary, as they belong to casts who rear their
females, and are brought up in families, where their own
existence is evidence against the unnatural practice: but as
they are betrothed at an early age, they imbibe the supersti-
tions of their husbands, and some of them appear even as
advocates for this custom. They appear to have several
methods for destroying the infant, but two are prevalent.
Immediately after the birth of a female, they put into its
mouth some opium, or draw the umbilical cord over its face,
which prevents respiration.* But the destruction of so young
and tender a subject is not difficult, and it is probably effected
without a struggle. The natural weakness of the infant,
when neglected and left uncleaned some time, causes its death,
without the necessity of actual violence; and sometimes it is
łaid on the ground, or on a plank, and left to expire | The
infant, after it is destroyed, is placed in a small basket,
entirely naked, and in this state carried out and interred. In
Cattywar, any of the female attendants of the family perform
this office; but in Cutch it is done by the domestic rajgor.
The rajgors, who bury the infants that perish, receive a fee
of one koree, which is a coin equivalent in value to one-third
of a rupee (about ten-pence sterling), and a meal. In Cutch
the female rajgors are the executioners of the infant instead
of the mother, and this seems to approach nearer to the origin
of the custom.
“The birth of a daughter is considered by the Hindoos, of
every description, as an inferior event, and they rarely make
it a subject of congratulation. Should any inquisitive person
ask a Jahreja the result of the pregnancy of his wife, if it were
a female, he would answer “nothing;' and this expression, in
* Sir John Malcolm says, that “Suntook Ram, minister of Amjerall, told
him he was sitting with Puddim Singh, the present Thakore, when he heard
the birth of a female infant whispered in his ear, and saw him preparing the
fatal pill of opium (the usual signal); he implored that the child might
live; his request was granted; and this little girl, added Suntook Ram, is
always called my daughter.”—Rep. of Cent. India, Asi, Jour., Jam, 1823,
22 INFANTICIDE.
the idiom of the country, is sufficiently significant. The
Žnfant is invariably put to death immediately on its birth,
and it would be considered a barbarous action, to deprive it
of life after it had been allowed to live a day or two /
Although instances of this deliberate murder may be very
rare, yet, from the examination of a Jahreja, who was reported
to me as having been guilty of this deed, I have reason to
believe they sometimes occur. The death of a daughter is
generally viewed by a Jahreja, as an infallible consequence
after its birth; and it is considered to be an event of such
insignificance, that he is seldom apprized of it! It is
attended by no ceremony, and publicity is avoided. Jussajee,
of Jallia, has had three daughters; they were all put to death
at the time of their birth. Jussajee attended the camp; he is
a man of intelligence, and served the detachment as a guide.
His character and disposition, for humanity and propriety,
are favourable; but he has not the least compunction for the
murder of these children, and considers the deed to be, in
every respect, justifiable.”
The following is the statement of Jahreja Dadajee, chief of
Rajcote:—“Many of the Jahrejas of Cutch preserve their
daughters, and, previously to the birth of a child, the father,
if he wishes to preserve the child, signifies such a wish, and
his will is invariably obeyed; if the mother wishes, and the
father is averse to preserve his daughter, it is killed !
Exceptions to this take place now and then, when the mother
has great influence over the father. When the daughters are
killed, they are almost invariably put to death, immediately
after their birth. On the birth of a daughter, the mother
very seldom apprizes the father, but puts it to death at once.
HDaughters, when put to death, are always buried in the state
in which they were born, without any purification, or being
wrapped in any clothes. Dadajee has a daughter alive. He
states that he expressed a wish to preserve it previously to its
birth. Some Jahrejas preserve their daughters that may be
born within the space of six months after the death of a chief:
though this is little observed, it is still reckoned proper; but
he says that avarice, or other passions of the parent, make
them disregard this practice. He says there is no uniform
mode of killing infants. Sometimes they terminate their life
by opium, sometimes by placing the navel-string on their
mouth and suffocating them. Dadajee, on being interrogated
as to any other mode, said, “What difficulty is there in
* Par. Papers, 1824, pp. 35–37.
INFANTICIDE. 23
blasting a flower 3’ Sometimes the mothers, if there are no
female attendants, kill their infants themselves ; but, in
general, women of station never perform this unnatural office.
In allusion to this subject, as descriptive of the motives for
Infanticide, he states, that in Catty war and Hallaur the
rubbaries, or goatherds, allow their male kids to die when
there are many of them brought forth; and the charons follow
the same practice with their male buffaloes, both being
reckoned unproductive, in a country where little flesh is
consumed, and the only profit which arises from the animals
is their milk Pºk
In Zillah Furruckabad, Bareilly Division, in Sep. 1806, a
man was tried for the murder of his child. The atrocious act
is thus described by the murderer:—“About twenty days ago
a daughter was born in my house, a little before sun-set. On
the same evening, I, the deponent, on account of the ancient
customs of my tribe, of not contracting our daughters in mar-
riage with any one, as well as from ignorance of the regula-
tions of justice, and the contents of the proclamation made
with respect to refraining from murdering daughters, and
likewise from my dwelling in the jageer, depending upon the
Nawab of Khurudmund Khan; on this account I took out of
my house some of the juice of the Ag tree, (a deadly poison,)
and caused my new-born child to drink it. About ten o’clock
at night my daughter expired. I was not acquainted with
the Company’s regulations, if I had, I should never have
committed this crime: now, that I am acquainted with them,
I will never again commit the same crime.” He was
ultimately pardoned on the ground of his ignorance.t
The crime of female murder is very great, according to
the Hindoo shastras.-“The doctrines of the Hindoo religion
have been singularly careful to protect the female sex and
infants from violence; and it is unlawful to put a woman to
death for any offence whatever. In support of this opinion
they quote the following sloke or verse:–
Shut gao wudhe vepra
Shut vepra wudhe istreea
Shut istreea wudhe bala
Shut bala wudhe muresha.
“To kill one brahmun is equal to one hundred cows:
“To kill one woman is equal to one hundred Brahmuns:
“To kill one child is equal to one hundred women :
“To kill one hundred children is an offence too heinous for comparison.”
* Par. Papers, 1824, p. 68, t Par. Papers on Infan. 1828, pp. 33, 34.
24 INFANTICIDE.
The crime therefore of killing a woman is considered as great
a sin as killing a hundred Brahmuns; and the sin of killing a
young child, of either sex, is equal to killing a hundred
women.”*
J. Duncan, Esq., while Resident at Benares, procured a
translation of an extract from a Hindoo shastra, in which the
same sentiments are expressed.—“Let all the four casts of
Brahmun, Khetry, Bys, and Soodra, know that killing a
woman is the greatest of crimes. The person guilty of such an
act, having gone into the nerk or hill, called Kal Sooter, shall
remain there without nourishment, and be gnawed by worms,
for as many years as there are hairs on the woman's body,
and shall remain there always in pain and misery; and after-
wards, being born again in the lesser casts, shall become a
leper for the same number of years; and thereafter, becoming
of the cast of Soodra, shall be afflicted with the Zukhma, or
vomiting of blood. Being again born of that cast, he becomes
the servant or valet of a Brahmun, by which he is exonerated.
In the same Pooran it is written, that causing abortion is
equal to killing a Brahman. It is distinguished by the name
of broom hettea.”f
The eartent and present state of this cruel custom appear
by the following extracts from the Par. Papers on Infanticide,
of 1824 and 1828. The Papers of 1828 contain the most
recent account of the state of Infanticide in Cutch and
Cattywar, in Benares, and other parts of the Bengal Presi-
dency, and also of the Presidency of Fort St. George. The
Papers of 1824, which contain the most information, are
divided into four parts.
Part the first contains “Papers relating to Infanticide,
practised by the Rajkoomars, Rajevamses, &c., in Benares
and other parts of the territories under the Bengal Presi-
dency, and in the state of Oude : 1789 to 1820.” pp. 5–16.
Sir John Shore (now Lord Teignmouth), in a Paper on the
Customs and Practices of the Hindoos, has the following
observations on the subject of Infanticide :-‘‘That this
practice should ever be so general as to become a custom,
with any sect or race of people, requires the most unexcep-
tionable evidence to gain belief; and I am sorry to say, that
the general practice, as far as regards female infants, is fully
substantiated with respect to a particular tribe on the frontiers
of Juanpore, a district of the province of Benares, adjoining
to the country of Oude. A race of Hindoos, called Rajkoo-
* Par. Papers, 1824, p. 42. + pp. 7, 8,
INFANTICIDE. 25
mars, reside here; and it was discovered, in 1789 only, that
the custom of putting to death the female offspring, by causing
the mothers to starve them, had long subsisted, and did
actually, very generally, prevail among them. The Re-
sident at Benares, in a circuit which he made through the
country where the Rajkoomars dwell, had an opportunity of
authenticating the existence of the custom from their own
confessions. He conversed with several; all unequivocally
admitted it, but all did not fully acknowledge its atrocity;
and the only reason assigned for the inhuman practice was,
the great expense of procuring suitable matches for their
daughters, if they allowed them to grow up ! It is some satis-
faction to add, that the custom, though general, was not
universal, as natural affection, or some other motive, had
induced the fathers of some Rajkoomar families to bring up
one or more of their female issue; but the instances, where
more than one daughter had been spared were very rare /
One village only furnished a complete exception to the
general custom; and the Rajkoomar informant, who noticed
it, supposed that the inhabitants had sworn, or solemnly
pledged themselves to each other, to bring up their females;
in proof of his assertion, in favour of the village in question,
he added, that several old maids of the Rajkoomar tribe then
actually existed there, and that their celibacy proceeded from
the difficulty of procuring husbands for them, in consequence
of the great expenses attending the marriages of this class of
eople.”*
ºp Shakspeare, Esq., Acting Superintendent of Police in
the Western Provinces, thus speaks of the state of Infanticide
in 1816 : “Section XI. Regulation III., 1804, contains
provisions for the prevention and punishment of the inhuman
practice prevalent among the tribe of Rajkoomars, of causing
their female infants to be strangled to death. There is reason
to believe, that this practice still obtains among the Rajkoo-
mars, to nearly the same eartent as formerly; though a great
degree of caution is observed to prevent detection. In the
records of this office, I find a few reports from Darogahs, in
former years, of the murder of female children, by mixing
their food with the milkyjuice of the plantaselepias gigantica,
known in Bengal by the name of akond, and by that of ack
in Hindostan. This mode of destroying their offspring, is
said to be still commonly practised. Some few instances
have been reported, during the last year, of persons destroying
* Asi. Res, vol. iv., p. 5. Par. Papers, p. 5.
26 INFANTI CIDE.
their children with the intention of revenging themselves for
actual or supposed injuries, under the impression that the sin
of murder would be visited on the persons by whom they
were aggrieved.”
The Magistrate of Juanpore, W. Cracroft, Esq., in 1819,
shows the existence of the practice at that period:—“Eight
Rajkoomars, married men, whom I called before me, had,
among them, seventeen sons and only ONE daughter /
Another mentioned that he had a wife whom her father had
reared, but that her dowry had ruined the family. Surubdo-
ween Singh, who is a Rajkoomar, of the Nawab's country,
has a sister twelve years old, whose wedding has been settled
in Bauswarrah; he has also a daughter three months old,
whom he has promised to rear. Talem Singh, his grand-
father, also brought up a daughter, who is a widow, and lives
in Busera. Soogreem Singh, his son, has also reared a
daughter, who is eight years old, but her marriage has not
been determined. There are some families among them who
would willingly rear their daughters, but those are very few ;
and, if by any misfortune their circumstances should become
reduced, they would not hesitate to have recourse to the
practice of the cast.”f
The Par. Papers respecting the Burning of Hindoo Widows
(vol. i. 1821.) contain the following confirmation of this
lamentable state of society. The Magistrate of Agra, in the
Suttee Report of 1816, remarks,—“The practice of burning
women on the funeral piles of their husbands does not exist
in this district, in the same degree as in others; the reason of
this may be ascribed, to the prevalence of female child
murder. It is well known that no Rajpoot allows a daughter
to live: their wives are of other casts, and consequently not
obliged to sacrifice themselves.”f “The practice of the
Rajkoomars (says W. Ewer, Esq., Act. Sup. of Police, Lower
Provinces) is, I have reason to think, but little checked by
the enactment.”$ Nov. 1818.]
* Par. Papers, pp. 13, 14. + Par. Papers, p. 16.
# The Court of Nizamut Adawlut declare child murder to be contrary to
the existing law of 1804, and wish to know how this can have been evaded.
§ Par. Papers relative to Suttees, vol. i. p. 104. X-
|| “The Rajkoomar,” says Col. Tod, “is one of the Chocan sachae, chief
of the Aguiculas, and, in proportion to its high and well-deserved pretensions
on the score of honour, it has more Infanticide than any other of the ‘thirty-
six royal races.” Amongst those of this race, out of the pale of feudalism,
and subjected to powers not Rajpoot, the practice is four-fold greater, from
the increasing pressure of the cause which gave it birth, and the difficulty
of establishing their daughters in wedlock.” Asi. Jour. Oct. 1830, p. 167.
IN FANTICIDE. 27
Part the second of the Par. Papers of 1824, relates to
“Infanticide practised by the Rajpoots in the District of
Cutch and Cattywar, a District of Guzerat, within the
Dominions of the Guicowar: 1800 to 1808.” pp. 17–70.
The subject is first noticed in a report from Kerpa Rama,
minister of the Nawaub of Surat, received by J. Duncan,
Esq., Governor of Bombay in 1800:—“I have heard people
say,” said the Minister, “that among the tribe of Rajpoots,
and especially among the Rajahs of that class, the birth of a
daughter in their houses was considered as disgraceful; on
which account their women refuse to let their newly-born
daughters have access to their milk, and put them in any way
to death; but this practice is not general through all the
subdivisions of their tribe, though, in several places, they do
thus stony-heartedly kill them.” The same gentleman
received from Gajra Bye, a daughter of a Guicowar prince of
Guzerat, the following intelligence, in Feb. 1804:—“Damaji
Guicowar carried his arms as far as to Cutch, with the Rajah
of which a reconciliation took place, on condition that one of
the princesses, his daughters, being given in marriage to
Damaji; which lady, named Dankur Bye, lived among the
Guicowars till after Damaji's death; when, at her own request,
the Rajah Fatteh Sing permitted her to return to her own
family in Cutch.”f “This incidental narrative,” says the
Minute to Government, “from Gajra Bye, leading to the
question, Whether Dankur Bye had, of this marriage, any
children? it was answered negatively; and Gajra Bye imme-
diately followed up his answer by explaining, that among
that lady's cast in Cutch, the daughters are not brought up,
but drowned immediately at their birth in a vessel of milk.”f
The Honourable the Governor of Bombay delivered the
following memorandum on this subject, Dec. 1806:—“A
person desired to speak to me, saying he was come from the
country of Cutch Boojh, and had something of a secret nature
to impart from Roy Dhun, the Rajah of that territory. On
this person being admitted, he said his name was Sheojee
Goorjee, that he is the confidential servant of Roy Dhun, the
Rajah of Cutch, that he is sent by him to solicit our aid for
his release from the restraint under which that chieftain
labours, by being placed in a state of confinement by Futteh
Mahomed, whom he states to have subjected the whole
country to his will, not, however, from the dread of his power
and influence. He admits that his master has no sons; but
* Par. Papers on Infan. p. 19. + p. 19. + p. 19. See pp. 20, 21.
28 INFANTICIDE.
there is a male child of Prethy Rowjee, his late brother, seven
years old, who is called Luckput. He confesses they never
rear daughters in his master's family; and, being asked the
Teason, he answers, “Where have they an equal to whom to
be bestowed in marriage 3’”*
Colonel Walker in his interesting document on the subject,
dated Baroda, March 1808, gives a full account of the extent
of this custom among the Jahrejas.-‘‘The practice of Infan-
ticide appears to have been discontinued by the descendants
of the Jahrejas who inhabit Scind, and who have become
converts to the Mahomedan religion. I was told, however,
of an exception, and that one of these converted tribes, or
families, still follows the custom of their ancestors. A few of
the Jahreja tribes of Cutch have also discontinued Infanticide,
or practice it but occasionally. The following Jahreja families
in that country were mentioned as systematically refraining
from Infanticide, and their names deserve to be recorded.
The families of Bulach, Bottan, Sar Cubber, Kotee, Ubra,
Jarria, Guffun, Murasee, Mokarra, Kuya, Retreea, Mor, Row,
Jessa, Dessa, Damrar, Detteea, Joreea, Adreea, Verac, Kunorde,
and Weeur, are enumerated as rearing their daughters. Some
of these families are of respectability in Cutch; but the
far greater part of the inhabitants follow the practice without
the least remorse. The origin of Infanticide among the
Jahrejas is not supposed to be more remote than 500 years.
As no disgrace or stigma is attached to the omission of this
act, we might expect that natural affection would prevail over
a barbarous custom; but this is overpowered by the influence
of habits and prejudices, strengthened by little selfish views of
economy and of domestic ease. I endeavoured to ascertain the
motives of the Jahrejas who preserved their daughters; and,
by their own confession, this act of humanity did not proceed
from parental feelings. It appeared to be inspired, not by
motives of affection for the object, so much as by personal
considerations, arising from the ideas of Metempsychosis,
which are so universally and rigidly observed by the Shavuch
Banians, the followers of Jena. These people consider it a
sin to deprive any creature, however mean or noxious, of life;
and their doctrines are said to have an impression on a few of
the Jahrejas.
“It would be an interesting inquiry, to ascertain the number
of females who perish annually from the practice of Infan-
ticide. This could only be effected by a careful research
* Par. Papers, p. 27.
INFANTICIDE. 29
among the Jahreja families, which might determine their
number, and obtain a tolerably correct estimate of the
casualties. The result of my information was too vague to
afford any data of an accurate calculation; but it may be
useful to state this information, as, although defective, it may
convey some determinate notion of the extent of this offence
against the first laws of human nature. I shall begin by
stating an account which has the appearance of exaggeration.
According to a loose computation, the number of Jahreja
families inhabiting Cutch and Cattywar is estimated at
125,000, and the number of female infants yearly destroyed to
amount to 20,000. Being desirous of reducing this inquiry
to a state of greater certainty, I endeavoured to procure a
particular list of the Jahrejas inhabiting these countries. I
found it impracticable to obtain this information respecting
Cutch; but the following is an account of the Jahreja families
inhabiting Hallaur and Muchoo Khaunta, furnished by an in-
telligent native, well acquainted with this extraordinary race.
A list of the families of the different tribes of Jahrejas in
Hallawr and Muchoo Khaunta.
Jam Zadeh, the descendants Bharanee - gº * - IOO
of the Jams - wº - 40 Bhananee - - ** - 50
Hurdols - - - - 500 Amrun - - - - 500
Doonguranee - º - 500 Dil - sº &= sº. - 600
See Sungeea - º - 100 Halla. tº:--> tº gº - 100
Kubbur - gºs gº - 100 Hapa •º *- sº - 100
Rewanee - º {-º - 100 Khumanee e-º ū-r - 100
Weebanee - tº- gº - 500 Kana tº-3 tº wº- - 200
Lakanee - sº * - 100 Rao - 3- s tº - 400
Moranee - º º: - 500 Batach - w- & e - 100
Kunkerya - gº Eº - 100 And other casts - * - 500
Ummur - gº * - 100 .
5,390
“It is supposed that the annual number of Infanticides
in the Peninsula of Guzerat amounts to 5000. The number
of Jahrejas in Cutch, on the authority of the natives, is ten
times as many as Hallaur and Muchoo Khaunta, and this
would give us a population of 150,000 men; for all these
calculations are exclusive of women and children, who must,
from the nature of the case, either be wives or boys. As a
number of Jahrejas in that country have disused Infanticide,
without any formal renunciation of the practice, the number
of deaths may be estimated at 30,000. I shall, lastly, state
the lowest estimate that I received of these murders; and,
30 INFANTICIDE.
although its moderation may appear in favour of its truth, I
am disposed to think this account, as short of the number
destroyed, as the preceding is probably an eacaggeration.
These accounts, it is to be observed, do not pretend to reston
calculation, but convey the opinions of persons well-informed
respecting the state of the country. According to this
authority, the number of Infanticides annually in Hallaur
and Muchoo Khaunta, are between 1000 and 1,100; and in
Cutch about 2000 !
“Whenever a Jahreja saves his daughter,he invariably exerts
every means, sometimes to the impoverishment of his family,
to obtain a respectable settlement for her in life. It is,
perhaps, this strong desire that prevents the lower orders
saving their daughters.
“Even the poorest Jahreja feels the utmost solicitude not
to taint his blood by an improper alliance. It does not appear
that the number of their wives is limited by any rule. The
practice of concubinage is common among the Jahrejas, and
in forming these connexions they are under little or no restraint
with respect to cast. It will be observed that the settlement
of their daughters born of rackelees, or mistresses, is attended
with little expense or publicity; and the motives, which lead
the Jahrejas to destroy their legitimate daughters, do not in
the former case exist with equal force.
“The influence of example and communication is capable
of procuring converts to the most flagitious courses. The
Jaitwa Rajpoots, who rule over the division of Burrudda, have
been accused of adopting the barbarous practice of the Jah-
rejas in destroying their daughters. The Jaitwas may have
thought it no disgrace to follow a custom cherished by their
conquerors; and, having lost a greater part of their possessions,
they may have been desirous, like the Jahrejas, of relieving
themselves from the burden of portioning their daughters.
They observe a silence on the subject, and the deed is per-
formed in secrecy; but the singular fact, that the Ranas of
Poorbunder have had no grown-up daughters for more than
a hundred years, would be sufficient evidence against them.”
The third part of the Par. Papers relates to “Infanticide
practised by the Rajpoots in the Districts of Cutch and Cat-
tywar, within the Dominions of the Guicowar; 1808 to 1820.”
pp. 71—128.
Colonel Walker, referring to the success of his endeavours
to abolish Infanticide among the Jahrejas in Cattywar in
* Par. Papers, 1824, pp. 37–42.
INFANTICIDE. 31
1808, remarks:—“I was willing to think that the example
might produce a favourable effect on the Jahrejas of Cutch,
and in this expectation I addressed myself again to Futteh
Mahomed. The Jemadar's answer contained a second defence
of Infanticide, but in more moderate terms. It appears that
the Jahreja Byaud of Cutch could easily overturn the usurped
authority of Futteh Mahomed; and that they only sanction or
submit to it, because they have thereby acquired an extension
of their own authority, and many illegal possessions. Under
these circumstances we cannot probably indulge any strong
hope that the suppression of Infanticide will soon be attained
in Cutch; and, in the actual state of affairs in that country,
they may, perhaps, afford some apology for Futteh Mahomed's
appearing as a constrained advocate for the unnatural crime
of Infanticide.”% .
J. R. Carmack, Esq., Resident at Baroda, thus addressed
the Chief Secretary of the Bombay Government, in 1816:—
“I have the honour to report, in pursuance of the orders of
the Right Honourable the Governor in Council, that the
abolition of this inhuman practice in Cutch has not been
accomplished. The urgent representations to that Govern-
ment during the life of Futteh Mahomed, and our subsequent
intercourse with his Highness Raidhum and his ministers,
were attended with no effect; in the first case, from a decla-
ration, that an interference with the religious prejudices of the
country was incompatible with the situation of Futteh
Mahomed; and latterly the impaired power of the Rao, and
the internal revolutions of Cutch, have been made a pretext
for paying no attention to the execution of our wishes. Cir-
cumstances have not enabled us therefore to carry our views,
for the abolition of female Infanticide in Cutch, beyond the
measure of representation ; and, considering that the prejudice
which tolerates this atrocious practice is interwoven with the
conceived notions of honour of families of Jahreja origin, it
could not be expected, until our influence was established,
that female Infanticide could be suppressed. It may require
also considerable exertions and discretion, now that we have
obtained a political establishmentin Cutch, before any progress
is made in the success of our object. I should have been
happy to announce that female Infanticide was entirely
eradicated from the Peninsula of Cattywar. Although there
has lately been no evidence afforded to me, either by my
assistant, or the Guicowar local authority, of any Jahreja
* Par. Papers, p. 50.
32 INFANTICIDE.
having destroyed his offspring since the accession to the
engagements by means of Colonel Walker; I have been dis-
appointed in the result of the statement of those children who
have been reported as preserved. The letter from Captain
Ballantine seems to vouch for only fifteen, the disparity of
which number is very great according to the ordinary progress
of population.” -
The Governor in Council writes to the following effect to
the Court of Directors, in 1817:-“To the last Report from
the Assistant to the Resident at Baroda, on this subject, we
particularly wish to draw your attention; as submitting a
register of the Talookas in Cattywar, where the Jahrejas
reside, and showing how many female children have been
saved since the introduction of Colonel Walker's arrangements,
accompanied by his observations on the register, and in regard
to the adoption of measures which might be calculated to root
out the evil. The report of Captain Ballantine, while it affords
satisfactory proof that SIXTY-THREE female children had
been preserved by our interposition, eachibits a melancholy
picture of the almost universal continuance of the horrid
practice, and that to an eartent beyond what we had antici-
pated. It is observable that the preservation of no more than
the above small number of children can be established
throughout the Talookas specified by Captain Ballantine,
where it is concluded the number of Jahrejas must be very
considerable; since Draffa alone contains 400 families; nor
can it escape your attention that the Jahrejas, enumerated as
having preserved their female children, have saved only ONE
of the number, that must have been born according to the
ordinary course of nature.”t
Colonel Walker having returned from India, but still deeply
interested in his philanthropic design of abolishing Infanticide,
addressed the following letter to the Secretary of the Court of
Directors, in 1819:—
“In acknowledging your letter, and the documents to which it gave
cover, I beg to enclose, for the Honourable the Court of Directors, a memo-
randum on the subject of female Infanticide. I have found it impossible,
at present, to give that important subject all the consideration which is due
to it, and I shall probably avail myself of a future opportunity of transmit-
ting, for the notice of the Honourable Court, some additional reflections
which may occur to me.
“Although there can be no difference of opinion regarding the enormity
of the crime of Infanticide, yet it is not to be considered as peculiar to the
natives of India. In other parts of the earth the same practice has prevailed.
* Par. Papers, p. 97. See p. 106. + pp. 106, 107.
INFANTICIDE. 33
In China it is not uncommon at this day; where it is permitted by the
legislature, and reckoned no disgrace to the individual. Every humane
person, however, must agree that such a practice should be stopped by all
the means which a wise Government can command; that we have the
means in our power there cannot be a doubt; and I must beg leave to say
that my own success is a proof of this. The means are, persuasion and
reason. If these be wisely applied, by the agents of Government, they will
be found quite sufficient without any inquisitorial institution; without any
odious system of espiomage, which no remote advantage can make necessary.
The foundation of reform was laid. It was proved to the natives that this
practice was against their sacred institutions, and it was revolting to the best
feelings of the human heart. They agreed to it, and probably did sincerely
mean to do so. The Government, however, and the local authorities, became
remiss, and the people returned, by degrees, to habits too long established. I
am convinced that it is necessary, by undeviating attention to the subject,
to satisfy them that we are really sincere in our wish to abolish the crime.
All depends on attention to the subject for a sufficient length of time, till
the influence of custom is forgotten, and the natural affections have sprung
up again in the hearts of parents. They are not wholly lost, although some
unhappy circumstances have been able to cover them for the present. In
attaining this objeet there cannot be a doubt of our success, for mature is
working in our favour. All that is required is attention to the subject, and
that for a sufficient length of time. Naturam repellas furca, tamen usque
recurret.”*
Part the fourth, of the Par. Papers of 1824, contains
“Papers relative to Infanticide, by drowning, practised by
the Hindoos at Saugur and other places: 1794 to 1820.”
pp. 129—244.
A case of Infanticide, and the punishment adjudged is
descriptive of the moral state of the Hindoos.t-“Mussumaut
Jarlee, and Cumlee, are charged with murder, but under
such circumstances as urge humanity to soften the rigour of
the law. Jarlee's daughter was labouring under a loathsome
disease, incurable in its nature, and which, by prejudices it
were vain to oppose (but by erecting native hospitals for the
reception of such objects), exposed the unhappy mother to
the desertion and contempt of kindred and friends; who art-
fully exhorted her to shorten a life which this growing malady
was slowly extinguishing, and thus relieve a suffering child,
whose desperate situation admitted no remedy, and secure to
herself, oppressed by poverty, and shunned as one visited by
divine vengeance, an exemption from misery. Mercy pleads
in behalf of a crime committed under the prevalence of long-
established prejudices, and by one, too, hopeless and deserted;
and whom, if it be difficult, perhaps exceptionable, to defend,
it is impossible not to commiserate. Little can be weighed in
excuse for Cumlee's conduct in accompanying the unfortunate
* Par. Papers, pp. 118, 119. | pp. 131–133.
D
34 IN FANTICIT) E.
mother: such a deed of horror seems unnatural ; and yet to
dissuade her from the commitment of it was more than could
be expected from ignorance and superstition.” Jarlee was
confined for one year and then dismissed
The Bombay Judicial Consultation, Jan. 1824, speak of the
trial of Bheeme Mussalin by the magistrate of Poona, for the
wilful murder of her female child, for which she was to be
“imprisoned for, and during the term of, her natural life.”
The Monthly Return of Criminal Cases, decided by the Judge,
north of the Mahee, Nov. 1826, speaks of a woman, “after
having given birth to a child, exposing it on a dunghill, where
it was destroyed by hogs. Sentence, sia: months imprison-
ment, with such labour as befits her sea, l’ “If this heinous
offence (says Mr. Goodwin) be not provided for by our code,
I deem it a fit subject for legislation. In Bengal, such
atrocities are, I fancy, punished capitally. The Honourable
Governor of Bombay adds, the new regulation seems to pro-
vide for this offence.”f
The first account of Infanticide at Saugur is introduced
by a letter of the Calcutta magistrates to the Honourable
G. H. Barlow, Vice-President of Council, Feb. 1802.]
The nature of these barbarities appears from the deposition
of Charles Starling, a mate in the Pilot service, taken upon
oath, before Charles Martyn, Esq., one of His Majesty's
Justices of the peace for the town of Calcutta., in Dec. 1801.
He stated,—
“That on the day of the full moon, in November last, the deponent, and
Edmund Bartlett, branch pilot, went from the Philip Dundas schooner on
shore to the Pagoda Creek on Saugur Island, where the people go annually
to worship; that, after the deponent and the said Edmund Bartlett got on
shore, they walked up to the huts of the natives, and being on shore for an
hour they saw the entrails, as they supposed, of a human body floating on
the water. At the same time they also saw about three thousand natives on
the beach. The deponent further saith, that a fakeer was standing close to
him and the said Edmund Bartlett; the deponent asked him the reason
why a number of the natives were ordered to be put into the water; he
answered that the head fakeer had ordered them to go to the water to be
devoured by the sharks, for the prosperity of their respective families. The
fakeer also informed the deponent, that if a woman had four children, she
ought to put one of them into the water to be devoured by the sharks, with
the hope that the other three children should live. The deponent further
saith, that while he was on the beach, and during the time he was in the
boat going to the shore, he saw altogether eleven men, women, and lads,
destroyed by the sharks The deponent further saith, that, while they were
in the boat, they heard that a boy was to be put into the water to be destroyed
* Par. Papers, p. 131. t Par. Papers on Infan., 1828, pp. 31, 32.
; See Par. Papers, pp. 134, 135.
INFANTICIDE. 35
by the sharks; they waited there with an intention to save the boy; but he
was not put into the water while the boat was there. And the deponent is
informed, and believes, that as soon as they returned to the schooner the boy
was put into the water, and was devoured by the sharks.”
“The crime of destroying illegitimate children in the womb
is prevalent to a shocking degree in Bengal. In the family
of a single Koleen Brahmun, whose daughters never live with
their husbands, it is common for each daughter to destroy a
child in the womb annually; this crime is very prevalent
among widows, so numerous in this country. The pundit
who gave this information supposes 10,000 children are thus
murdered in the Province of Bengal every month !! (qu. every
year 2) Expressing my doubts of this extraordinary and
shocking circumstance, he appealed to the fact of many females
being tried for these offences in the courts of justice in every
Zillah in Bengal. He said that the fact was so notorious that
every child in the country knew of it; it had acquired an
appropriate name, petu phela ; and pet phelanee is a term of
abuse which one woman often gives to another. Many women
die after taking the drug intended to kill the unborn child.”f
The following extract of a letter, on the neglect of female
children in India, from the Rev. A. Sutton of Balasore in
Orissa, in Aug. 1828, shows that modern heathens, like those
of old, are “without natural affection.”
“The rains have commenced, and many deaths have occurred in conse-
quence; several have died on and close to our premises. One case of
peculiar distress came before me yesterday, which it may be interesting to
record. As I was going in the evening to a neighbouring village to preach,
I saw a Hindostanee woman with a child at the foot of a tree; on coming
up to her I found her much exhausted with the cholera, and nearly insensi-
ble. I of course gave her medicines, and begged, long in vain, of the hard-
hearted villagers for a little milk to give the child. To-day I visited her
twice, and she seems somewhat better, but there is little probability of her
recovery; for, though she has money, yet no one will supply her with
mecessaries, and she cannot help herself; perhaps indeed the circumstances
of her having a little money will induce them to behave worse to her. I
got a little milk to-day and fed the poor child, but it is painful work; any
heart but that of a Hindoo must have been moved to witness the eagerness
with which the half-famished infant devoured it; and, when she had drank
it, the imploring look of the little creature made me think of Moses and
Pharaoh’s daughter. I tried every argument I could command to induce
the villagers to take care of the child, and promised to pay any expense; but
mo, it was a female child and nobody cared for it ! I tried what I could do
with a fat wealthy Brahmun, and observed that the woman would die, and
them what would become of the child? but his gentle reply was, ‘Sahe
murrebo aou kee?—It must die, what else P-The poor woman and several
* Par. Papers, p. 136. f Ward’s View, vol. iii. p. 292. See also
Asi. Jour, Feb. 1827, p.269. Eclée Rev. 1828.
D 2
36 INFANTI ("I DE.
others have been carried off during the day: we have taken the half-famished
child under our protection. It is rather a pretty little girl, about ten months
old: the poor little thing seems determined to live; for she readily eats and
drinks any thing we give her. Our present views are, if she should live for
two or three years, to place her in an Asylum for orphan children of native
converts. It is more than probable, that many children are left as this little
girl was, and of course perish in the most miserable manner imaginable.”
Colonel Walker, in his letter to the Secretary of the Court
of Directors, in 1819, expresses his deep regret, relative to
the present state of Infanticide.
“It would be a very painful task for me to enter into a minute and critical
examination of those proceedings which have been held respecting Infanti-
cide since I left India; some remarks are unavoidably necessary on a subject
which cannot be viewed without emotion, and which, to a considerable
degree, must involve the character of our country. The policy and humanity
of our Government are irrecoverably blended with the success of the measures
for abolishing this revolting crime. After a careful perusal of the documents
with which I have been favoured, I have found it impossible to suppress the
conclusion, that the subject has either been forgotten for years together, or
that some uncontrollable circumstances had rendered our interference wtterly
impracticable. From whatever cause this has arisen,itisdeeply to be lamented,
and the consequences are far more formidable than even the immediate
effects. The immediate effects are the loss of so many thousand lives; but
the consequences are still more serious, as the enforcement of the engage-
ment must now be infinitely more difficult by the long neglect and disuse
of its provisions. -
“At the time I left India the subject was familiar to the Jahrejas; there
was an impression of interest upon their minds; a return had appeared of
parental affection, and, above all, there was the necessity of obeying a legal
enactment possessing their own solemn sanction, and for the enforcement of
which the British and Guicowar Governments were pledged. Instead of
this picture, the Jahrejas have now found that the engagement, which was
at first so reluctantly yielded, and strenuously urged, means almost nothing.
If they had imagined that there would be so little danger in its violation as
they evidently, at present, believe to be the case, I should have found much
less difficulty in obtaining their consent to discontinue the custom of destroy-
ing their daughters. The consequence at this moment operating in Catty-
war is the impression of weakness and vacillancy on the part of the British
Government, or that they are incapable of giving effect to their own
measures. I am aware that the truth cannot be stated in all its broadness
and honesty to the Company’s Government in India, as it might irritate
instead of conciliate; yet it should be stated, though with as much delicacy
as the nature of such truth will admit.” -
The demoralizing influence of this inhuman custom is
self-evident. J. Duncan, Esq., in his communication to
Government, Oct. 1789, speaking of the Rajkoomars and
other disorderly tribes on the Juanpore frontiers, says, “Zalim
Sing and Goordut, two of the principal of them, have lately
levied their forees with a design to fight each other on our
borders. I have been obliged to warn the commanding
* Par. Papers, pp. 121, 122.
INFANTICIDE. 37
officer at Jaunpore to be on his guard against their possible
inroads; and, although the appearance of peace between
these men has since increased, yet we must not relax in our
caution what may happen, for I cannot rely on their modera-
tion; and what can be expected of men inured as they are
by birth and education to the most atrocious deeds "* To the
same effect is the following extract from the Judge of the
Benares Court of Circuit to the Magistrate of the Zillah of
Juanpore, Feb., 1816.-‘The extreme prevalence of affrays,
so much beyond the other Zillahs that I have passed through,
seems to have existed for a long time; and although the ag-
gregate annual number may be at present somewhat diminished,
yet neither the propensities of the people, nor the facilities of
prevention, seem to be essentially meliorated. The savage
and quarrelsome spirit of the people in the Pergunnah of
Unglee appears to originate a large and constant proportion
of your business, as well as that of this Court. The jealous
and hasty pride, which induces them to become the murderers
of their own female offspring, has probably a considerable
effect in blunting their feelings against a sympathetic sense of
the pains they inflict upon one another on the smallest pretence
of right or offence, and to render the dread of public justice of
light or no collective influence.”t
A more recent communication from W. Cracroft, Fsq.,
Magistrate of Juanpore, May, 1819, expresses the same sen-
timents, equally applicable to every tribe or cast that practises
Infanticide or any other sanguinary custom :—“It may perhaps
not be advancing too much to say, that, the practice of
Infanticide is indirectly a very considerable cause of the in-
subordinate character and violent disposition of the Rajkoo-
mars. . It teaches them early to steel their hearts against the
natural affections, and renders them familiar with inhumanity;
the mere want of female companions and playmates, during
the earlier part of adolescence, must have a material effect in
preventing their manners and sentiments from being softened
or civilized. Female Infanticide must also be a great check to
population in a country which is far from having arrived at its
greatest extent of cultivation. Indeed, a considerable number
(I imagine as many as one-third) of the Rajkoomars are never
married. Considering the question either in a moral, poli-
tical, or religious point of view, it demands the most serious
attention of Government.”!
* Par. Papers, 1824, p. 6. tº p. 13, ; p. 15.
38 INFANTIC IDE,
CHAP. III.
Success of efforts, ancient and modern, for the suppression
of Human Sacrifices and Infanticide—Difficulties of the
entire abolition of Infanticide in India.
THE practice of human sacrifices, though so prevalent in
different countries and distant ages, is opposed to the dictates
of nature; and hence its partial abolition, by civilized states,
long before the Christian era. Probably the earliest account
of Infanticide is the destruction of the children of the Israelites
in the Nile, by Pharaoh, king of Egypt. The first efforts to
abolish it upon record, originated in the divine command
given by Moses to the Israelites, concerning the abominations
of the Canaanites (B.C. 1490 years).-‘Thou shalt say to the
children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel,
or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of
his seed unto Molech, he shall surely be put to death; the
people of the land shall stone him with stones. And I will
set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among
his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech,
to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name. And if
the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the
man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him
not; then will I set my face against that man, and against his
family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after
him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their
people.” Lev. xx. 2–5.
“The Carthaginians (says Rollin) retained the barbarous
custom of offering human sacrifices to their gods, till the ruin
of their city. An action which ought to be called, sacrilegium
verius quam sacrum. It was suspended for some years, from
the fear of drawing upon themselves the indignation and arms
of Darius I., king of Persia, who forbade them offering human
sacrifices, and eating the flesh of dogs. But this horrid
practice was soon resumed; since, in the reign of Xerxes,
successor of Darius (B.C. 484 years), Gelon, the tyrant of
Syracuse, having gained a considerable victory over the Car-
thaginians in Sicily, made the following conditions, among
other articles of peace granted them, that no more human
sacrifices should be offered to Saturn. During the engage-
ment, which lasted from morning till night, Hamilcar, their
general, was perpetually offering to the gods sacrifices of living
INFANTICIDE. 39
men, who were thrown on a flaming pile; but, seeing his
troops routed, he himself rushed into the pile, that he might
not survive his disgrace; and, says Ambrose, to extinguish,
with his own blood, this sacrilegious fire, when he found it
had not proved of service to him.” -
The Romans exerted themselves with success in this work
of justice and mercy. “It is a very remarkable fact, that the
Romans (though heathens themselves) abolished human
sacrifices in this country, at least a century and a half before
the introduction of Christianity among us. The Romans
conceived such an aversion to the Druids, the high-priests of
these abominations, whose inhumanities are minutely described
by Diodorus Siculus, (Lib. 5.) that, contrary to the ordinary
policy of that people, in their conquests, of invariably tolerat-
ing the religion of the country, they resolved upon an utter
extirpation of these priests and their cruelties. It appears
from Pliny (L. 30, c. 1.) that human sacrifices were first for-
bidden at Rome, by a decree of the Senate, A. U. C. 657, but
that, some persons still continuing them privately, the
Emperor Augustus renewed the prohibition with effect. The
Emperor Tiberius then suppressed them in Gaul, and Clau-
dius, as appears from Suetonius, (In Claud. c. 25.) extirpated
the Druids, as well as their sanguinary worship in that
country. These sacrifices existed in our own country, (as
appears from Pomponius Mela de situ orbis L. 3, c. 2.) until
about the sixtieth year of the Christian era, when the Roman
general Paulinus Suetonius, having reduced the Island of
Anglesea, overthrew the Druids and their inhuman rites so
completely, that they never afterwards revived; but all this
was considerably anterior to the introduction of Christianity
itself. And will it be endured that even our own heathen
conquerors shall have actually done more for us, than we
are willing to do for our Indian subjects Shall the mere
natural principle, “Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum
puto,” have exercised an influence on idolatrous and pagan
Rome And shall Britain, acting under far higher sanctions,
and obliged by a more powerful responsibility, refuse to
acknowledge the force of the same argument?”+
Christianity, as a system of Religion, and by the principles
it has infused into the government of every people, among
whom it has been established, has accomplished the annihi-
* Ancient History, Vol. i. p. 109.-Vol. iv. p. 75.
t Poynder's Speech on Human Sacrifices in India (Hatchard), p. 220.
40 IN ['ANTICIDE.
lation of every species of human sacrifice.* Read the article
of the learned Bryant, like the roll of the prophet, “written
within and without with mourning, and lamentation, and woe,”
and, taking the circuit of the western world, ask, Where are
these horrid rites? They are all, with almost every relic of
the idolatry connected with them,-
—“Bury’d 'midst the wreck of things that were.”
In various parts of India, by the progress of Christianity,
and the domination of the Mahomedans, the practice of human
sacrifices has become almost extinct. “Like the other temples
in the Deccan (says Dr. Buchanan), the revenues of the temple
of Ramiseram are wasting away. I saw no human bone in
the island. Christianity, in its worst shape, has civilized the
Deccan.t
“The law of Mahomed put a stop to the inhuman custom
which had long been practised by Pagan Arabs, of burying
their daughters alive. This wicked practice is condemned by
the Koran in several passages, one of which, as some com-
mentators judge, may also condemn another custom of the
Arabians, altogether as wicked, and as common among other
nations of old, viz., the sacrificing of their children to their
idols; as was frequently done, in particular, in satisfaction of
a vow they used to make, that, if they had a certain number
of sons born, they would offer one of them in sacrifice.”f
Colonel Walker adverts to the efforts of the Mahomedans
for the suppression of Infanticide in India, and shows the
facility with which the British power may prevent this unna-
tural custom. “The subject was not overlooked by the
former Government of India, to which the Company may now
be considered as having succeeded. The author of the
Acball Nameh relates that, in the route of the royal army from
Cashmere to Lahore, they came to a village, the inhabitants
of which had formerly been Hindoo, ‘where numbers of the
poor people upon having daughters born to them, that instant
secretly put an end to their existence.’ This fact coming to
the knowledge of the Emperor Jehanguire, he ordered, ‘ that
this barbarous practice should be discontinued ; and enacted
* “Bernal Diaz, one of the companions of Herman Cortez in his conquest
of Mexico, says, that even before they could consider themselves masters of
the country, they opposed themselves to the sanguinary abominations of their
religion, and speedily overthrew them.” Ori. Quar, Rev., Jan. 1830.
+ Life of Buchanan, Vol. ii. p. 49. .
† Par. Papers, pp. 58, 59. Sales Koran, Prelim. Dis.
INFANTICIDE. 41
that whoever should commit it in future, should be put to the
torture / From this it would appear that Infanticide
engaged the attention of the Mogul Government, and that it
made an attempt to suppress the practice. It would be
curious, as well as useful, to ascertain what has been the fate
of the measures which were adopted for this purpose two
hundred years ago. Have they been successful, or have they
failed? The moral negligence which succeeded the decline
of the Mogul Empire, and theimpracticability, in the disordered
state of the country, of enforcing a severe law, would be suffi-
cient to discourage our expectations that the termination has
been prosperous. Still it would be desirable to know the actual
result, to discover the extent of the impression, and whether
the attempt was only the effect of the feeling at the moment,
or pursued as a system. The eartensive power and dominion
which we now possess in India, may be made subservient to
this inquiry, and be directed to ascertain how far the prac-
tice of Infanticide prevails, in any of the countries under the
tnfluence or control of the British Government.”
Modern efforts for the abolition of this inhuman custom
have been various, and attended with some degree of success.
J. Duncan, Esq., in a letter to the Governor General in
Council, in 1789, states, “I have been lately through that
part of the country where the Rajkoomar tribe reside. I have
conversed with several of them, and have found, from their
own confessions, that the custom of female child-murder has
long been and still continues very prevalent among them. I
have prevailed on those situated within our frontier to agree
to renounce in future this horrid practice, to which effect they
have entered into the engagement which will be found in the
accompanying extract of my proceedings ; and, as there
remain a few names to be yet affixed to this covenant, it is
still circulating among the parties, and I shall hereafter men-
tion the number of the names of the subscribers; to increase
which, and further to promote the salutary object in view, I
have written concerning it to Lucknow. As this baneful
habit is not confined to the Rajkoomars alone, but extends to
the tribe called Raghevansa, who reside in our Pergunnah of
Mongra, and Talooka of Chandwack, and in other parts, I
have taken measures for their signing a separate similar
engagement, from which I have very sanguine hopes that this
system of Infanticide will be put a stop to, or at least greatly
lessened. - ^
*Par, Papers, 1824, p. 128.
42 IN FANTICIDE.
“The Rajkoomar renunciation of letting their daughters
perish has been received, and is subscribed by all those of
that tribe in this part of the country, including Zalem Sing,
and Goordut Sing, the latter of whom, is the only one of the
subscribers who disallows, by the words of his signature, of
having been guilty of this crime. I have sent a copy of
the original engagement to the Amil of Juanpore, with direc-
tions to him to see it enforced, and to apprehend, and send
into Benares, to take his trial, any Rajkoomar who shall be
guilty thereof hereafter; of all which I have apprized that
body of men. I have circulated a similar subscription in this
Pergunnah of Gurwarrah, on finding that its inhabitants, who
are all Doorgavansas, or descendants of one common ancestor,
called Doorg, are addicted more or less to the same practice
of destroying their female infants.” The following is
The form of agreement entered into by the Rajkoomars:–
“Whereas it hath become known to the Government of the Honourable
English East India Company, that we of the tribe of the Rajkoomars do
not suffer our female children to live: and whereas this is a great crime, as
mentioned in the Bretim Bywunt Pooran, where it is said, that killing even
a foetus is as criminal as killing a Brahmun; and that for killing a female
or woman, the punishment is to suffer in the nerk, or hill, called Kal Sooter,
for as many years as there are hairs on that female's body; and that, after-
wards, that person shall be born again, and successively become a leper,
and be afflicted with the zukhma: and whereas the British Government
in India, whose subjects we are, have an utter detestation of such murderous
practices, and we do ourselves acknowledge that, although customary among
us, it is highly sinful, we do therefore hereby agree not to commit an
longer such detestable acts; and any among us, who (which God forbid)
shall be hereafter guilty thereof, or shall not bring up and get our daughters
married, to the best of our abilities, among those of our caste, shall be
expelled from our tribe, and we shall neither eat nor keep society with such
person or persons, besides suffering hereafter the punishments denounced in
the above pooran and shaster. We have therefore entered into this agree-
ment; dated 17th of December, 1789.”f
Colonel Walker, in communication to the Governor of
Bombay, in Dec. 1809, specifies the Jahrejas of Cattywar
who had preserved their female children to the amount of
thirty-two, and suggested a distribution of 14,000 rupees in
presents, which was adopted. He observes, “During the
recent exhibition in Catty war, I was not unmindful of
inquiring into the success of the humane arrangements intro-
* Par. Papers, 1824, pp. 6, 7.
+ Par. Papers, 1824, p. 8. For the prevalence of just sentiments in the
British Courts of Justice, see the Regulat. of 1795 and 1799. Par. Papers,
1824, pp. 9–11,
INFANTICIDE. 43
duced under the influence of the Hon. Company's Govern-
ment, for the abolishment of female Infanticide among the
Jahreja Rajpoots; and I am happy to report that this reform
has completely taken root. I have the honour to enclose a
list of those Jahrejas who have preserved their female chil-
dren, which fell under my own direct observance. On my
halt at Dherole, I had all those in the immediate neighbour-
hood, who were capable of attending, brought to my tent, and
many were too young to be brought from any distance. It
was eactremely gratifying on this occasion to observe the
triumph of nature, and parental affection, over prejudice and
a horrid superstition ; and that those who, but a short period
before, would, as many of them had dome, have doomed their
£nfants to destruction without compunction, should now glory
&n their preservation, and doat on them with fondness 1”
From the Register of the Jahrejas in Catty war, June 1817,
it appears that the degree of success attending the efforts
to abolish Infanticide has been much less than might have
been anticipated. Captain Ballantine, in his laudable efforts
to abolish this inhuman custom, proposed some very effectual
plans, and presented to the Government a list of the families
of the Jahrejas with the number of infants saved from 1807 to
1817. He observes, “In conformity with the commands of
the Honourable Court, and those of the Governments in India,
communicated in your several despatches, my attention has
since been directed to attain the best possible data to be pro-
cured on the humane and interesting subject of the Infanticide
engagements contracted with the Jahrejas of the Peninsula,
by Colonel Walker, in his first circuit in Cattywar. In pre-
senting the accompanying complete Register of all the Jah-
Tejas known in Catty war, I have the satisfaction to think it will
be acceptable, as I believe it is the first paper of the kind that
has yet been obtained; and the more especially as it will form
the best data on which to watch, with better effect, the progress
of an Institution which appears to have excited uncommon
interest wherever its extraordinary history has reached. It
must be received as an indubitable testimony that sixty-three
Jemale offsprings saved, bear no proportion to the probable
population of the Jahrejas in the Peninsula, during the long
period of ten years. I much fear the object of our interference
for the suppression of this singular custom has too generally
failed, to select any individual party for the just vengeance of
Government and offended nature.”f º
* Par. Papers, pp. 78, 79. + Par. Papers, 1824, p. 108,
44
INFANTICIDE.
A Register of the Talookas, &c., of all the Jahrejas at the
present day in Catty war; together with the Age and
Number of their female Offspring saved, or now living,
since the introduction of the Infanticide arrangement by
Colonel Walker in 1807 and 1808.


TALOOKAS. |No.! AGE. TALOOKAS.
In Moorbee . 1 || 7 years. ||Kheyuryoo
Ditto . . . . | 1 || 4 do. Kurreedee.
Villages belonging to Kheesurroo.
the Moorbee. Gundol
Madepoor of do. Bhyaud
Surned of do. Loonewow
Lujyee. Ditto
Beeralloo. Looneywow . .
Motana. Hunmunteyalloo
Bhella Mota. Ribra.
Vowdey. Dhorajee .
Dyeesuroo. Ditto
Rajcote . . . . . | 1 || 4 do. Ditto
Villages belonging to Draffa.”
the Rajcote. 1 || 3 do. Noanuggur.
Rajcote of do. . | 1 || 1 do. Surodhur, of do .
Kotarie belonging to Bhungore, of do
the Rajcote 1 || 1 do. Momanoo, of do.
Gurridur, of do. . 1 || 4 months. Guvana, of do.
Ladhekoo, of Rajcote * Khurba, of do
Wourey. - Mokhanoo, of do
Weerrva. Paynehrura.
Paal. Khurida a
Ghutgoo. Ditto
Shapoora. Khumbooroo .
Purgunnah Mingvey. Ditto
Thora belonging to do. Ditto . .
Endoo do. Matta Moda .
Ambano do. Matta Moda .
Purgunmah of Rajpoor 1 || 4 months.|Bebide .
Hummuntjan00,0fdo. 1 || 2 do. Hunmunjoo.
Bhadwa, of do. Wunthulley
Kotedoo, of do. Khelsoo
Veerwal, of do. Choor .
Punch Tullow, of do. Megpoort
Purgunnah Veerpoo. 1 || 2 do. Chomdralloo .
No.
*
l
i
|
i
|
.
3 months.
5 years.
15 do.
2 do.
6 do.
2} do.
5 do.
5 do.
1 yr&6mo.
1 do—6do.
2
:
* “The Talook of Draffa, where, out of a reputed number of 400
families, there is not a single female child. This Talook, as if visited by
the just vengeance of Heaven, is at the last stage of poverty and distress.”
Par. Papers, p. 108.
+ In the Bhull Pergunnah, and her husband is unable to feed her,
therefore she returned to her father’s house. Such a case of poverty is truly
affecting, and will no doubt claim public attention. There are other in-
stances where the parties in distress appealed for support, and said they
would lay their daughters at the Sirkar's door for the purpose !!
INFANTICIDE. 45

TALOOKAS. |No. AGE. TALOOKAS. No. AGE.
Amundpoor. Vaurey . . 1 || 6 years.
Vessammoo 1 || 4 years. ||Chandley.
Salpeperyoo. Kurle Dhrole I 2 do.
Munueet . 1 2 do. Wumpurey. I 2 ys. 6mo.
Maroodo. Ditto 1 3 years.
Jonu 1 11 do. Sunuseera 1 10 do.
Ditto 1 || 8 do. Leyalloa I 14 do.
Ditto 1 || 6 months.|Rejeya. 1 9 do.
Joona . 1 || 2 years. ||Kheejeryoo 1 || 3 do.
Satoodur . 1 I do. Megpoor . 1 ! 3 do.
Ditto 1 || 1 y. 6 mo. Sooltanpoor 1 2 ys. 6mo.
Rajpoora . 1 || 1 year. ||Bhakherdo.
Vaurey 1 6 do. Bofueko.
Ditto I I do. Gutko.
Ditto 1 10 do. -
Ditto I 4 months. Total 63. Females”
Ditto 1 || 2 years. Tº saved.
Soosang 1 | I do. N. B. This list is inclusive of all the
Ditto 1 || 6 do. Jhamfa cast in the Peninsula.
Ditto 1 || 2 do. Bullumba, June 20, 1817.
The Par. Papers on Infanticide, July, 1828, contain tables
of infants preserved and stated to be alive belonging to the
tribe of Jahrejas, in Cutch and Wagur in 1823, to the number
of ninety-one. In 1824 was presented to Government, “A
Statement showing the number of Jahreja females born and
preserved in the Western Peninsula of Guzerat. The total
number shown consists of 266 females : sixty-three appear
to have been in existence June 1817; the remaining 203 have
been born and preserved since; forty-seven of the whole
number have died since their birth, twenty-five are married,
and 194 are unmarried.” H. Pottinger, Esq., Resident in
Cutch, forwarded to Government a list of the female Jahrejas
living in Cutch, Jan. 1, 1826, amounting to 143. These im-
portant data, while they show the measure of success attending
the efforts to abolish Infanticide, demonstrate the continuance
of the practice, and the necessity of more efficient means for
its entire abolition. -
The following extract of a treaty of alliance between the
Hon. East India Company and his Highness Maha Raja
Mirza Rao Shri Desserljee, Chief of Cutch, dated Oct. 1819,
is very interesting;-“The Hon. Company engages to exercise
no authority over the domestic concerns of the Rao, or of those
of any of the Jahreja chieftains of the country. That the Rao,
his heirs and successors, shall be absolute masters of their
... • * Par. Papers, p. 110, 111.
t Par. Papers, 1828, pp. 7, 8, 11–14, 23–25.
46 IN FANTICIDE.
territory, and that the civil and criminal jurisdiction of the
British Government shall not be introduced therein.
“His Highness the Rao, his heirs and successors, at the
particular instance of the Honourable Company, engage to
abolish in their own family the practice of Infanticide;
they also engage to join heartily with the Honourable Com-
pany, in abolishing the custom generally throughout the
Bhyaud of Cutch.
“Previously to the execution of the deed of guarantee in
favour of the Jahreja Bhyaud, according to the tenour of the
sixteenth article, a written engagement shall be entered into
by them to abstain from the practice of Infanticide; and
specifying that, in case any of them do practise it, the guilty
person shall submit to a punishment of any kind that may be
determined by the Honourable Company’s Government and
the Cutch Durbar.” -
In the abolition of Infanticide at Gunga Saugur humanity
and religion have obtained a noble triumph. The deposition,
p. 34, shows the nature and extent of the evil; after due in-
vestigation of the subject, a proclamation was issued by the
British Government, A. D. 1802, abolishing the practice.t
In Dec. 1821, the Secretary to the Committee of Management
of the Saugur Island Society reported to the Government,
that “the practice of immolating children had entirely
ceased.” The following account of a visit to this place by a
friend of the author's confirms the statement:—
“In the beginning of January, 1825, Mr. Williamson, with three of the
natives, Gorachund, Rotun, and Tamin, went to Gunga Saugur to be pre-
sent at the great annual assembly. It is well known that the character of
this assembly is greatly changed since the merciful and Christian measures
of the Marquis of Wellesley have been in force. But still it presents a
scene of the grossest superstition, and affords a favourable opportunity to
missionaries of sending far and wide the news of salvation. While walking
along the beach, they met a man with two little boys, and asked what he
meant to do with them at Saugur, whether he intended giving them to
Gunga? He replied, No, no, but he had made a vow before they were born,
that if Gunga would give him children, he would give their juta, (that is,
their matted hair,) to her as soon as they were able to accompany him " When
it was told him that all this was useless, he said it was agreeable to the
shastras and the advice he had received from the Brahmuns.”
The following account of the abolition of Infanticide in the
north of India, is highly interesting. It is contained in an
* Par. Papers, p. 115. For an agreement to abolish Infanticide entered
into by the Jahrejas of Santulpore, in March, 1827, and by the Jahrejas of
Charcut, June, 1827, see Par. Papers, 1828, pp. 29, 30.
# See this interesting document Par. Papers, 1824, p. 137, 138. “Im-
fanticide in India,” by the Author, p. 64.
INFANTICIDE. 47
extract of a letter from Capt. H. Hall, Superintendent of
Mhairwarra, to Sir C. Metcalfe, Baronet, Resident at Delhi,
in 1827 :—
“It is most satisfactory to be able to report the complete and voluntary
abolition of the two revolting customs, female Infanticide and the sale of the
women. Both crimes were closely connected, having had their origin in the
heavy expense attending marriage contracts. The sums were payable by
the male side, ever unalterable, equal to the rich and the poor. What first
established the payment is unknown, but it was so sacred, inviolable, and
even a partial deviation so disgraceful, that the most necessitous of the tribe
would not incur the imputation. Hence arose as decided a right over the
persons of women, as over cattle or other property. They were inherited
and disposed of accordingly, to the extent of even sons selling their own
mothers / Hence also arose Infanticide. The sums payable were beyond
the means of so many, that daughters necessarily remained on hand after
maturity, entailed disgrace, and thus imposed a necessity on all female
progeny of becoming victims to their family honour.
“On the establishment of British rule, both evils gradually diminished!
Females were not allowed to be transferred, except for conjugal purposes;
their consent was to be obtained, and their choice consulted; humane
treatment was enforced, and the whole system of considering them as mere
cattle was discouraged. Female Infanticide was at once prohibited. Though
many, no doubt, still fell secret sacrifices from the great facility of undetected
destruction, yet the danger, aided by improved feeling, increased the sur-
vivors so considerably as to force upon the Mhairs a due sense of the root of
the evil, and a general wish for its removal, by a reduction of the regulated
sum of contract; but they were averse, indeed declared their inability to
alter their long-established custom themselves, and earnestly entreated it
might be effected by an order of authority, binding all to obedience by heavy
penalties. After the lapse of a few months, allowed for consideration, the
whole was settled in public punchyte, and its resolutions were confirmed
without the slightest alteration, so that the proceeding originated with, and has
been carried through by, the inhabitants themselves; nor has there been a
single petition against it. They have lowered the sum payable on marriage
contracts, abolished all right of subsequent sale, and fixed a year's imprison-
ment, or 200 rupees’ fine, with exclusion from cast, as the punishment for
deviation. The arrangement is calculated to give entire satisfaction, leaving
nothing to be wished; and a more happy proof of general improvement
could scarcely be adduced, embracing, as it does, in its very extensive bear-
ings, the suppression of so much crime, immorality, and misery.”*
The late Bishop Heber, speaking of the Ramayuna festival
at Allahabad, mentions the following important fact:-‘‘There
was a hideous and accursed practice in ‘the good old times’
before the British police was established, at least if all which
the Mussulmans and English say is to be believed, which
shows the Hindoo superstition in all its horrors. The poor
children, who represented Ram, his brother, and Seeta, who
had been feasted, honoured, and made to contribute to the
pupular amusement, were, it is said, always poisoned in the
* Par. Papers, 1828, p. 37, 38.
48 INFANTICIDE.
sweetmeats given them the last day of the show, that it might
be said their spirits were absorbed into the deities whom they
had represented | Nothing of the sort can now be done. The
children, instead of being bought for the purpose, from a dis-
tance, by the priests, are the children of neighbours, whose
prior and subsequent history is known; and Ram and Seeta
now grow old like other boys and girls.”
In Ceylon, Infanticide has been abolished by the following
Proclamation of the British Government :-‘‘In the name of
his Majesty George the Fourth, of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, We,
the Honourable Major-General Sir Edward Barmes, Knight,
Commander of the Most Honourable Military Order of the
Bath, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander-in-chief in and
over the British settlements and territories in the Island of
Ceylon, with the dependencies thereof, do hereby proclaim,
in order that no one may pretend ignorance of the law—That
any person, whether being the parent or any other, who shall
kill any child of whatever age, within the Kandyan Provinces,
shall and will be equally punished with death as for the mur-
der of a grown-up person; and no plea will be admitted in
any extenuation of any barbarous usage or custom of this
description having prevailed, the same being wholly contrary
to the ancient laws of the kingdom of Kandy. Given at
Columbo, in the said Island of Ceylon, the twenty-fifth day
of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight
hundred and twenty-one.”f
In the Island of Owhyhee, or Hawaii, the recent triumph
of Christianity in the abolition of Infanticide and other in-
human customs presents a subject of the most grateful nature
for the contemplation of the friends of humanity and religion.
The difficulties attending the entire abolition of Infanticide
£n India are considerable. We have seen the efforts of the
Persians and Syracusans to destroy this cruel custom among
the Carthaginians, yet Rollin observes—“It appears from
Tertullian's Apology that this barbarous custom prevailed in
Africa, long after the ruin of Carthage. ‘Infantes penes
Africam Saturno immolabantur palam usque ad proconsulatum
Tiberii, qui eosdem sacerdotes in eisdem arboribus templi sui
obumbraticibus scelerum votivis crucibus exposuit, teste militia
patriae nostrae, quae id ipsum munus illi proconsuli functa est;’
* Journal, vol. i. p. 338. ºf Asiatic Journ. Sep. 1822.
: Ellis's Tour through Hawaii, pp. 287–305. See also his Polynesian
Researches.
INFANTICIDE. 49
—children were publicly sacrificed to Saturn, down to the
proconsulship of Tiberius, who hanged the sacrificing
priests themselves on the trees which shaded their temples,
as on so many crosses raised to expiate their crimes, of which
the militia of our country are witnesses, who were the actors
of this execution at the command of the Proconsul.”
The propensity of the Israelites to adopt the sanguinary
customs of the original inhabitants of Canaan is frequently
noticed in the sacred Scriptures. “Enflaming yourselves with
idols under every green tree; slaying the children in the
valleys under the clifts of the rocks.” Isa. lvii. 5.-In thy
skirts is found the blood of the poor innocents; I have not
found it by secret search, but upon all these.” Jer. ii. 34.—
“They have forsaken me and have estranged this place, and
have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they
nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and
have filled this place with the blood of innocents; they have
built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire
for burnt-offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor
spake, neither came it into my mind.” Jer. xix. 4, 5. So also
the prophet Ezekiel: “Thou hast taken thy sons and thy
daughters whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast
thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy
whoredoms a small matter, that thou hast slain my children,
and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for
them f° Ezek. xvi. 20, 21. This custom was found among
the people who were transplanted to the cities of Samaria by
the king of Assyria, and they continued the practice though
in a strange land:—“Every nation made gods of their own,
and put them in the houses of the high places which the
Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein
they dwelt. And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth,
and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath
made Ashima, and the Avites made Nibbaz and Tartak, and
the Sepharvites burnt their children in fire to Adrammelech and
Anammelech the gods of Sepharvaim.” 2 Kings xvii. 29–31.
The Par. Papers on Infanticide show that considerable
difficulties have been experienced in prosecuting the attempts
for the abolition of this custom in Hindostan; and it is
proper that these difficulties should be known, to chasten our
sanguine expectation of success, and to arm to fortitude and
perseverance. Lord Teignmouth, in a paper on the Customs
and Practices of the Hindoos, justly observes:—
* Tertul. Apol. c. 9, Rollin's Anc. Hist. b. i. p. 109.
E
50 INFANTICIIDE,
“A prohibition, enforced by the denunciation of the severest
temporal penalties, would have little efficacy in abolishing a
custom which existed in opposition to the feelings of humanity
and natural affection; and the sanction of that religion which
the Rajkoomars professed was appealed to in aid of the
ordinances of civil authority. Upon this principle, an en-
gagement, binding themselves to desist in future from the bar-
barous practice of causing the death of their female children,
was prepared, and circulated among the Rajkoomars for their
signature. As it was also discovered that the same custom
prevailed, though in a less degree, among a smaller tribe of
people, also within the province of Benares, called Rajebunses,
measures were adopted at the same time to make them sensi-
ble of its iniquity, and to procure from them a subscription
similar to that exacted from the Rajkoomars.”
“The practice,” says W. Cracroft, Esq., Magistrate of Juan-
pore, in 1819, “arises from the difficulty the Rajkoomars
experience in procuring husbands for their daughters. The
only tribes who will receive Rajkoomar females as wives are
the Bisen, and Soreej Buns, of Goruckpore, and the Gurwars
of Mirzapore, and the Boghel of Rewah; and these tribes,
from an idea of their superiority, will not admit a Rajkoomar
female, without receiving a very large dowry with her. They
intermarry among each other, and feel no want of the Rajkoo-
mar females to keep up their race. Until this obstacle can
be removed, or some other means devised for providing
husbands for the females of the Rajkoomar tribe, all efforts
must, in my opinion, fail of checking the practice. No doubt
can exist as to the propriety, indeed the necessity, of attempting
to restrain it in some manner; but it appears doubtful whether
severe punishment would have that effect. Hitherto no
magistrate has ever apprehended or committed any individual
on a charge of this kind; and I do not doubt that this has
been avoided by design; for the instances are too frequent to
admit the possibility of their evading proof, had a strict search
been often made for that purpose.”t
“I entered on this undertaking,” says Colonel Walker, “with
sanguine expectations of success, but which were for a long
time disappointed. I must own that the natives had formed
more just opinions on the subject, when they foretold the
difficulties that would attend the attempt; which few of them
thought could be overcome but by the Company making a
* Pat, Papers, 1824, p. 9. Asiatic Researches, vol. iv. p. 5.
+ Par. Papers, pp. 15, 16.
IN FANTIC IDE. 51
conquest of the country. I conceived that reason and feeling
would effect the relinquishment of a barbarous custom, uncon-
nected with the principles of society; and which all the
passions of the human mind, and all the forms and maxims
of religion, were combined to destroy. As it was evident
also, that the most disinterested humanity had led the Hon.
Company to interfere for the abolition of female Infanticide,
I conceived that this reflection, and the respect due to their
mediation, would have disposed the Jahrejas to comply with
a request, which it was scarcely to be supposed could be at
variance with their own sentiments. But sentiments of na-
ture and humanity have no influence with the Jahrejas ; and
I was soon, however reluctantly, obliged to relinquish the
favourable expectations I had formed of success. The diffi-
culties were many and formidable.”
The Governor of Bombay, in 1821, the Hon. M. Elphinstone,
expresses himself in the language of despondency, and unbe-
coming the very high ground obtained by engagements and
treaty with the abettors of this inhuman custom. “There is
one point of greatimportance, in which we are already entitled
to eacercise the right of general superintendence. This is in
checking the crime of female Infanticide, and in imposing the
fines authorized by Colonel Walker's agreements on those
who may be guilty of it. It is greatly to be regretted, that
the difficulty of detection should secure the perpetrators of
this crime so effectually from punishment, as to render the
article against it a dead letter / There has been no instance
of punishment for Infanticide since the agreements were con-
cluded; and this is so far from being owing to the diminution
of the crime, that, from the best information Major Ballantine
could obtain, it would appear, that not more than 100 females
born since the agreement are now in eacistence; and it is not
easy to say, how many of these might have been spared, if
the engagement had never been entered into. No effectual
check can be imposed on this atrocious practice so long as it
is so completely congenial to the general feeling of the peo-
ple; unless, by employing hired agents, as proposed by
Major Ballantine, whose duty it should be to detect offenders
of this description; and such a measure would lead to so
much intrusion into the most private and domestic proceedings
of the superior casts (among whom alone Infanticide prevails),
and would be open to so many abuses on the part of the in-
formers, that I do not think the chance of success would
* Par. Papers, p. 46, See p. 97.
E 2
52 IN FANTICIDE.
compensate for the disaffection which it would create. It
may also be doubted, how far we have a right to interfere to
such an extraordinary pitch with the private life of a people,
with whose civil government and internal police we do not
pretend to have any concern. We must therefore be content
to follow the footsteps of our predecessors (without attempting
to go beyond them) in their most meritorious endeavours to
discountenance this enormity; and we may safely flatter our-
selves, that, as the manners of the people become softened by
a continuance of tranquillity and good order, they will gradu-
ally discontinue a practice, which is not more inconsistent
with reason than repugnant to natural instinct.”
“The principal obstacles to be overcome,” says the Political
Agent in Catty war, in July, 1824, “in rendering the engage-
ments effectual, is the difficulty of detecting those concerned
in the perpetration of the crime; so long as the feelings and
interests of the people render them disinclined to afford aid
in discovering it, few are prompted to make it known by a
sense of humanity, or even of interest. Though all classes
are ready to admit the barbarity of the practice, still they
view it with so passive a spirit, that they feel indisposed to
encounter the odium or animosity that the consequences of a
disclosure might occasion. A constant intercourse with the
Jahrejas, during my annual circuit, has given me opportunities
of impressing upon their minds the interest taken by the
British Government in the suppression of this unnatural
practice, and the guilt attached to the commission of it by
the dictates of their own religion. I received continued as-
surances that they will discountenance it; but, from the dis-
proportionate number of females still eacisting, it is evident
that, although this horrible practice may be somewhat sub-
dued, it is still far from being relinquished.
“The minds and opinions of the tribe do not appear to
have undergone that change on the subject that will alone
overcome the existence of a custom so unnatural. The effects
of the penalties enjoined by the engagements entered into by
the Jahrejas would operate in deterring from the commission
of the crime, if the means of detection eacisted, or its discovery
was not opposed by difficulties that defeat the utmost vigilance.
Proving it is almost impracticable, unless some part of the
domestic establishment of a Jahreja betray him, a circum-
stance that can seldom be expected, as the domestic servants
are generally the old adherents and dependants of his family.”t
* Par. Papers, p. 116. +. Par. Papers, 1828, p. 10.
IN FANTICIDE. 53
These various statements will prepare the reader to peruse
with interest the concluding chapter of this book. The ancient
Law of God to the sons of Noah was, “At the hand of every
man's brother will I require the life of man.” If Infanticide
be not punished in this manner, is it to be doubted whether
or not, Britain should “make inquisition for blood?” How
long is this feeble, temporizing system to continue Are we
‘entitled to exercise the right of general superintendence,’
and shall we shrink from it, and thus be “partakers of other
men's sins º' Let our motto be, “Be just and fear not.’
CHAP. IV.
The necessity and propriety of adopting measures for the
entire and immediate abolition of Infanticide—decisive
steps requisite—objections answered—facilities enjoyed for
7ts abolition—concluding remarks. -
IT is grateful to the friends of humanity, and confers a lustre
on the British character, that effectual steps have been taken
to abolish some of the cruel customs of India. It is, however,
to be regretted, that what has commenced so well, has not
been carried forward, to the complete annihilation of every
practice opposed to thematural dictates of humanity. “Usages,”
observes Lord Teignmouth, “ originating in Hindoo super-
stition, and customs of immemorial prescription have been
discountenanced by the British Administration in Bengal;
while the laws of the Mahomedans, which derive their au-
thority from the Koran, have been modified, or, in effect,
altered, in various instances. The financial system, which
prevailed in Bengal when the East India Company undertook
the exercise of the Dewanny functions, was a system of unde-
fined exactions and arbitrary oppression, supported by the
most rigorous rules of practice; and the British are entitled
to the merit of having annihilated it. The corah or whip,
under the Mahomedan Government, was considered a neces-
sary appendage in the country courts, where the collections
were made; and the application of it was incessant and
severe. A practice adopted on the authority of these ancient
rules would be severely punished by the Administration, which
has wisely and humamely abolished them. Thus the former
54 IN FANTICIDE.
customs (particularly in the collection of the land revenue)
have undergone a total alteration, to the great benefit of the
community. Let it, however, be observed, that the Regula-
tions, which, by deviating from ancient rules, have contributed
so much to the happiness of the people, were in many in-
stances, at the time of their establishment, considered as
hazardous innovations, repugnant to the feelings and pre-
judices of the natives of the highest class.” 3.
Colonel Walker thus describes the steps so successfully
taken by him, for the abolition of Infanticide in Cattywar, in
1808:—
“I had been for several years in habits of friendly correspondence with
Jehajee, the chief of Moorbee, and he had continually expressed a strong
desire to cultivate the favour of the English Government. The artifices of
this chief and his wakeel, who resided in camp, amused me for some time
with promises which proved fallacious. I availed myself of the agency and
influence of Soonderjee Sewjee, after his arrival in camp, but with no better
success. At last Jehajee transmitted a paper, in which he offered to accede
to my wishes by preserving his daughters, provided I would reduce Mallia,
and restore the village of Kuralla, of which he had been deprived by the
Guicowar Government ' The possession of this paper I conceived of im-
portance, as it discovered the selfish and mercenary motives that attached the
Jahrejas to Infanticide. I preserved it as a testimony, which reflected on
their pretences of the inviolability of the practice as a custom of the cast,
and destroyed every argument which they had attempted to found on
principle. When Jehajee perceived the disadvantage which attended the
possession of this paper, he made several applications to induce me to restore
it, with which I did not comply. It was also evident that it would be very
difficult to awaken their natural feelings; and that, the same motives of
interest would have more influence in inducing them to relinquish the prac-
tice, than any arguments derived from humanity, morality, or religion. It
appeared likewise, from the communications of Jehajee and others, that the
reproach of being the first to renounce an ancient practice operated as a
considerable motive. The authority of this example could not be complete
unless it were set by a chief of acknowledged rank and superiority.
“The Rao of Cutch seemed to possess these qualifications from his family,
and extent of territory. I was induced, therefore, to select this chieftain;
but addressed myself principally to Futteh Mahomed, whose authority is
paramount in that country, and from whom, as a zealous Mahomedan, I
was led to expect the exertion of his influence for suppressing a crime
against mature and religion. The answer, however, of Futteh Mahomed
destroyed every hope of success from that quarter. This Jemader, who
rose from the humble station of a goatherd, and is extremely illiterate,
had the sentiments of his letter probably dictated to him, and by the hand
of his writer transmitted, in an inflated and ostentatious style, an elaborate
defence of the practice of Infanticide, such as could be expected to proceed
only from a bigoted Jahreja. In the meanwhile, every effort was continued
to prevail on the Moorbee chief to abandon Infanticide, which the long de-
* Considerations on communicating to the Natives of India the blessings
of Christianity. Hatchard, 1808, pp. 23–38,
INFANTICIDE 55
tention of the detachment in the vicinity of that city afforded. It was the
daily subject of letters, messages, and conferences.
“The ſºil, and tenderness congenial to the sex induced me to expect
the assistance of the women of Jehajee's family. The preservation of their
offspring appeared peculiarly their business. I conceived that my appeal
to wives and mothers, and to women who came from tribes who rejected
Infanticide, would be attended with every advantage. I was further led to
entertain great hopes of this plan, on account of the high character of the
mother of the chief of Moorbee for prudence, propriety of conduct, and a
benevolent disposition. As this lady possessed considerable influence over
her son, I expected that she would exert it in favour of a measure agreeable
to her own feelings. The embarrassed state of Jehajee's affairs, and the
countenance he stood in need of from me, for retrieving them, were circum-
stances which I conceived would occur to the discretion of his mother, and
urge her to obtain from her son a concession which might give the family a
claim to my support. My overtures to this lady, were, at first, received
with the feelings natural to her sex; and she seemed disposed, with the
rest of the women, who held several consultations together on the subject,
to unite their influence for the abolition of Infanticide. But these ebulli-
tions were of short duration; the Jahrejas were alarmed, and the women
contended for the ancient privilege of the cast: they were led away from
the path of nature by the influence of their husbands. The mother of the
chief of Moorbee requested that she might be excused soliciting her son on
this head, and referred me for further information to Jehajee.
“At this period my prospect of success was very obscure and distant.
Although these efforts, however, had failed of their effect, they were useful,
and paved the way for success, by turning the attention of the country to a
subject which had never before appeared to engage notice. By discussing
the subject frequently in the public Cutcherry, and exposing the enormity of
the practice, as contrary to the precepts of religion and the dictates of nature,
every cast came to express an abhorrence of Infanticide, and the inveterate
prejudices of the Jahrejas began to be shaken.
“But, whatever influence these circumstances might produce, as Jehajee
was the first chief whom I had addressed on the subject, it was of the
utmost importance to make some impression on him. I bent every exertion,
therefore, and tried various expedients, to reclaim this chief (who had already
destroyed two of his daughters,) from the practice of Infanticide. At last
I obtained from Jehajee a conditional writing to the following effect:—
“From motives of friendship, the Honourable Company have urged me to
preserve my daughters: to this I consent, if the chief of Nowanugger and
Gondul agree.” This was the first considerable step towards the attainment
of this great object, and the writing appeared to reduce the question to a
kind of point of honour, or respect for antiquity, in setting the example of
sanctioning an innovation on a general habit. From the character and
behaviour of Jam I could have no hopes that he would set this example;
but, as the family of Dewajee of Gondul had already preserved several of
their daughters, I was led to entertain the most favourable expectations
from the general disposition of this chief, and his reputation for humanity.
It may be proper to mention that Jehajee first proposed to insert the names
of the Rao of Cutch, and Jam of Nowanugger in his writing; but I posi-
tively refused to take the paper, unless it comprised Dewajee of Gondul.
The compliance of Jehajee with this request, it may be but fair to consider
as a favourable indication of his sentiments; and that he was secretly,
though not extremely, inclined to agree to the abolishing of Infanticide. It
may be presumed that he was acquainted with the disposition of Dewajee,
56 INFANTICIDE.
and of the general opinion that this chief, when pressed, would renounce the
practice of killing his daughters. From Dessajee of Mallia, I obtained a
similar writing to that received from the chief of Moorbee. I had conceived
great expectations from Dessajee, who had preserved a daughter, and had
by his wakeel afforded repeated assurance that he was ready to renounce In-
fanticide; but it is remarkable, that this chief used every evasion and delay
to avoid executing a formal deed in renunciation of the practice.
“The narrative must now accompany the operations of the detachment
which traversed the country of Jam, and arrived at Kundorera. I employed
this time, as often as opportunity permitted, in favour of the design for
abolishing Infanticide. Wassonjee Eswurjee, the wakeel of the Gondul
chief, residing in camp, was easily prevailed on to unite his influence with
mine, in order to prevail on his master to enter into a formal obligation for
abolishing Infanticide. During these events he had occasion to proceed to
Gondul on some revenue affairs, and before his departure he privately gave
me such assurance as I conceived might be confided in, that he would ob-
tain from Dewajee, authority, on his return, to enter into any engagements
which might be required for preserving the daughters of the Jahrejas
residing in that part of the country. The mission of Wassonjee Eswurjee
was entirely successful; and on his return to camp, after expressing the
reluctance of his master to set an example which might bring on him the
reproach of his cast, a deed of the most solemn, effectual, and binding nature
was eacecuted, renouncing for ever the practice of Infanticide.
“The following is a translation of this instrument.
“Whereas the Honourable English Company, and Amund Row
Guicowar, Sema Khaskel Shamsher Bahadur, having set forth to us the
dictates of the shastras, and the true faith of the Hindoos, as well as that the
Brimhaway Wurtuch Pooran declares the killing of children to be a heinous
sin, it being written, that it is as great an offence to kill an embryo as a
Brahmun, that to kill one woman is as great a sin as killing 100 Brahmuns;
that to put one child to death is as great a transgression against the divine
laws as to kill 100 women; and that the perpetrators of this sin shall be
damned to the hell Kule Sootheeta, where he shall be infested with as many
maggots as he may have hairs on his body; be born again a leper, and de-
bilitated in all his members; We, Jahreja Dewajee, and Coer Nuthoo,
Zemindars of Gondul (the custom of female Infanticide having long pre-
vailed in our cast), do hereby agree for ourselves and our offspring, as also
we bind ourselves in behalf of our relations and their offspring for ever, for
the sake of our own prosperity, and for the credit of the Hindoo faith, that
we shall from this day renounce this practice, and, in doubt of this, that we
acknowledge ourselves offenders against the Sirears. Moreover, should any
one in future commit this offence we shall expel him from our cast, and
he shall be punished according to the pleasure of the two Governments, and
the rule of the shastras.” -
“The above writing is duly executed. With the exception of Jam, ever,
Jahreja chief readily, and without offering a single objection, subscribed to a
counterpart of this instrument.”
In the Bengal Presidency, the proceedings of Government
were considered sufficiently decisive to suppress this unnatural
custom. The Sup. of Police addresses the Chief Secretary of
Government, in 1818,-‘‘Sec. 11, Reg. III. 1804, already
* Par. Papers, 1824, pp. 46–49.
INFANTICIDE. 57
provides for the punishment of Infanticide, and it is clearly
inexpedient that the Legislature should interfere in any other
manner; the practice being declared a crime, it is the duty
of the Magistrate to do his utmost to convict those who still
persist in it.” The prevalence of this custom in the Bengal
Presidency, under such circumstances, is a source of deep re-
gret, and demonstrates the necessity of very efficient measures
for its suppression; while it shews the defective moral influ-
ence of heathenism, in restraining from the perpetration of
the most unnatural crimes.
More efficient plans than those in operation, have been
proposed for the abolition of Infanticide in India. “His
Lordship in council regrets to observe, (says the Secretary to
the Bengal Government, in 1816,) from the remarks contained
in your Report, which are, in fact, confirmed by information
received from your official sources, that the measures adopted
by Mr. Duncan, when President at Benares, and the
provisions of Reg. XXI. 1795, and Sec. 11, Reg. III. 1804,
have failed to prevent the inhuman practice which eacists
among the Rajkoomars, and some other tribes of Rajpoots,
of destroying their female infants; and that, although a
greater degree of precaution is now observed to prevent
detection, there is too much reason to fear, that the crime itself
has not in any degree diminished / The attention of the
Nizamut Adawlut will be directed to the subject of the
paragraph above specified, and they will be desired, after
obtaining what further information the local authorities may
be able to furnish, to offer such suggestions, as may appear
to them calculated, for the more effectual prevention of this
dreadful crime, and for the detection and punishment of those
who may be guilty of it.”f
“The increasing interest (says Captain Ballantine, in July
1816,) with which the entire abolition [of Infanticide] is viewed
by the British Government, and the community in general,
suggests to me the propriety of offering for your consideration,
and the sanction of the Right Honourable the Governor in
Council, more efficient means of prosecuting, under our own
immediate supervision, every possible channel by which to
detect any deviation from these solemn engagements. I have
not relaxed on any occasion, to impress on the minds of the
Guicowar officers, the common interest with which the entire
abolition of the practice is considered. I have therefore to
solicit permission, to entertain such an establishment as may
* Par. Papers, 1824, p. 16, t pp. 14. 70.
58 IN FANTIC II) E.
be considered equal to the full accomplishment of this inter-
esting and humane object. It is known to you, that in the
detection of any case of delinquency, as in those enumerated
by Colonel Walker, a fine proportioned to the case, and the
ability of the parties, is imposed; nor may it seem, I would
respectfully observe, objectionable that the public expense on
this account should be reimbursed from the same source.
The means for detection must of course be, by clandestine
intercourse with the parties and surrounding inhabitants, and
to which end persons so deputed must remain for some time
on the spot. Guzurattee mehtas, or writers, are the proper
persons to be employed on this duty; they were employed
by the native Government in these duties, and the present
number to be selected for this important duty should not be
less than five at fifty rupees per mensem.”*
The Resident at Baroda, in 1816, J. R. Carnac, Esq.,
approved of the propriety of these suggestions:—“The Jah-
rejas, though proud, are, like the other natives of India, very
avaricious. The object which could not be gained by speaking
to their feelings, might be effected by working on their dis-
position. The reward of a hundred rupees, to him who
could satisfactorily establish in another the perpetration of
Infanticide, might bring to light numerous circumstances of
which we now remain in ignorance. Nor would the expense
of such remunerations fall on either the Native or British
Governments. By the bond to which the Jahrejas have sub-
scribed they have rendered themselves liable to punishment
at the will of the Sircar; and it could not be considered a
severe punishment, to insist on the payment of a fine which
would more than defray the charges attendant on receiving
the information of their guilt. It may not be deemed irrele-
want to furnish Government with what I conceive an adequate
scale of rewards and punishments; an informer against the
Jam should receive 1000 rupees; against the inferior Rajahs
500; against their near relations 250; and against a poor
Jahreja 100. The Jam, if proved guilty, should be fined
30,000 rupees; an inferior Rajah 10,000; their near relations
2500, and a poor Jahreja as much as he could pay without
ruin. The difficulty, of inducing any one to come forward
against so powerful a man as the Jam, renders it necessary
that his reward should be liberal; and, for the sake of example,
it is desirable that a person in his high station should be de-
tected and severely punished. We can never expect the
* Par, Papers, p. 98.
INFANTICIDE. 59
practice of Infanticide to be fairly laid aside, till the principal
Jahrejas are either induced or forced to set the eacample.”
The measures here proposed are desirable and necessary.
The Hon. Court of Directors observe in a letter to the
Governor of Bombay, March, 1816, referring to an inquiry of
the Resident at Baroda, to ascertain and report whether the
practice had been discontinued wholly or in part in Cutch,
and whether it had entirely ceased within the province of
Cattywar:-“Most sincerely do we wish that that report may
prove satisfactory; and we must again enjoin you, in the
most serious and earnest manner, to be unremitting in your
endeavours to accomplish this humane object in the countries
where the British influence can be felt or eacerted.”f
Colonel Walker, on returning from India, still deeply
interested in the success of his humane efforts to abolish In-
fanticide, addressed the Hon. Court of Directors, in 1819,
to the following effect:—
“In offering my opinion upon the means of suppressing female Infanticide
in the West of India, I must first observe, that this object should be accom-
plished without violating the feelings of the natives, and without having
recourse to actual coercion. I must also beg to refer to my own proceedings,
which succeeded in obtaining the consent of the people to relinquish this
barbarous practice. It was accomplished with great difficulty, but it was
so far a spontaneous act that it was solely effected by persuasion. It is
under this influence alone that the measure can ultimately be expected to
prove successful; but, from the peculiar habits of the people of this part of
India, the practice of destroying the children cannot be overcome by the
mere dictates of natural affection. When this tie was once abandoned, it
would be long before it could be again recovered; and it would be necessary
that they should be continually watched, and urged to the performance of
a duty, which is seldom neglected even by the brutes! It was foreseen that
the mere engagement which these people had contracted for discontinuing
Infanticide, however solemn, would not be sufficient, unless they were
looked after with vigilance, and frequently encouraged; and unless those
instances, in which they infringed their own voluntary engagement, were
detected and punished. This mode of punishment was provided by their
agreement.
“It was under the influence of a similar train of reflection, that I sug-
gested to the Government, when I quitted India, to exact an annual report
of the progress of Infanticide, and that it should be the object of continual
care and solicitude. Before I retired from the service, I had the satisfaction
to see that the principles for its abolition had made no slight impression on
the minds of the people, and in a short period they saved a considerable
number of infants. But, from the report which has now been received from
India, it would appear that the whole number, saved in the course of TEN
years, is little more than sixty! and perhaps not a third more than were
º by their parents to me in Cattywar, with feelings of affection and
delight.
* Par, Papers, p. 103. See p. 114, and Par, Papers, 1828, p. 15.
t Par. Papers, pp. 94. 99.
60 INIFANTICIDE.
“The first circumstance which requires attention is, to see the people often,
and, by frequent intercourse, to inspire them with sentiments favourable to
humanity. It is scarcely to be expected, that the Jahrejas will seek our
Society with greater encouragement than it is the habit of our countrymen,
generally speaking, to afford to the natives of India; and we must therefore
visit them in their villages. They must be sought out in their recesses,
invited to attend the public Cutcherries, and the subject brought as often
as possible under public discussion. In these situations opportunities would
frequently arise of enforcing the heinous nature of the offence, of calmly
discussing its tendency, of exposing its crime, and of contrasting the
abominable practice with the contrary usage of the rest of mankind. In
every attempt to arrest this crime, the Brahmuns, and the precepts of the
Hindoo religion, would be a powerful aid. That religion is directly opposed
to the practice, and I always found the Brahmuns most willing coadjutors in
this cause of humanity.
“The people would not withstand any systematic exertion which might be
directed to its overthrow. Did it not yield to an attempt which was made
in a doubtful situation, amidst a multitude of other occupations, and which
was not pursued for a long time? The same facilities, and greater, now
exist to ensure success. The Guicowar authority may be disposed more
readily to co-operate with us, our own is better established, and we possess
an actual share in the government of the country. The Collector of the
newly-acquired revenue in Catty war would be an essential agent in this
humane work. By means of the police, which is under his control, and by
the frequent intercourse which his office obliges him to hold with the natives,
he would have opportunities of communication, superior, perhaps, to any
other person. Let the collector, the agent in Cattywar, the agent in Cutch,
and the Guicowar authorities, heartily, and in concert, eacert themselves, and
they would be irresistible. But I would not rest the success of this inter-
esting measure on vigilance alone, and the active use of even all the agents
in our power. I would employ other stimuli, and not neglect those that
may be calculated to produce an effect on the grosser passions of those who
persevere in the practice of Infanticide. I would not encourage the idea of
an expensive agency, nor the direct and professed employment of spies,
which are more likely to defeat than to promote the object; but there are,
surely, means of ascertaining the result of a birth in a family without either
offending its delicacy, or requiring much expense. The fact of a pregnancy
is always public, and the report of the neighbours would often be sufficient evi-
dence. A few detections would arrest the practice. If the intercourse were as
frequent as I have recommended, manythings would be casually learnt, and
little indeed could be concealed. In the course of this intercourse many acts
of friendship, of courtesy and attention, could be conferred on the Jahrejas,
which would be attended with little expense, but which they would highly
value; they are both greedy and necessitous. The present of an inferior
turban, of a deputta, of a snuff-box, of a pair of spectacles, or any other
trifling article, would be prized by them as a mark of honour, and as a
great acquisition. These little favours would be the means of bringing them
together, of inducing them to come into our society, and finally of reconciling
them to our views. It is by association and constant attention that they are
to be reclaimed. The character and government of our country must suffer
materially, should those people be allowed to resume a practice, which they
had abandoned with all the formality of a regular and solemn compact.
May it not be said, that we are more indifferent to the cause of humanity,
than in ea acting a rigid compliance with the terms of a treaty which involved
a paltry revenue, or some insignificant district P We may by kindness and
INFANTICIDE. 61
patience bring them back to the path of their duty. The voice of nature,
and the influence of the women, will unite in assisting us; and in this struggle
against a deplorable practice, we shall finally prevail, while our motives
must be applauded, and cannot be mistaken. Were the power of Govern-
ment never applied, but in cases so obviously beneficial and disinterested,
the rudest minds would bless them; and the feelings of men, as well as
their reason, would render them both agreeable and irresistible.”
To the adoption of the plans proposed to suppress Infanti-
cide, several objections have been made; these relate to
eapense—marrying the females saved—employing officers for
detection—and the plans being opposed to the wishes of the
people. “The Governor in Council,” it is said, “does not
approve of Captain Carnac's entertaining an establishment
for the purpose of suppressing female Infanticide, which, even
admitting its formation to be essential to effecting that desirable
object, we are not at liberty to sanction without the authority
of the Honourable Court; nor does it appear advisable to
adopt the other proposition, of defraying the ea pense of the
marriage of the children of a Jahreja.”t
To marrying those saved, the Governor in Council objects
by saying, “Captain Carnac must be informed, that if the
Honourable Court should undertake to defray the expense of
the nuptials of the female children of one of the Jahrejas, the
rest of the fraternity would expect the same consideration, to
which they would be equally entitled with the Rajah of
Moorbee : the introduction of such a practice, independently
of the great expense attending it, would also be liable to be
abused. The Governor in Council is desirous, however, to
be informed what would be the probable amount of the ex-
pense attending the marriage of a female of this class, in
case the Honourable Court should view the subject in a
different light, and should authorize incurring it on the
present, or on any future occasion.”f -
Respecting the officers for detection, the Resident at
Baroda, Sep. 1816, states:–“In 1812, during my employ-
ment in the negociations at Nowanugger, Witul Rao, Dewanjee,
in the hopes of satisfying my inquiries, established several
mehtas in the principal Jahreja towns, with instructions to
communicate the birth, preservation, or murder of female
children, as soon as they received information of such
occurrences; but the jealousy with which these men were
regarded rendered their exertions almost abortive; and, while
no Jahreja would himself communicate the condition of his
wife, they found it in vain to ask for information from his
* Par. Papers, pp. 119–121. t pp. 98, 107, i pp. 99, l06.
62 INFANTICIDE.
neighbours. The duties of these mehtas were of that un-
questionable mature that gives general dislike, and were likely
to produce a feeling of opposition that would defeat all their
inquiries. It was to the establishment of these men that
Captain Ballantine alluded. They were withdrawn when the
Paishwa resumed his rights in Guzerat, for the reasons stated
in Captain Ballantine’s letter. That gentleman probably
supposes that, though such officers could gain little infor-
mation, their presence operated as a check, and made the fear
of discovery tend to the abolition of female Infanticide; and
it seems reasonable to think that it should have this effect.
No better plan having yet been devised, Captain Ballantine
has done his duty, in recommending to the adoption of
Government, that which seemed to him the best fitted for the
object in view.”
Objections to this judicious method of detecting the crime
of Infanticide are urged by the Governor of Bombay, as late
as Oct. 1827. “From Lieutenant-Colonel Miles's despatch,
and the renewed agreements concluded with the several
Jahreja Chiefs, subject to the British government, your Hon.
Court will learn with satisfaction, that although this barbarous
practice has not, it is to be feared, altogether ceased, yet its
frequency has greatly diminished. Lieutenant-Colonel Miles's
exertions are very praiseworthy, and we have expressed our
entire satisfaction with his humane intentions in checking
Infanticide; at the same time we have apprized that officer,
that the measure he purposes adopting, of keeping carcoons
to watch over births, was thought objectionable in Cattywar,
as leading to an intrusion into domestic privacy very foreign
to Indian notions. The chiefs of Chorin, with whom agree-
ments have been concluded, are differently situated, and the
measure may be less obnoxious among them ; in which case,
it would be a desirable experiment; but we have recom-
mended, that the greatest caution should be observed in its
adoption, and to ascertain its probable effects by previous
inquiry.”t
As it respects the adoption of these plans being opposed to
the wishes of the people, it is remarked by the Governor in
Council, in 1817, “Your Hon. Court will perceive, that
since we had the honour of addressing you on the subject of
female Infanticide, in our letter of Aug. 1816, we have been
unable to adopt any effectual means of extinguishing that
inhuman practice; and we are obliged to add, that the pro-
* Par. Papers, pp. 102, 106. + Par. Papers, 1828, pp. 5, 6.
INFANTICIDE. 63
positions submitted to us for our consideration, with a view
of discovering how far the Jahreja chieftains adhered to their
engagements, have been abandoned, under the persuasion that
they would prove eartremely offensive to their feelings.”
The necessity and utility of these plans are ably advocated
from the eacceptions made against them. “The very alarm
(says the Resident at Baroda, Sep. 1816,) which the promul-
gation of the plan of rewarding informers would excite, might
greatly tend to occasion the preservation of many female
infants. Aware that no feelings of kindness, religion, or
general interest for the cast, could induce the poor Jahreja
to resist the temptation of a reward, every man would be
afraid of his neighbour and his domestic; while there must
be many, not of the Jahreja tribe, who are informed of the
state of their families, and who can therefore gratify their
avarice with less dread of censure. The advantages of this
plan, however, are opposed by disadvantages; and these
would grow into an evil of some magnitude to the whole
body of the Jahrejas, unless provided against at the first
outset. The hopes of reward might induce many to bring
forward false accusations, and also such as might have an
appearance of validity, without being grounded on fact. The
informer should therefore be bound to give proof for the
specific information which he brings, under pain of being
severely punished, if his information should prove false. The
only accounts which it seems probable an informer could
bring, appear to be that he knew of the pregnancy of a
certain Rajpootanee, and that the event was never published
to the community. Should the issue have been a female
child, and it had died, it would require some discrimination
on the part of the person investigating, to determine whether
the child might not have been still-born, or died shortly after
its birth. In either of the last mentioned cases the informer
should receive no more than a third of the reward. But if it
should so appear that the Jahreja's wife, against whom the
accusation was preferred, had not been pregnant or had
suffered an early abortion of her offspring, the accuser should
be punished rigorously, or otherwise, according to the circum-
stances of the case. The evils of goindas in respect to the
Jahrejas cannot, I presume, be felt in any degree to the same
extent as they are in Bengal. The information which they
are required to yield admits of circumstantial proof, and is
not like that concerning robberies and murders, frequently
* Par. Papers, p. 106.
64 INFANTICIDE.
dependent on presumptive proof, and it is consequently not
likely to be given but where there exists, or have existed,
some undeniable, and in some measure, public grounds for
its being true. .
“I propose this plan with much deference to the wisdom
of the Right Hon. the Governor in Council, sensible that it
may appear better in theory than it may prove to be good in
practice; but, I am at the same time hopeful that it may be
better than no plan at all, in rendering the eavertions of my
predecessor a permanent benefit to the country. But Govern-
ment must be aware, that my success is entirely dependent
on subordinate agents, nearly as far removed from me, as I
myself am from the seat of Government; k and that, whatever
interest I may take in the subject, my individual exertions
can be of no further use than in stimulating them to a zealous
attention. I have every reason to believe, that meither Cap-
tain Ballantine nor the Dewanjee has been less active than
the most humane man could wish, but the means in their
power were not fitted to enable them to command success /
“The expense of marrying the daughters of the chiefs of
Catty war would probably be as follows;–the marriage of the
Jam would amount to 30 or 35,000 rupees; that of the
daughter of a minor Rajah, such as the Rajah of Moorbee,
Goondul, and Rajcote, to 15 or 16,000; the daughter of one
of the near relations of the Rajah would require from 5 to
7,000 rupees, and that of a poor Jahreja's daughter from
1,000 to 1,500 rupees. It would evidently be enormously
expensive for any Government to defray the charges of marry-
ing even only one daughter in each family, and it might be
impolitic to marry that of one person, and not of another.
The Moorbee Rajah, however, might be made an exception,
since it was he, who first saved his daughter; and it was
by his means, that Colonel Walker laid the foundation
of the superstructure he afterwards raised. I conceive the
Guicowar Government would willingly share with the British
Government, the expense and the honour of presenting a
dowry, to the first female child saved from the barbarity of an
unfeeling parent.”f
* “Subsequently to Col. Walker's departure, the public service rendered
it expedient that the Resident at Baroda should remain at his station;
which was 200 miles from the province where the practice of Infanticide
prevailed.”—Debate on Suttees, in a general Court of Proprietors, March,
1827. Asi. Jour., May, 1827.-Auth.
+ Par. Papers, pp. 103, 104. “Many virtuous and humane princes,”
says Colonel Todd, “have endeavoured to check or mitigate an evil, in the
INFANTICIDE. 65
Captain Ballantine observes upon the same subject, “I
venture to repeat, the means I recommended were desirable
and eligible in many points of view; and, in my humble ap-
prehension, calculated to obtain us actual instances of individual
criminality, and no doubt to have followed up with greater
effect the prohibitory nature of the solemn compacts the
Jahrejas entered into with us, to discontinue the systematic
murder of their female offsprings. In regretting the cause of
the apprehension submitted in the preceding paragraph, it is
only necessary to recal to the recollection of Government,
that we have hitherto, and have still, to depend on the native
governments and authorities for the only information to be
obtained, or essential attention to the enforcement of the
stipulations of our engagements.
“From the voluminous papers before me, the British
Government seems to desire the abolition of this singular
custom with equal interest and solicitude; and that probably,
through its wisdom and recommendation, the Honourable
Court will eventually sanction the adoption of measures better
calculated to root out the evil. For might not the expense
and responsibility, and our active supervision, with deference
I submit, be with strict policy and justice made chargeable
to the Government, who alone derive any pecuniary or real ad-
vantage from the country, and, who of course should be equally
interested in the first dictates of humanity, and in the anni-
hilation of customs offensive to all religions, and degrading to
human nature in general?”* - -
“I beg respectfully to remark,” says J. R. Carnac, Esq.,
Resident at Baroda, in 1817, to the chief Secretary of the
Bombay government, “that in no suggestions for the main-
tenance.of an establishment for the discovery of those Jah-
rejas who have immolated their female offspring, am I sensible
eradication of which every parental feeling would co-operate—Sumptuary
edicts can alone control it. The plan proposed, and, in some degree,
followed, by the great Jey Sing, of Amber, might, with caution, be pursued,
and with great probability of success. He submitted to the prince of every
Rajpoot state, a decree, which regulated the daejar, or dower, and other
marriage expenditure, with reference to the property of the vassal, limiting
it to one year's income of his estate. This plan was, however, frustrated by
the vamity of Chondawut, of Saloombra, who expended, on the marriage of
his daughter, a sum even greater than his sovereign could have afforded,
Were bonds taken from all the feudal chiefs, and a penal clause inserted,
of forfeiture of their fief, by all who exceed a fixed impartial expenditure,
the axe would be laid to the root; the evil would be checked, and the heart
of many a mother (and we may add, father) be gladdened by preserving at
once the point of honour and their child.” Asi, Jour., Oct. 1830, p. 167.
4. * Par. Papers, pp. 108, 109.
F
66 - INFANTICIDE.
of having recommended additional emoluments to my assistant,
or in the most distant shape to combine the important objects
of humanity with any personal advantages. My desire has
always been the adoption of some effectual plan, hitherto
entirely unheeded, to give effect to the humane exertions of
my predecessor, in the conviction, of the utter impossibility of
preventing female Infanticide, where the means are confined
to the personal influence merely of my assistant in Cattywar.
“The disappointment which has been earperienced can be
traced eacclusively to THE WANT OF A SYSTEM, by which
the detection of the guilty could be ensured, and not to any
&ndifference on the part of the local officers to the enforce-
ment of the engagements contracted by the Jahrejas. I have
had the honour on several occasions of bringing the subject in
the most urgent manner to the attention of Government, and
in submitting recommendations on the means for an effectual
abolition of Infanticide, have implored Government to devise
any plan which in its wisdom might be efficacious. While
my suggestions have been deemed objectionable, no other
plan has been prescribed, and doubtless, the want of it is
frequently affording the most melancholy evidence, of an
evasion of the earcellent engagements contracted by the in-
fluence of Lieutenant Colonel Walker.”
The Governor of Bombay addressed the Honourable Court
of Directors, in 1827, in the following manner, which indi-
cates a pleasing attention to the subject of Infanticide:—“The
Chief of Rajcote applied to us for our guarantee to a mortgage
of four villages, to enable him to raise a sum of money to
defray the expenses of his marriage. The late Chief of Raj-
cote was one of the first who attended to Lieutenant Colonel
Walker, in his settlement of Catty war, and acceded to the
wishes of that officer, in his humane endeavour to abolish
Infanticide, and the marriage of his daughter (himself a Jah-
reja) had involved the family, which had led to the mortgage
of the farm of his talooka. It appeared to us, however, that
instead of sanctioning this mortgage, (which we were never-
theless disposed to do,) under the peculiar circumstances of
this chieftain's case, it would be more expedient to mark the
high sense which we entertained of the conduct of this family
in renouncing Infanticide, to make the Takore a donation
from the fund established for this purpose. A donation of the
sum of rupees, 12,000, was accordingly made to him, to
enable him to bear the expense of the marriage.” The
* Par Papers, pp. 112, 113. + Par. Papers, 1828, p. 6.
INFANTICIDE. 67
beneficial-effects of such measures are self-evident, and yet
alone they appear inadequate to the suppression of this un-
natural crime.
The facilities which Britain possesses for abolishing this
rite are very considerable. The whole civilized world naturally
looks to her to do her duty in India, and suppress every sangui-
nary practice subversive of the principles of natural and
revealed Religion. -
“The influence,” says the Hon. Governor of Bombay, in
1817, “which the cession of the Paishwa's tribute from Cat-
tywar will afford to the British Government over that part of
Guzerat, will, we trust, enable us to secure a more rigid
adherence to the engagements of the Jahrejas; and the
Resident at Baroda has been directed to depute Captain
Ballantine to inform them, of our determination to enforce the
penalties, whenever a breach of their engagements can be es-
tablished; and to withhold our countenance from those who
shall continue to follow this inhuman custom.”* In a letter
to the Court of Directors, in 1820, it is said, “Your Hon-
ourable Court will learn with satisfaction, that, by the 17th
Article of the treaty with Cutch, the practice of female
Infanticide has been formally renounced in that Province.”f
The Guicowar Government, in 1825, expressed its full
approbation of Colonel Walker's suggestion, that, “The sums
levied and fines from disturbers of the peace and other
offenders should, through the clemency of Government, be
distributed in such sums as were suitable to the station in life
of the parties concerned; to defray the marriage expenses of
females who should be preserved.” To which it was replied
by the Cutch Government, “The case under consideration is
one of charity and will procure the blessings of Heaven on
both Governments; therefore, whatever sums have been
realized as fines on offenders since Captain Barnewell was
placed in charge of the Districts, or any extra revenue beyond
the tribute, as fixed for perpetuity by Colonel Walker, may be
appropriated as above specified: the disposal being year by
year duly communicated to us, and the arrangement is highly
satisfactory to this Government.” In Jan. 1826 the Resident
in Cutch reported 143 female children being alive, and
observes, “I have made an arrangement, in concert with the
other members of the regency, for the birth of every child
(male or female) that occurs in a Jahréja family being reported
to the Durbar; and as all deaths are to be notified at the
* Par. Papers, p. 107. -t p. 114,
F 2
68 INFANTICIDE.
time, and in the same manner, I hope these precautions will
effectually put a stop to any instances of Infanticide that may
still be occasionally practised.” The adoption of a similar
check in Cattywar, if practicable, was considered by the
Governor extremely desirable.* -
The measures, which should be adopted, for the speedy and
entire abolition of Infanticide, are ably stated by the philan-
thropic Colonel Walker in a letter to the Hon. Court of
Directors, in 1819. The following extracts appear very
interesting:— -
“I shall turn with pleasure to the circumstances which are favourable to
this cause of humanity, and which may encourage us to expect that this
revolting practice will be overcome. The Court of Directors, the Govern-
ment and its Assistants in India, appear at present to take great interest in
the success of the measure. The prejudices of the Jahrejas with which I
had to grapple, if not entirely done away,are at least suppressed and disavowed.
They appear so far to move within the range in which nature acts, that
they express no pride in the destruction of their offspring, and feel no shame
in rearing them. It is evident that a very favourable change has taken
place, since all the infants they have saved have been the consequence of
their own choice; and, as some of their daughters have been reared within
very recent dates, the principle of natural affection is even at this moment
producing its effect.
“One of the principal objections to the remedial measures proposed to
and rejected by the Bombay Government, without the substitution of others,
is, that they uniformly consist of small details. They suggest to me the idea
of a conqueror proposing to lay a vast region at his feet by merely disarming
or taking captive a few of the videttes or outposts. It appears to me that
there are two great principles, of which all the minor details must be merely
ramifications. The first principle is, the maintenance of the authority of
Government in connection with the solemn engagements of the Jahréjas; and
the second is, the adoption of that conduct towards the natives which I have
endeavoured to illustrate.
The authority of Government must be maintained, and the engagement,
which has been mutually contracted, eacactly fulfilled. We must show that
we are serious, and that we are determined to be obeyed. This will be
more difficult than in 1808, but still it must be done. I would begin by
sending to every Jahreja chief an authenticated copy of his engagement,
and apprize him in the most solemn and precise terms, the determination
of the Company and the Guicowar to exact the performance of an obligation
which has prescribed to all parties sacred and imperative duties. These
separate addresses to the chiefs would soothe their pride, and prevent them
from taking offence; but, that none may be able to plead ignorance of the
intentions of Government, I would follow up the measure by a public
proclamation, and give it as wide a circulation as possible. This should be
addressed to the bosom of every Jahreja. It should declare the intention of
Government upon the subject. It should strongly mark the abhorrence of
the crime, and explain the nature of his own obligations in consequence of
his engagement to renounce Infanticide. That where themonstrous inhumanity
of Infanticide easists, it is impossible that any good can evist : that it involves
* Par. Papers, 1828, pp. 23–25,
INFANTICIDE. 69
a violation of good faith, as well as the recognised principles of Religion,
and that no trust can be reposed in the perpetrators of this horrid crime:
that, therefore Government are resolved to punish such outcasts of human
nature by withholding from them every mark of confidence and regard, as
well as by inflicting pains and penalties according to the nature of the case.
That on the other hand those who give evidence of a sincere return to
nature and the principles of Religion, shall be regarded with affection, and
enjoy every mark of esteem, honour, and emolument, of which circumstances
will admit.
“The servants of Government, Native or British, should have instructions
to watch over the operation of the engagements in their several districts, and
to report upon every occurrence of a birth among the Jahrejas, or even the
surmises of its consequences. As they are not very rigid in the seclusion of
their women, and as all those who are in the lower stations of life, who form
the great majority in every society, must necessarily be employed in occu-
pations which expose them to public view, a case of pregnancy can scarcely
ever be concealed. There is no attempt made indeed to prevent its being
known, and surely it would not require much discrimination of judgment,
nor the exercise of a very officious impertinent curiosity, to ascertain a cir-
cumstance which is so notorious. But there are other circumstances of less
direct evidence, from which very correct inferences may be drawn, and of
which we may avail ourselves, in cases where stronger testimony may fail. It
is well known, that among Hindoos of all descriptions, the birth of a son is
an object of congratulation and rejoicing. Whenever a birth in a Jahreja
family was unattended by these happy symptoms; where it was passed over
in silence, we might, with very considerable certainty, conclude that the
birth was a female!! Cases of a suspicious nature must occasionally occur,
and come under our observation; but the miserable children of poverty
must not become the victims of vengeance, while the more aggravated guilt
of those who range in the higher ranks of life are passed over with impunity.
“Every servant of Government should have injunctions to ascertain the
consequence of a birth by all the means that may be in his power. Nothing
should be too trifling for his notice which may bear on the point; he should
collect even the rumours of the country upon the subject, and report to his
superior; he again to another, if such there happen to be, and so on till each
case reach the assistant of the Resident, and then the Resident himself
should report to the Government at Bombay. I would beg to recommend,
that the report of the Resident should be made at least every three months
jor the first year or two; or till it appear that the measure is proceeding so
securely that an annual report, (which must never be dispensed with,) shall
be deemed sufficient. Quarterly Reports for a time, indeed, would be
highly beneficial, and, if they were mere blanks, still I think they should
be punctually made. I would even suggest, if it could be attained, to
engage the chiefs themselves to make returns of births, and not only of females
but of males, which would be a check upon the evidence in regard to the
former. This would be gaining a step of decisive importance, not only to
the cause, but might increase the small number of useful facts which we
possess on the state of population in India.
“It is evidently necessary that the whole system should be supported by
rewards and punishments. A considerable diversity of opinion may pre-
vail as to their nature. The crime may be rendered more frequent by the
severity of the laws which are enacted to prevent it; while there may be as
much danger of encouraging it by too great tenderness in punishing. The
offence is of such an odious description that it cannot be considered as a fit
object for the exercise of clemency. At the same time it has been so long
70 INFANTICIDE.
legalized by custom, and so common in its practice, that it may not be
proper to inflict the last severity of the law on the first transgressors.
Afterwards, however, and when the ordinance has been for some time
generally observed, the criminal may be prosecuted as a common murderer.
Cases of delinquency should, in every event, be punished by fine, and
branded with infamy. The chiefs should be particularly held to their
engagement, and punished with a pecuniary penalty to the extent of their
means, and the degree of their offence. The poverty of many Jahrejas,
however, must render the mode of amercement with respect to them
impracticable; and the punishment of those who violate the engagement
under such circumstances must be limited to disgrace, or ejection from
cast. . .*. -
“To this may be superadded, the displeasure of Government and the
reproach and correction of society. I have said that I would not have
recourse to coercive means, and, if possible, I would still adhere to this
rule; but the authority of Government must at all events be maintained,
and this gross departure from duty punished. If all other means therefore
should fail, I would not hesitate to apply those of coercion; taking care to
show that it is a matter of necessity, and not choice. Rewards and
punishments always suppose something dome to merit the one or incur the
other: but it is generally a less difficult task to repay a good deed, than to
discover the best means of punishing a crime so as to prevent its repetition.
Various marks of regard might be shown, at little eaſpense, to the observers of
the engagement. They should have less the appearance of bribes than marks
of honour; but at the same time, instances may occur in which it may be
necessary to display the generosity and liberality of Government. This
must be particularly necessary in cases of extreme poverty, and inability to
rear the offspring which has been saved. Such cases of extreme poverty
and distress have actually occurred. I would suggest the adoption of a
Regulation, which, while it might serve as some check on the perpetrators
of Infanticide, would be an encouragement to those who follow a different
conduct. The latter should receive as much praise and publicity as possible.
In this point of view, it might be found useful to publish in the Cutcherries
and places of public resort, after a report has been transmitted to Government,
the names of those who have been faithful to their engagement, and of those
who have been proved to violate it. Might it not be a beneficial excitement,
to conſer an honorary medal on the Jahrejas who save their daughters º
The silver of a few rupees might answer the purpose; the medals would
contain a suitable inscription, and the persons receiving them should be
invested with them by the highest local authority of the District, and in as
public a manner as possible. - - -
“From the increased share and influenee which we now possess in the
revenue and Government of Catty war, we have proportionally increased
means of binding the principles and directing the sentiments of the natives.
Among the circumstances of which we have the command, is the power of
employing in the transaction of public business only meritorious natives,
and of selecting, especially for places of honour and trust, those Jahrejas
who may have saved their children. The Company, in a great measure,
possess all those means of preferment and profitable appointment which
formerly belonged solely to the native Rulers. The fines recovered from
delinquents should constitute a fund, sacred to the benefit of those who have
saved their daughters, which should be distributed by the Resident according
to the merits and wants of particular cases. The management of the fund
in this manner would be one means of satisfying the country that the
humanity of the Company's Government was quite disinterested. The
INFANTICIDE. 7]
accomplishment of this desirable object, ought to be considered as a prudent
and legitimate measure for the consolidation and stability of our Government
or influence in that quarter of India.”
From an attentive review of the various facts and observations
contained in the two volumes of Parliamentary documents on
Infanticide, it is evident, that the unnatural custom of Infan-
ticide still prevails to a lamentable degree in India. In the
first of these volumes the detail of its revival, after the efforts
of Colonel Walker to suppress it, is peculiarly painful to every
humane mind. The other volume presents a more pleasing
scene, but shows that there is yet much to be done, before
this custom can be annihilated: a few extracts will demon-
strate this. The Governor in Council of Bombay writes to
the Hon. Court of Directors, in 1825: “Mr. Gardiner, late
Resident in Cutch, annexes to his report a list of ninety-one
female infants belonging to the Jahreja tribe, now living in
Cutch and Waugur. He appears to have satisfied himself of
their existence, and in any case, when it was practicable, had
the infants brought to him. None of them appear to have
exceeded the age of seven years, which marks the time when
the abolition of this horrid practice first had operation under
our influence. He had his belief that among the chiefs the
feeling is pretty general, that it has become their duty, as
well as their interest, to preserve their female children; for,
the penalty being undefined, any infringement of the agree-
ment might be visited in the severest manner by a pecuniary
mulct. On the other hand, the inferior byaud, having nothing
to lose, are not under the same apprehension, and no doubt
the practice is still continued to a lamentable eartent among
them.”t “A constant intercourse with the Jahrejas,” says
R. Barnewell, Esq., Political Agent in Cattywar, in 1824,
“during my annual circuit, has given me opportunities of
impressing on their minds, the interest taken by the British
Government in the suppression of the barbarous and unnatural
practice, and the guilt attached to the commission of it by the
dictates of their own religion. I receive continued assurances
that they will discountenance it; but, from the disproportionate
ºnumber of females still earisting, it is evident that, although
this horrible practice may be somewhat subdued, it is still
far from being relinquished.”f
“I was much surprised, (says the late Bishop Heber,
speaking of Banswarra, in Guzerat,) to find, in such a situation,
*-*-
* Par. Papers, pp. 123–127.
t Par. Papers, 1828, p.3. + p. 10.
72 INFANTICIDE.
so large and handsome a place, of which I knew nothing
before, except as one of those States, which have been noticed
in India for the wildness and poverty of their inhabitants;
and for their abominable custom of murdering the greater part
of their female infants. This cruel and most unnatural
sacrifice, it has long been the endeavour of the British Govern-
ment to induce its vassals and allies to abandon. Major
Walker, when Resident at Baroda, thought he had succeeded
with the greater part of them; but it is believed by most
officers on this side of the country, that the number saved
was very small in proportion to that of the victims. Unhap-
pily, pride, poverty, and avarice, are in league with superstition
to perpetuate these horrors. It is a disgrace for a noble
family to have a daughter unmarried, and still more to marry
her to a person of inferior birth; while they have neither the
means nor the inclination, to pay such portions as a person
of their own rank would expect to receive with them. On
the other hand, the sacrifice of a child is believed, surely with
truth, to be acceptable ‘to the evil powers;” and the fact is
certain that, though the high-born Rajpoots have many sons,
very few daughters are ever found in their palaces; though
it is not easy to prove any particular instance of murder, or
to know the way in which the victims are disposed of. The
common story of the country, and probably the true One, (for
it is a point on which, except with the English, no mystery
is likely to be observed,) is, that a large vessel of milk is set
in the chamber of the lying-in woman, and the infant, if a
girl, is immediately plunged into it. Sir John Malcolm (who
supposes the practice to be on the decline) was told that a
pill of opium was usually given. Through the influence of
Major Walker, it is certain that many children were spared;
but, since that time, things have gone on very much in the
old train, and the answers made by the chiefs to any remon-
strances of the British officers is, -‘Pay our daughters' mar-
riage money and they shall live /? Yet these very men, rather
than strike a cow, would submit to the most cruel martyrdom.
Never may my dear wife and daughters forget, how much
their sex is indebted to Christianity P*
The prevalence of Infanticide in certain parts of the Bengal
Presidency has been stated by the Functionaries of Government.
The Magistrate of Etawah, says, “Murders have occurred
respecting the division of land; we have no instance of real
and deliberate homicide; but I fear that there is much reason
Heber's Jour, vol. ii. p. 88.
INFANTICIDE. 73
to believe, that child murder is frequently perpetrated.”
“There are (says Bishop Heber) among the Hindoos frequent
instances of murder, but of a most cowardly and premeditated
kind. They are chiefly cases of women murdered from
jealousy, and children for the sake of the silver ornaments
with which their parents are fond of decorating them. Out
of thirty-sia, cases of murder, reported in the Province of
Bengal, during the short space of, I believe, three months,
seventeen were of children under these circumstances.” “The
number of children who are decoyed aside and murdered for
the sake of their ornaments, Lord Amherst assures me, is
dreadful.”f
“The horrible practice of female Infanticide still prevails
in some Districts in the Island of Ceylon. In the last general
census, taken in 1821, the number of males exceeded that of
females by 20,000 !! In one District there were, to every
hundred men, but fifty-five women, and in those parts where
the numbers are equal, the population was almost exclusively
Mussulman. The strange custom of one woman having two,
or even more, husbands; and the consequent difficulty of
marrying their daughters, in a country in which, to live single,
is disgraceful, seem to be the causes of this unnatural custom.
An astrologer is consulted on the birth of a female child, and,
if he pronounce her to have been born under evil auspices,
she is exposed alive in the woods, to be destroyed by beasts
of prey or by ants; generally, I was happy to hear, without
the consent of the mother.”].
The adoption of a general law for India appears necessary.
J. Poynder, Esq., in his speech at a General Court of India
Proprietors, March, 1827, in which a resolution was carried,
that “In the case of all rites involving the destruction of life,
it is the duty of a paternal Government to interfere for their
prevention,” very forcibly observed; “It was on record, that,
notwithstanding all that had been done by Col. Walker's
meritorious exertions, the practice of Infanticide had again
revived, in consequence of the apathy and indifference of that
gentleman's successors. He might be told, that practices of
this description must of necessity go on. This however he
must strenuously deny: if positive laws were enacted and put
in force on this, as they had been on other subjects of less
moral importance, such practices might and would be pre-
vented. Let not Gentlemen content themselves with the
* Par. Papers on Infan; 1828, p. 36. f Heber's Jour vol. i. p. 82.
vol. ii. p. 306. # vol. ii. p. 252. . See Ham. Hind. volii. p. 339.
74 INFANTICIDE.
exertions of individuals: it was not by the efforts of such
excellent men as Col. Walker, succeeded as they might be, by
individuals who would not perform their duty, that the
destruction of such practices could be accomplished. It was
only by a general law for India that a general reform could
be ea pected. Let them not lay “the flattering unction to
their souls” that partial efforts could remove the evil. Such
Iſleå.SULT6S-
“Will but skin and film the ulcerous part,
While rank corruption, mining all within,
Infects unseen.”* -
The conduct of the natives of the Society and Sandwich
Islands is worthy of particular notice. “In order to mark
their sense of the enormity of Infanticide,” says Mr. Ellis,
“the very first article in the code of Laws proposed by the
chiefs, and adopted by the people in most of the Society
Islands, shortly after their reception of Christianity, is a pro-
hibition of Infanticide, annexing the punishment of death to
âts perpetration under any circumstances whatever. In the
Sandwich Islands, although not abolished, we have reason to
believe it prevails less extensively than it did four or five
years ago. The king, and some of the chiefs, since they have
attended to the precepts of Christianity, have readily expressed
in public their convictions of its criminality, and that com-
mitting it is in fact pepehi kanaka (to kill man) under
circumstances which aggravate its guilt. Kairamokee, Regent
of the Islands, has more than once forbidden any parents to
destroy their children, and has threatened to punish with
banishment, if not with death, any who shall be found guilty
of it.”+
The objections urged to the appointment of informers
appear to arise from a false delicacy, and a destitution of that
abhorrence of murder, which in Britain we are taught to
consider natural. Is blood to be secreted because intrusion
into the haunts of murderers is unwelcome R. Barnewell,
Esq., in Cattywar, urging the Bombay Government to adopt
more effectual means for the abolition of this practice, very
justly observes:—“The only means to ensure further success
is to persevere in discountenancing, as much as possible, this
atrocity; but, so long as the force of pride and interest has a
dominion sufficiently powerful to subdue in the Jahreja every
principle of humanity and religion, this unnatural practice
will be but slowly abolished.
* Asiatic Journal, May, 1827, p. 699. t Ellis's Tour, p. 303.
INFANTICIDE. 75
“The effect of rewards for convicting the offender, and
establishing the guilt of the parties, might be attended with
some benefit; they might be offered to stimulate the activity
of informers; to enforce the penalties prescribed by the engage-
ment, and remove obstacles which now interfere to prevent
the crimes being discovered. The fines levied for the com-
mission of the offence might be expended, partly or wholly
in rewards to those actively engaged in enabling the British
Government to give greater effect to the suppression of the
crime; this appears the only temptation likely to induce an
informer to come forward, that it would be politic or desirable
to authorize, or that seems calculated to afford any increased
facility in establishing the guilt of those perpetrating it.”* “I
should beg,” says Lieut.Col. Miles, Political Agent}’ahlunpore,
“to recommend that the cakoons (writers) in the Jahreja
Talooks be instructed to keep a register of the births of female
children, and use all vigilance in detecting any future violation
of those solemn engagements.”f The propriety of encouraging
the detection of the crime of Infanticide appears evident.
It is the duty of the Hon. East India Company's Govern-
ment, and, on their neglect of it, that of the British Nation,
to promote the speedy and entire abolition of this, and every
inhuman custom in India. The Government in India has
been more attentive to the abolition of Infanticide than for-
merly. Some few fines have been levied, and donations given
to defray the expense of the marriage of Jahreja females.
Until Infanticide be punished severely, it may be feared that
it will not be annihilated. Why is not “inquisition made for
blood 2" Political expediency cannot justify palliation of
crime and murder. No such expediency really exists. Let
the inhabitants of the United Kingdom “relieve the oppressed,
judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.” Let petitions from
every part of the land demonstrate the deep interest felt in
the abolition of Infanticide, and every murderous practice in
British India.
Societies and Corresponding Committees should be formed
for the abolition of human sacrifices in India. They would
diffuse information on the nature and extent of these sacrifices,
and the propriety and facility of their abolition—originate
Petitions—and press the subject constantly upon the attention
of the British Government in this country and in India. Such
a Society exists in the City of Coventry. How long shall the
exclamation of the Poet continue to be so just—
M--
* Par. Papers, 1828, p. 10. + p. 29.
* * * *
º:
º
76 INFANTICII) E.
{{
Hear it not ye stars,
And thou pale moon, turn paler at the sound!
Man is to man the sorest, surest ill.
Heaven's sovereign saves all beings but himself!”
Why do not the British, the modern Romans, in arts and
arms, enterprise and extent of colonization, imitate the ancient
Romans, who, says Montesquieu, “deserved well of human
nature, for making it an article in their treaty with the Car-
thaginians, that they should abstain from sacrificing their
children to their gods?” Is Britain, once characterized
“Britannos hospitibus feros,” by the benign power of Chris-
tianity recognised as the liberator of the slave—the patron of
civil and religious liberty—the friend of the human race—
Heaven's messenger of Gospel mercies to millions over whom
she rules 2 Let the best influence of the British character be
manifest wherever it is known, and the sentiment of the Poet
constantly regarded:—
46
Spread it then;
And let it circulate through every vein
Of all your Empire; that, where Britain's power
Is felt, mankind may feel her mercy too !”
CowPER.
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DOLE JATTRA, OR SWINGING OF JUGGERN AUT.


Book II.
BRITISH CONNECTION WITH
I DO L.A.T. R. Y.
CHAP. I.
Origin, nature, proceeds, and appropriation of the Pilgrim
Taac.—Traces of British connection with Idolatry and
Mahomedanism in various parts of India.
THE connection of Britain with Idolatry in India, consists
in the establishment of the Pilgrim Tax at the Temple of
Juggernaut in Orissa, Gya, and Allahabad; in the reception,
from various temples, of the gains of Idolatry, and in making
annual grants of money for the support of this obscene and
cruel system. The nature, extent, and injurious tendency of
this system are developed in this book; and the misery of the
deluded pilgrims, allured to the shrines of superstition,
(rendered more celebrated by Government regulations and
emoluments,) cry loudly to Britain, relative to the support of
heathen temples, “Let them alone.”
The origin of the Pilgrim Taa: at the Temple Juggernaut,
is thus stated in an interesting “Account of Orissa,” by the
late A. Stirling, Esq. :—“The Moguls (who gained possession
of Orissa about the close of the sixteenth century) seemed to
have been actuated by peculiar rancour towards Juggernaut,
and lost no opportunity in disturbing the Hindoos in the
performance of their devotion at his temple. During these
contests, in and about Pooree, the images,” so much venerated
by one party and abhorred by the other, were twice or thrice
carried away across the Chilka Lake, and concealed among
the hills, until the times appeared favourable for again setting
*—
* J uggernaut, Bulbudra, and Subudra, his brother and sister.
78 BRITISH CONNECTION
them on their thrones in the temple. This religious warfare
was at last set at rest, by the institution of the tax on pilgrims;
which, if we may credit the author of the work translated by
Gladwin, under the title of ‘History of Bengal, yielded the
Mogul Government a revenue of 900,000 rupees. Under
such circumstances religious antipathies, however strong
on the part of the ruling powers, yielded gradually to the
consideration of self-interest.” The Mahrattas, who succeeded
the Mahomedans in the Government of Orissa, levied the tax,
and the British have followed the example of their predecessors.
“Before this place (Juggernaut) fell into the hands of the
English, the King, a Mahratta Chief, exacted tolls from the
pilgrims passing through his territories to Juggernaut. At
one place the toll was not less than £1. 9s. for each foot
passenger, if he had so much property with him. When a
Bengalee Rajah used to go, he was accompanied by one or
two thousand people, for every one of whom he was obliged
to pay toll. The Hon. Company’s Government levies a tax
of from one to six rupees on each passenger.”f Whether the
origin of the Pilgrim Tax at Gya and Allahabad was the same
as at Juggernaut is not certain; but it is probable, that the
rapacious followers of the prophet of Mecca, established it in
various parts of India.
The nature of the system will appear from the Government
Regulations relative to the Pilgrim Tax, extracted from
“Harington's Analysis of the Laws and Regulations of the
Bengal Presidency,” vol. iii. and vi.; and the Parliamentary
Papers relative to Juggernaut, printed May 1813. The
following compendious view of the system appears deserving
of attention.
JUGGERNAUT.
“This is a celebrated place of Hindoo worship on the sea
coast of Orissa, district of Cuttack, Lat. 19.49. N. and Lon.
85. 54., 300 miles from Calcutta. The population is estimated
at 30,000. Possession was taken of the town and temple by
the British, Sep. 18, 1803; the sacred will of the idol having
been first ascertained through the medium of the officiating
priest / At Juggernaut there are thirteen annual festivals:—
Chandan (sweet-scented power), Snam (bathing festival), Ruth
. * See Asi. Researches, vol. xv. 1825, pp. 163—338.
# Ward's View of the His. Lit. and Myth. of the Hindoos, vol. ii. p. 134.
See also Saturday's Mag., July 7, 21, and Aug. 11, 1832.
WITH IDOLATRY. 79
(car ditto), Bahura (returning ditto), Shayan (lying down ditto),
Janma (birth ditto), Kojugara (waking ditto), Rasa festival,
Urana (warm clothing ditto), Abhishaca (anointing ditto),
Macura (sign of the zodiac ditto), Dole (swinging ditto), Ram
Narami (Ram's birth-day ditto). Much the greater number
of pilgrims are present at the Swinging and Car Festivals.
The concourse of pilgrims to this temple is so immense, that
at fifty miles distance, its approach may be known by the
quantity of human bones which are strewed by the way.”
“Juggernaut is one of the most celebrated places in India.
All the land within twenty miles is considered holy; but the
most sacred spot is enclosed within a stone wall, twenty-one
feet high, and forms nearly a square : two sides measuring
each 656 feet, and the other two 626 feet in length. Within
this area are about fifty temples, dedicated to various idols;
but the most conspicuous buildings consists of one lofty stone
tower, 184 feet high, and twenty-eight feet eight inches square
inside, and is called the Bur Dewal, and two adjoining stone
buildings with pyramidical roofs. The idol Juggernaut, his
brother Bulbudra, and his sister Subudra, occupy the tower.
The first pyramidical building, which is forty feet square
inside, is connected with the tower, and is the place where
the idolis worshipped during the bathing Festival. Adjoining
this temple is a low building on pillars (with a fabulous animal
in the centre), which is intended as an awning to shelter the
entrance from the rays of the sun; and after this is a second
building, with a pyramidical stone roof, where the food prepared
for the pilgrims, or others, is daily brought, previous to
distribution. This latter building is said to have been removed
from Kanaruck, or the black Pagoda, and is called the Beg
Mundeep. The temple of Juggernaut was erected by Rajah
Anung Bheem Deo, and completed in A. D. 1198. The roofs
are ornamented in a singular style, with representations of
monsters, which can only be understood by a drawing; but
the walls of the temples, which are not visible beyond the
enclosure, are covered with statues of stone. Several represent
a famous Hindoo god, Mahadeo, with his wife Parbuttee, in
attitudes so grossly indecent, that it seems surprising, how
any superstition could debase its votaries to such a degree, as
to make them introduce into their most sacred places such
obscene representations! Each side of the boundary wall has
a large gateway in the centre; but the grand entrance is in the
eastern face.
4-ºm-- s sº
* Hamilton's Description of Hindostan. Vol. ii. pp. 51–53.
80 - BRITISH CONNECTION
“The idol Juggernaut is probably the coarsest image in the
country. The figure does not extend below the loins, and it
has no hands, but two stumps in lieu of arms, on which the
priests occasionally fasten hands of gold. A Christian is
almost led to think, that it was an attempt to see how low
idolatry could debase the human mind. The priests endeavour
to account for the deformity by a very strange legendary tale.
Some thousands of years ago, in the Sutya Yogu, Maharajah
Indradyumna, of Oojein, in Malwa, applied to the celebrated
manufactuer of gods, to make a new idol. This request was
granted, on condition that the Maharajah should not interrupt
the work, as it could never be completed, if any attempt were
made to see the process. This caution was not duly attended
to. The prince endeavoured to see what progress had been
made, and it became necessary that he should be satisfied
with the imperfect image. When two new moons occur in
Assaur, (part of June and July,) which is said to happen about
once in seventeen years, a new idol is always made. A neem
tree (malia azadarachta) is sought for in the forests, on which
no crow or carrion bird was ever perched: it is known to the
initiated by certain signs! This is prepared into a proper
form by common carpenters, and is then intrusted to certain
priests, who are protected from all intrusion: the process is a
great mystery. One man is selected to take out of the old
idol a small box, containing the spirit, which is conveyed
inside the new : the man, who does this, is always removed
from this world before the end of the year !”
The first Regulations relative to Juggernaut's temple were
adopted by the British Government, Jan. 1806; these were
afterwards rescinded, and others framed in 1809 and 1810.
The following is A summary of the Regulations:–
The superintendence of the temple, and its interior economy, are vested
in the Rajah of Khoorda. The Governor-General in Council possesses the
power of removing the Rajah or any of his successors from the superintendence,
on proof of misconduct. The superintendent of the temple is authorized to
punish instances of neglect or misconduct, by imposing small fines, or by
removing the offender (if not one of the three head Purchas) from his office;
the amount of fines is to be carried to the account of Government. The three
dewul Purchas are to be appointed by the Collector of Cuttack, subject to
the confirmation of Government. In the event of orders being issued by
the Rajah contrary to the recorded rules and institutions of the temple, a
representation is to be made to the Collector of the tax, for the orders of the
Governor-General in Council, if it appear necessary. The third dewul
* Col. Phipps’ Account of Juggernaut.—Asi. Jour., March 1824. The
father of the Grand Lama suffers in the same manner. Ham. Hind. Vol. ii.
p. 574. -
WITH IDOLATRY. 8]
Purcha shall give account to the Collector of the tax of all offerings and
presents made to the idol. The collection of the tax is intrusted to an officer,
with the official designation of “The Collector of the Tax on Pilgrims,”
subject to the authority of the Collector at Cuttack; the general superim-
tendence of the collections, and the control of the officers employed in the
performance of that duty, are vested in the Board of Revenue at Fort William.
The avenues for the admission of pilgrims shall be confined to two Ghauts,
Attara Nullah on the North, and Ghaut Lokenauth on the south-west of
the town of Juggernaut Pooree. The pilgrims liable to the tax shall be
divided into four classes—laul jattrees, nim lauls, bhurrungs, and punj
tirthees, including the following persons of low cast who are not permitted
to enter the temple.* The rate of tax payable by the different classes is as
follows:—Pilgrims of the first class from the north, passing the Attarah
Nullah, pay a tax of ten rupees ; from the south, passing Lokenaut, sia:
rupees. Pilgrims of the second class from the north, pay five rupees; from
the south three rupees. Pilgrims of the third class, from either the north or
South, pay two rupees. Pilgrims of the fourth class, passing either Ghauts,
pay two rupees. A pilgrim of the first class is allowed free access to the
temple for thirty days, constantly attended by a punda. He may be
exempted from the attendance of these officers, by a further payment of ten
*upees to the Collector; and, by surrendering his pass, shall be allowed to
remain in the town as long as he pleases. Pilgrims of the second class, at
the Car Festival, are allowed access to the temple ten days; at other festivals
seven days only. Pilgrims of the third class, at the Car Festival are allowed
five days; at other times but four; and must be attended by a punda.
Pilgrims of the fourth class are allowed to worship outside the temple sixteen
days. Pilgrims may enrol themselves in either of the first three classes on
paying the prescribed tax. Printed certificates shall be procurable on the
É. of the fixed tax, at the office of the Secretary to the Board of
evenue, the Collector of Cuttack and Ganjam, and at the two Ghauts.
Form as follows:—
“A. B., inhabitant of in the district of
paid into this office the sum of sicca rupees , is entitled to pass through
the Ghaut without further interruption, as a laul jattree to the
cutcherry of the Collector of the tax at Juggernaut. On producing this
certificate to the said Collector, he is further entitled to receive a pass, and to
have access to the temple thirty days.”
*f;
. having this day

Names or designation | Amount of tax paid Period for which to
of attendants. respectively. visit the temple,
Forms No. 2, 3, and 4, differ only in the names of the class of pilgrims, the
rate of tax, and the pº of attendance at the temple. A pilgrim of the
first class, desirous of visiting the temple with his family and attendants, not
* Kusbee (prostitutes), cullal (liquor sellers), machoowa (fishermen),
numosooder (boatmen), ghooskee (private bad women), gazur (labourers who
carry burdens on their heads), baugdee (fishers, labourers), joogee (weavers),
kahar bawry (bearers), raujbunsee (different cast of boatmen), chamár
(shoe-makers), dhomee (washermen), paun (basket-makers), teor (another
9ast of boatmen), bhoinmalee (makers of garlands, &c., for marriages), haddee
(maters). These sixteen casts are not suffered to enter the temple to worship
Juggernaut. -
G
82 BRITISH CONNECTION
exceeding twenty persons, these must first pay the tax of the second or third
class, and then they may stop as long as their master. The certificates shall
be dated and attested by the official seal, the blank places ſº wp, &c. A
pilgrim presenting the printed certificate is to be allowed to pass without
interruption. The molestation of such an individual, by the daroga at the
Ghaut, shall be punished by a fine, not exceeding his salary for three
months and dismissal from office. The duty of the Collector of Jugger-
naut is to superintend the conduct of the darogas. Pilgrims of the first,
second, and third classes, having passed the Ghauts at Juggernaut, are to
§ to the Collector for a licence of access to the Temple in the following
Ol'Irl 3– -
“A. B., inhabitant of , in the district of , is entitled to
perform the customary ceremonies, under charge of during —
days, that is to say, from the day of the month of —wntil the
— day of the month of ; and for that period you will afford to
the holders hereof free access to the Temple of Juggernaut. At the eaſpira-
tion of the period granted, you will return the licenee into the office of the
Collector of taw.” -
The fourth class, who are not allowed to enter the temple, receive a form
a little differing from the above. In case of sickness the Collector is allowed
to extend the period of a pilgrim's continuance in the town, but is to observe
due caution in the exercise of this authority. Pilgrims are not to be delayed
obtaining licence to visit the temple, and therefore a sufficient number of
blank licences are to be prepared. The Collector of the tax shall keep a
register of licences granted, and every punda or purharee who neglects to
return them shall be fined, in no case exceeding the amount of the tax paid
by the first class of pilgrims. The attendants of the fourth class are to
return their licence or be fined, in no case exceeding one month's salary.
Pilgrims stopping in the town beyond the time prescribed, are to be ea pelled
by the police daroga. The following descriptions of persons are exempt from
paying the tax:—Byragees, Sunyasees, dundies, brumacharies, mohunts,
gosains, khomartees, and nagas, persons employed in carrying the water of
the Ganges to Juggermaut and pouring it over the idol at Lokenaut,
and persons resorting to Juggernaut Pooree for trade, (excepting for
twelve days from the beginning of the Car Festival,) or any other
purpose except on pilgrimage. Persons professing to be carriers of the
water of the Ganges are to be placed under the conduct of a punda; and
on refusing to do it are to be expelled the town, or to pay the tax. Persons
intending to live in the town the remainder of life are exempted from the
tax, if they are not able to payit. All native military officers and sepoys on
duty at Juggernaut are exempted from the tax; but, to obtain admittance
into the Temple, a pass must be received from the commanding officer at the
station to the Collector of Taal, who shall then admit them free. Servants of
Europeans may enter the town without paying the tax. The exemption
from tax of persons born within the Byturnee river and Ganjam, having
been found detrimental to the public revenue, and as under the Mahratta
Government such persons were made to pay the tax, the following rules
respecting the exemption of such persons are enacted: During the Ruth
and Dole Festivals, the exemption in favour of these people is restricted to
the residents within Pipley, to the north, and Manickpatam, to the south; at
all other times of the year they pass free. At the above festivals they have
to pay a tax as follows: Lauls, one rupee; Nim Lauls, eight annas; Bhur-
rungs, four annas. They are to receive the same attention as other pilgrims.
Kungals or pilgrims in actual state of poverty, on declaring it, under certain

WITH IDOLATRY. 83
prescribed ceremonies, are admitted free.* The Collector of the tax is re-
quired to give every attention to the religious opinions of the Hindoos, and
the particular institutions of the temple.f
The Collector of the Pilgrim Tax at Juggernaut, in March
1806, proposed to the Government in Calcutta, the adoption
of a premium for the pundas who collect the pilgrims. He
stated, “As the pilgrims will never be well treated by their
conductors, unless they receive a present from their own hands,
I beg leave to propose that the fees of the pundas, &c., be
publicly fixed, and collected by the pundas themselves,
separate from the tax, as was formerly done under the
Mahratta Government.” To this it was replied:—“The
Governor General in Council approves of your proposition for
permitting the pundas to collect a fee from the pilgrims,
exclusive of the tax payable to Government; you will
accordingly, Jia: the rates at which such fee should be levied,
and publish the rates for general information at the temple,
and in its vicinity.—March 20, 1806.”f
Colonel Phipps, of the Bengal Native Infantry, stationed
at Juggernaut in 1822, in an interesting article respecting the
temple and worship of Juggernaut, gives the following
information relative to the collectors of pilgrims, and the
premium they receive:—“It having been decided that a tax
should be levied, every precaution was taken to make it yield
as much as possible. Alterations were made in the Regulations
from time to time. One of the principal was in the mode of
rewarding the purharees and pundas. The purharees are a
body of people who reside at Pooree, governed by four surdars;
one of whom is their gomasta, or chief manager, who attends
at the Attara Nulla, where the main gate is placed. They
have a great number of subordinate agents, who travel about
in search of pilgrims, and bring them in companies to
Juggernaut. The pundas are the servants of the idol, and
do the same duties as the purharees at the gate. The
Government, at first, authorized these people to collect at the
barriers a fee from the pilgrims, for their own benefit; but,
this privilege having been abused, it was resolved that the
British Collector should levy, beside the taa: for the State, an
* Numbers have perished through neglect, and disease, before they were
admitted into the town. A correspondent in June, 1827, states that sheds
for accommodating three or four thousand pilgrims, have been erected under
the superintendence and at the expense of the British Government.
t Harington's Analysis, vol. iii. pp. 209—220.-Par. Papers, relative to
Juggernaut, May, 1813, No. 194, art. 7, pp. 81–86.
f Par, Papers, May, 1813, p. 35.
G 2
84 BRITISH CONNECTION
additional one, the amount of which he subsequently paid
over to the purharees and pundas, in such proportions as
they were entitled to, from the number of pilgrims which
each had succeeded in enticing to undertake the Pilgrimage.
The pilgrims who attend the festival of the Chundun Jattra,
and wish to remain in order to see the Ruth Jattra, are termed
Lal Jattrees. They pay ten rupees to Government, and three
rupees to the priests who have brought them, if they come
from the northward; and, if from the southward, six rupees
to Government, and three rupees for the priest. A great
many pilgrims attend the Chaund or Snan Jattra; and those
who wish to remain a fortnight, and see the Ruth Jattra,
are termed Nim Lauls. If they come from the northward,
they pay to Government five rupees, and a rupee and a
half to the person who brings them; if from the southward,
three rupees to Government, and half that sum to the punda
who brings them. Two rupees six annas is the tax for five
days.” - - * , " . * ,
“Some persons, on leaving this place, deposit, with the
Brahmuns of the temple, one or two hundred rupees, with the
interest of which they are to purchase rice, and present it
daily to Juggernaut, and afterwards to dundees or brahmuns.
Deeds of gift are also made to Juggernaut all over Hindostan,t
which are received by agents in every large town, and paid
to the mutdharees at Juggernaut Pooree, who by this means
(though professing themselves mendicants) have become some
of the richest merchants in India. The temple has been
endowed by several rich Hindoos, Rajah Ram Krishna Dav,
gave two villages, the rents of which amount to about 4,000
rupees annually; Nimoo-mullik, of Calcutta, gave daily one
rupee, and his children continue the donation. It is supposed,
that not less than 100,000 rupees per annum are drawn from
the Hindoos by the brahmuns of this temple.”f
Among the documents published by order of Parliament in
1813 there is no official estimate of the number of pilgrims
* Mis. Register, Dec. 1824, pp. 575—580. See Friend of India, Oct.
1825, p. 270. - * • * - -
† “The same places of popular esteem or religious resort are equall
respected in Tibet and Bengal. Allahabad, Benares, Durjodun, Gya,
Saugor Island, and Juggernaut, being objects of devout pilgrimages, but
the two last are esteemed of pre-eminent sanctity; while Gya, the birth-
place of their great legislator (Bhood), is only of secondary rank. Those
who are unable to perform the pilgrimages in person, acquire a considerable
degree of merit by having it effected by proxy.” Ham. Hind, vol. ii.
p f Ward's View of the Hindoos, vol. ii. pp. 9, 135.
WITH IDOLATRY. 85
resorting annually to this temple. “The following is a state-
ment of pilgrims of all classes who attended for five years at
the three great festivals, procured from the most authentic
sources:—

YEARS. PAYING TAX. EXEMPT. TOTAL.
1817–18 35,941 39,720 75,661
1818–19 36,241 4,870 41,111
1819–20 92,874 39,000 131,874
1820–21 21,946 11,500 33,446
1821–22 35,160 17,000 52,160”*
At the great Car Festival in July 1825, it was stated that
the number of pilgrims was 225,000. A late resident in
Orissa, in a note to the Author, in 1823, says, “On referring
to some accounts, I can say, that all classes of pilgrims resorting
to Juggernaut annually, amount to from about 50,000 to
300,000. I have observed the latter number in two or three
instances when any holydays of consequence took place. I
resided at Juggernaut about twelve years, and did duty
immediately under the Collector of Tax on Pilgrims.”
GYA.
Gya is the modern capital of Behar, lat. 24. 49. N., long.
85. E. Distance from Calcutta 322 miles. Population
about 30,000. To procure the salvation of deceased relations,
crowds of Hindoos here perform the shradda, or funeral cere-
monies for deceased relatives. “Respecting this celebrated
place of worship, there are many Brahminical legends, of
which the following has the merit of being the shortest. Gya
an Ausoor giant and infidel, by severe penances obtained
divine favour, and subjugated the three worlds,-heaven, earth,
and hell. The demigods bereft of their dignity, implored the
assistance of Vishnu, who entered into a long contest with
the Ausoor, but could not overcome him. The monster how-
ever was so well pleased with Vishnu's prowess, that he
promised to give him whatever blessing he should ask, and
the latter, in consequence, requested him to descend into the
infernal regions. The giant consented, but begged he might
be pressed down by the foot of Vishnu, which was accord-
ingly done; and the scene of action has ever since been
reckoned sacred for the space of several square miles. The
* Stirling's Account of Orissa,—Asi, Res, vol. xy. p. 225.
86 BRITISH CONNECTION
Buddhists ascribe the sanctity of Gya, to its having been
either the birth place or residence of their great prophet and
legislator.”*
The nature of idolatry at this place is thus described:—
“At Gya there is a particular stone on which Vishnoo set
his foot, and a person by putting on this stone, in the form
prescribed, a certain paste prepared there, and by repeating
at the same time the name of a deceased friend, can transfer
that friend from hell itself to supreme felicity: and this benefit
he may extend, not to one friend only, but, by repeated
applications of paste, to as many as he can recollect, even of
his distant ancestors l’’t p
“No printed regulations have been enacted relative to the tax levied at
Gya, the duty of the Collector, and a European Superintendent, being
simply to receive a fixed rate of tax, upon licences granted to the pilgrims for
visiting the different places of worship and pilgrimage in the vicinity of the
town. In a statement from the Collector at Gya in July 1790, the rates of
duty paid by pilgrims for permission to perform their religious ceremonies
chiefly in honour of deceased ancestors, at the river Phulgo, or adjacent
places, were stated to vary from sia annas, to twelve rupees, eleven annas,
three pie. This duty of Government is independent of donations to the
gyawals, or priests. Ever since the city of Gya became famous for its sanc-
tity, it has been the custom of its Brahmums, to travel through all countries
where the Hindoo religion prevails in search of pilgrims, whose donations are
considered the property of the gyawal, through whose means they are brought.
These contributions have ever been a source of considerable wealth, and are
the property of those, who, but for them, would probably never have visited
Gya. When a pilgrim arrives, his gyawal, or religious father, conducts him
to the daroga, or superintending officer of the sayer collections, and explains
to him the ceremonies which the pilgrim is desirous of performing; after
which an order, specifying the names of the pilgrim and gyawal, as also the
ceremonies, is made out, under the official seal and signature of the Collector,
authorizing the performance of the ceremonies. At the time of delivering
this order, the duty [to Government] is paid, which varies according to the
number and nature of the rites performed.}
“The British Government,” says Hamilton, “has an agent at Gya, who
levies a tax on pilgrims, according to the magnitude of the ceremonies he
means to perform. One class visiting only one place, pay two #th rupees;
another visiting two places, three #th rupees; a third visiting thirty-eight
places, pay four 5-16th rupees, and the fourth class, visiting forty-five places,
pay fourteen #th rupees / The duty to Government, however, is but a small
part of the pilgrim's expense; for he is fleeced by the priests, not only of all
the money he brings with him, but of promissory notes for future payments,
which are sent to him when he returns home; the priests of Gya maintaining
emissaries for this purpose in the remotest parts of India, which they also
occasionally visit on speculation. The most numerous votaries are Bengalees

* Hamil. Hind, vol. i. p. 265. For a recent account of Gya, see Mis.
Reg. Nov. 1827, p. 584; and Dec. 1829. -
t Grant's Observ. &c., Par. Papers, Junc, 1813, p. 61.
f Harington's Analysis, vol. iii. p. 207.
WITH IDOLATRY. 87
and Mahrattas; and some of the great chiefs of the latter have been known
to expend 50,000 rupees.*
ALLAHABAD.
“Allahabad is the capital of a province of the same name,
situated at the confluence of the Ganges and Jumna. Lat.
25. 27. N., Long. 81, 50. E. Distance from Calcutta 550
miles, and from Benares 53 miles. Population in 1803,
without the garrison, 20,000. By the Brahmuns Allahabad
is called Bhat Prayag; or, by way of distinction, as it is the
largest and most holy, is simply designated Prayag. The
other four Prayagas (or sacred confluences of rivers) are
situated in the province of Serinagur, at the junction of the
Alacananda with other streams, and are named Devaprayaga,
Rudraprayaga, Carnaprayaga, and Nandaprayaga. This
Prayaga owes its celebrity to the junction at this spot of the
Ganges, Jumna, and Sereswate. There is no such river as
the last now visible in the neighbourhood, but the Hindoos
assert that it joins the other two under ground, and that by
bathing here, the same religious merit is acquired, as if the
penitent had bathed in the three separately. Many persons
renounce life at this confluence, by going in a boat, after the
performance of certain solemnities, to the exact spot where
the three rivers unite, where the devotee plunges into the
stream, with three pots of water tied to his body. When a
pilgrim arrives, he sits down on the bank of the river, and
has his head and body shaved, so that each hair may fall
*nto the water, the sacred writings promising him one million
gyears' residence in heaven for every hair thus deposited / /
After shaving, he bathes; and the same day, or the next,
performs the obsequies of his deceased ancestors.”f
The following Rules are enacted by Regulation xviii. 1810,
for the collection of duties on pilgrims at Allahabad, and for
the prevention of abuses in such collections:—
“On every pilgrim on foot, one rupee.
“ On every pilgrim with a horse, or palanquin, or carriage of any descrip-
tion, two rupees.
“Qn every pilgrim with a camel, three rupees.
“On every pilgrim with an elephant, twenty rupees.
“All other, duties or fees at the Ghaut, within the fort, or at any other
place, are prohibited . Every pilgrim, on application to the Collector of the
Land Revenue at Allahabad, shall be furnished with a licence to perform the
usual ceremonies; and no person shall be admitted to perform such ceremo-

g & * Hamilton's Hindostan, vol. i. p. 265.
f This is said to have been recently abolished by the British magistrate.
Asi. Journ. August, 1827, p. 241. t Ham. Hind., vol. i. p. 300.
88 BRITISH connecTION
nies without a licence. The inhabitants of the town and suburbs of Alla-
habad, and the Hindoos in the Honourable Company's Army, are exempt
from duty; but every such person must be furnished with a licence of
exemption from the Collector, before he can be entitled to perform the religious
ceremonies. No tax of any kind shall be imposed upon the shaving barbers
attending at the conflux of the rivers; but they shall be required to register
their names at the Collector's office, and execute an obligation to the
Collector, under a penalty of fifty rupees in every instance of contravention,
not to perform that part of the ceremony, resting with them, to any one
without a licence. Access to the place of ablution shall be restricted to a
certain number of gates and avenues, fixed by a barrier annually established,
on the subsiding of the rivers, from the palisades of the fort to the bank of
the river: and no person shall be admitted through such barrier without the
prescribed licence. Such numbers and descriptions of native officers, as may
be approved by the Board of Commissioners, shall be stationed by the Col-
lector at the barrier, to prevent any person performing the ceremonies without
a licence. A sufficient military force shall, on application of the Collector, be
posted at the barrier during the mela or principal concourse of pilgrims in
January and February, who shall prevent the people breaking through the
barrier or otherwise forcing admission. The licences and exemptions, after
being shown at the place of admission, shall be delivered up to the officers,
to be returned to the Collector in order to their being cancelled. Persons,
with a view to avoid the payment of the duty, attempting to cross over in
boats from the opposite side of the river to the place of ablution, shall be
liable to a fine of three times the prescribed duty: and, if any barber shall
assist any such person in performing the ceremonies, he shall be liable to
the penalty stipulated in his engagements. No barber, except such as shall
have entered into the prescribed obligation, shall officiate in the ceremonies;
and any barber contravening this prohibition shall be liable to the penalty
of fifty rupees for every pilgrim shaved; and, if not able to pay, he shall
be committed to jail for three months.”
Messrs. Tyerman and Bennet, the deputation of the London
Missionary Society, speak of the existence of this system on
their visit to Allahabad in 1826.- “Some idea of the prodigious
multitude of pilgrims, that annually visit this holy city, may
be formed from the circumstance, that there are four hundred
barbers in it, who are supported principally, by shaving the
heads of the bathers in the sacred waters of the Jumna and
the Ganges; such purification being indispensable before
venturing upon an ablution, which is supposed to reach the
very soul, and cleanse it from all defilement. A small Tax is
levied by the British Government on each of these strangers;
and at festival times, the office where it is received, and
licences to bathe are issued, is thronged with eager applicants,
who grudge no labour, suffering, or eapense, that they may
obtain heaven by such means as are here required for the
purchase of it ! !”f
* Harington’s Analysis, vol. iii. p. 222.
† Jour, of Woy, and Travels, &c., vol. ii. p. 328.
WITH IDOLATRY. 89
The proceeds of this system, and the appropriation of them,
appear from the notes appended to this section of the
“Analysis.” . . . . . . ".
JUGGERNAUT. * ...
- - - Rupees.
Gross collection of Pilgrim Tax for 1815–16 (including 72 ... ---
ſº - sº 53,725
rupees miscellaneous receipts) . . . . . . . . . .
Assessment of endowed lands . . . . . . . . . . . 26,818
Sale of holy food” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,484
- 86,027
Deduct charges for establishment and contingencies . . . . . 17,143
Expenses of Juggernaut's Temple . . . . . . . . . . 56,372
English cloth for the three cars . . . . . . . . . . . 1,365
- 74,880
Net collection 8)11,147
421,393
Dr. Buchanan, in his “Christian Researches,” states, from
official accounts, the annual expenses of the Idol Juggernaut,
presented to the English Government, as follows:—
Rupees. £.
Expense of the table of the Idol . . . . . . . . . . 36,115 or 4,51
Ditto of his dress or wearing apparel . . . . . . . . 2,712 – 339
Ditto of the wages of his servants . . . . . . . 10,057 — 1,259
Ditto of contingent expenses at the different seasons 10,989 — 1,373
of pilgrimage . . . . . . . . • * * * *
Ditto of his elephants and horses . . . . . . . . 3,030 — 378
Ditto of his ruth, or annual state carriage . . . . . 6,713 – 839
•
Rupees 69,616 £8,702
“In item “wages of servants’ are included the wages of
the courtesans, who are kept for the service of the temple.t
“What is called in the official account ‘the state carriage,’
is the same as the car or tower. Mr. Hunter (the Collector
of the Pilgrim Tax) informed me that three ‘state carriages’
* “With the consent of the Purchas, I deputed an Aumeen to oversee
and state the produce from the sale of holy food, the quantity and value of
cloth presented for the purpose of being displayed on the wheel at the top
of the temple, on which Government receives, from the person presenting,
its full value as a fee, under the head of Dujja, exclusive of which he has
also to pay the fee of the Purchas and others, for their ministry during the
ceremony.” G. Webb, Collector of Tax, Dec. 1807. Par. Papers, 1813,
p. 65. Auth. - . . .
t For the character of these persons, see Heber's Journ, vol. ii. p. 283.
90 BRITISH CONNECTION
were decorated this year (June 1806) with upwards of £200
sterling worth of English broad cloth and baize.”
What a trifling sum is 11,147 rupees, about £1,390 sterling,
as the clear gain of supporting idolatry at Juggernaut; a gain,
doubtless, accompanied by the death of hundreds of unhappy
pilgrims' The variation in the annual number of pilgrims is
considerable; the principal cause is the early or late com-
mencement of the principal festivals. The mortality in the
rainy season is great, and intimidates even the superstitious
Hindoos from undertaking the pilgrimage. Mr. Harington
states “the net receipts for 1814–15 at 135,667 rupees, and
the number of taxed pilgrims, who were assembled from
different parts of India at the Sman and Rut Jattra in May
and June, to have been 77,323, inclusive of those exempted
from the payment of duties. The attendance of pilgrims in
June and July, 1815, who paid the established duty, was
5,444. The difference is partly to be ascribed to the lateness
of the season of the principal festival, and the difficulty of
travelling by land in Cuttack and the adjacent districts.”

GYA.
The amount of Pilgrim Tax at Gya is more considerable
than at Juggernaut; and is, with a small deduction, thrown
into the Public Treasury.
Rupees
“Gross collections from May, 1815, to April, 1816, . . . 229,805
Deduct charges of collections and 1 per cent. to English
Superintend 7,021
wperintendent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Charitable allowances to several individuals . . . . . . . 2,530
Donation to Native Hospital in Calcutta . . . . . . . . 11,300
Native Rajah, 10 per cent. on net collections . . . . . . 26,078
46,929
8)182,876
Leaving the met receipts . . . £22,859’’
ALLAHABAD.
The receipts and disbursements of the tax on pilgrims for
1815-16 were as follow :-
- Rupees.
“Gross collections, including 695 rupees levied from pilgrims } 79,779
without licences, who attempted to evade the tax . . . . }
WITH IDOLATRY. 9]
Charges and commission of 5 per cent. to the English Collector. . 6,726
8)73,053
Net receipts to Government . . £9,131 *
TRIPETTY.
“This is the most celebrated Hindoo temple south of the
Krishna river, lat. 13. 46. N., long. 79. 24. E., 80 miles N.
W. from Madras. The temple is placed in an elevated hollow
or basin, enclosed by a circular crest of hills, the precincts of
which have never been profaned by Christian or Mahomedan
feet, nor has even the exterior of it been seen but by a genuine
Hindoo. The reciprocal interests of the Brahmuns, and of
the different rulers under whose sway it fell, compromised this
forbearance by the payment of large sums to Government,
which, in 1758, amounted to £30,000 sterling. The incarnation
of Vishnu, worshipped here, has a variety of names, as Ven-
cata Ram, and Tripati; but, by the Mahrattas, he is named
Ballajee, and his functions are considered to have particular
reference to commerce. Crowds of pilgrims resort to it from
all parts of India, who pour into it offerings of goods, grain,
gold, silver, jewels, precious stuffs, horses, cows, and other
articles, the aggregate of which, when converted into money,
not only yields a surplus revenue to Government, but serves
to maintain several thousand persons performing the offices
of an idolatrous worship, which is here conducted with
eartraordinary pomp.t. The traders of the Banyan and Bat-
tia tribes of Guzerat are accustomed to present a per centage
of their profits to the temple annually. The amount realized
to the British Government at this temple was, in 1809,
60,791 star pagodas; 1810, 50,722; 1811, 50,722; or about
4819,000 sterling.”f
The following account, of British connection with idolatry
at this temple, is from the pen of a Functionary of the British
Government, in the district of Tripetty:—
“Tripetty is in a valley, about the centre of a long range of hills, running
almost north and South. No Christian eye has ever seen the pagoda, nor
even has a Mussulman ever attempted to put his foot on the hills, the mere
sight of which, so gratifies the Hindoos, that leagues off, upon first catching
sight of the rocks, they fall prostrate calling on the name of the god.
* Hamilton's Hind., vol. i. pp. 266—301.
f For the character of this worship, see an extract from Dubois, Asi.
Jour, Oct., 1830, p. 102; and Poynder's Speech on the Pil. Tax, p. 33–36.
f Hamilton's Hind, vol. ii. p. 431,432.
92 BRITISH CONNECTION

The idol is worshipped, by votaries, who pour in from all parts of India,
under a thousand names. The idol in the temple is an erect stone figure,
about seven feet in height, and personifies Vishnoo. The temple is dis-
tinguished by the oblations which are offered to its god, by Vishnoo’s
votaries from all parts of the Indian world. The cause of these offerings is
as follows;–the idol smitten with love for Sudmarultee, daughter of Akasha,
Rajah of Narrainevumnun, determined to espouse her, but wanting coin for
the matrimonial expenses, he raised the wind by the aid of Cuvera, the
Indian Plutus. This god, however, directed that the money thus lent,
should be repaid annually, to the sovereign of the countries lying between
the Palaur, and Soonoomookee rivers. . . . . . .
“The Brahmuns maintain that the Hindoo princes allowed the revenues
from this source, to be entirely employed on the spot, in religious ceremonies,
and that the Mussulman first appropriated on the score of the above claim
the produce of these oblations. During the early wars we had with the French
in this part of the world,—this source of revenue was one of the first fruits
of our conquests ; though certainly its legitimacy is much to be doubted 1
These offerings are made generally from interested motives, and are of
every diversity of articles conceivable, viz., gold and silver lumps; coins of
all sorts; bags of rupees; copper money; spices; assafoetida; the hair cut
off the head, frequently saved from infancy. A man who is lame presents
a silver leg; if blind, a silver or gold eye, &c. The birth of a son; recon-
ciliation with enemies; success against the foe ; safe termination of a
journey; the marriage of a son or daughter; prosperity in trade, &c., are
among the reasons which lead together, in the direction of Tripetty, the
wise as well as ignorant heathen.
“The offerings are not always presented by the interested party, they
may be sent by relations, friends, or wakeels, but they are frequently
forwarded by Gosynes, who are servants of the temple, and of which there
are a considerable number. Before the Brumhutsoween (or nine day
celebration of the nuptials), they set out in different directions, and reaching
the country in which they intend to commence operations, they unfurl the
sacred flag of the god, with which each is intrusted. Round this idolatrous
banner the Hindoos gather, and either trust their offerings to its bearer, or
carry them to the foot of the idol. A sufficient mass being congregated,
‘the blind leader of the blind,” strikes the standard, and returns in time for
the nuptial anniversary. . They are seldom detected in stealing the offerings,
but they no doubt derive some emolument from the pilgrims, as their
presence secures them from trouble, taxation, and other annoyance. As
they journey, they chant every five or six minutes, the name and attributes
of the god; Gov, Gov, Govinda, Rauz, Rauzoo ! the whole party, men,
women, and children, successively take up the word, as rapidly as possible,
and then simultaneously utter it. . - - -
“The offerings are of various extent; they seldom exceed 1000 rupees.
The god compliments the worshippers at his altar, with presents, proportioned
to the liberality of their oblations; if the devotee gives 100 rupees he receives
a turband; from 100 to 500 a flowered silk vestment; from this to 1,000,
a shawl, &c. A second source of revenue is called wurtena, or presents for
the idol’s own use; whether jewels, horse cloths, &c., the donor is made to
pay the estimated value of the offering to Government, before he is allowed to
make the idol its present; the article is then retained for the use of the temple {
A third source of revenue is called arjeetum, or receipts, and is of three
classes, abbeesheykoom, purifications; naivaidoom, offerings, and wahanum,
processions. .
WITH IDOLATRY, 93
“1. Abbeesheykoom. Every Friday the idol is anointed with civet, musk,
camphire, &c., and washed clean again with milk. The devotee, desirous
of seeing the operation, pays what he chooses; but in the Brumhautsoween
he pays fifty rupees. Porlungee Seeva, is enrobing the god in a flower
garment, which ceremony takes place every Thursday. During the festival
sixty rupees are paid for seeing the business. Soomanlah Seeva. All who
delight to see the idol decorated with a necklace of flowers, pay twelve
rupees, and this pleasure may, for this daily payment, be enjoyed the whole
year! Sahasranamaschana signifies the diurnal worship of the god under
his thousand names; five rupees is the price of this devotion. Munsoon
Seeva is an imposing ceremony, and the spectator yields twelve rupees for
seeing the object of his worship rocked to sleep!!
“2. Naivadoom, or offerings. Purmanum, is an offering of milk, Sugar,
and rice. Pooleevagarrun; tamarinds, sweet oil, and rice. Moodgarrun;
dall, ghee, and rice; and Duddee davrum, butter, milk, and rice. They
may be prepared by the offerer on paying six rupees; but if the circar (or
Government) provides, sixteen rupees! Bugehanaraidoom, is an offering
of Sweetmeats; the devotee has the offering prepared by the circar, and
from twenty to twenty-eight rupees are paid for the honour of presenting it.
Malanavaidoom, is a large offering of from 1000 to 2000 seers of rice,
provided by the circar, but to be paid for 100 or 200 pagodas. Amuntra
narroocharrum, are united offerings of all, daily offered, price is sixty-five
rupees. Ookaipud-chadee meersa, a presentation of the plant Ookai, said to
be peculiar to the Tripetty hill; four rupees.
“3. Wahanum, or processions of the idol; they are twelve in number, and
each has a reference to different parts of the Hindoo Mythology, as connected
with the worship of Vishnoo.” After enumerating several, the writer adds,
—“For all the above, the votary, who gives the idol the trouble of coming
out, is forty rupees less rich than before!” - - -
“THE whole of THE REVENUEs of THE TEMPLE, FROM what EveR
SOURCE DERIVED, ARE UNDER THE MANAGEMENT OF, AND APPROPRIATED
BY THE BRITISH Gover NMENT. A regular establishment is entertained,
paid by salaries; and a horde of brahmuns are maintained by lands,
appropriated for that purpose, over the surrounding country, subject only to
a slight tax. The temple is kept up in all its dignity; and the average
ºreceipts, on the account of Government, for the last ten years, will show what
a good thing we make of it !! The head general officer is called the tahsildar,
whose business is the general superintendence over the others; to see the
pilgrims are well treated and lodged ; supplies kept in the bazars;
ceremonies duly performed as paid for, and that no bribery or oppression
takes place. e reports to the Collector, or his assistants, according to
orders, on all cases of doubt or importance. Common servants are allowed
for taking care of the records, lighting and sweeping the cutcherry, &c.;
twenty peons attend the tahsilder's office, and are paid a pagoda (eight
shillings) a month, with two head peons of larger salary. During the
Brumhautsoween an additional sibbundy is allowed; twenty-five peons,
twenty pullers, and two hurcarrahs, or scouts; we also assist the tahsildar
with forty or fifty peons, a party of whom are constantly on the hills, looking
out for the thieves, who congregate where the prey may be found. A
company of seapoys (soldiers), under a native officer, are stationed as the
tahsildar may choose, as permanent guards. In passing through the silver
porch, the pilgrims are admitted into a rather confined court, and are
introduced to the god; in front of whom are two vessels, and into these the
votaries drop their respective offerings, and, making their obeisance, pass
94 BRITISH CONNECTION
out through another door. At the close of the day the guards are searched;
without examination, the offerings are thrown into bags, and are sealed with
the seal of the pagoda, then by the tahsildar and jeengar; after which, the
bag is sent down to the cutcherry below the hill. At the end of the month
these bags are transmitted to our cutcherry; they are opened, sorted, valued,
and finally sold at auction. The annual net proceeds is about 87,000 rupees.
In 1820, the collections were 102,000 rupees; in 1822, the collections were
142,000 rupees; but this is exclusive of expenses, for which 20,000 may be
deducted. The resources of the pagoda were legitimately enjoyed by the
Mussulman Government; for services earned with blood and treasure, and
at the risk of losing our trade on the Coromandel coast, one of the first
rewards, or rather poor payment, was this revenue, and it has been paid
unremittingly ever since. It was a strange, but a determined policy, when,
through the country, the pagoda lands were resumed by the Company, and
tusdeck allowance granted in their place. The revenues of Tripetty are on
a gradual decline, and will die, in the lapse of years, a natural death.”

“It appears,” says the late J. Harington, Esq., “from the
public accounts of 1815-16, that a small collection of tax is
made from the pilgrims of Seetlal)abee at Kasheepoor, Surkura,
and Sumbul, in the district of Moradabad; and from the
pilgrims of Soru in Itawa.t. The amount received in the
former district was 2,592 rupees, and in the latter 3,091
rupees, in the year referred to. But I have not been able to
obtain any further information relative to these collections.”f
The following official documents show the gain of this
wnnatural association with Idolatry, the baneful influence of
which, in regulating and aggrandizing it, is very considerable.
“I apprehend,” says J. Poynder, Esq., “that it is impossible
to take credit for much less than a million of money, as the
ascertained net profit for the period referred to (seventeen
years); and that when the additional receipts, from the places
mentioned by Mr. Harington, are adverted to, for a similar
period, that amount must be greatly exceeded. This still
leaves various places to be accounted for, from which a revenue
is derived, and which are not yet in any shape before the
public, viz., Dwaraca, Somnauth, &c.”$
* See Asi. Jour., July 1831, pp. 193—198. See also E. I. Mag., April
1832, p. 352.
t “It will be found that the Pilgrim Tax is collected not only at the
great temples at Juggernaut and Trippetty, but at many of the smaller pagodas
of celebrity; and a part of these collections may be classed in the Govern-
ment accounts, under the general head of ‘Farms and Licences.’ This
system appears of indefinite extent. The chief of the revenue department, in
Feb. 1832, acknowledged—‘I have never seen a clear statement of the lands
assigned to temples, the collections from such lands have apparently been
merged in the land revenue.”—E. India Mag., April 1832, p. 352.
f Har. Analysis, vol. iii. p. 208. § Asi. Jour. Oct. 1830, pp. 103, 104.
JUGGERNAUT.
ANNUAL AMoUNT of the TAX ON PILGRIMs attending the TEMPLE OF JUGGERNAUT; with an Account of
the Annual Expenses, from 1812-13 to 1828-29, (estimating the value of the Rupee at 2s. 6d. English.)
|
Amount of Collector Expenses Buildings, Surpl
Years. Tax and of Repairs, and Total Charges. Net Receipts. E .
collected. Establishment. Temple. Contingeneies. xpenditure.
30. s. d. 1 #8. s. d. £. s. d. #8. s. d. £. s. d. £. s. d. 1 #8. s. d.
1812-13 6,381 2 6 2,011 10 0 || 5,825 176 850 10 0 || 8,687 176 ... 2,306 15 0
|1813-14 10,895 0 0 || 2,011 10 0 || 5,522 76 425 5 0 || 7,969 2 6 2,925 17 6
|1814-15 26,065 0 0 || 2,877 7 6 5,979 00 845 7 6 || 9,701 15 0 | 16,363 50
1815-16 || 6,714 17 6 | 1,826 5 0 || 6,502 0 0 || 9,757 176 | 18,086 2 6 tº ſº º 11,371 10 0
|1816-17 | 7,536 15 0 | 1,619 2 6 5,581 10 0 tº 0 ºn 7,200 12 6 336 2 6
1817-18 11,752 12 6 2,151 2 6 6,276 12 6 53 5 0 || 8,481 0 0 || 3,271 12 6
1818-19 || 10,119 0 0 | 1,245 2 6 6,381 10 0 31 7 6 || 7,658 0 0 || 2,461 0 0
1819-20 |20,744 0 0 | 1,656 7 6 6,195 12 6 a tº e 7,852 0 0 | 12,892 0 0
|1820-21 7,503 17 6 996 12 6 || 5,682 15 0 & 0 & 6,679 7 6 824 10 0
1821-22 || 14,698 15 0 | 1,333 12 6 || 6,588 12 6 e tº 9 7,936 0 0 6,762 15 0
1822-23 |29,156 2 6 2,283 7 6 6,097 0 0 0 0 & 8,380 7 6 |20,775 15 0
1823-24 || 8,376 17 6 | 1,047 2 6 5,856 176 tº G & 6,904 0 0 | 1,472 176
1824-25 || 9,369 17 6 1,239 17 6 6,068 12 6 * * * 7,308 10 0 || 2,061 7 6
1825-26 |34,495 2 6 2,682 5 0 || 4,579 5 0 85 17 6 || 7,347 7 6 |27,147 15 0
1826-27 || 9,227 2 6 1,469 2 6 || 3,822 50 137 5 0 || 5,428 12 6 3,798 10 0
1827-28 || 11,857 12 6 | 1,575 12 6 4,121 10 0 78 15 0 || 5,775 17 6 || 6,081 15 0
1828-29 Full accounts not yet received. 5,708 17 6
Seventeen Years’ Net Receipts, £99,205 15s. 0d.
§

96
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98 BRITISH CONNECTION
TRIPETTY.
ANNUAL AMOUNT of the TAx ON PILGRIMs attending the
TEMPLE OF TRIPETTY, with an Account of the Annual
Expenses from 1812-13 to 1821-29.

Amount of Tax | Collector and tº
Years. collected. Establishment. Net Receip tS.
£. s. d. £. s. d. £, s. d.
1812-13 | 19,922 17 6 || 4,990 2 6 || 14,932 15 O
1813-14 22,982 15 0 || 5,263 10 0 | 18,969 2 6
1814-15 #3 5,407 10 0
1815-16 3:53.3 4,951 12 6
1816-17 | # = 5? W 4,248 2 6
1817-18 3... ;3 5,444 12 6
1818-19 || 3 ; ; ; 4,779 2 6
1819-20 | * 3: á 3,788 17 6
1820-21 | #5 3,933 10 0 k
1821-22 || 14,145 17 6 4,251 15 0 9,894 2 6 H
1822-23 18,633 0 0 || 4,587 5 0 || 14,045 15 0
1823-24 | 12,556 12 6 || 5,278 5 0 7,278 7 6
1824-25 | 18,028 12 6 5,330 0 0 || 12,698 10 0
1825–26 || 11,585 17 6 || 4,446 7 6 7,139 10 0 |
1826-27 | 16,574 0 0 || 3,140 12 6 13,433 7 6
1827-28 || 16,70I 7 6 4,231 5 O 12,470 2 6
1828-29 14,101 17 6 4,022 7 5 10,079 10 0
£. s. d.
TRIPETTY—10 Years' Net Receipts. . . . . . . . . . . . 120,941 2 6
The Amounts collected for an interval of 7 Years
more cannot be precisely ascertained; but the
united Expenses of the Collection and Estab-
lishment for those 7 Years (which are known) ! 84,658 15 6
appear to bear so close a relation to those of the
remaining 10 Years, that the average Receipts
may be safely stated at . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Making a Total, for 17 Years, of . . . . . tº G & © tº a . £205,599 18 0
- A
To prove the correctness of this estimate, the 7 Years' Collection
and Establishment are 1827. 17s. 6d. higher than the next 7 Years'
Collection and Establishment. Total Net Receipts from Juggernaut,
Gya, Allahabad, and Tripetty, in seventeen years, £912,662 ſ!*
* See Poynder's Speech on the Pil. Tax, Sep. 1830 (Hatchard), pp. 159–163.
WITH IDOLATRY, 99
The following traces of British connection with Idolatry
and Mahomedanism, in various parts of India, are chiefly
extracted from Hamilton's Description of Hindostan, two vols.,
quarto, dedicated to the late Right Honourable G. Canning,
President of the Board of Control, &c., &c.
“Dacca is situated about 100 miles above the mouth of the
Ganges, and 180 by land from Calcutta. The Nabob of
Dacca has long been celebrated for the suavity of his manners,
and his steady attachment to the British Government. In
1807 an allowance of 3000 rupees was granted to him for the
repair of a building devoted to religious purposes, not only on
account of the uniform propriety of his conduct, and the
respectability of his character, but also as a public indication
of the disposition of the British Government to support the
freedom of religious worship among all classes of their
subjects.”
“Bate Isle. An island situated at the western extremity
of the Guzerat peninsula. Shunkowar is its proper name, and
is derived from that of a Hindoo demon, so named from his
dwelling in a large shunk or conch shell, wherein he concealed
the sacred Vedas, which he had stolen from Brahma. An
incarnation of Vishnu, under the name of Shunk Narayan,
cut open the shells and restored the Vedas to their lawful
owner. The demon pleaded, as his excuse, that he hoped to
have been put to death by Vishnu for the theft, which would
have insured him future happiness. In consequence of this
exploit, Shunk Narayan, or the destroyer of the shell demon,
established his own worship on the island, where it continued
paramount until the flight of another Hindoo deity, named
Runchor, from Dwaraca, to escape the fury of a Mahomedan
army; since which time Runchor has been supreme on Bate.
In 1462 this place was taken by Sultan Mahmood Begra of
Ahmedabad and Guzerat, who demolished the temples, broke
the images, and gave up the country to indiscriminate plunder.
In 1816 Colonel East advanced with a detachment towards
the Isle of Bate, which quietly surrendered, on the promise of
a suitable provision and complete security for their private
property and religious establishments. An agreement was
executed, by the conditions of which they engaged not to
permit, instigate, or connive at any act of piracy, committed
by any person under their authority, and also to abstain from
plundering vessels in distress. A free or open commerce to
be permitted to all British vessels paying the regulated
* Hamilton's Hind., vol. i. 1820, p. 186.
H 2
100 BRITISH CONNECTION
duties. The British, by this treaty, undertook to afford the
Temple at Bate, suitable protection and encouragement.”
“Dwaraca. A town and celebrated temple (named also
Juggeth,) situated at the western end of the Guzerat Peninsula.
It is the most sacred spot in this part of India. About 600
years ago the valued image of their god, Runchor (an incar-
nation of Krishna), by a manoeuvre of the Brahmuns was
conveyed to Daccoor, in Guzerat, where it still remains.
After much trouble the Brahmums at Dwaraca substituted
another in its stead; which unfortunately also took flight
across a narrow arm of the sea, to the island of Bate, about
135 years ago, on which event another new one was placed in
the temple ! Dwaraca is designated by the name of the island;
and, having long been the residence of Krishna, it is a cele-
brated place of pilgrimage for the sectaries of that religion.
At Muddee, near Dwaraca, the land thieves of Oka are named
Kaba, a Sanscrit word which signifies a seeker or searcher,
on account of the severe scrutiny all pilgrims and unprotected
travellers undergo. The rags of the Byragee are carefully
examined, and the ball of ashes, with which he besmears his
body, is broken by these robbers, in hopes of finding some
small coin concealed in it! The pirates in this part placed
great reliance on the power of their deity at Dwaraca, his
priests and attendants being the strongest instigators to
depredation. In return they (the priests, &c.) received a
certain portion of all plundered property, as a recompense for
the protection received from the Idol Runchor. Before
embarking, it was a common practice for the pirates to promise
a larger share than the god could claim by right, if he would
ensure success to their trip. Many vessels were fitted out in
the name of Runchor, as sole owner, and actually belonged
to the temple, which received the plunder they brought back!
“On the arrival of a pilgrim at Dwaraca, he bathes in a
sacred stream, for which he pays the Dwaraca chief 4% rupees:
brahmuns only pay 3}. A visit is then made to the temple,
where offerings are presented, and a certain number of
brahmuns are fed. The pilgrim next proceeds to Aramra,
where he receives the stamp which is made with an iron
instrument, on which are engraved the shell, the ring, and the
lotus flower, the insignia of the gods. The instrument is
made hot, and impressed on any part of the body, but generally
on the arms, and frequently leaves an impression. It is often
impressed on young infants: and a pilgrim may receive not
* Vol. i. pp. 661, 662.
WITH IDOLATRY. 10]
only his own stamp, but also stamps on his body for the benefit
of an absent friend. The stamp costs 14 rupee.
“The average number of pilgrims resorting annually to
Dwaraca has been estimated to exceed 15,000, and the revenue
derived to the temples about a lack of rupees (£12,500). It
has been decreasing, as well as the number of pilgrims.
In 1807 the chief of Dwaraca promised not to permit or in-
stigate any act of piracy, and the British Government
engaged to afford the temple every suitable protection and
encouragement: a free and open commerce was permitted to
vessels paying the regulated duties. The depredations by
sea renewed on British property, and the predatory system into
the adjacent countries commenced by land, made the conquest
of Okamundel the only effectual remedy for evils of such in-
veteracy and duration. Dhengee was captured by Colonel
East in 1816, with inconsiderable loss; and, notwithstanding
the treachery meditated by the Dwaraca chief, in consideration
of the sanctity of the place,” he determined to attempt a
negociation which was finally successful. In 1817 Okamun-
del, with its holy places of Bate and Dwaraca, was finally
transferred to the Baroda Government.t -
“Puttan Somnauth is a town near the southern extremity
of the Guzerat Peninsula. Somnauth is one of the twelve
images of Seeb, which are said to have descended from
heaven to earth; and the great fame of its temple attracted
the cupidity, while it stimulated the bigotry, of Sultan
Mahmood, of Ghizni. According to Mahomedan authors,
the image was destroyed, but the Hindoos assert, that the
god retired into the ocean The symbol placed in the temple
is deemed peculiarly propitious to those who desire offspring.
It is visited by pilgrims from every quarter, who pay a trifling
duty to the Nabob, for permission to perform their devotions at
this favourite shrine. In 1816, through the interposition of
the Bombay Presidency with the Junaghar State, arrangements
were effected, tending to secure greater freedom of pilgrim-
age to Sommawth.
“Poona, the modern capital of the Mahratta empire, is
situated 100 miles from Bombay. The view from Parvate hill
commands the town with all its gardens and plantations, the
cantonments, and the British residency at Sungum. At the
bottom of the hill is a large square field enclosed with high
* Why such respect for this idolatrous place—a den of thieves and
pirates? + Vol. i. pp. 657–663.
f Vol. i. p. 671. See Asi, Jour, Feb. 1827, p. 256.
102 BRITISH CONNECTION
brick walls, where the Paishwa used to assemble the Brahmuns,
to whom he gave alms at the great feast, when the rainy
season terminates; who, on these occasions, begged their way
from all parts of Hindostan. When all were assembled they
were shut in and marked; and as they came out, one at a time,
the gratuity was given to them. Something of the same kind
is still continued by the British Government. On the conquest
of Poona, to conciliate the religious classes, an explicit
assurance was given, that all existing establishments should
be maintained, and all endowments held inviolate.”
“Seringapatam is the modern capital of Mysore. Hyder's
palace occupies the east end of the island, and although built
of mud displays considerable elegance, and is a very handsome
native structure. Adjoining is the mausoleum of Hyder,
where rests all that was royal of this Mahomedan dynasty,
consisting of Hyder himself, his wife, and Tippoo, who lie
under tombs covered with rich cloths, at the expense of the
British Government; and the establishment of priests to offer
ap prayers, and of musicians to perform the Nobut (an
instrument of music beaten five times a day), is retained as
formerly. Hyder's palace is now the residence of a surgeon;
his seraglio, a European Hospital. Tippoo's seraglio is a
barrack for artillery; his private apartments are occupied by
the Resident, and his public by European troops. How
greatly degraded from their ancient dignity "t Is not this
establishment of priests supported by a Christian Government?
“Colar is the capital of a district of the same name, 40
miles from Bangalore. It was the birth-place of Hyder. His
son, Tippoo, erected a handsome monument for him; and
near it a mosque and college of Moullahs, or Mahomedan
priests (with a proper establishment of musicians), were
endowed to pray for his soul : the whole of which is still
continued at the earpense of the British Government.]
Of the District of Tanjore, it is remarked;—“The
Mahomedans never having actually occupied this territory, or
effected any permanent establishment in it, the Hindoo
religion has been preserved in considerable splendour, and
their ancient places of worship, with their vast endowments,
remain untouched. In almost every village there is a temple,
with a lofty gateway of massive but not inelegant architecture,
where a great many Brahmuns are maintained, either by the
revenues formerly attached to them, or by an allowance from
Government. The Brahmuns are here the chief holders of
* Ham. Hind, vol. ii. p. 195, 196. + p. 362. + p. 374.
WiTH II) OLATRY. 103
land, and perform almost every office of husbandry, except
holding the plough. They are all extremely loyal, on account
of the protection they receive, and also for an allowance
granted by the British Government of 45,000 pagodas (about
£18,000 sterling) annually, which is distributed for the
support of the poorer temples.” How much good would
this sum do in India, if expended in supporting Christian
schools, and the circulation of the Bible!
The temple of Seringham is situated in the district of
Trichinopoly, under the Madras Presidency. “The Pagoda
is situated about a mile from the western extremity of the
Island of Seringham. It is composed of seven square
enclosures, the walls of which are 25 feet high, and 4 feet
thick. These enclosures are 350 feet distant from each other,
and each has four large gates with a high tower, which are
placed in the middle of each side of the enclosure, and
opposite to the four cardinal points. The outward wall is
nearly four miles in circumference, and its gateway to the
south is ornamented with pillars, several of which are single
stones, 33 feet long, and nearly 5 feet in diameter. Those
which form the roof are still larger. In the innermost
enclosures are the chapels. Pilgrims resort to it from all parts
of Hindostan for absolution, and none come without an
offering of value. Here, as in all great Pagodas, the Brahmums
live in a subordination that knows no resistance, and slumber
Žn voluptuousness that feels no want. At present the allow-
ance made by the British Government for the support of the
temple, and its establishment, amounts to 15,600 pagodas per
annum (about £6,240 sterling.)”. It is to be lamented that
voluptuous Brahmuns should be supported by a Christian
Government, when Christianity would prove so great a bless-
ing to the people of India.
“Condatchy is a bay in the island of Ceylon, and the most
central rendezvous of the boats employed in the pearl fishery.
The superstition of the divers renders it necessary for the
Government to employ two enchanters to charm the sharks,
in which they appear to be very successful, as, although they
are seen, from the boats, and while the diver is at the bottom,
accidents rarely occur ! These necromancers are all of one
family, and possess the entire confidence of the natives. Two
divers are attached to one stone, and go down alternately;
and when 300 boats are anchored on the banks, 1,500 divers
may be supposed to go down every minute; and, probably,
* Ham. Hind., vol. ii. p. 453. + p. 465,
104 BRITISH CONNECTION
by their noise and numbers, assist the incantations of the
shark charmers! These impostors receive ten oysters from
every diver's share, and the same number are allotted for the
pagodas at Ramisseram and Nagore; besides other privileges
and emoluments of very ancient date, which have been con-
tinued by the British Government.”
“Two of the villages in Kardeh Doom, named Tokah and
Casipore, (in the country between the Sutuleje and Jumna
rivers,) were granted by the first Rajahs of Sirmore, to the
Mahunt or high priest of the temple of Nahan, together with
various other appropriations of land and money for religious
purposes; indeed, there was scarcely a part of the Sirmore
territory that had not been rendered more or less tributary to
that sacred edifice. These had been sequestered during the
war, but were restored in 1816 to the Mahunt, which gave
great satisfaction to his flock, and to the public in general.”f
“Serinagur is the capital of the province Gurwal, 38 miles
from Hurdwar. On the opposite side of the river, at the
village of Ranihut, is a temple sacred to Raja Ishwara; which
is principally inhabited by dancing women. The initiation
into this society is performed by anointing the head with oil
taken from the lamp placed before the altar; by which act
they make a formal abjuration of their parents and kindred,
devoting their future lives to prostitution /ī Among the items
of eleemosynary donations distributed to Brahmums and
others by the old Governments, and continued by the British,
the principal in amount is 512 rupees, which is given to
various tribes of religious mendicants, who frequent a mela
or fair, held annually near Serinagur.”$ Ought Britain
* Ham. Hind., vol. ii. p. 518. + p. 620.
# The worship of Brahma is constitutionally impure. There are temples
of consecration for a life of impurity: these exist at Cambaya, Tivikarey,
and other places of Hindostan. Tavernier mentions the existence of this
system. “From Cambaya you go to a little village, distant three coss,
where there is a pagoda, to which all the Indian courtesans come to make
their offerings. This pagoda is full of a great number of naked images.
Among the rest there is a large figure of one that seems to resemble Apollo,
all uncovered. Girls of eleven and twelve years old, who have been
brought and educated for the purpose, are sent by their mistresses to this
pagoda “to offer and to surrender themselves up to this idol.” (Tavernier's
Travels in India, p. 37, 1678). See the Apocraphy, Baruch, ch. vi. ver.
43, and 2 Kings, ch. xvii. ver. 30, respecting Succoth benoth; Dubois'
Manners and Institutions of Hindoos, vol. ii. p. 370; Hamilton's Account
of Kanoje, vol. i. 375; and Mill's British India, vol. i. p. 279—4to. edition.
Is it possible that any man, whose mind has been cultivated under the
influence of Christian principles, can wish such a system to be perpetuated *
§ Ham. Hind., vol. ii. pp. 640. 647.
WITH IDOLATRY. - 105
thus to sanction and encourage obscenity ? Would it be done
were these things fully known Happy day when British
connection with idolatry in India is dissolved; of whose
temples,” as well as those of ancient Rome, it may be said—
“Nam quo non prostat foemina templo 2–Juv.
“Bhadrinath is a town and temple, about eighty miles
from Almora, in Kumaon. The structure of the edifice does
not correspond with the reputed sanctity of the place, for the
support of which large sums are annually received, independent
of the land revenue, appropriated for its maintenance. It
is built in the form of a cone, with a small cupola, surmounted
by a square shelving roof of copper, over which is a gilded
ball and spire; the height of the building is forty or fifty feet.
The number of pilgrims who visit Bhadrinath, annually, is
estimated at 50,000. The principal idol, Bhadrinath, is
about three feet high, cut in black stone, or marble, dressed
in a suit of gold and silver brocade, the head and hands only
being uncovered. His temple has more beneficed lands
attached to it, than any sacred Hindoo establishment in this
part of India. In 1808 it was said to possess 700 villages,
which are under the jurisdiction of the high priest, who holds
a paramount authority, nominally independent of the ruling
power. It was determined, that the revenues of the purgunas
appropriated to temples, and other religious buildings, should
be continued, provided that the Commissioner was satisfied,
that they would not be diverted from their original purpose,
and (as too frequently happens) converted to a source of
individual emolument. The repair of the road from Serinagur
to Bhadrinath, also appeared an object of some importance,
as encouraging the resort of a greater number of pilgrims,
and thereby promoting the intercourse and traffic between
the plains and the immense hills, whence springs the source
of the Ganges.”f -
Of the District of Kumaon, near the Hymalaya mountains,
it is remarked, “Jaghires and rent free lands, especially for
religious purposes, were found to be extremely numerous;
two entire purgunnahs being so appropriated. Kuttolee for
the temple of Bhadrinath, and Mysoree for Kedarnath; the
first yielding 1564, and the latter 1600 Gorkarupees. Besides
these there were periodical distributions of money, for pious
and charitable purposes, which could not be discontinued
without exciting a feeling prejudicial to the reputation
* Miss. Reg. Dec. 1831, p. 541,542. t Ham. Hind, vol. ii. p. 638.
106 BRITISH CONNECTION
enjoyed by the British Government, of strictly respecting the
rights, privileges, and religious institutions of every class of
their native subjects. Most of the above appropriations were,
in consequence, confirmed, no claims being rejected, excepting
such as rested on grounds of very questionable validity. It
was however thought most eligible, to endeavour to commute
the grants of land for regular payments in money, an
arrangement equally advantageous to the grantees, and
convenient to the Government.”
“In the south Mahratta country a variety of penances are
undertaken by pilgrims, at the shrine of the goddess Yelhera,
which cannot be performed in the presence of the idol without
a large pecuniary sacrifice. For the enviable felicity of
swinging aloft in the air, by means of an iron hook fixed in
the fleshy part of the loins, at the end of a beam revolving
horizontally on a point, a fee of no less than ten rupees is
exacted; and the smaller fee of two rupees for the no less
honourable display of swinging on a smaller beam, with the
head downwards, and the hook attached to the foot. The
distinction of sticking a fork through the hand, is attainable
at a cheap rate, and the honour of treading upon burning
charcoal, may be purchased for an inconsiderable amount.
From those who come attended by a band of music, two
rupees are levied. All persons bringing offerings of clarified
butter, oil, sheep, and gold or silver ornaments, are subjected
to a toll; the proportion of these oblations are respectively
allotted to the officiating priest, and the renter being exactly
defined; and no shops, booths, or stalls, can be erected during
these carnivals without payment of a fee for the licence.”t
C. Chaplain, Esq., Feb. 1832.
“In all the capital cities, principal towns, and districts,
Mahomedan officers, known in this country by the title of
Cadis, are stationed for the purpose of performing the religious
duties and ceremonies prescribed by the Mahomedan law,
and various other functions, at the public ea pense; and their
appointments are so far independent, that they are only
moveable for misconduct.”f
“I cannot see,” says C. Buller, Esq., M.P., in his letter to
the Hon. Court of Directors, relative to Juggernaut, May
1813, “what possible objection there is to the continuance of
an established tax, particularly when it is taken into
* Ham. Hind, vol. ii. p. 654. T East India Mag, Ap. 1832, p. 351.
t Teignmouth Cons, on Com. to the Natives of India the knowledge of
Christianity, p. 62. - -
WITH IDOLATRY. 107
consideration, what large pensions, in land and money, are
allowed by our Government, in all parts of the country, for
keeping up the religious institutions both of the Hindoos and
the Mussulmans.”*
“The Temple of Deo Ghur is situated on a rising ground,
in the midst of a thick forest, and is attached to the Beerbhoom
district. Thirty-two villages are allotted for the maintenance
of the chief pundit or high priest of the temple at Deo Ghur,
granted by Government at the settlement of the Jungleterry
district. They are in a very flourishing state of cultivation.”t
“The temple here,” says Hamilton, “is famous for a lingam
it contains, respecting which a strange story is told in the
Purana. Pilgrims resorting to this place, usually bring with
them water from the other sacred fanes they have already
visited, and pour it over the lingam, round which they walk a
certain number of times, while others lie down and continue
fasting until they have a favourable dream! Prayers of
various sorts are addressed to the deity of the place. Some
pray to be kings in the next transmigration, or for such worldly
enjoyments as they prefer; others pray for happiness in the
heaven of the deity they address; while some, tired and
harassed by the misery of successive births, pray to be
released from existence altogether.”f -
The conduct of individuals in India, especially when in
authority, has frequently tended to perpetuate Idolatry.
Lieut. Col. Francklin thus describes his interview with the
chief priest of the Temple of Deo Ghur;--
“Anunda Oja paid us a visit; he is a man of very expressive countenance
and firm gait, though upwards of eighty years of age. His manner of
bestowing his benediction on us, whilst he threw the malas, or garlands of
flowers over our shoulders, had something noble in it, and made a strong
impression on our minds !! He presented Mrs. F. and myself, with miklas,
or coverings, one of red silk, the other of silver and gold brocade, which he
threw round our shoulders: they were stated to possess a holy quality,
having been blessed by himself! wishing us, at the same time, every
happiness in life. I returned the visit of the high priest, who received me
in an open area adjoining the temple, within the enclosure of a small temple
dedicated to Kanya. The usual ceremony of presenting mala (chaplet of
flowers) was performed, and again he gave his benediction; shortly after
which I took leave of this venerable and amiable character, impressed with
sentiments of esteem, to see him perform the high functions of his office
with so much meekness and humility, though with so noble and dignified
an aspect.” A visit to the shrine of the impure idol Seeb, is thus described,
—“The temple was illuminated by an immense circular lamp of tutemague,
* Buchanan's Apology for Christianity in India, p. 162.
t Francklin's Inquiry for the site of the ancient Palibothra, part i. p. 88,
† Hamilton's Hind., vol. i. p. 160,
108 BRITISH CONNECTION
blazing like gold, four feet in height, by two in breadth, supplied by ghee,
and burned with innumerable wicks. The spiral and never-ceasing flame,
continually ascending to the summit in devotion to the Supreme Creator of
the universe; the altar strewed with flowers, sandal-wood, and precious
gums; the surrounding priests, and the various ornaments of the temple,
altogether formed a picture difficult to describe, but impressively felt by the
spectators: and, to use the words of the energetic Maurice, whilst describing
the Mithratic rites, ‘The radiated orb of gold; the bright spiral flame,
ascending from the ever-glowing altar, impressed the immost souls of the
aspirants with an awful sense of the present deity P Imagination cannot
avoid kindling at a scene like this, and it is difficult to avoid rushing into
enthusiasm, whilst viewing the splendour of this ancient species of devotion.
The high priest having blessed a garland of flowers, and some sweetmeats
for each of us, sent them by his second son; the high priest also gave us
his blessing; after which he scattered, over the Lingam, some Ganges water,
and shortly after inquired if we were pleased with what we had seen. We
expressed our satisfaction, and then, making our obeisance, we returned
from the temple.”* Ought a Christian to feel satisfaction with, or to
countenance the impure system of Idolatry P
The following extracts from the late Bishop Heber's
Journal appear very exceptionable.—“During my progress
through the holy places (at Benares), I had received garlands
of flowers in considerable numbers, which I was told
it was uncivil to throw away, particularly those which
were hung round my neck. I now, in consequence, looked
more like a sacrifice than a priest / and on getting again into
the gig was glad to rid myself of my ornaments.”—“This
being the great day of Hoolee, all my Hindoo servants
came to pay their compliments, and bring presents of red
powder and sugar plums. The event was rather costly to me,
as I was obliged to make presents in return. But it is the
‘ dustoor,’ and who in India can transgress that unwritten
and common law of the land?”—“The Raja offered to return
my visit next day ; but knowing that Tuesday is, in the
estimation of all Hindoos, unlucky, I named Wednesday in
preference, telling him my reason. He answered, very politely,
he should account every day lucky in which he had opportunity
of cultivating my acquaintance; but was evidently well
pleased.”f - -
“In 1811, the Madras Revenue Board, requested the
sanction of Government, to the disbursement of 150 star
pagodas, by the Collector of Cuddapa, on account of Hindoo
ceremonies to procure rain, to be performed at the different
* See Inquiry for the site of the ancient Palibothra, pp. 89-94.
f Heber's Jour. vol. i. p. 279; vol. ii. pp. 84, 131. “The Hindoos name
a European, who went straight to heaven from Benares, but it appeared
he had left money for the construction of a temple after his death P’ Ham.
Hind, vol. i. p. 307, - & %
witH IDoDATRY. 109
Pagodas in that district / The object, in sanctioning the
performance of these ceremonies, was to inspire the people
with confidence, and to encourage them to increased exertions
in the process of agriculture.”
“That the interference of the public authorities promotes the
popularity of individual temples, there can be no doubt.
During the invasion of Fort St. George (Madras) by Hyder
Ally, it appears that the garrison was in the greatest distress
for want of water. It was seriously contemplated to
capitulate on the following day, if relief did not arrive.
Whilst things were in this desperate state, the chief officer in
the garrison saw, in a vision, a female, who directed him to
the Wallajah gate, with the promise that the trench water
there would be found fit for use ! I need not add, that the
dreamer found it so, and thus saved the garrison. The Pagans
very gravely assert, that their guardian deity, Agaatha, effected
the deliverance of the army; whilst the Roman Catholics,
with equal gravity, contend, that their Virgin Mary was the
saviour. It is a fact, that Agaatha receives a yearly present
from the Company, with the privilege of entering the
Fort as far as the first gate / The notice taken of the idol
by Government, and the prevailing traditions of its interpo-
sition, occasions the annual receipt of presents, and renders its
festival uncommonly notorious. Here we see men, women,
and children, in solid masses, parading the streets, and
swelling the train of its followers, singing the most obscene
songs, and using language, which, the most profligate in
Christendom, would be ashamed to utter in the presence of
his most dissolute companions.”t
“The Grand Lama is an hereditary living deity, before
whom millions prostrate themselves. When Captain Turner
was on his embassy to this deity, to gratify his votaries, he
made an offering, he says, to the deceased Teshoo Lama. In
addressing the same deity, who had entered the body of an
infant eighteen months old, he said to the child :—“The
Governor General, on receiving the news of your decease in
China, was overwhelmed with grief and sorrow, and continued
to lament your absence from the world, until the cloud that
had overcast the happiness of this nation was dispelled by
your appearance.’”. Does such language comport with the
dignity of the British, and the integrity of the Christian
character?; .
* Hamilton's Hind., vol. ii. p. 342. t E. I. Mag., March 1832, p. 275.
† Ward's View of the Hindoos, vol. ii. p. 308.
110 BRITISH CONNECTION
Saugur Island, situated at the mouth of the Hooghly river,
about 100 miles from Calcutta, is a well known place of
pilgrimage. Infanticide was abolished at this place in 1802,
during the administration of the Marquis Wellesley. The
Madras Government Gazette, Jan. 13, 1827, contains an
account of this pilgrimage; and observes, “According to the
pundit, an impost is levied by the officers of Government
stationed here, of four annas per oar, besides a fee of one anna
to the establishment: but the charge, if we are not misinformed,
is unsanctioned, except as made by Byragees and Sunyasees,
who assumed the right of levying four annas per oar, and
eight annas to one or two rupees for each shop. This claim
has been so far authorized, that the right to levy any charge
was withdrawn from the Saugur Society upon the petition of
the religious mendicants. The temple of Kapila Muni, on
the southern coast of Gunga Saugur, is under the alternate
charge of a Byragee and Sunyasee. The latter presides at
the Mela, in the month of Kartik (Nov.), the former in Magh
(Jan.) They levy a tax of four annas on each person who
visits the temple, the amount of which is divided among five
differentestablishments of Ramanandi Byragees, in the vicinity
of Calcutta.”*
It is hoped inquiry will be instituted into the conduct of
these officers of Government; and that the various facts here
stated, showing the nature and extent of British connection
with Idolatry in various parts of India, will excite that
attention which their importance demands.
CHAP. II.
The idolatrous Establishments chiefly supported by the
Pilgrim Taa system at Juggernaut, Gya, Allahabad, &c.
“It may be easily supposed,” observes Colonel Phipps,
“that a very large establishment of priests and others, is
attached to such a temple as Juggernaut. One of the head
men stated the number to consist of 3,000 families, including
400 families of cooks to prepare holy food. The provisions
furnished daily for the idol and his attendants, consist of
* Asi, Jour., August 1827.
WITH IDOLATRY. 111
220 pounds of rice, ninety-seven pounds of kullye (a pulse),
twenty-four pounds of Moong (a small grain), 188 pounds of
clarified buffaloe's butter, eighty pounds of molasses, thirty-
two pounds of vegetables, ten pounds of sour milk, two and
a half pounds of spices, two pounds of sandal-wood, some
camphor, twenty pounds of salt, four rupees’ worth of fire-
wood; also twenty-two pounds of lamp oil for lights at night.
This holy food is presented to the idol three times a day !
the gates are shut, and no one but a few personal servants
are allowed to be present. This meal lasts about an hour,
during which period, the dancing girls attached to the temple,
dance in the room with many pillars. On the ringing of a
bell the doors are thrown open, and the provision is removed.
The food prepared for sale, or bespoken by the inhabitants,
is not brought into the large tower, but collected in the Beg
Mundeep, where it can be seen and sanctified by the idol
from his distant throne !
“In addition to this food, a very considerable extra quantity
is allowed for the great festivals: and, in order to make this
superstition as profitable as possible, the priests have
decided that nothing can pollute the food prepared in the
temple—it may be conveyed to any place—it may be touched
by a Mussulman, or a Christian, without becoming unfit for
a Hindoo. Nothing can be more convenient than such a
belief, as Hindoos in general must eat their food where it is
cooked, and a thousand things may pollute it. The consequence
is, that the cooks are employed to prepare food for most of
the pilgrims, at a price which varies according to the demand,
and is always highest during the festivals. It is said, that a
few days before the festival of the Ruth Jattra, food is cooked
within the court of the temple for at least 100,000 pilgrims;
and it will easily be credited that, on these occasions, the 400
families of cooks have full employment. The potters make
earthen pots of three sizes; the food is carried away in them,
and they form a kind of standard measure: and as none but
new pots can be used, the consumption is very considerable,
and supports a great many families. The only interruption
to this cooking, is during the time the idol is travelling in his
car to the place where he was formed, and returning to the
temple: nine days in all.”*
The number of pilgrim hunters must be considerable; the
same Gentleman stating, “One of the principal natives
* Col. Phipps’ Account of Juggernaut, pp. 6, 7.—Missionary Intelligence,
March 1823. (Published in Calcutta.)
112 BRITISH CONNECTION
related that a Purharee, in 1821, despatched 100 agents to
entice pilgrims; and the ensuing year received the premium
for 4,000 pilgrims' He was at that time busily employed, in
instructing 100 additional agents in all the mysteries of this
singular trade, with the intention of sending them into the
Upper Provinces of India.” This fact, Colonel P. related to
the Author at Cuttack in 1822, and declared, he would state
it to the Marquis of Hastings on his arrival in Calcutta. A
Missionary in Orissa, visiting Kontiloo (or Cooloo), about 90
miles from Cuttack, referring to the pundas, or pilgrim hunters,
states—“I am informed there are forty of these missionaries
of idolatry in Kontiloo. Nov. 1826.” Another colleague in
Orissa writes under date “Ganjam, Aug. 1826, I inquired how
the pundas knew what to expect [of the pilgrims]; and he
said, that some of them would come and stay two or three
months in such a place as Ganjam, by which means they
became acquainted with different people's circumstances.
They subsist by bringing maha presaud (holy food), which
they give to different persons, and get what they can in return.
Some one says, “What a curse to Christendom are the priests
of Christendom:’ surely one may say, ‘What a curse to Orissa,
and to a much greater extent of country, are the pundas and
the priests of Juggernaut.”t It is scarcely necessary to state,
that the figure on the opposite page represents the Idol
Juggernaut, whom millions in British India adore.
* In the Parliamentary Papers relative to Juggernaut, May 1813, p. 80,
an account is given of the establishment for collecting the Pilgrim Tax.-
“Sudder Cutcherry, 19 officers and servants, monthly salary 260 rupees;
Ghaut Athara Nulla, Officers, &c., 26, salary 165 rupees; Ghaut Lokenaut,
Officers, &c., 17, salary 111 rupees; at the Temple 15, salary 89 rupees.—
Total 77 Officers and servants, at 625 rupees per mensem. European
Collector's salary 500 rupees per month, and 1% per cent commission on the
amount of the tax collected.” The allowance to the Officers was fixed at
300 rupees per month and 2 per cent on the net collections. Aug. 1809.
+ “The pundas had a good time of it this cold season. Many rich
pilgrims have been continually coming from the Punjab and other parts of
Hindostan. If it were not for the pilgrim hunters, I apprehend the number
of pilgrims would be very few. It is no small proof of the lucrative nature
of this pilgrim hunting business, that the holy Brahmuns of Pooree, instruct
and dress up numbers of the Bowra cast, (a very low class of Hindoos,)
which they send out to fetch pilgrims. If the respectable casts of Hindoos
knew who they were, they would kick them out of their houses, instead of
entertaining them with reverence.”—(Pooree, May 1831.)
W ITH IDOLATRY ,
3
j
l
2.
2. -
ar
2.
%2%.
º
%%
JUGGERNAUT’S ESTABLISHMENT.
The following statement of the establishment of Juggernaut
was extracted from Rennell’s MS. Account of Orissa.”
1. “Muha Rajah Ram Chunder Dev, honorary servant to the idol, to
make ultkee chowr, sweep the ruts,i and strew flowers on the idols. His son
now officiates.
2. “Mood Roth, alias Plenipotentiary, in the absence of the Maha Rajah
performs the above duties.
3. “Naik Chattees Neejoy, the head officer of thirty-sia, different orders
of minstrel and other officers, who adorm the idol, and does all other personal
services for it; and has full authority to superintend the attendance and
performance of the duties of all the other officers.
4. “Pundah performs the ceremonies of the bhoge (offerings).
5. “Pussopaluk adorns the idol.
6. “Tulchoo, in the absence of the Purchas, accompanies the idol to the
tank, and acts for them in the temple also,
* See Friend of India, April, 1822. Asi. Jour. March, 1823.
t It may be worthy of remark, as indicative of the coincidence between
ancient and modern idolatry, that the whole city of Ephesus, was, called
Neokoros (Acts xix. 35.); “a person dedicated to the service of some god or
goddess, and whose peculiar business it was to sweep the temple and
keep it clean.” Other cities assumed the same appellation.—Auth.
I

l 14 BRITISH CONNECTION
7. “Bhethwy'schoo adorns the idol, and keeps watch in the time of the
bhoge, in order to prohibit any superfluous quantity of offerings being
taken in.
8. “Maha Soar, head cooks.--Brahmuns who in the first instance take in
the bhoge.
9. “Soar, cooks and scullions.—Brahmuns who take in bhoge after the
Maha Soar.
10. “Guarra Borro, persons who give water to the Poojah Pundas at the
time of their performing the ceremonies of bhoge.
11. “Punthree Borro cleans the brass vessels, and takes flour, chumdun,
&c., in them to the Poojah Pundah.
12. “Punthee Borro are Brahmums who put the kitchree in silver and
golden dishes, and set them before the idol. This is Sirkaree Bhoge, or the
allowance by Government 11 Alas ! -
13. “Soar Borro is the office of distributing proper quantities of bhoge to
such other temples and officers as may be directed by the rulers of the
temple.
14. “ Khoontiah warns the Idol and the Rajah of the time of festivals.
15. “Mecaup, masters of the wardrobe of two different descriptions;
Mecaup keeps the jewels, and Changrah Mecaup the wearing apparel in
one department.
16. “Dytah removes the idols from the throne and puts them on the ruts,
and replaces them again.
17. “Puttee are Brahmuns. After the Sman Jattra, the idols are taken
into a room allotted for the purpose of taking off the old clothes, and
swaddling them with new ones, which takes fifteen days, during which
time, the offerings in the room are made by these people.
18. “Mahajona. This description of officers convey the smaller idols to
tanks and other places, and then put them in the proper room.
19. “Hurrup Naik. After the bhoge is removed, these officers bring
paun or beetle, and hot spices, and set the same before the idol, which
(says the writer) Juggernaut munches at his ease ?!
20. “Aukund Mecaup. Lamp-lighter.
21. “ Khaut Sage Meeaup. Bed-maker.
22. “Poohoree. Watchmen at the time of bhoge.
23. “Pooran Pundah reads the Pooran at eertain times near the idol.
24. “Moohpokhal. A person who attends with a dantoon (used for a
tooth brush) and water, to wash the idol's face in the morning f
25. “Austaun warns the idols of the time of ceremonies.
26. “Fanruk, watchmen of the wardrobe.
27. “Chathowr, a person who carries a chatta or umbrella.
28. “Tauraseean, a person who carries the tras, an ensign in the form of
a half moom.
29. “Deoreean, a torch bearer.
30. “Dondehuttur, a person who stands by the throne with an umbrella,
at the Ekadussee and other particular festival days.
31. “Rahaleah, a trumpeter.
32. “Ghuntoah, a person who sounds the ghunt or brass bason.
33. “Ghutwaree, a person who rubs sandal wood.
34. “Lenka, Peons (soldiers).
35. “Perdhanee, persons who give the golden rods to the purchas.
36. “Dooarees, door keepers.
37. “Summumtah grind kullaee and other kinds of grain.
38. “Deb Dausee, dancing girls with a band of musicians.”
WITH IDOLATRY. I} 5
A more particular account of this Establishment was
procured for the Author, written on the leaf of a tree, by a
native of Juggernaut: the following is a free translation of it.*
1. “The Moodeerut, as the Rajah of Koorda’s Representative with
Juggernaut, at all the festivals moves about the light, performs the daily
service before him, and makes the offering of food.
2. “There are three head Pundas, who having poured clarified butter on
the sacred fire, and worshipped the sun and the divine regents of the gates,
present the sacrificial articles from the kitchen, to the three gods,f at three
of the daily offices, until the period of Juggernaut's retiring to rest.
3. “There are three Pushoo-palas, who perform worship between the
periods of the regular service; and, ascending the throne of Juggernaut,
clothe hills in the three different dresses appropriated to the three services.
4. “The Bheet-baboo guards the sacrificial food before it has been offered,
prevents the crowd pressing on it, and should the smallest blemish be found
in it (such as a hair or an ant), he seizes and punishes the Pundas.
5. “The Tulubu Pureechas guard Juggernaut when he retires to rest.
In their absence the Pushoo-palas act in their stead.
6. “The Potee-muhapatra, at the twelve periodical festivals, make the
proper offerings, and move about the image of Sooda-buden; and at the
great bathing festival, when Juggernaut moves out to the Neeladree beej,
worship him during his progress, and during the fifteen succeeding days,
when he is supposed to be ill, not having recovered from the effects of his bath /
7. “The Patree-buroo arranges the sacrificial articles, and calls the
Pundas to worship.
8. “The Gora-buroo, at the time of worship, places the water-pot, and
presents the water to the officiating priest.
9. “The Khootiya calls the Phashoo-paluks who are appointed to wake
Juggernaut, and bring forward the vestments and necklaces with which he
is to be invested.
10. “The Paneeya-mekab presents the ornaments of Juggernaut to the
Pushoo-paluk, and counts them as they come from Juggernaut's body; and
likewise counts out to the Pureechas any new ornaments offered by pilgrims.
11. “The Changro-mekab carries the vestments of Juggernaut, and counts
them out; and, when new vestments are offered by the pilgrims, he counts
them and puts them away.
12. “The Bhandar-mehab counts the ornaments when taken off from
Juggernaut by the Paneeya-mekab. The vestments presented by pilgrims,
pass into their custody after they have been worn.
13. “The Suwar-buroo sweeps the place, and places the sacrificial dishes
before Juggernaut, presents odours to those who wake him, and distributes
the sacrificial flowers among the servants and worshippers.
14. “The Pureeksha-buroo holds up a looking glass to Juggernaut during
worship.
15. P The Ukhundu-mekab, or lamp-lighter, places lights and removes the
lamps.
#. “The Pureeyarees watch at the gates and doors.
17. “The Dab-khat brings out Juggernaut's bed!
18. “The Pureeyaree of the southern gate cries out, ‘the sacrificial
food is coming.’
* See Friend of India, Oct. 1825.
+ Juggernaut, and his brother and sister.
I 2
l] 6 BRITISH CONNECTION
19. “Pureeyarees of the gate watch the food; and, when Juggernaut
moves out, carry with him the sweet smelling wood.
20. “The Juya and Vijuya-pureeyarees (porters) allow no one to enter
while Juggernaut is at his meals; and there are two watchmen at the door
of the inner room, where Juggernaut partakes of his food!
21. “The Khurgu-nayuk, at the close of the daily offices, presents the
paun to the officiating priests to be given to Juggernaut; and, on the
occasion of the last daily office, offers it himself.
22. “The Khatsuya mekab carries Juggernaut’s bed to him at night, for
him to sleep on ; and carries it back to its place in the morning '
23. “The Mooh-pakhul pureeyaree presents the water and the tooth-pick
to Juggernaut, and inspects every thing respecting the temple.
24. “The Swwar-Kota prepares the cakes, and delivers them to the
maha-Snwar. -
25. “The maha-Suwar brings the first service of cakes.
26. “The Gopal-bullubha distributes it.
i. “The Bhatee-buroo places food of a particular description before the
idol.
28. “The Rosh-payeed lights the lamp in the kitchen, and expels the
Suwars when they become unclean; he accompanies the royal offering of
food as far as the Juya and Vijuya gate.
29. “The Beeree-buha-suwar takes the articles of paun from the Sumurthas
and delivers them to the Suwars.
30. “The Dhoa-pahhaliya Brahmun washes and cleanses the kitchen.
31. “The Unga-buha Brahmun removes the ashes from the cook-room,
and throws them away. $
32. “The Dita-suwaree carries the image of Juggernaut when necessary,
and prepares the image.
33. “The Datya paints the image, and fastens the flag on his carriage.
34. “The Dwar-nayuk is employed in opening and shutting the door.
35. “The Mahajhun carries the images of Juya and Vijuya, the two
heavenly porters.
36. “The Beeman-buroo carries the image of Juggernaut and fixes it in
its place.
# “The Moodolee-bhandur guards the door, puts the chamura into the
hands of distinguished pilgrims who desire to fan Juggernaut; and locking,
guards the door of Juya and Vijuya.
38. “The Chootar holds the umbrella over the great god when he proceeds
on a journey.
39. “The Turasee holds before him the turas (a large fan) when on a
ourney. - -
J 40. “The Meg-dumboora proceeds with the Meg-dumboora when he goes
on a journey. -- .
41. “The Moodra holds the lamp when an offering of flowers is made to
Juggernaut.
42. “The Paneeya-put delivers the water-pots to the Buroo, and washes
them.
43. “The Keehuleea, at all stated festivals, during the service and the
offering of flowers, performs worship, and plays the Kahulee.
44. “The Ghuntooa rings the bell during Juggernaut's meals, and when
he goes on journeys!
45. “The Chumputee-tumukreeya, at the time of pusoowa and during
journeys, plays the tumuk.
46. “The head Punda calls all the serviſors to their duty, and gives the
WITH IDOLATRY. I 17
golden sceptre to the Pureecha, and gives food to the Brahmuns of the
Mooktee-mundupa.
47. “The Ghutuwaree prepares the sandal-wood and gives it to the
mekaps; and, at one of the festivals, goes before the image with the incense.
48. “The Buree Deega supplies the water for cooking; and removes the
remains of food.
49. “The Sumundha pounds peas of one kind, and grinds peas of another.
50. “The Gruhu-mekap cleans the dishes after the principal meal.
. “The Yogukuma brings forward the articles of the principal meal.
52. “The Tomabutee accompanies the principal evening meal with a
lamp, and brings the pots and cooking utensils.
53. “The Chaulbacha cleanses the rice and the peas.
54. “The Elek carries the chukru or discus of Vishnoo before the idol
when he moves out, and is a general superintendent.
55. “The Patrok, having dismissed the attendants, cleans up the temple,
and there retires to rest.
56. “The Choonara serves the image of Guroora (the bird god), has
charge of the great standard of the temple, and lifts the great lamp.
57. “The Khurga dhoaneeya cleanses the space between the western
part of the temple, and the place called Jugunmohun.
58. “The Nagadhya washes Juggernaut's linen, and hangs it up to dry
59. “Daree-ganee sings the songs which precede the anointing of
Juggernaut with sandal wood.
60
. “The Pooran-punda reads the Pooranas in the gate of Juggernaut.
61. “The Beenkar plays the beena, a musical instrument.
62. “The Tunubobuk dances in the spot called Jugunmohun.
63. “The Sunkhooa sounds the shell during the offices of worship.
64. “The Madolee plays on the madol, a musical instrument, during
worship.
65. “The Tooree-mayuk plays on the tooree or trumpet.
66. “The Muhasetee washes the limen of Juggernaut.
67. “The Paneepaee mahar removes all filth from within the enclosure.
68. “The Hakeemeeshristar-buru-pureecha is the great judge of all
questions; he holds the golden cane.”
Of the nature and regulations of the establishment at Gya
no correct information appears to be extant ; but the
establishment appears to be considerable, as Mr. Harington
observes, “The Gyawalas (pilgrim hunters of Gya) travel
through all countries where the Hindoo religion prevails, in
search of pilgrims, who, but for them, would probably never
have visited Gya.” “The number of pilgrims, and their
attendants, in ordinary years, is not fewer than 100,000; but,
in time of peace, when visited by the great Mahratta chieftains,
the number exceeds 200,000, with many horses; nor will
twenty lacks (two millions) of rupees defray their expenses,
where many of them reside for three months.”*
Of the establishment at the temple of Tripetty, near Madras,
it has been remarked, “crowds of pilgrims resort to it from
all parts of India, who pour into it offerings of goods, grain,
gold, silver, jewels, &c., the aggregate of which, when
º-rººrº.
* Ham. Hind, vol. i. pp. 266, 277.
118 BRITISH CONNECTION
converted into money, not only yields a surplus revenue to
Government, but serves to maintain several thousand persons
performing the offices of an idolatrous worship, which is here
conducted with eartraordinary pomp.” 2
At Allahabad the number of priests and licensed barbers
supported by the pilgrims must be considerable. Much
hostility was manifested in 1815 to the introduction of an
efficient police. “The class denominated Pragwals, who
perform the religious ceremonies at the junction of the great
rivers, to the number of 4 or 5000, showed a determination to
resist, threatened to cease to officiate, and withdraw altogether,
which would have caused a loss to Government of the pilgrim
*evenue. Many other conspiracies to arrest the progress of
the arrangements took place ; but, by patience and firmness,
they were ultimately dissipated and suppressed.t. The number
of pilgrims in 1812 and 1813 was greater than had occurred
for 28 years, being 218,792. The tax accruing to Govern-
ment is three rupees] for each person, but a much greater
expense is incurred in charity, and gifts to the Brahmuns.”$
The author of an interesting volume, entitled “Sketches of
India,” speaking of Allahabad, makes the following reference
to the Pilgrim Tax system :—“On the small point of land at
which the rivers, the Ganges and Jumna join their waters, sit
numbers of Brahmuns, known by their distinguished flags,
* Ham. Hind., vol. ii. p. 432.
t Similar conduct was pursued at Bindrabund, a noted place of pilgrimage.
—“In 1812, at the recommendation of the magistrate, and for the promotion
of an improved system of police, gates were erected at the different entrances,
and at the heads of the streets and alleys. The most respectable inhabitants
and landed proprietors, cheerfully acquiesced in the arrangements; but
considerable opposition was experienced on the part of the Chobees and other
sacred persons, who compose a large portion of the population.”—Ham.
Hind., vol. i. p. 369.
# This is a considerable sum to a person who has to labour a month to
obtain it. Hamilton, speaking of Bengal, says, “Notwithstanding the low
price of the necessaries of life, the common labourers find it extremely
difficult to subsist on their scanty earnings, which, in some places, are not
more than from a penny to twopence a day.” Vol. i. p. 100. This confirms
the statement, that a rupee to a poor Hindoo is equal to a sovereign to a poor
labourer in England. “It may show the poverty of the country,” says
Bishop Heber, “and the cheapness of the different articles, to observe, that
having bought all the commodities which he wanted for a few pice, he was
wnable in the whole market to get change for a rupee.” Jour., vol. i. p. 14.
A missionary in Orissa, speaking of a country excursion, (April 1827.)
observes, “Here at twenty or thirty miles from Juggernaut, there is little
money circulating, and what there is, is almost all cowries, (shells,) of which
sixty make a farthing. A little rice comes into the market, but bartering is
so common, that an offer of cowries is rejected.” The Pilgrim Tax is
doubtless frequently very oppressive. § Ham. Hind., vol. i. pp. 299–301.
witH IDOLATRY. I 19
who receive the sums each pilgrim must pay for performing
his ablutions, seal them, sell amulets, certificates, and Ganges
water, to be conveyed many miles distant. A Sepoy sentinel,
near the spot, boasted of the privilege he enjoyed, as being in
the Honourable Company's service, he was exempted from
the usual fine, paying a smaller sum for permission to dip his
body in the sanctifying stream at this place /* To prop
superstition, and countenance fraud, is surely a policy at
once timid and impious: to benefit by the credulity of the
poor Idolater is a financial arrangement very little to our
honour: and, perhaps as little to our interest.” The Consti-
tutional Guardian remarks, “This account, that of Juggernaut,
and the conduct of General Brownrigg, when Budhu was
re-established in Ceylon, are parallel cases, that call for
inquiry at the India House; and we may be sure they will
redress such anomalies when they have time to investigate
them.”
CHAP. III.
The miseries resulting from this System, and its
general character. -
Of the new road from Juggernaut to Calcutta, Hamilton
remarks, “This road was begun in 1813, and is still going on ;
but with respect to the pilgrims, the merit of their peregrination
being in proportion to the hardships they sustain, every
arrangement tending to render the holy place more accessible,
and their immediate sufferings less, in the same proportion
diminishes the merits of the pilgrimage, and mullifies the
contemplated earpiation.”f
“At the two annual fairs (held at Hurdwar, distant 1050
miles from Calcutta, a place of great celebrity for its nu-
merous pilgrims), it is supposed, from 2 to 300,000 people
are collected. Once in 12 years, when particular religious
ceremonies are observed, the number is computed to be almost
a million; and in April, 1809, they were estimated at two
millions. Owing to the precautions taken by the British
Government, the fairs have lately ended at Hurdwar without
* A Hindoo said to a Missionary at Allahabad, “I have paid the
Company this morning a rupee for my salvation; and can there be a doubt
of my safety P”—Auth. + Ham, Hind, vol. ii. p. 54.
120 BRITISH CONNECTION
bloodshed; to the astonishment of the vast multitude, who
were before accustomed to associate the idea of bloodshed and
murder with that of thefair. Those who come merely forbathing
arrive in the morning, and, after performing their ablutions,
depart in the evening, or on the following day. During the
temporary Mahratta sway, a kind of poll tax and duties on
cattle were levied; but all is now free without impost and
Anolestation, which considerably detracts from the merit of
the pilgrimage.”*
It is evident that the Pilgrim Tax enhances the supposed
value of pilgrimages, and hence the celebrity of those places
of idolatrous resort, at which it is levied. But the poverty,
sickness, mortality, and brutal treatmentofthe dead, consequent
upon vast assemblies of pilgrims, demonstrate the permicious
tendency of a system which regulates, supports, and aggrandizes
idolatry. The miseries of pilgrimage (particularly to Jugger-
naut's temple in Orissa), will be seen from the united testimony
of various eyewitnesses.
The late A. Stirling, Esq., Persian Secretary to the Bengal
Government, in his “Account of Orissa,” describes the great
car festival of Juggernaut, and adverts to the miseries of the
pilgrims:—“On the appointed day, after various ceremonies
are performed within the temple, the images are brought from
their throne to the outside of the Lion-gate, not with reverence,
seated on a litter or vehicle adapted to such an occasion; but,
a common cord being fastened round their necks, certain
priests, to whom the duty appertains, drag them down the
steps, and through the mud, while others keep their figures
erect, and help their movements by shoving them from
behind in the most unceremonious manner, as if they thought
the whole business a good joke / In this way the monstrous
idols go rocking and pitching along through the crowd, until
they reach the cars, which they are made to ascend, by a
similar process, up an inclined platform. On the other hand,
a powerful sentiment of religious enthusiasm pervades the
admiring multitude of pilgrims assembled without, when the
images first make their appearance through the gate. They
welcome them with shouts and cries of Jye Juggernaut 1
Victory to Juggernaut! and when the monster Juggernaut,
the most hideous of all the figures, is dragged forth, the last
in order, the air is rent with acclamations. The celebrated
idols are nothing more than wooden busts, about sia, feet in
height, fashioned into a rude resemblance of the human head,
resting on a sort of pedestal. They are painted white, yellow,
* Ham. Hind., vol. i. p. 451.
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WITH IDOLATRY. 121
and black respectively, with frightfully grim and distorted
countenances; and are decorated with a head dress of
different coloured cloths, shaped something like a helmet.
The two brothers have arms projecting horizontally forward
from the ears. The sister is entirely devoid of even that
approximation to the human form. The ruths or cars” have
an imposing air from their size and loftiness, but every part
of the ornament is of the most paltry description; save only,
the covering of striped and spangled broad cloth, furnished
from the Earport Warehouse of the British Government, the
splendour of which compensates, in a great measure, for
other deficiences of decoration ſt After the images have
been lodged in their vehicles, a box is brought forth, containing
the golden or gilded feet, hands, and ears of the great idol,
which are fixed on the proper parts with due ceremony, and
a scarlet scarf is carefully arranged round the lower part of
the body, or pedestal. The joy and shouts of the crowd on
the first movement of the cars, the creaking sound of the
wheels as these ponderous machines roll along, the clatter of
hundreds of harsh sounding instruments, and the general
appearance of so immense a moving mass of human beings,
produce, it must be acknowledged, an impressive, astounding,
and somewhat picturesque effect, while the novelty of the
scene lasts; though the contemplation cannot fail of earciting
the strongest sensations of pain and disgust in the mind of
every Christian spectator. In an unfavourable season, or
when the festival occurs late, the proportion of deaths
occasioned by exposure is very melancholy.”f
Dr. Buchanan's visit to Juggernaut's temple, in June, 1806,
is well known; a short extract or two from his “Christian
Researches” may suffice.—“Numbers of pilgrims die on the
road, and their bodies generally remain unburied. On a plain,
by the river near the pilgrims' caravansera, at this place,
* “The ear of Juggermaut measures 43% feet high; it has sixteen wheels,
of 64 feet diameter, and a platform 34% feet square. The Rut of Bulbudra
is about 41 feet high, and has 14 wheels, and that of Subudra his sister is
40 feet high, and has 14 wheels.” The wood is annually provided by
the Duspulla Rajah, but in 1806 he refused to send it farther than Cuttack.
Three new cars are made every year, which after the festival are dismantled,
and the wood is sold. Par. Papers, 1813, pp. 35, 64.
t “The other evening a cart load of gay coloured English woollens passed
me from the Company's Warehouse, to adorn the idol's cars. Alas! that
the same country should, in so shocking a sense, send out both blessing and
cursing, June 1827.” (Ext. Miss. Jour.) The quantity- is as follows,
“Superſime scarlet cloth, 17 yards; fine ditto, 200 yards; fine green Serge,
80 yards; black ditto, 80 yards; yellow ditto, 107 yards; total 484 yards.”
# Asi, Researches, vol. xv. 1825, pp. 321–325.
122 BRITISH CONNECTION
Budruck (100 miles from Juggernaut), there are more than a
hundred skulls; the dogs, jackals, and vultures, seem to live
here on human prey. Wherever I turn my eyes, I meet death
in some shape or other.—From the place where I now stand,
I have a view of a host of people, like an army, encamped at
the outer gate of the town of Juggernaut, where a guard of
soldiers is posted, to prevent them entering the town until
they have paid the taar. A pilgrim announced that he was
ready to offer himself to the idol. He then laid himself
down in the road before the car, as it was moving along, on
his face, with his arms stretched forward. The multitude
passed round him, leaving the space clear, and he was crushed
to death by the wheels. How much I wish that the
Proprietors of India Stock could have attended the wheels
of Juggernaut, and seen this peculiar source of their revenue !
—I beheld a distressing scene this morning in the place of
skulls; a poor woman lying dead, or nearly so, and her two
children by her, looking at the dogs and vultures which were
near. The people passed by without noticing the children
I asked them where was their home They said they had
no home, but where their mother was. Othere is no pity at
Juggernaut! Those who support his kingdom err. I trust,
from ignorance. They know not what they do.”
Colonel Phipps, who witnessed the great Festival in 1822,
thus describes the miseries occasioned by it:—“The loss of
life by this deplorable superstition, probably exceeds that of
any other. The aged, the weak, the sick, are persuaded to
attempt this pilgrimage, as a remedy for all evils. The
number of women and children, also, is very great. The
pilgrims leave their families and occupations, to travel an
immense distance, with the delusive hope of obtaining eternal
bliss. Their means of subsistence on the road are scanty;
and their light clothing and little bodily strength are ill
calculated to encounter the inclemency of the weather.
When they reach the District of Cuttack, they cease to
experience that hospitality shown elsewhere to pilgrims; it
is a burden which the inhabitants could not sustain: and they
prefer, availing themselves of the increased demand of
provisions, to augment the price This difficulty is more
severely felt as they approach the temple; till they find
scarcely enough left to pay the tax to Government, and satisfy
the rapacious Brahmums. The pilgrim, on leaving Juggernaut
bas still a long journey before him; and his means of support
are often almost, if not quite exhausted. The work of death
then becomes rapid; and the route of the pilgrims may be
traced, by the bones left by jackals and vultures. The
WITH IDOLATRY. 123
country near the temple seems suddenly to have been visited
by pestilence and famine. Dead bodies are seen in every
direction. Parriar dogs, jackals and vultures, are observed
watching the last moments of the dying pilgrim, and not
unfrequently hastening his fate.”
Dr. Carey has very justly observed; “Idolatry destroys
more than the sword, yet in a way which is scarcely perceived.
The number who die in their long pilgrimages, either through
want or fatigue, or from dysenteries and fevers, caught by
lying out, and want of accommodation, is incredible.”f
The late Rey. W. Ward has made a calculation of the
number that are supposed to perish annually, the victims of
superstition. He estimates that 4,000 pilgrims perish every
year, on the roads to, and at holy places; and a Gentleman,
whose opinion is of great weight, says, “I believe this estimate
is far below the truth.” “By fevers, dysentery, and other
diseases, arising from exposure to the night air, and the
privations of a long journey, crowds are carried off in a few
days. Sacred places, the resort of pilgrims, are spread all
over Hindostan, and pilgrims travel to them from distances
requiring journeys of three, four, and five months.” An officer
writing to his friends about the pilgrims at the gate of Pooree,
detained for a time to make them pay the tax, says;–“I let
above 100 out of limbo at Juggernaut; there were 1000 dead and
dying:—all in limbo, starving, to extort money from them.”f
The late Rev. W. Bampton, Missionary at Juggernaut, in
an account of the Car Festival of 1823, writes; “ In front of
one of the cars lay the mangled body of a dead man, one arm
and one leg were eaten, and two dogs were then eating him;
many people were near, but they did not seem to take any
notice of the circumstance I went to see the state of the
pilgrims, who, either because they could not, or would not
pay the tax, were kept without one of the gates. Five or six
lay dead within a mile of the gate: and it is generally admitted
that there is not a tenth, perhaps scarcely a twentieth, of the
pilgrims this year who attend sometimes; and, if there be
the same proportion of sick and dead at all times, fifty or sixty
dead might some years be seen, within a mile of this gate,
and eighty or a hundred sick. A specimen of what is
sometimes seen was given me by a military officer, who
pointed out a piece of ground, perhaps scarcely an acre, on
which he last year counted at one time twenty-five dead bodies.”
****
* Mis. Register, 1824, p. 578. t Asi. Jour. March 1831.
f Ward's View of the Hindoos, vol. ii. pp. 126,318.
124 |BRITISH CONNECTION
The Rev. C. Lacey, the author's colleague at Cuttack, thus
describes the ruth Jattra, in 1825.-‘‘The mortality did not
much appear before the 16th; on the 19th it was exceedingly
bad, for the day before the rain began to fall, and more came
on the 19th and 20th; and for the next three days it fell in
torrents. At this time the scene had reached its height. In
every street, corner, and open space,—in fact wherever you
turned your eyes, the dead and dying met your sight ! On
the evening of the 19th, I counted upwards of siarty dead and
dying, from the temple down to the bottom end of the hospital
(about half a mile), leaving out the sick, that had not much
life. At a corner opposite the hospital, on a spot of ground
twelve feet square, I counted ten dead and five sick | This
was the case, while there were several sets of men in active
employ burying the dead! You will think, if the streets were
thus crowded, what must be the various Golgothas I visited
but one, and that was between the town and the principal
entrance; and I saw sights I shall never forget. The small
river there was quite glutted with dead bodies. The wind
had drifted them together, and they were a complete mass of
putrifying flesh!! They also lay upon the ground in heaps,
and the dogs and birds were able to do little towards devouring
them.” “Pages,” says Mrs. L., “would not be sufficient to
detail the miseries of the deluded worshippers of Juggernaut.
The poor pilgrims were to be seen in every direction dead,
and in the agonies of death; lying by fives, tens, and twenties.
Mr. L. counted upwards of ninety in one place, and in another
Mr. Bampton counted 140. In the hospital, I believe I have
seen thirty dead at once, and numbers in the agonies of death;
and even the living using the dead bodies for pillows "
The Author, then residing at Cuttack, addressed a letter to
the late J. H. Harington, Esq., Calcutta, relative to the
miseries of the pilgrims, and the dreadful effects of the
Pilgrim Tax, in taking the money which would have procured
them food, raiment, and medicine, and thus prevent premature
death. Directions were immediately forwarded to Pooree,
and some relief afforded to the pilgrims. About 400 rupees
were sent to the Missionaries, and two of them (Messrs.
Bampton and Lacey) undertook a journey from Pooree to
Cuttack (a distance of fifty miles), to relieve the people. A
few extracts from the journal of this work of mercy, are of a
very affecting nature.— -
“June 25, 1825. We left Pooree about five o'clock in the
morning, with a few cloths, and a good quantity of medicine
and money. We had brandy to prevent the effects of the
WITH IDOLATRY. 125
effluvia from the dead bodies. For four miles from the gate,
the dead were very numerous. O what a waste of human
life was here ! Some on the road among the mud, and some
scarcely distinguishable from it: some under sheds into which
they crept from the rain; but mostly thrown into the narrow
channel or grip on each side of the road. Here I saw them
lie together by four, six, eight, or more | I tried to keep
account, but could not without detaining the palque bearers.
Some of the bodies were carried beyond the grip into the
fields, and there lay, watched by the dogs and vultures. A
great majority of the sick whom Irelieved, on our first stage,
were females deserted by their friends, who had left them not
a pice (a halfpenny), and almost destitute of clothing.”
Of the number that perished it is impossible to form a
correct idea. An eyewitness of the scene writes, “The money
received at the gate this year, 1825, far exceeded that of
others, being 260,000 rupees (£32,500). The number of
pilgrims is estimated at 225,000. Captain F estimates
those who died at Cuttack and Pooree, and between the two
stations, at 5000; but Mr. L thinks this rather too high
an estimate.” How many of these miserable people must
have died before they could reach their homes!—many of
them coming 3, 6, or 900 miles. Mr. M , the European
Collector of the Tax at Pooree, estimated the mortality at
20,000 !!
As the Author resided at Cuttack for nearly three years and
a half, and has been at the Temple of Juggernaut, at the great
festival in 1824 and 1825, he may be allowed to add his
humble testimony, relative to the misery of pilgrimage.—I
have seen three persons measuring their way to the temple
by constant prostration. At Cuttack and Juggernaut I have
seen numbers of the dying and dead pilgrims ; and one
morning, near the temple, I counted between twenty and thirty
skulls in one place. In the last stage to Juggernaut, in June
1825, I counted thirty-seven bodies or skeletons. A few
hundred yards from my residence at Cuttack (near the ford to
Juggernaut), at the time of the great festival, the effluvia from
the dead bodies had been very noisome ; nor is there any
allowance from the magistrate to inter the dead. Where the
Suttee has slain its thousands, pilgrimage has slain its tens
of thousands! The European, who has visited Juggernaut
at the great festival, may be forcibly reminded of the appalling
description:— -
* See Report of the General Baptist Missionary Society for 1826.
126 BRITISH CONNECTION
& 4 He saw the lean dogs
Gorging and growling o'er carcase and limb,
They were too busy to bark at him.
From a pilgrim’s skull they had stript the flesh
As ye peel the fig when the fruit is fresh; -
And their white trunks crunsh’d o'er their whiter skull,
As it slipt through their jaws when their edge grew dull;
As they lazily mumbled the bones of the dead, *
When they scarce could stir from the place where they fed;
So well had they broken a lingering fast
With those who had fallen for that repast.”
Some of the pilgrims to Juggernaut bring the water of the
Ganges, to pour over the idol Lokenaut; these are exempt
from tax. The author, while residing in Orissa, has frequently
seen these devotees. To prove that the water was really
brought from the Ganges, the bearers take the precaution to
obtain a certificate to that effect, from the officer of the place,
who seals the vessel into which it is put with his seal. It is
probable that this is done in all cases where the water is taken
for idolatrous purposes. The engraving represents the mode
in which both men and women carry the water of the Ganges
to a distance of several hundred miles.
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WITH IDOLATRY. 127
Of the ruth Jattra, at Juggernaut, in 1826, the Rev. C.
Lacey writes, “The festival took place late this year (July
9th), and was not numerously attended. A respectable man
threw himself from the front of the car, as it was moving,
and the enormous wheels passed over his loins, and nearly
separated his upper from his lower parts' His blood and
bowels were scattered and drawn about by the wheels passing
over him # There was very little mortality among the pilgrims
this year; for, the numbers being small, they were able to
obtain food and shelter.”
Similar sacrifices appear to be made at the Temple of
Ramisseram near Ceylon, which is within the territories of
the Hon. Company, and is nearly as famous in the south, as
Juggernaut is in the north of India. Mr. Cordiner, in his
History of Ceylon, says of the ruths in 1804;-“The outside
is covered with an extraordinary assemblage of obscene images,
too scandalous in the eyes of a European to admit of
description. Each carriage has four wheels of solid wood,
and requires two hundred men to draw it. When they are
dragged along the streets on occasion of great solemnity,
women in the frenzy of false devotion, throw themselves down
before the wheels, and are crushed to death by their tremendous
weight. The same superstitious madness prevents the crowd
from making any attempt to save them.”f
The Rev. A. Sutton, stationed at Juggernaut, in an account
of the great festival in 1827, remarks upon the oppressive
and impure character of this idolatrous exhibition.—“The
people at the outer gate of the town were admitted; they had
been collecting for a long time, and were not allowed to enter
because they would not or could not pay the tax. It was
grievous to see the poor people, (many of whom came from
distant parts of India,) with their little all tied up in a bundle,
and suspended under their umbrellas, in some unguarded
moment, rushed upon by the Pooree tigers, and their all taken
from them. These villains of Juggernaut lie in wait, and
when they see an old or disabled pilgrim, rush upon him,
give him a blow upon the head with a large stick, and snatch-
the umbrella with the bundle out of his hand! I saw, perhaps,
Jifty cases of this kind while I stood ſ—The idols have been
replaced on the cars to return. I cannot refrain from noticing,
* “Twelve persons had bound themselves to die a sacrifice under the
wheels of the cars, but the under magistrate hearing of the circumstance
placed them in confinement, and thus prevented the horrid deed. July,
1828.” .
t Vol. ii. p. 16. See Ham, Hind, vol. ii. pp. 475, 476.
ºf
128 BRITISH CONNECTION
the obscene gestures and lascivious songs which were again
employed to animate the draggers, and spread an infernal
enthusiasm through the gazing assembly. I asked a person
near, what kind of worship that was ; he replied, ‘Kusbeeka
bat’ (the language of prostitutes); but added, “it gave Jug-
germaut pleasure /’ The following day a poor wretch threw
himself under Juggernaut's car, and was crushed to death.
Mr. B saw the horrid sight.” The worship of Jugger-
naut is sill the same. C. Buller, Esq., M. P. in 1813,
endeavoured to palliate the sanguinary and impure worship
of this idol,” but in vain.—“If you would know the character
of the nation, look at the temple.” When shall Britain cease
to promote idolatry —When shall Christianity abolish the
miseries of heathenism 2
The late Rev. J. M. Cropper, Missionary in Orissa, writes
in Feb. 1828; “While we continued here (Pertubpore, near
Midnapore), a number of jattrees passed us. On inquiry we
found they had come from Nepaul, in a body of 500. They
calculated that 200 would die by the way: about forty had
died already | If this be the case in the cold season (the
most healthy time in India), what havoc must death make
among the pilgrims, on their return from the ruth Jattrain the
commencement of the rains P’” -
Of the effects of pilgrimage, in another part of India,
Hamilton gives the following statement:—“The number of
crimes that originate in the Behar District, of which Gya is
the capital, may in a great measure be attributed to the vast
crowds of pious and superstitious pilgrims. The wealth
these persons possess generally consists of money, jewels, and
other articles, which excites the cupidity of the unprincipled;
while, the defenceless condition of the greater part of these
stragglers, exhibits it to them as a prey of easy acquisition.
Numerous affrays and breaches of the peace may also ber
expected where such a number of strangers, from all parts of
Hindostan, are promiscuously congregated; nor will these
votaries of superstition gain any addition to their prior stock
of morals, by their intercourse with their spiritual guides at
the sanctuary, who are in general ignorant and dissolute, and
do not affect even the appearance of any self denial or ascetism
of conduct.”f
The general character of the Pilgrim Tax System demands
serious attention. The first evil arising from it is, it increases
* See Buchanan’s Apology for Christianity in India, pp. 27, 28, 33–38.
f Hamilton's Hindostan, vol. i. pp. 267—301.
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WITH IDOLATRY. 129
the celebrity of places of idolatrous resort. The tax on
pilgrims at Juggernaut, while it encourages the emissaries of
idolatry to wander to the distant parts of Hindostan, to
collect its deluded votaries (a stipulated sum being received
by them for each individual passed into the town), by its
sanction of idolatry, not only adds to the celebrity of the
pilgrimage, but confounds Christianity with Idolatry, in the
sight of the Hindoos. A native inquired of a Missionary in
Orissa, “If Juggernaut be nothing, why does the Company
take so much money from those who come to see him /* “This
tax,” says Mr. Harington, in his “Analysis,” referring to the
sentiments of the Honourable Court of Directors, “is not to
be considered a source of public revenue, but to be appropriated
to the repairs and other earpenses connected with the place of
pilgrimage,” and convenience of the pilgrims.” While the
temples in general in India (as the Black Pagoda, Bobuneswer,
Kanoge, Gorucknaut, Kalee Ghaut near Calcutta,t &c.,) bear
marks of neglect and decay, the temple of Juggernaut has
recently been repaired (it is said at the expense of a Ben-
galee); and its celebrity is very great. Of the numerous
temples of Bobuneswer, about twenty miles from Cuttack,
Mr. Stirling, in his “Account of Orissa,” remarks, “We have
no particular account of the period and causes of the decline
of the City of Bobuneswer and the worship of Maha Dab
(Seeb). Nearly all but the great temple have been completely
deserted, and the establishment kept up there is on a very
small and inadequate scale, under the patronage of the
Koordah Rajah, whose ancestors granted all the lands and
endowments by which the Brahmuns now exist.”
Of the conduct of the pilgrim hunters in extolling Jugger-
naut and promoting his worship, “The Friend of India” very
forcibly observes; “We have a body of idol missionaries,
far earceeding in number all the Christian Missionaries,
throughout the world, going forth from year to year to
* “The expense for the repair of the temple was formerly defrayed by
an Abwaub. It appears not to be fixed in its amount, nor can I learn what
the gross amount of the collection was; in future such repairs as are
necessary mºst be made at the expense of Government, the Abwaub being
consolidated as the land revenué.” Dec. 1807. Par. Papers, respecting
the Temple of Juggernaut, 1813, p. 66.
tº “Pilgrims resort to the vicinity of Oude, where the remains of the
ancient city, the capital of the Great Ram, are still seen: but whatever may
have been its former magnificence, it now eachibits nothing but a shapeless
heap of ruins. The interior is a mass of rubbish and jungle, among which
4te the reputed sites of temples dedicated to Ram, Seeta, Lukshme, and
Banumaun.”—Ham. Hind., vol. i. p. 350. •
K
130 BRITISH CONNECTION
propagate delusion, and proclaim for the sake of gain (what
perhaps not one among them believes), the transcendent
efficacy of beholding—A LOG OF WooD ; and these, through
a perversion of British humanity, regularity, and good faith,
paid from year to year by the officers of a Christian and a
British Government / But that which most fills the mind
with distress, is the use which these ministers of deception
make of the British name throughout the country. In
proclaiming the greatness of Juggernaut, they of course affirm
that he has now so fully convinced his conquerors of his
divinity, that they have taken his temple under their own
superintendence; and that, to provide him with an attendance
worthy of his dignity, they expend nearly 60,000 rupees from
year to year; inspecting with care every department, and
punishing any negligence in the service of the god. That,
although the British so far surpass the Hindoos in knowledge,
they are so fully convinced of Juggernaut's deity, that they
command a portion of food to be set before him ' That, they
in reality worship him; and although, from their being
mleechas, (unclean,) the god cannot permit their approach
within his temple, yet at his festivals they testify their
veneration, by sending the finest English woollens from their
own stores in Calcutta to adorn his car. That they appoint
officers to see due order observed in his worship; and some
great man, the representative of the Governor General,
frequently attends to grace the solemnity with his presence.
That, as they need money, convinced of the transcendent
benefits to be obtained from beholding him, they levy a small
tax on those who behold Juggernaut; which, on the richest,
does not exceed ten rupees, while they permit the poorest to
behold him gratis. That, they themselves are paid and sent
forth by them, to persuade all who wish for the full remission
of sins, to come and behold the god in all his majesty /
“Although the whole of this is a tissue of falsehood,
yet when these victims to delusion come to Juggernaut's
temple, and see his car adorned with the finest English
woollens, the officers of Government in attendance to keep
order, and perhaps some English gentleman present, whom
they in a moment transform into the Representative of the
Governor General of India, they give credit to all the rest.
Those who live to return home propagate this among their
neighbours; and thus, the taar on the idol adds strength to
the delusion, and increases from year to year those scenes of
death at which human nature shudders. That the British
should be represented, as in reality worshippers of this log,
WITH IDOLATRY. 131
and employing their superior knowledge in securing order in
the service of its temple, and adding splendour to its public
festivals, is sufficiently degrading: but that they should also
be represented as employing a band of deceivers to beguile
the unwary—in so many instances to death ! and persuade
them to undertake this pilgrimage, that they may in reality
enrich themselves by the tax they levy, before they permit
the Hindoo to behold his idol, is sinking the British name
to the lowest pitch of degradation.
“All this is proclaimed by the multitude of agents who go
forth from year to year in search of pilgrims. It is their
interest to omit nothing, whether true or false, which tends to
exalt Juggernaut, and draw pilgrims to his temple. And even
their being thus employed, with the express view of inviting
all who are capable to undertake this pilgrimage, would serve
as evidence in confirmation of all they advanced. Thus, a
regularity, a splendour, an attraction, are given to the
worship of this idol, and an impetus to the delusion it
originates, which it never possessed under the former dynasty;
an impetus, too, which, fatal as it is in its consequences to so
many of our Hindoo fellow-subjects, is increasing with the
gain it produces, which knows no bounds but the number of
persons they are able to deceive from year to year: and these
have no bounds but the inhabitants of Hindostan itself.”* †
Another feature of this system is, it promotes the increase
of pilgrims and pilgrim hunters. “This tax, if originating in
motives of humanity, has completely defeated its end. While
it has added that splendour and attraction to the worship of
this idol, which it never possessed before, it has created the
means of urging persons, in all parts of India, to undertake
this journey of death, which never previously existed in such
regularity and extent. If this premium existed under the
Mussulman Government, its payment was subjected to all the
evasions which are the natural offspring of idolatry. The
British Government bring to all their proceedings with the
natives, virtues the offspring of Christianity; hence, on their
* Friend of India, Oct. 1825, pp. 274–280.
t The author of a pamphlet published in Calcutta, on “The state of
Protestant Missions in Bengal,” speaking of Juggernaut and Hurdwar (at
which latter place he supposes a tax is levied on the pilgrims), says, “The
tax imposed by Government has been alleged to have the effect of leading
the natives to suppose that the idolatrous festivals, held at these places,
receive the public sanction of the supreme authority. To the extent to which
this and similar laws are enforced, it would seem to give the weight and
authority of a political establishment to the popular idolatry.”
R 2
132 BRITT SIT CONNECTION
faithfulness in paying this sum, the idol pilgrim hunter relies
as safely, as the peasant who brings any article of sale to their
factories. If he can search out a thousand persons, and
persuade them to undertake this journey, he is as certain of
receiving 300 rupees, even if they be of the lowest class,
1,500 rupees if they be nim lalls, and 3,000 rupees if he can
persuade them to enter themselves as lall fattrees, or pilgrims
of the highest class, as though he delivered bales of cloth to
that amount. This sum, paid with British fidelity to those
who search out pilgrims, furnishes a fund so considerable, that
it would be no wonder if a number of agents were thereby
stirred up, sufficient to traverse the whole of India, alluring
those to undertake this pilgrimage of death, who would
otherwise never have undertaken it.”*
Of the increase of pilgrims at Gya, Mr. Harington candidly
acknowledges the fact, and refers it to the regulations of the
Pilgrim Tax,−“He (Mr. Law) had the satisfaction of seeing
that his efforts were not unsuccessful ; while great and
progressive increase in the amount of the sayer collections,
under the circumstance of diminished rates, evinces the sound,
and (with regard to the pilgrims) the attractive policy of the
measure he adopted.” A clergyman at Gya writes, “I saw
at Gya many poor creatures who had travelled 1000 miles, and
who, in their journey, endured great privations. The well-meant
intentions of Government have totally failed; for, instead of
the tax having diminished the number of pilgrims, it has
greatly increased the multitude, rendered the Brahminical
order respectable, and placed idolatry on a firmer basis than
ever ! The annual amount of revenue collected at Gya is only
250,000 rupees (£31,250 sterling); apparently a large sum,
but nothing in comparison with what the Brahmuns receive
from the pilgrims. As soon as Government know the inutility
of their interference in these things, no doubt they will leave
the system to stand or fall unsupported by authority. When
that authority is withdrawn, we may venture to predict that
in this place, as well as in other parts of the globe, idolatry
will fall, like Dagon before the ark of the Lord.”+
“The introduction of the British Police System so much
confirmed the security of the pilgrims, that the number of
these wanderers have been gradually increasing, as will
appear from the following statement of the number who
received licences to worship at Gya in the successive years.
* Friend of India, No. xiii. pp. 271–273.
† Mis. Reg., Nov. 1827, pp. 548, 559,
WITH IDO LATRY. 133

YEARS. PILGRIMS. YEARS. PILGIRIM. S.
1798 17,670 1805 22,318
1799 21,659 1806 23,291
1800 14,560 1807 33,831
1801 22,732 I808 32,423
1802 18,964 1809 27,952
1803 23,334 1810 27,454
1804 14,190 1811 31,114”#
From these remarks, and especially from these official
documents, it appears evident, that the Pilgrim Tax gives
popularity to places of idolatrous resort, and induces
multitudes to wander over India to promote pilgrimages to
them ; unconcerned what misery they entail upon their
devotees.
A third feature in this system is, it occasions the death of
many pilgrims. That hundreds die of want and disease in
pilgrimages is evident. The sum which a poor pilgrim pays
for admission to perform the ceremonies appointed at a holy
place, might be the means of saving his life on his journey
home; but, as is frequently the case, having expended all, or
nearly all, when he sets his face homeward, he soon finds the
supply of the humane scanty; wantis followed by disease; dis-
ease by the desertion of his companions; and death soon lays him
by the road side, unshrouded and uncoffined, the prey of birds
and beasts. “Much reproach against the English is expressed
by the Hindoos on account of the oppressive nature of the
tax. Mr. Lacey, one of the Missionaries who went to relieve
the destitute on the road to Cuttack, relates the following
incident:—‘You would have felt your heart moved to hear
the natives say, Your preaching is a lie ; for, if your Saviour
and your religion are thus merciful, why do you then take
away the money of the poor, and suffer them to starve?” It
is indeed no wonder that, when the natives see a poor creature
dying for want, they should reflect, that the two rupees he
paid as a tax would have kept him alive; nor indeed is it a
pleasing reflection to a European mind, that these two rupees
form precisely the difference between life and death, to many
who have perished for want on their way home.”+
From the whole, it appears that this System is inhuman,
* Hamilton's Hindoston, vol. i. p. 266.
+ Friend of Iudia, as above, pp. 283,284.
I34 BRITISH CONNECTION
&mpolitic, and unchristian. The inhumanity that characterizes
these pilgrimages is evident. Is it not impolitic to promote
them : Do they not ‘eternize the reign of poverty, super-
stition, and savage ignorance P For Britain to legislate for
idolatry, lest its institutions should grow into disuse—to stoop
to the drudgery of superintending the collection of money
from pilgrims, ‘a painted, pagan, semi-barbarous race;’ and,
“last, not least’—for the character of Britain to be associated
with idolaters in their scenes of revelry, vice, and misery, is
degrading to our national character,” and displeasing to Him
who calls idolatry, “that abominable thing which I hate.”
The general features of this system are legislation for idolatry;
paying monthly stipends to priests (from temple lands in the
hands of Government); accumulating wealth (the Collector at
Allahabad receiving 1 per cent, at Gya five per cent, and at
Juggernaut, it is said, ten per cent, on the amount of
collections); defiling the revenue of the country with the
proceeds of a tax, in many cases “the price of blood;” and
assimilating professed Christians with idolaters, till the
Christian character is scarcely distinguishable, even in the
broad feature of abhorring idols. The Hindoos in Orissa
have asked the Author, “Is Sahab a Christian 2 Does
Sahab read the durma Poostuk, or Holy Book 3 Do
not the Sahabs go to Pooree to worship Juggernaut & Why
should the Company destroy Juggernaut 3 he is their chakar,
or servant.” If Christianity be a blessing to India, this
system is evidently opposed to its progress, and every
principle of humanity and of Christianity demands its speedy
abolition. -
* The Collector of Tax at Juggernaut addresses the chief Secretary to
Government, March, 1806:—“I have the honour to acquaint you that Ram
Bukhsh and Ram Hutgur, pilgrims, presented a serviceable elephant to
Juggernaut, and 200 rupees for its expenses, which will last about six
months. The god's establishment is sia, elephants. At or before the end of
six months, it will be necessary for Government, either to order the elephant
to be disposed of, or appoint some fund for its support, should it be deemed
advisable to keep it for Juggernaut's use !” (Par. Papers, 1813, p. 39.) Who
does not blush for his country's shame?
WITH IDOLATRY. 135
CHAP. IV.
The facility and advantages of the repeal of the Pilgrim
Taar—confirmation of the statements. -
It is presumed that the abolition of the Pilgrim Tax System
would be easy, being unconnected with cast or any ancient
prejudices of the Hindoos.” It would be a very popular
measure : and what humane, intelligent mind but must
rejoice to see the evils of pilgrimage disappear from the plains
of India? Britain now regulates, supports, and aggrandizes
idolatry at some of the principal places of pilgrimage ;
Christianity in tears approaches her and says, “Touch not,
taste not, handle not.” O ye honoured men! at whose feet
lie the destinies of millions, remove your countenance from
idolatry, encourage the diffusion of true religion in the East,
and then, in these idolatrous establishments, will be verified
the sentiment of the Latin poet:-
“Wis consilii expers mole ruit sua.”—Hor.
The most prominent advantage of the repeal of the Pilgrim
Tax would be the decrease of idolatrous establishments.
Col. Phipps states, on the authority of a respectable native,
that 3000 families are connected with Juggernaut's temple.
Mr. Harington estimates the annual expenditure of the
temple at 74,880 rupees. “During the Chundun and Ruth
Jattras in 1822, embracing about two months, 40,000 rupees
(£5,000) were collected and paid over to the attendants of
the temple, who had brought the pilgrims.” Estimating the
annual premium to the pilgrim hunters at 50,000 rupees, the
sum requisite to support Juggernaut's present establishment
* The influence of British authority among the priests of Juggernaut
appears from a letter of Archdeacon Corrie, written at Pooree, in 1823.−
“On the occasion of a partial insurrection, about two years since, the priests
gave out that Juggernaut would no longer suffer the English to remain in
India, and would not return to his temple (on quitting it at the annual
procession) till they were expelled; and mentioned a certain day for their
overthrow. This was justly considered by the General commanding the
District, as an attempt to aid the insurgents against the Government; and
he sent a private order to the officer in charge, that, if the Idol were not
carried back as usual on the stated day, he should replace it by force, and
take military possession of the temple. The natives about the General no
doubt gave notice to the priests, and Juggernaut returned before his time.”
Miss. Register, 1824, p. 582.
136 BRITISH CONNECTION
would be 124,880 rupees; to meet which the endowed lands
amount to 26,818 rupees, leaving a deficiency of 90,062
rupees (£11,257). This sum has to be collected under the
direction of a Christian Government, and to be paid to the
attendants of Juggernaut, -who suffer their deluded votaries
to die of want and neglect, in the very precincts of the temple
and the town, and then throw them out upon the sands, for
their bones and skulls to whiten its arid plains.
The number of Brahmuns and inferior attendants at Gya,
and Allahabad must be very considerable. Let Britain retire
from these idolatrous and obscene establishments, and would
their popularity continue For a short period the attendance
might be considerable, but the novelty would gradually cease;
and though (as in other places unnoticed by the Government,)
pilgrimages might continue, the inseparable attendants,
poverty, sickness, and death, would not be so great. The
Author has been at Bobuneswer, Munchaswer, Puramunx,
and Teenaturra, places of pilgrimage in Orissa; but he does
not recollect seeing a sick person among thousands of pilgrims,
or a skeleton on the journey. Why such a contrast between
these places and Juggernaut? The former are unnoticed by
Government, and no tax is levied. The latter has a vast
establishment, supported and enriched at the expense of the
lives of thousands.
“All my way from the Chilka Lake to Madras,” says Dr.
Buchanan, “I did not see one skull. Like the other temples
Žn the Deccan, the revenues of the temple of Ramisseram,
are wasting away. But Juggernaut will fall before Ramacoil
or Ramisseram. I saw no human bone in the island.
Christianity in its worst shape has civilized the Deccan.
All descriptions of people are more humane and intelligent
than the Hindoos of Bengal.”
“The vast establishment of Juggernaut,” says the Friend of
India, “founded as it is on delusion and cruelty, would not long
continue in its present splendour, when it ceased to be upheld
by virtues of Christian growth. British regularity, activity,
and faithfulness, are virtues which Juggernaut's worship
is incapable of producing ; and without these, the larger
the establishment and the sum annually received, the sooner
would the whole fall into ruin. Selfish and rapacious, none of
the pundas in the temple would trust one another. Whatever
. . . . * Life of Buchanan, vol. ii. p. 49.
t The late Bishop Heber, speaking of a public meeting of natives in
Calcutta, for the relief of the sufferers by famine on the Coromandel coast,
WITH IDOLATRY. 137
might be the sum received one year, (part of which they would
probably conceal from each other,) no punda would have the
enterprise to expend sixty thousand rupees on the Idol’s
establishment, as a speculation for the next year's profits,
of which, after all, others might deprive him. No one would
have the activity to see that all the attendants did their duty.
One would neglect to prepare Juggernaut's food, and perhaps
sell the articles; others would neglect his wardrobe; and
others the temple itself, both within and without. As for the
pundas being at the expense of adorning his car with the
finest English woollens from year to year, this would be out
of the question. If they did it one year, they would neglect
it the next; and thus the temple, with all its apparatus, would
gradually sink into neglect and contempt.”
Another advantage would be, a decrease of pilgrim hunters.
These men would not travel to collect pilgrims in such mumbers
as at present, were they uncertain what they should obtain
for their labour. Now they know the price set upon each
individual, British integrity ensuring its payment; and hence
the number of these people traversing the country with their
miserable groups. Thousands of pilgrims execrate the
oppressions practised upon them, and relate with horror the
ravages of death ; but the fascinations of the travelling pundas
prevail with the credulous and superstitious, and every year
states a fact illustrative of this assertion. One of the most liberal of the
subscribers, Womanumdun Thakoor, said to him—“Ramaswamee Pundit
may be a very good man, but I took care at the meeting, that all money
subscribed should be lodged with the house of Palmer and Co., and be
distributed at Madras by the English Committee. I do not know the
Madras Pundits, but I know that Europe Gentlemen have a character to
lose.” Vol. i. p. 74.
* Friend of India, Oct. 1825, pp. 281, 282-—“The woollen cloths were
formerly supplied by the Soobahs, and since by the Commissioners and
Collectors, the officers of the temple declaring themselves incapable of
procuring them! ! The quantity required is 484 guz (yards), of which one
piece must be of superfine cloth. The colours are of no consequence, but
there should be variety; they can be best supplied from the Company’s
warehouses, and therefore the charge is omitted ' ' Owing to the want of an
efficient control, I have every reason to believe, the internal affairs of the
temple have not been properly conducted of late. The Rajah attributes the
improprieties to the conduct of the head Purcha, who he says refuses to
obey his orders; the head Purcha attributes them to the Rajah’s orders,
having been inconsistent with the recorded rules and customs. There are
complaints made, that both parties have refused permission to opulent
Hindoos to make valuable presents to the idol, unless a previous Nuzzu-
ramma were paid, in one instance to the Najah, and in the other to the
Purchas, for permission.”—Feb. 1809, C. Buller, Esq.-Pay. Papers, 1813,
pp. 65-–74. Aurii.
138 BRITISH CONNECTION
produces multitudes of votaries, of each sex, and of all ages,
for this horrid pilgrimage.
“It appears,” says Colonel Phipps, “to have escaped
observation, that, under the present arrangement, THE
ENGLISH GOVERNMENT COLLECTS A FUND, FOR THE
specIAL PURPOSE OF SECURING TO THE ATTEND ANTS
OF THE TEMPLE OF JUGGERNAUT, so HIGH A PREMIUM
AS TO STIMULATE THEIR CDPIDITY TO SEND AG ENTS
ALI, OVER INDIA, TO DELUDE THE IGNORANT HINDOOS
TO UNDERTAKE A PILGRIMAGE, WHICH IS ATTENDED
WITH GREATER LOSS OF LIFE THAN ANY OTHER,
SUPERSTITION IN INDIA, AND WIHICH ANNUALLY
INVOLVES IN RUIN A GREAT MANY FAMILIES This
is the more extraordinary, as the President of the Board of
Commissioners, in his correspondence with the Court of
Directors, argues that the tax cannot be considered as intro-
ducing or tolerating the practice of idolatry. The arguments
used on the spot are short and plain. The purharees and
pundas will neither employ agents to entice pilgrims, nor will
they treat them properly unless it is made their interest.
Hindoos will seldom come, if left to themselves; and, if the
pilgrimage become unpopular, the tax will be so unproductive
as not to be worth collecting It is the opinion of the best
informed persons in the Province, that the dreadful scenes
which occur annually, on all the roads leading to Juggernaut,
would soon cease,_if the temple were placed on the same
footing, as numerous other places of idolatrous worship,
which are left without any kind of interference on the part
of Government.”
A further advantage would be, the decrease of the popularity
of places of pilgrimage, and consequently a diminution in the
number and mortality of the pilgrims. A decrease in the
resort of pilgrims to any place, naturally lessens its notoriety.
Let the Pilgrim Tax be abolished and few will be induced to
collect pilgrims. Free ingress and egress as it respects holy
places, long restricted by penal enactments, might, for a short
time, increase the number of pilgrims, but the novelty would
soon wear away; and, even while it continued, the pilgrims,
having no tax to pay, could better support themselves than
at present, consequently there would be less mortality. “Let
the tax and the premium for bringing pilgrims be at once
dropped; let all British interference with the idol and its
temple be withdrawn; and it is certain their popularity
* Mis. Reg. 1824, p. 580.
WITH IDO LATRY. 139
cannot long stand. If it did, the reproach and the guilt of
blood would be for ever rolled away from the British nation.
It must in future stand through virtues of its own growth, or
sink to ruin. Even the disappearance of that regularity and
splendour imparted to the worship of this idol, through
British interference, could not be unnoticed by the natives;
and would weigh in a powerful manner. “Why have the
British withdrawn themselves? What is there in the worship
of Juggernaut which has made them choose to give up every
idea of profit, rather than countenance it any longer ? This
cannot arise from veneration. It must arise from the reverse.”
Thus would a shock be given to this superstition, which it
has not received for ages.
“Even the delusion attached to the spot, when it was no
longer guarded by British power, would soon cease. At
present, the whole weight of the British authority is employed
to support the deception, that Pooree is a place peculiarly
holy, by refusing admittance to any not authorized to enter
by paying the tax, &c., and, by compelling them to leave the
town as soon as their permission earpires / As the pundas
would not be vested with magisterial power, they would have
no right to support this delusion, by the arm of civil authority.
It must rest wholly on opinion ; and, in spite of all their
endeavours, people would enter and prolong their stay
contrary to their commands: thus, by degrees, the place itself
would become too common to yield its present revenue. When
left to itself, this object of idolatry would naturally destroy
itself. While its worship is delusion, the God of truth seems
to have ordained that, in the very nature of things, idol
worship should contain the seeds of its own decay; and to
attempt to counteract this natural tendency, and to support
idolatry by virtues the growth of Christianity, seems an
act which, if continued, would make us fear more for the
British empire in India, than from the combination of all its
enemies.”*
Finally, the British character would appear in its true
light, and the efforts of Christian benevolence for meliorating
the state of India would be more successful than at present.
Is it to the honour of Britain, to collect annually £50,000
from the poor deluded followers of idolatry, while they are
enriched, who travel through the country to inveigle them
from their business and their families, frequently never,
never to return ? Will not the heathen think Christianity
* Friend of India, Oct. 1825, pp. 280-283.
140 BRITISH CONNECTION
similar to Idolatry, which amasses wealth at “the price of
blood * * Will not the Hindoo think highly of his idolatrous
rites, when he sees the solicitude of his Christian Rulers lest
they should grow into disuse It must appear incongruous
to the Hindoos, to see some Europeans endeavouring to turn
them from idols, and others engaged in their festivals, as if
they were concerned for the support of their establishments.
The following anecdote shews the effect of European con-
nection with idolatry upon the native mind:—
The Author passing one evening the large temple of Seeta
Ram at Cuttack (the endowed lands of which it is understood
are in the hands of Government, and an annual allowance
made to the priests), caught a sight of one of the idols, and
he exclaimed, “pape / pape /* (sinful, sinful). The native
who was with him asked, “Sir, is that sinful for which the
Company give thousands 2" (meaning rupees). He felt
confounded, but said, “Yes, it is sinful: but the Company
are a long way off; they do not know every thing about this
country, &c.” “Some of the most common arguments
employed in favour of idolatry,” says a missionary in Orissa,
in Oct. 1825, “are conveyed in the following questions: ‘If
Juggernaut be, as you say, nothing, then why do so many
people come so far to see him 2 If Juggernaut be nothing,
why do the Company take so much money of the pilgrims at
the entrance of the town 2' I asked Abraham (the Hindoo
teacher), what he said when the people talked about the
Company taking the people's money: he said, he replied to
them ; ‘So far from acknowledging Juggernaut, the English
do it to punish the people ! It would be too much trouble
to ſlog so many people, therefore they set up a gate and fine
them l’ In the simplicity of his heart, the poor fellow seemed
to think this was the case, and I did not undeceive him. As
I cannot homestly defend it, I always say it is a sinful practice.
As there is a Providence, I certainly think, the British power
has more to fear from its connection with idolatry in this
country, than from any thing else. A man said to me a few
days ago, “If the Government does not forsake Juggernaut,
how can you eaſpect that we should 3’ These arguments
discompose me more than any others; and they are urged
every day, and, perhaps, some days, several times.” A late
missionary in Orissa writes, in April 1828, “This evening I
met with a troublesome man who asked me several questions.
* If Juggernaut be nothing, why do the Company take so
many rupees & I answered, that was not my sin nor his.
“There are some of you (said the gooroo) who are not holy in
WITH IDOT, ATRY. 14]
all their conduct. If your religion were true, the Government
would support it: but they do not.’”
Confirmation of the above statements, shewing the propriety
and utility of the repeal of the Pilgrim Taar, and the discom-
tinuance of British connection with idolatry in India,
appears important. It is presumed the following facts are
deserving of serious attention.
“About the close of the year 1801, a Civil Servant of the
Hon. Company, holding the station of Collector in one of the
southern Provinces of the Madras Presidency, sent his peons
to the great Pagoda of the Province, with orders to break the
car of Juggernaut in pieces and sell the wood, as it had been
the property of a rebel chief. The Brahmuns remonstrated,
claiming the car as the property of the god, and repulsed the
peons. The Collector, however, apprized them that he should
renew the attempt. On learning this, the Brahmuns sent him
an intimidation, and caused it to be circulated throughout the
Province, “That if he offered such a profanation to the car of
the god, holy Brahmuns would cast themselves headlong from
the lofty tower of the Pagoda.’ The Collector sent a formal
message, informing them he had heard of their vow to kill
themselves, and that he and his family would attend to witness
the spectacle ! On the day appointed, a great multitude
assembled. The Collector and his family, his peons and
retinue, attended. The tower over the gateway of the pagoda
was the place from which the Brahmuns threatened to pre-
cipitate themselves. Within full view of the tower, chairs
were set for the Collector and his family. The decisive
moment now arrived:—the Brahmuns appeared on the top of
the tower, and the Collector gave the order for the demolition.
The Brahmuns, with loud imprecations, and menacing
gesticulations, endeavoured to intimidate him. They rushed
repeatedly to the verge of the tower, and as often retired.
But the officer was firm to his purpose: the car was broken,
and the wood ordered to be sold; upon which the Brahmuns
silently withdrew, and the crowd quietly dispersed.”
“A rare circumstance has occurred this year,” says the
Calcutta Missionary Herald, July, 1824, “in reference to the
car of Juggernaut, kept at Chandernagore, which belongs to
the French. This huge car, used to be dragged along the
main road leading to Taldanga, where it stood for the space
of a week, and was then brought back. This road has lately
undergone a thorough repair; and the French authorities sent
* Miss Reg. 1814, p. 58. See Asi. Jour. Oct. 1830,
142 BRITISH CONNECTION
word to the proprietors of the ruth that, as the wheels of the
car would tear up the road, they could not suffer it to be
dragged over it, unless they paid 500 rupees for its repair.
The owners of it offered a sum considerably less than what
was demanded, in consequence of which the ruth was not
allowed to be drawn, in spite of the earnest entreaties of the
Hindoos. Thus one of their most ancient customs has been
laid aside, by the peremptory orders of the Rulers of Chander-
nagore, without creating any spirit of rebellion among the
Hindoos. A tax has been laid upon Juggernaut, and as he
could not pay the mulct, and his votaries had not sufficient
respect to pay it for him, he remains a monument of his
impotency and subserviency to an earthly being.”
“A few years since there were two cars of Juggernaut at
Bydpoor, near Culna, in the Nuddea district. They were
kept a short distance from the town, near an unfrequented
road. From time to time several persons were missing, who
were never heard of again. It was at length discovered that
these cars were the nests of waylayers or footpads, whence
they issued and knocked down solitary individuals for the
purpose of robbing them: they almost invariably murdered
them, and then took their bodies and concealed them among
the wheels of the cars. The frequent occurrence of these
murders occasioned great trouble to the villagers; who were
bound and examined by the police officers, and subject to
great oppressions. It happily occurred to some Hindoos of
the place, that as long as Juggernaut's cars remained, they
should never escape the trouble brought upon them by these
murders; they therefore came to the determination of setting
fire to them, and burnt them to the ground. The place of
concealment being removed, the murders have ceased.”f
Great depredations are practised upon the pilgrims at Jug-
gernaut's temple in Orissa. As they enter the town, the men
employed to drag the cars have been seen to come from their
encampment and seize their chattas, clothes, &c. In the
town, as they lie asleep, their money is frequently stolen from
them. Within the temple what oppressions are committed
must remain unknown to Europeans, as no one is allowed to
enter it. Hundreds, yea, thousands, die of want, exposure,
* Asi. Jour. May, 1825.
f Mis. Herald, Aug. 1825.-Asi. Jour. May, 1826.
# “Some captious persons became offended, and called out to the
multitude, ‘Worship Juggernaut, worship Juggernaut.”—Miss. Who is
Juggernaut?—He that sits on the blue mountains.—Miss. If that image
be Durm Brumha, why does it decay P for you know it is renewed every
WITH IIDOLATRY. 143
&c., occasioned by the cruelty practised at Pooree. O that
some of the Hindoos were wise and firm enough to destroy
these cars / When shall the dreadful celebrity of Juggernaut
cease for ever ! -
The late A. Stirling, Esq., in his “Account of Orissa,”
states what would be the result of leaving Juggernaut uncon-
nected with the Government. “Generally, from two to three
days are consumed in reaching the Gondicha Nour temple,
where the images are taken out. Before even this period is
elapsed, the curiosity and enthusiasm of the pilgrims have
nearly evaporated; they steal off in numbers, and leave Shree
Jeo to get back to the temple as he may / Without the aid of
the villagers* and the population of Pooree, who hold their
ground free of rent, on condition of performing this service
jor the deity, the cars would now infallibly stick at the
Gondicha Nour ! Even the god's own servants will not
labour zealously and effectually without the interposition of
authority; and I imagine the ceremony (the car festival)
2007/ld soon cease to be conducted on its present scale, -IF
THE INSTITUTION WERE LEFT ENTIRELY TO ITS OWN
FATE AND TO IT'S OWN RESOURCES BY THE OFFICERs
OF THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT.” Hamilton in his Gazettee,’
speaking of the temple of Juggernaut, says;–“ the whole
ceremony would soon decline almost to nothing, if left to its
own resources !”t
The following statement, from a correspondent at Cuttack,
appeared in the Calcutta John Bull, July, 1821:-“On account
of the lateness of the Ruth Jattra this year, it was not ex-
pected that the assemblage of pilgrims would be great; but
nothing like the falling off that took place was anticipated.
Monsieur Juggernaut, in fact, was almost deserted; and
Messrs. Brahmun, Pundit, and Co., threatened to remove his
worship to a more central situation in India (in the neighbour-
hood of Mooradabad). We congratulate our friends in those
parts, on their good luck on the prospect of such a visit ! We
are sorry to state that from the epidemic, want, and exposure,
twelve years. If he were Juggernaut (the Lord of the world) would he permit
his priests in his presence to tear away the silver and gold ear-rings and nose
jewels of the juttrees? You know you can never come away from Pooree with
a rupee, or pice, or cloth, or lota ; could this, think you, be the case if Juggernaut
were there?. It is all a trick of the Brahmuns to get your money to feed
themselves.”—Ex. Mis. Jour. 1827.
* “The inhabitants of the neighbouring pergunnah, Raheng, Lumbai,
&c., whose peculiar duty and privilege it is, conjointly with the inhabitants
of Pooree, to drag the ruths.”
f Asi, Jour. Oct. 1830, p. 100.
144 BRITISH CONNECTION
the mortality among the few deluded wretches (comparitively)
that did come, was awful. We hope from the signs of the
times, that the reign of Juggernautis drawing to a close, or is
at least upon the decline. The pilgrims either could not or
would not draw the ruth, and the priests, of this vile superstition,
were obliged to call in other assistance. No devotee was found
to pave the way with his blood for Moloch. The sight, at the
opening of the gates for the admission of pilgrims, would have
melted the heart of a savage; numbers of expiring wretches
were carried in, that they might die at the polluted shrine,
instead of enjoying their domestic comforts in their native
village. Who that witnesses or hears of such scenes, but
must long for the time when these degrading rituals will pass
away, and the pure and exalting religion of Jesus bless the
benighted plains of Hindostan *”
The Par. Papers respecting Juggernaut, May, 1813,
abundantly shew that the temple would gradually decrease in
celebrity, but for the support of the British Government.
References are made to the advance of money for the use of
it. A petition from the chief Purcha, in May, 1807, states,
“But, for the service of Shree Jeo, it is necessary that some
money should be given at present by Government on charge
of the dewal Purchas; and, if money is not given, there will
be the utmost difficulty in carrying on the affairs of the
temple !” p. 61. The board of Revenue in 1806, suggested
that the temple should be supported from the proceeds of its
own lands, with fees levied on its account, and voluntary
contributions; to which the Collector of tax replied, “I
suspect the priesthood will not willingly agree to continue the
ceremonies of Juggernaut, in the present style, with the funds
proposed to be assigned to them.” pp. 50–53; see also pp.
58, 59, 60—65. Should a Christian people thus uphold
idolatry
The following brief extracts from the Calcutta Papers,
shew the nature of public opinion in India, concerning the
propriety of abolishing the Pilgrim Tax:— -
The India Gazette in Oct. 1825, contains an article relative to Juggernaut;
a brief extract is inserted.—“In the Weekly Messenger of yesterday, there
is a most harrowing account of the miseries suffered by the poor creatures
who crowded to Juggernaut, to attend the Satanic festival of the Ruth
Jattra. It is humiliating to read such things. They are degrading to us as
men, and derogatory to our character as Christian masters of this country.
And is it possible that yearly similar scenes occur : But do not the Brahmuns
fatten? Do not the wily heartless priests, who Squeeze the last rupee out
* Asi. Jour. March, 1822.
WITH IDOLATRY. 145
of the hands of the poor victims, profit by the system 2 Yes: and they will
retort the charge, that, they alone do not profit by it. The abstraction of such
vast masses of people must be very injurious to the general prosperity of the
tracts whence they issue; unless India in general be considered too populous.
When we remember the many parts that lie waste, where a teeming soil
would reward the efforts of the industrious, we cannot help thinking the
population could be distributed more judiciously, than by a long pilgrimage
to Juggernaut, were the journey merely dependent upon those convictions
of necessity which lead to emigration, instead of the blind zeal of a flagitious
superstition.”
“We have perused with some attention,” says the Editor of the Calcutta
John Bull, Nov. 1825, “an article in the last ‘Friend of India, entitled
“Reflections on the incidents which occurred this year at the Ruth Juttra of
Juggernaut in Orissa.’ The subject is unquestionably of the first moment,
inasmuch as the alleviation of human misery, and the preservation of human
life, must be objects of the highest importance to every Christian and
humane Government. The writer in the ‘Friend of India,’ adverting to the
fact, that the taa: humanely imposed by Government to discourage the practice
has become the very means of perpetuating it, and been even converted, by
those who have a selfish purpose to answer in keeping it up, into a proof
that the Christian Government of India recognises the divinity of Juggernaut,
and believes in the virtue of a pilgrimage to his shrine as earpiating sin : he
proposes (and we certainly concur with him), to abolish the tar, and leave
the Hindoos free to go or not, as they please, on this pilgrimage. Nothing, we
are persuaded, would tend more effectually to lessen the resort of pilgrims, to
this celebrated seat of superstition, than the total indifference of Government
to the practice. The tax imposed upon pilgrims, when found, as we believe
it is, ineffectual as a check upon the practice, ought without delay to be
abrogated. It has been imposed in ignorance of the native character; but
now a better knowledge of this character is acquired, the natives themselves
are undoubtedly beginning to be influenced in their motions as to the
value of their religious acts by their intercourse with Europeans—it is time to
change the system, and, at least, to try the effects of one directly opposed to
the present, so far as levying a tax is concerned. The good people at home
do not do justice to the Government of this country in the object they have
in view by this tax. They maintain that it is a desire of revenue which has
imposed it; and certainly, where the fact of its efficiency for that purpose is
proved, this representation acquires strength by the continuance of the
impost.”
“We hesitate not,” says the Editor of the Columbian Press Gazette, “to
declare our concurrence in the sentiments expressed in the Bull, on the
subject of the pilgrimage to Juggernaut. There can be no reason to doubt
that the tax levied to promote the convenience of the pilgrimage, and to
increase the revenue at the same time, is calculated to create an impression
among the natives, that the British Government countenances and believes in
the effieacy of such pilgrimages. The best method of proving that we are
not actuated by a motive so unworthy is to repeal it at once. It certainly
has not been effectual in diminishing the number of pilgrims; and, if we
are rightly informed, it was never intended to produce such effects; being
chiefly levied in the first instance to provide comforts for the pilgrims, and
thereby (though humamely aimed at the diminution of human suffering),
directly tending to encourage the superstitious practices which caused it.”
A
* Asi. Jour., Feb. 1827, p. 270.
L
146 BRITISH CONNECTION
The Bengal Weekly Messenger about the same date, contains the following
paragraph:—“We believe now, though we hear it for the first time, that
the English Government maintains, by rewarding, a set of men called
pilgrim hunters, trained by the various functionaries of the temple, to traverse
the whole country, for the purpose of inducing the wretched inhabitants to
undertake the pilgrimage, for what is confessedly not intended to form an
item of our revenue, and almost the whole of which is expended under
British auspices, in adorning and maintaining the Idol and its numerous
establishment; thereby preserving a last refuge for that religion, which, in
all other parts of our Indian territory, we are encouraging every proper
endeavour to eradicate! We feel fully persuaded, that entire neglect of
Juggernaut, on our part, would in a moderate time be followed by equal
indifference on the part of the worshippers : on this principle, we conceive
many places of ancient superstitious reputation have now fallen into decay,
though once, perhaps, as great in sanctity as the Pagoda of Juggernaut.
Let the tax then be abolished; desuetude will be the consequence at last,
although the succeeding year or two may produce a greater concourse of
people. Let us not assist to keep up the mystery and priestcraft of the
worship; let us not, by our authority, help to maintain the splendour of the
Idol, nor his reputation of that abstergent holiness which is believed to wash
away the sins of those who approach its residence, and the result will be
found to answer the expectations which are so reasonably cherished.”
The following extract from the Calcutta Literary Gazette, in Aug. 1829,
is interesting.—“Were the Government to withhold its support and
superintendence from the Idol's establishment, this would greatly tend to
lessen the evil. Were these withheld the cars would no longer be decorated
with English broad cloths; the pilgrim hunters would cease to be paid for
enticing the people from their homes; consequently few pilgrims would
come; the different servants and officers would manifest less regularity,
while the food and general provision of the idols would be prepared with an
economy that would contribute to the general decline in their interest:
disorder and dishonesty would immediately succeed through every part of
the system, which would soon work its own decline. A Punda said, that
before the Company took the care of the Idol’s establishment, he had not
the glory I now saw, for that then the people said, “There is no road; no
shelter; there were robbers abroad, and how could they go so far?” and
thus saying, they stayed at home. But that now the thieves were taken ;
good roads made ; sheltering places built ; and Juggernaut otherwise
supported; the people had no excuse, and no fear, and therefore they came.
These are facts which cannot but be known to many, acquainted with the
Pooree affairs, and will be readily acknowledged by every intelligent native.”

The late Rev. T. Thomason, of Calcutta, in a letter to the
Author, in Aug. 1824, writes:—“The sad subject of the tax
on pilgrims has been again and again brought forward.
Before Mr. Harington was out of Council the subject was
fully discussed; minutes were written, opinions collected,
and the whole is gone for the decision of the Court of
Directors. Doubtless this and other abominations will give
way at length; but politicians may protract their continuance
for a season.” In another letter, dated Calcutta, March 1825,
he says, “Every thing has been done here in the matter of
the Juggernaut abomination, and of the burning of Widows.
WITH IDOLATRY. H 47
For this also we must wait. Having done all, we can only
look to Him who can give prosperity.”
“Every man who can afford it,” says the late Dr. Buchanan,
“is obliged to pay a tribute to the English Government, for
leave to worship the Idol (Juggernaut). It will give me
sincere pleasure if the further investigation of this subject shall
tend, in any degree, to soften the shameful impression which
the above statement must make on the public mind. What
can be compared to the disgrace of regulating, by Christian
law, the bloody and obscene rites of Juggernaut? The honour
of our nation is certainly involved in this matter. But there
is no room for the language of crimination or reproach; it is
the sin of ignorance. These facts are not generally known,
because there has been no official inquiry. In regard to the
Idol Taar, the principle of the enormity, it is said, has never
been fully explained to the Government at home. The
Honourable the Court of Directors will feel as indignant, on
a full development of the fact, as any public body of the
nation.”* In a letter addressed to the Hon. Court, respecting
Juggernaut, May 1813, he declares, “A writer may be able,
by the power of high embellishment, by noticing indifferent
circumstances, and entirely suppressing others, to represent
the Idol Juggernaut as one of the ‘gay and elegant deities of
Greece and Rome;’ but the substance of the facts, as stated
by others, will remain the same. It will still continue true,
that Juggernaut is a fountain of vice and misery to millions
of mankind; that the sanguinary and obscene character of
the worship is in the highest degree revolting, and that it will
be a most happy event, when our Christian nation shall
dissolve its connection with that polluted place.”f
The Editor of the Missionary Register, Feb. 1828, referring
to the permission of Suttees, and to the Pilgrim Tax, justly
remarks,—“There are two topics of a very distressing mature,
because they are putting to hazard the fidelity of this country,
in the discharge of that high trust which has been committed
to it, in its delegated stewardship of India. The Pilgrim Tax,
levied by the Indian Government, on idolaters going on
pilgrimage to supposed sacred places, whatever were its
design, has had the acknowledged effect of sanctioning and
legalizing this destructive and wicked superstition.” Adverting
to the Author's pamphlet on Pilgrim Tax in India, it is
* The Eras of Light, 1810, pp. 41–44. This expectation was not
realized on the full discussion of the subject in the India House, in Sep.
1830, See Asi. Jour., Oct. 1830. ſ
t Buchaman's Apol. for Christianity in India, p. 42.
L 2
148 BRITISH CONNECTION
observed—“The author has collected abundant testimony to
the duty, facilities, and advantages, of the entire and imme-
diate abandonment of this pernicious system.”
The following remarks on “Revenue from Hindoo Temples,”
by a public officer of high rank in India, appear very
judicious:— :
“As the greater proportion of the pilgrims, who present the offerings
which constitute the revenue of Government, are the inhabitants of the
Hon. Company’s Territories, it becomes necessary to consider the effect of
the payment of the tax. It will not, I conceive, require much argument
to prove, that the amount of collections drawn from them is most injurious
to the general resources of the Government, more particularly with regard
to the gifts made by landholders, from the richest zemindar to the poorest
ryot. The offerings at the Pagoda tend to diminish their power of paying
their rents, and that even to a much greater extent than if they were to pay
a similar sum by a tax in any other mode; for the time and labour consumed
in the journey, the extravagance and waste while the pilgrims remain, the
actual detriment their cultivation and stock must suffer in consequence of
their absence, are all to be considered; and this injury to their individual,
and thus to the Government's interests, is entirely the effect of their being
induced, by their prejudices, to proceed to so great a distance, to make an
offering, that is, literally, to pay an additional taa, to Government above their
assessments; whereas, if no facility for so senseless a proceeding were offered
them, there is a reason to believe that they would, with the sum expended
in offerings, be either discharging their rents with greater exactness, or
adding to their capital. I would submit that, it would appear clearly to be
most consistent with the best interests of Government, to discourage the influa,
of their landholders as pilgrims to —. -
“The remaining portion of the Company’s subjects who visit the 2
and add to the revenues of Government by their contributions, are the
merchants, manufacturers, and artificers, with probably a small number of
the idle part of the population. It is a well-established fact that, in the
years of plentiful crops, the Government dues are collected with the least
facility, in consequence of the difficulty the ryots experience in disposing
of their grain; it is plain they cannot sell to each other, as all have grain
to dispose of it follows, the consumers and purchasers are the mercantile
and manufacturing classes. As the quantity they can afford to buy, or the
price they can afford to give, must of necessity depend on the earnings of
their labour, should this class of persons be induced, by any facility not now
possessed, to come in greater numbers to —, the loss of the state
must be very considerable; for they cannot follow their professions on their
journey, but must be wasting their time and means: the value of the
employment of their labour must be lost to themselves and to the Government.
To put this in a clear light, suppose for a moment the circumstance of a
whole manufacturing and mercantile population of the district of —,
leaving their employments and undertaking a pilgrimage to —: we
should at once see the bad effects of such a measure;—they would lose all
their time and labour, thus greatly decreasing individual wealth; and the
ryots would be suffering severely, there being no market for their grain.
I do not imagine any person would think of encouraging such a movement
of the population, and yet exactly the same effects follow in proportion from
the absence of one or ten inhabitants of that country, or of any other of the
Hon. Company’s Provinces on pilgrimage, as in the case of the absence of
WITH IDOLATRY. 149
the whole body. It is just as much the best policy of Government to
discourage the pilgrimage in one or ten, as it would be their best policy on
the supposition of the movement of the whole mercantile and manufacturing
population.”
“It was not attempted to be denied,” says J. Poynder,
Esq., “that the British Government not merely tolerates so
much idolatry and crime, but derives an immense revenue
from this polluted source. The Gentleman who noticed
external amendments (removing indecent emblems from the
car, and the wall that surrounds the temple) has thought
proper to produce only as much of the appalling account given
by Colonel Phipps, as was necessary to his own object; —but
he has passed over every thing in that relation which proves
the idolatry of Juggermaut to be most destructive to the Indian
population, in its consequences upon human life, and most
disgraceful to the British Government, in its continuance as
a source of revenue. The public statement, given by the
Colonel,f affords abundant proof that the continuance of this
national opprobrium is referrible to the Board of Control
for India, rather than to the Court of Directors of the East
India Company.”f The author would particularly recom-
mend the Speech of this Gentleman, on the subject of British
Connection with Idolatry in India, delivered at a Quarterly
Court of Proprietors, Sep. 1830. (Hatchard). It is an able
Pamphlet.S
H. S. G. Tucker, Esq., in his “Review of the Financial
Situation of the East India Company, in 1824,” disapproves
of the tax levied on the pilgrims resorting to Juggernaut and
other holy places: “he thinks it does not harmonize with a
great and liberal Government.”|| -
G. Udmy, Esq., Member of Council in Calcutta, in 1806,
entered a protest against some parts of the Pilgrim Tax
System. He suggested,—“If the revenue of the temple were
insufficient for its support, a tax should be levied to meet the
deficiency; but that Government should have no direct con-
cern with what related to the maintenance of the temple, or
the payment of the officers.” The reason assigned was,
“The making provision by law for such purpose, it appears
* Asi. Jour., May 1822, p. 439. See some interesting remarks on this
subject in the Ori. Her, vol. ii. p. 71. Also Asi. Jour., March 1831,
pp. 20.4—215. t Miss. Reg., Dec. 1824.
† Speech on Human Sacrifices in India, March 1827. (Hatchard.)
§ For the just views of Mr. Trant, an Indian Proprietor, upon this subject,
see Asi, Jour., Oct. 1830, pp. l l 1, 112,
| Asi. Jour., June 1825.
150 BRITISH CONNECTION
to me, would operate to sanction, and tend to perpetuate a
system of gross idolatry, which Government is neither bound,
nor does it seem becoming in it, to do.” How much better,
that Britain should have no connection with the temples of
India, either in acquiring wealth from them, or in supporting
or superintending their establishments &
“It is evidently indecorous, if not inconsistent,” says the
late J. H. Harington, Esq., “that the Government of a nation
professing Christianity should participate in the offerings of
heathen superstition and idolatry.”f In correspondence with
the writer, in 1824, he stated the same opinion:—“I think, my-
self, a Christian Government ought not to derive a revenue
from the allowance of this sin.” And in a letter from the same
Gentleman in June, 1825, (which contained the substance of
the communication to J. Blunt, Esq., Commissioner of Orissa,
relative to the relief of the pilgrims at the Car Festival,) he
observed, “The Court of Directors have recognised the Tax
at Juggernaut, as a fund applicable to local purposes, not as
a part of the general revenue of the State; and that scarcely
any purpose could be even worthy of Government, eaccept that
of mitigating the mischiefs which this miserable superstition
occasions.” Let the British withdraw from the temple of
Juggernaut all possible connection, the eclat of the pilgrimage
will gradually cease, and its miseries disappear.
“We think,” say the Board of Revenue in Calcutta, Sep.
1806, “the interference of the public officers, in superintending
the general concerns of a Hindoo temple, so far from being cal-
culated to promote economy in the expenses, to increase the re-
putation and prosperity of the temple, or to augment the public
revenue, is likely to be attended with contrary effects. We
would recommend the whole of the internal economy and ma-
nagement of the temple to be left entirely to the Hindoo priest-
hood; and that the interference of Government be confined
to the levy of a duty from pilgrims, in like manner as is done
at Gya and Allahabad. From the pilgrims resorting to Gya,
Government derives an annual revenue of about 150,000
Yupees; no interference whatever is had by the officers of
Government with the priests of the temple. With reference
to the substantial benefits arising to Government from the
taar upon pilgrims resorting to Gya, and, on the other hand,
to the inconsiderable receipts by Government from the temple
of Juggernaut since it has been under the British Government,
* Par. Papers, May 1813, p. 41.
t Harington's Analysis, vol. iii. p. 226.
WITH IDOLATRY. “ 15]
we consider ourselves fully justified, in recommending that the
rules respecting the concerns of Juggernaut's temple, should be
brought as near as possible to those at Gya.”
In the correspondence of the Hon. Court of Directors with
the Right Hon. the Board of Commissioners for the Affairs of
India, in 1809, sentiments are expressed opposed to a con-
siderable part of the present System at Juggernaut. “Accord-
ing to the Hindoo laws, it may have been allowable for a
Hindoo Government to interfere in the appointment of ministers
of that temple, and the management of its affairs; but for our
Government to elect its priests and officers, to assume a
control over the official conduct of those persons, to take the
direction of its funds and the charge of preparing its annual
car, was, in the opinion of the Court, to furnish to the ill-
intentioned pretexts for alarming the scrupulosity and super-
stition of the Hindoos in respect to their religion. The Court
thinking the interference of our Government in these matters
generally improper, on the principles of the Hindoos and on
our own, and especially improper at such a time; judged it
right, for the prevention of such interference in future, to
express their disapprobation of it. The acts of interference
disapproved by the Court were specified to be, ‘electing the
priests of the temple, controlling its ministers and officers,
taking the management of its funds, or any other proceeding
which would not leave the Hindoos in perfect possession of
their religious immunities.’ The Court beg leave respectfully
to state, that they still deem it their duty to propose the pro-
hibition of these things; and if there be any points relating
to the religious establishments of the Hindoos beyond the
‘care of a police, the administration of justice, and the
collection of a tax requisite for the attainment of these ends,’
it would be proper to specify it to the Government, instead of
leaving a universal interference in all matters without exception
open to them, on the ground of securing the public tranquillity;
because it is to be presumed, there must be some point at
which the interference of a Government not Hindoo, in the
religious concerns of a people so remarkably separated and
scrupulous in matters of that kind, must stop. The Court
intend to provide for the maintenance of the public tranquillity;
and humbly hope they have done so, by leaving to the
magistrate ‘the care of the police, and the administration of
justice:’ and they beg leave to offer it as their opinion, that
* Par, Papers relative to Juggernaut, May 1813. Extract of a Letter to
Sir G. H. Barlow, Bart.
152 BRITISH CONNECTION
instead of interfering by a direct exercise of the authority of
Government in such matters as–the contests between different
priests and different sects about the earpenditure and pro-
vision of its funds, the possession and pre-eminence of
particular images, with other questions of that nature which
have already arisen, and are always likely to arise in the
internal administration of the temple:* it will be better to
refer all such questions to the judicial determination of our
established Courts, which being done, the interference of the
Government for the public peace can only be necessary should
the parties proceed to acts of open hostility against each
other.”f
This chapter may be closed by quoting the sentiments of
the Right Hon. the Board of Commissioners in 1808, in the
correspondence already adverted to : they appear in strict
consonance with the object here advocated. “It is undoubtedly
desirable to avoid as much as possible the exercise of any
control over the management and concerns of the temple; as
our interference in such matters cannot but be, at all times,
disagreeable to the feelings and prejudices of the Hindoos ;
and may occasionally furnish ground of jealousy and mis-
orepresentation, in regard to our intentions respecting their
Teligion. The revenue which may be raised, from any source
of that nature, can never be an object compared with the high
importance of consulting, on all occasions, the religious
opinions and civil usages of the natives.”
* “Im proof, that an undue interference with idolatry has thus been
exercised, I observe (says Mr. Poynder), that from pages 44 to 56 of the
Par. Papers of 1813, a long correspondence occurs, in which the Indian
Government is appealed to, whether a certain Idol should have a throne
allotted to him, or be worshipped in an outer court, which ends in a formal
decision of our Christian Government in favour of the easternal worship.”—
Debate on Idolatry in India, Asi. Jour., Oct. 1830, p. 97. Par. Papers,
1813, pp. 19, 45, 56.
t Par. Papers, May 1813. Extract of a Letter from W. Ramsay, Esq.,
Sec. to the Hon. Court of Directors, to G. Halford, Esq., Sec. to the Right
Hon. the Board of Commissioners for India, Feb. 1809.
witH Idol ATRY. 153
CHAP. V.
Objections to the repeal of the Pilgrim Taar System obviated
—concluding appeal.
The anomalous nature of the system under consideration
has attracted the attention of many highly respectable Gentle-
men, both in England and India. It may be presumed, that
various objections to its abolition must exist among those,
who possess the power of performing this important service
for the interests of humanity and religion in Hindostan; the
following are the principal:—
The Right Hon. the Board of Commissioners, in the
paragraph last quoted, propose a common objection to the
repeal of the Pilgrim Tax:—“Both the taxes above mentioned
(those levied at Juggernaut and Allahabad), having been es-
tablished during the Nawaub and Mahratta Governments,
there does not appear to be any substantial objection to the
continuance of those duties, under proper rules for their
collection.” -
In obviating this objection, the Author is happy in being
able to use the language of the Hon. Court of Directors, to
the Right Hon. the Board of Commissioners, in their corres-
pondence relative to British superintendence of the temple of
Juggernaut. “It is not our opinion, whatever the example
of preceding Governments may have been, that the British
Government ought to tax the Hindoos purely on a religious
account; for instance, to make them pay merely for access to
any of their places of devotion. We approve of the suggestion
of the Board of Revenue, in June 1806, to confine the inter-
ference of Government at Juggernaut, to the levy of a duty on
pilgrims, in like manner as is done at Gya and Allahabad;
but the quantum of the tax ought to be fully sufficient to
defray the expense incurred by Government for the establish-
ment which it shall maintain at Juggernaut. With regard to
imposing a tax upon the Hindoos for admission to a religious
privilege, when the imposers believed, as the Hindoo Govern-
ment did, that the privilege was a real good, it was, on their
principles, for them to put a price upon it; but, where the
Government know the supposed privilege to be a delusion,
the Court must question the propriety of its continuing the
practice, though it may be ancient ; that reason not having
been deemed by our Government, in other instances, sufficient
to sanction customs repugnant to the principles of justice.
lö4 BRITISH CONNECTION
And, with respect to disbursing out of the Public Treasury
any thing towards the support of religious establishments,
Hindoo or Mahomedan, beyond what their own endowments
furnish, the Court cannot but deem the principle objection-
able, and the practice to be preferred, which has lately been
adopted by the Madras Government, who have determined
not to receive into their hands the funds belonging to such
institutions, nor to be concerned in the expenditure of
them.” This reasoning appears very conclusive; and, when
it is known that the Hindoos argue the dignity and even the
divinity of Juggernaut, from the attention of the British
Government to his establishment, does not the impropriety of
a Christian Government collecting a tax on the worshippers
of a block of wood, irresistibly strike every intelligent and in-
genuous mind? .
The following incident shews that some of the Hindoos
consider the establishment of the Pilgrim Tax by the British,
and its consequent support of Juggernaut, as a proof of the
Idol's interposition. The author's punditrelated to him, that
“Juggernaut appeared in a dream to the General Sahab, as
he lay upon his couch, and said to him, ‘Why have you not
given me my konor (food), as I used to have 2 If you do not
give it, I will punish you.” The General was afraid, and gave
orders that Juggernaut should have food set before him as
formerly.”
Another objection to the repeal of this system is, its sup-
posed protection of the pilgrims from oppression. This was
Mr. Udny’s reason for adopting some kind of police establish-
ment at Juggernaut's temple; as this Gentleman expressed it,
“to secure the pilgrims against every thing of a vexatious
nature from the extortion and oppression of the officers of the
temple.” Butisit possible to prevent the priests of idolatrous
establishments making a gain of their office The present
premium to the pilgrim hunters, being secured by Government,
is claimed to its full amount; and, in addition to it, other
demands are made upon the worshippers in the temple, and
at various places in the town:—“all the resources of super-
stition and priestcraft are brought into active operation; and
every offering, from a sweetmeat to a lack of rupees, is grasped
by the officiating Brahmuns with the most importunate
rapacity.t” At Juggernaut, the last act of worship (without
which the whole pilgrimage is void) is performed under a tree
* Par. Papers, May 1813, p. 17.
| See Ham. Hind., vol. ii. pp. 53, 647.
WITH IDOLATRY. - 155
in the enclosure of the temple; and, before the pilgrims are
allowed to do this, certain sums are exacted from them accord-
ing to the cupidity of the priests. Promissory notes are given
at Gya, and pilgrims in general evidently lie at the mercy of
their religious guides.
An extract from a communication of a correspondent in
Orissa, at Ganjam, in 1826, shews that no system can be
adopted to protect Hindoo pilgrims from oppression:—“Talk-
ing about Juggernaut, a man from the country asked the
question so common in another place:—‘Why the Company
had any thing to do with Juggernaut, if his worship was
wrong 3' And I said, as I always do on such occasions, that
the Company did wrong. One of them told me that he had
been to Juggernaut a few days ago; that his personal expenses
on the road were two rupees. The tax was two rupees, six
anmas; two rupees went for food for the blocks (idols); three
rupees were taken by the pundas, besides two pice here and
two pice there in different parts of the temple. A man in
another place told me that he did not pay the tax [pretending
to be very poor]; and that his last journey cost him about
five rupees: the earpenses he said differed according to people's
circumstances ; for the same journey would cost some fifty
pupees. I inquired how the pundas knew what to expect,
and he replied, some of them would come and stay two or
three months in such a place as Ganjam, by which means
they become acquainted with their circumstances.”
The following facts may afford a specimen of the conduct
of the immediate attendants of idols. “Krishna Wusoo gave
to the temple of Juggernaut (near Serampore) an immense
car, which could not cost less than 4 or 5000 rupees. He
also added an allowance of six rupees a day for the expenses
of the worship of this idol. Gourn Mullick, a goldsmith of
Calcutta (who gave the interest of his mother's weight in gold
to different temples') added six rupees more to the daily
offerings of this temple. These two benefactors, perceiving
that the Brahmums of the temple, instead of earpending these
sums in the offerings to the god and in alms to strangers,
applied the greater part of it to their private use, reduced
the sia rupees, to one rupee four annas a day. To extort
more money from the donors, the Brahmuns at two succeeding
festivals prevented the car proceeding to an adjoining temple,
in which the donors were interested, pretending that the god
was angry with them for their parsimony and would not go.”#
* Ward's View of the Hindoos, Vol. i. Intro. p. 40.
I 56 - BRITISH CONNECTION
The late Bishop Heber, visiting some temples of Seeb, gave
a rupee to two Brahmuns who had shown them to him, and
observes;–“I thought one rupee was enough between them,
and told the priests that they were to divide it. No sooner,
however, had it touched the threshold, than the two old men
began scrambling for it in a most indecorous manner; abusing
each other, spitting, stamping, clapping their hands, and
doing every thing but striking; the one insisting that it
belonged to him whose threshold it had touched; the other
urging the known intentions of the donor. I tried to pacify
them, but found it of no use, and left them in the midst of the
fray.” .
A Calcutta Paper, in Oct. 1822, contained the following
relation:—“ Robbery at Juggernaut. Juggernaut has been
in great commotion, and I suspect some of the followers of
Juggernaut will be staggered in their faith. This morning,
when the pundas went in to visit the idols, they found all the
silver ornaments gone, to the amount of 5000 rupees. They
say none of the doors had been forced. All the inside doors
are locked, and the keys lodged with the head punda and
several chokedars in the compound: the outside doors are
also locked, and the keys lodged with the punda; and a sepoy
Sentry at each outside, as they are not allowed to go in dressed
in their uniforms, or have any charge of what is inside. The
Rajah and Collector's officers have had a meeting, and con-
fined upwards of twenty attendants of the idol. On asking
the sepoys what they thought of it, they laughing replied,
‘Thakoor must have robbed himself (that is allowed some one),
as he would have struck a person blind, who offered to take
away his ornaments, or his sister's, or his brother's '' It is a
most curious circumstance; for no one goes in but accom-
panied by pundas, and all the sepoys seem to say some of
them must be the rogues. The Jacks do not seem to have
much veneration for Juggernaut, as they seem to joke at the
idea of his being robbed.”f
A third objection to taking off the tax, and a vindication of
its propriety, is (to use Mr. Harington's words in his
“Analysis,”)—“The Court of Directors (in a letter dated Oct.
1814) intimate that they do not consider the taa, on pilgrims
a source of revenue, but merely as a fund for keeping the
temple in repair. The Vice President in Council, adverting
to the probability of the net receipts exceeding the amount
* Jour., vol. i. p. 94. + Asi. Jour., July 1823. The author
has seen the thief in the jail at Cuttack.
WITH IDOLATRY. 157
required for the repairs of the edifice, directed that the surplus
should be applied,—to the repairs of the temple and other
local purposes; the completion and repair of a public road
from the vicinity of Calcutta to Juggernaut Pooree, com-
menced on a donation for this purpose by the late Rajah
Sookmoy Roy; and to any other purpose connected with the
temple of Juggernaut.”
To this statement Colonel Phipps adverts in his account
of Juggernaut.—“In the year 1814, the Court of Directors
declared, that “they did not consider the tax on pilgrims as a
source of revenue.’ There is, however, some inconsistency in
this: for what purpose is this tax levied?” Is it intended as
a fund to encourage idolatry & The truth is, a small part,
one fourth, or one third, is appropriated to purchase holy
food, and to defray the other expenses of the temple, but the
remainder goes into the treasury. It is sometimes said that
the surplus is employed for making a new road in the District.
But nothing can be more self-evident than the fact, that the
Government must consider a good military road, connecting
the Madras Provinces with those of Bengal, as a measure of
primary importance, which could not fail to be attended to, if
there had not been a temple at Juggernaut Pooree. In 1810
Raja Sookmoy Roy offered to contribute 150,000 rupees
towards making a good road to Juggernaut, to be designated
by his name. This very liberal offer was accepted, and the
road is now constructing ; but this contribution would have
been a sufficient inducement to undertake any public road,
much more, one so much wanted, if the Pilgrim Tax had never
been thought of.” The proceeds of the tax at Gya and Alla-
habad are, with some small deductions, put into the public
treasury. The gross collections at Gya in 1815–16 were
229,805 rupees, deductions, 46,929, net receipts 182,876
rupees. At Allahabad, the same year, the gross collections
were 79,779 rupees; deduct charges and commission, 67.26;
met receipts 73,053 rupees. It is hoped, that when the
* The Par. Papers, respecting Juggernaut, May 1813, shew that gain
was a principal object of establishing the Pilgrim Taz. The regulations were
altered occasionally for the purpose, (pp. 48, 5.1, &c.). Satisfaction is
expressed at the increase of pilgrims, and produce of tax levied. To make
but one extract, “The Governor General in Council has observed with
satisfaction the increase of revenue, stated to have been obtained at the
present Jattra.” Aug. 1809. (See pages 66, 68,74, 81.) Strenuous efforts
are made to prevent pilgrims avoiding the tax. An expenditure of 10,000
rupees was authorized in 1812, for the construction of a wall, “for the
purpose of preventing the pilgrims from forcing their way to the temple.”
p. 20. See also pp. 39, 53, 73–AUTH.
158 BRITISH CONNECTION
injurious tendency of this system, in perpetuating superstition
and misery is known, it will be promptly abolished.
Another objection to the repeal of the Tax is, that the
collection of it cannot be considered an encouragement of
Idolatry, but must be calculated to decrease the number of
Pilgrims. This objection is ably met by J. Poynder, Esq.,
in an excellent article on “Idolatry and Pilgrim Taal,” in
reply to Dr. Short's vindication of the system.—“But Dr.
S , it appears, has yet to learn, “how taxation can be
encouragement of the thing taxed.’ This is easily understood
when it is considered, that the taxation imposed at the heathen
temples is—a species of privilege, which varies in its amount,
*ot only according to the quality of the worshipper, but to
the greater or less benefit supposed to be received by him.
Thus for a shorter portion of time, passed at Allahabad, &c.,
where less advantage is supposed to accrue to the worshipper,
less money is paid; while for a larger number of ablutions,
and for visits to stations of more eminent sanctity, or for
attendance on particular ceremonies, higher fees are charged,
as the price of the larger indulgence that is conceded. The
effect of all this, on the mind of the ignorant devotee, is a
conviction, that the spiritual advantage is secured in direct
proportion to the amount of his money payment; and that the
higher the tax he can raise, the more must his soul be bene-
fited. The ascending scale of prices that is fixed by the
Christian Collector's authority, sets an imaginary value on
the article supplied by him, to the less guilty heathen, which,
by exciting a more earnest competition for what can be had
for money, increases, immensely, the number of idolatrous
worshippers. Thus the Company is made to sanction the
most dangerous delusion of heathenism, namely,–that the
divine favour may be purchased by money, and professing
Christians become the direct encouragers of the grossest
heathenism, with all its inseparable concomitants of vice and
profligacy. And is this the way by which Dr. Short, from
“his long acquaintance with the natives, proposes to ‘upset
idolatry altogether ?’” This reasoning is confirmed by the
facts of the case. -
The most common and plausible objection to the repeal of
this system is, the supposed increase of pilgrims that would
pesult from it. -
Dr. Buchanan, in his letter to the Hon. Court respecting
Juggernaut, 1813, in reply to C. Buller, Esq., M.P., observes,
* Asi. Jour., April 1831, p. 319.
WITH IDOLATRY. 159
“Mr. Buller would maintain the proposition, that the imposi-
tion of the tax diminishes the number of pilgrims; but the
events of the last year render this proposition very question-
able. Mr. B. would place the policy of the tax on a new
ground, namely, “the diminution of the number of pilgrims,
and the consequent prevention of famine and death.’
Unhappily for this argument, it is a well-known fact that,
while the temple was under the native dominion, when the
taa, on admission was higher than it is now, and when a
discipline was observed among the people, which we should
not think right to exert, the concourse of pilgrims was yet
immense ; in peaceable times incredibly great ; and the
consequent evils were in the necessary proportions.”
“It has been thought by some,” says Colonel Phipps,
“ that the tax levied on pilgrims would deter many from
undertaking such a perilous journey; but it is perhaps inherent
in any plan to obtain a revenue, from such a source, that
steps will be gradually taken to render the tax more produc-
tive; and, however it may be disguised, it is obvious that this
can only be done by increasing the number of pilgrims, or,
in other words, by encouraging the superstition so as to
render it more popular.” In 1804 and 1805 the English
Government levied no tax, the priests made every exertion to
profit by this unexpected state of affairs, and the attendance
of pilgrims was very great; the loss of lives, it is said, was
very considerable, and there can be little doubt that something
like a famine must have prevailed. On these circumstances
the Coloneljustly remarks,—“This amazing number of pilgrims
evidently arose from circumstances not likely to occur again;
and it is probable that, if Government had persevered in
avoiding all interference, the novelty and great attraction
would soon have worn off, especially if the pilgrims had been
protected from the rapacity of the priests; the trade of
pilgrim hunters would have been unprofitable, and no man
would have felt any inclination, to employ hundreds of agents
to entice Hindoos to undertake such pilgrimages.”f
A missionary in Orissa writes, in May, 1827:—“The sound
of the hammer and axe about the car wood excited my indig-
nation, particularly as the workmen are paid by our government,
and professed Christians are their superintendents and exhort
them to make haste (juldee kurro).--Called upon Mr. H ;
he intended to exert himself to abolish the Tax, but the perusal
* Buchanan's Apology for Christianity in India, p. 35.
t Mis. Reg., 1824, p. 578–581. See also Ham. Hind., vol. i. p. 28.
160 BRITISH CONNECTION
of correspondence, &c., of the Court of Directors, determined
him otherwise; and it seems—we must still go on, providing
food, clothes, cars, missionaries, servants and Christian
superintendence, for the detestable idol // From some con-
versation with a long resident in Pooree, and a very creditable
native, I ascertained that, within his knowledge, the population
has increased more than two-fold ! I asked him the occasion
of this increase; he answered,—under our administration
Juggernaut had become popular, and so more people had
taken up their residence there ! He moreover added, As our
CREDIT SOUNDED THROUGH THE FOUR QUARTERS FOR
REE PIN G. JUGGERNAUT, IT WOluſ LD BE A PITY NOW TO
DESTROY ALL THIS GLORY BY LEAVING HIM TO HIM-
SELF | He concluded his speech by exhorting me to regard
their books, and become one with them /*
The decay of idolatry, consequent upon the progress of
Christianity in the south of India, is very evident. A
Missionary in that part of India writes, in July 1825,-
“There is now a great idolatrous feast at Tinnevelley. This
day the car of the idol was to be drawn through several streets
of the town. The Collector had refused to allow the Peons
to force the people to come and draw the car as formerly.
When they were sent into the villages to bring the people
together, they used to take bribes from many who did not
wish to draw the car; this year, this source of income was
cut off: and the people were far from coming voluntarily.
Some rich natives, the principal patrons of these feasts, from
whom they derive emoluments, induced those people who
were dependent upon them to come; but as they were not
sufficient to move the car, two Modeliars and a principal
Gooroo seized the rope with a loud hurrah, which induced
many to imitate their example. The ceremony was not begun
at daybreak as usual; but soon after midnight; and they drew
the car so quickly, that, instead of spending in this toil, a day
or a day and a half, as in former years, they finished it by
sunrise ! It being known that the Collector had taken
the above step, considerably fewer people came from the
* A Bengalee Paper called Chundrika, in Nov. 1829, thus lauds the
British Government.—“The Government has removed all inconvenience
from pilgrims visiting our holy places, and the temples of our gods; and
has made great eacertions to establish on an eaccellent system the worship of
the gods in those places. In constructing new streets for the beauty of this
city, they have not destroyed the temples that stood in the way, or projected
from the sides, but have rather given the road a crooked turn.” Asi. Jour.,
April 1830, p. 208.
WITH IDOLATRY. 161
country to attend the feast than at any former period; and
the patrons of idolatry, instead of forcing the carpenters
and others to do the work gratis, were obliged to pay
them this year, more than their usual day's hire. Some
endeavoured to hide their disappointment, and to remove the
dishonour thrown upon their god, by saying, the idol had
shewn its power by finishing its tour this year in a few hours,
which had formerly taken a day or more / Many said, before
the drawing of the car, if the god would not move it without
human help, they would not acknowledge him any more as a
divinity.” “The Brahmuns (says Bishop Heber), being
limited to voluntary votaries, have now very hard work to
speed the ponderous wheels of Balee and Siva through the
deep lanes of this fertile country. This is, however, still
the most favoured land of Brahmunism, and the temples are
larger than any which I have seen in Northern India.”f
The probable increase of pilgrims, on the repeal of the
present system, would be temporary. Let the premium for
collecting them be discontinued, and their number would
certainly decrease. This is Mr. Harington's opinion respect-
ing the travelling priests of Gya, of whom he says, speaking
of the pilgrims, “Who but for them would probably never
have visited Gya.” This position—the natural influence of
certain or uncertain gain inducing the pundas to seek pilgrims
or not, is so evident, that it is presumed, it must have been
overlooked in the supposition, that the repeal of the Pilgrim
Tax would increase the horrors of pilgrimage. The existence
of the premium for collecting pilgrims appears to be but little
known, and it is presumed that, as soon as its injurious ten-
dency is recognised, it will be discontinued. Supposing the
number of pilgrims to be increased at Juggernaut, Gya, Alla-
habad, &c., on the British retiring from these idolatrous
establishments, (a very improbable circumstance, when so
much of their present eclat would vanish,) the poverty and
misery of the people would not be so great; the tax tends to
beggar them, and sickness and death follow hard upon the
heels of poverty. It is easy to confer this boon relative to the
temples in India—“Let them alone;” yet it is very important.
Idolatry cannot stand opposed by the progress of science and
true religion, and shall Britain defile her hand by supporting
its tottering ark? “Will ye plead for Baal will ye save
him If he be a god, let him plead for himself.” Jud. vi. 31.
* Miss. Reg. Nov. 1827, p. 559, see p. 564. See also Bap. Miscellany,
Jan. 1829. t Trichinopoly, April 1826. Asi, Jour, April 1827, p. 488.
MI
162 |BRITISH CONNECTION
In this concluding appeal, the author feels tremulously
alive to its issue. So deeply is he convinced, from ocular
demonstration at the temple of Juggernaut, of the evils of the
Pilgrim Tax System, that might he be the unknown, yet
honoured means of its abolition, he should rejoice on that
account alone, to the latest period of his life, that he had been
to India. How shall this service for the interests of humanity
and Christianity be accomplished? Could it be obtained
prostrate at the feet of the executive body of the Hon. East
India Company, it should soon be dome. But as Zeno said
to Crates, ‘there is no retaining a philosopher but by his ears.”
Statesmen and Legislators must be convinced of the propriety
of measures, strenuously urged for their adoption. This has
been attempted in a temperate and respectful manner. Let
the prominent features of the system under consideration be
calmly considered, and the successful issue of this appeal
appears certain.
The miseries of superstition apparent in the pilgrimages of
India are most appalling. Probably half a million of people
annually visit Juggernaut, Gya, and Allahabad (and in some
years a much greater number); but how many hundreds, not
to say thousands, of these unhappy people never survive the
horrors of pilgrimage The Author has seen the pilgrims of
Juggernaut lie upon the sands of the river at Cuttack, a prey
to dogs and birds. Like a pestilential stream the pilgrims
carry disease, especially the cholera morbus, through the pro-
vince of Orissa; and thus misery and death mark their course.*
Can it be for the gain of this unhallowed system that it is con-
tinued “We are fully convinced,” says the Editor of the
“Friend of India,” “when all the effects arising from the
close contact with this abominable idolatry, into which a mis-
guided humanity has led the British nation, are thoroughly
weighed; no one who reflects, that the surplus of the tax
from year to year applied to the completion of the great road
in Orissa, (the only public object to which this surplus is ap-
propriated,) on the yearly average, can scarcely double in the
number of rupees it contains, that of our Hindoo fellow-sub-
jects who perish annually in the course of the journey, can
* “The population of Ramnad (about 120 miles from Cape Comorin)
was, in 1812, 13,481, of which number 2307 died of a fever between Dec.
1812 and Feb. 1813. This great mortality was by some attributed to an
infectious fever introduced by the pilgrims of Ramisseram: by others to the
remote and immediate effects of scarcity or rather famine.” Hamilton's
Hind., vol. ii. p. 475. Pilgrimages are a curse to a country.
WITH IDOLATRY. 163
refrain from wishing, that Britain were completely disengaged
from this scene of idolatry, deception, and death.”
Let the character of this system be considered. Hamilton,
in his account of Travancore, states, among the items of
revenue, a taa, on Christian festivals.” How do Christians
approve of a Hindoo Rajah taxing their “solemn assemblies 2"
Can it be the love of wealth that perpetuates this system in
India? The Calcutta John Bull spurns such an idea:-‘‘We
cannot for a moment imagine, as the India Gazette appears
to do, that the practice is kept up at Juggernaut, merely be-
cause it is a source of revenue to Government. It is much
too scanty to be worth the establishment necessary for the
collection of taar on pilgrims; and, were it ever so prolific,
we do not believe that, on this consideration alone, such an
office as Collector of the Pilgrim Tax would be one month in
the Catalogue of Civil appointments. On this point we think
two opinions cannot be entertained; for surely, in a Christian
Government, having the means and satisfied of the policy, of
drawing its revenue, from no source that would perpetuate
the horrors and cruelties of superstition, the tax now collect-
ed at Juggernaut would not continue another day.” (Oct.
20th, 1825). Why is this system continued At Juggernaut
it is stated to be, to keep the temple in repair and make a
good road to it. But this lies open to opprobrium. Why tax
is levied at Gya and Allahabad is not stated in Mr. Haring-
ton’s “Analysis;” except it be that it was practised by the
preceding Government. But can Britain in this manner
follow the steps of the Mahrattas and Mahomedams with con-
sistency The most common reason for the Pilgrim Tax is,
its supposed discouragement of pilgrimages. But, “On the
very face of the subject, it might have been seen that, unless
such a tax by its weight amounted to an entire prohibition,
it must operate, as all opposition to religious opinions has
done, to bring its object into more extended notice. That
this would be the case was the natural consequence. Among
the Hindoos, the British nation necessarily sustains a far
higher character for knowledge than the Mahomedan dynasty.
Hence the moment, they thought this imaginary benefit
worth taxing, it acquired a value in the eyes of the Hindoos,
which it never possessed before.”f -
The conduct of the British Government in India towards
Christianity has been censurable. “There are now,” says
* Vol. ii. p. 310. f Friend of India, Oct. 1825, p. 278.
M 2
| 64 BRITISH CONNECTION
the late Bishop Heber, “in the south of India about 200
Protestant congregations, the numbers of which have been
vaguely stated at 40,000. I doubt whether they reach 15,000,
but even this, all things considered, is a great number. The
Roman Catholics are considerably more numerous, but belong
to a lower cast of Indians, and, in point of knowledge and
morality, are said to be extremely inferior. This inferiority,
as injuring the general character of the religion, is alleged to have
occasioned the very unfavourable view, with which all Native
Christians have been regarded in the Madras Government. If
they have notactually been persecuted, they have been ‘disquali-
fied, totidem verbis, from holding any place or appointment,
whether civil or military, under the Company’s Government;
and that in districts where, while the Native Princes remain-
ed in power, Christians were employed without scruple. Nor
is this the worst; many peasants have been beaten by au-
thority of the English magistrate—for refusing, on a religious
account, to assist in drawing the chariots of the idols on fes-
tival days / / It is only the present Collector of Tanjore, who
has withheld the assistance of the secular arm from the Brah-
muns on this occasion " In the last letter which the Bishop
wrote to his wife, he says, “Will it be believed that, while
the Rajah kept his dominions (Tanjore), Christians were
eligible to all the different offices of state—while now there
*s an order of Government against their being admitted to
any employment /* Surely we are, in matters of religion,
the most lukewarm and cowardly people on the face of the
earth 't I mean to make this, and some other things which
I have seen, a matter of formal representation, to all the three
Governments of India, and to the Board of Control.”f This
hostility to Christianity, and the countenance and direct
support of idolatry, not to say amassing wealth from it, at
Juggernaut, Gya, Allahabad, are very inconsistent in a Chris-
tian Government. The God of nations abhors idolatry, and
* “The Zillah Judges shall recommend to the Provincial Courts the persons
whom they may deem fit for the office of District Moonsif; but no person
shall be authorized to officiate as District Moonsif, without the previous
sanction of the Provincial Court, nor unless he be of the Hindoo or Ma-
homedan persuasion.” Reg. of Madras Government.
† The Author is happy to learn that measures are now in progress for
abolishing this anomalous system in the Bengal Presidency, and he trusts
that it will be speedily discontinued in every part of British India. For
the late Sir T. Munro's opinion of its permicious influence, see Asi. Jour.,
Feb. 1830, p. 139. .
# Journ., vol. ii. pp. 462–465.
WITH IDOLATRY. 165
*
He has said—“If ye walk contrary to me, I will walk con-
trary to you.”
British connection with idolatrous establishments in India
must tend to perpetuate them. Is it desirable to see India,
for generations to come, “bowing before her idols—trem-
bling at the phantoms of her own imagination, and in the un-
disturbed possession of a religion of ‘pollution and blood?’”*
But shall Britain be seen supporting the Hindoo temples;
having presented Sirkaree Bhoge, or Government offering, to
Juggernaut; giving a premium to pilgrim hunters; selling
licences to enter the temple of Juggernaut, and amassing
wealth, cursed with the blood of the deluded pilgrims ? For-
bid it Heaven' Yet at this day the sun in India beholds this
incongruous, inhuman, and unchristian procedure. These
things should be known and felt. And can they be known
without being abolished
The impropriety of this system has of late excited much
attention. The Marquis Wellesley, it is well known, would
not consent to the taxation of Juggernaut's temple. In the
succeeding administration, Mr. Udny, as has been seen, ob-
jected to perpetuating this system of gross idolatry by legisla-
tive enactments. Dr. Buchanan, who visited the temple
of Juggernaut in 1806, spoke in very strong terms of the anti-
christian nature of this system. Before the author was
compelled, by indisposition, to leave India in Nov. 1825, the
subject had excited much attention: and in a letter received
from the late Rev. T. Thomason, in 1827, he says, “Nothing
was done in the matter of Juggernaut when I left Calcutta.
Certain discussions took place in Council, which terminated
in no particular result: nothing was published, and the written
documents could only be seen, by calling at the India House
and obtaining the perusal of them from the Secretary.” This
subject has been very ably discussed by J. Poynder, Esq.,
and some other Proprietors, at a Quar. Court, in Sep. 1830.
The following was the resolution submitted:—“That this Court
taking into consideration the direct encouragement afforded
to Idolatry, and also to the licentiousness and bloodshed con-
mected with idolatrous observances, by the collection of tribute
from the worshippers, and pilgrims at the temples of Jugger-
naut, Gya, Allahabad, and elsewhere, both for the repair of
those temples, and the maintenance of their priests and at-
tendants—recommends to the Hon. Court of Directors, to
* Grimshawe's Appcal on behalf of Hindoo Widows, p. 27.
166 BRITISH CONNECTION
take such measures as may have the effect of immediately
directing the attention of the India Government to this sub-
ject, and of eventually removing such a reproach from a
Christian Empire.” It is with regret we add, this important
motion was lost by a small majority. -
The measure here advocated is of a popular mature. “In
wiping away for ever this foul reproach from the British
name, there is every thing encouraging relative to the natives.
Nothing could be more popular among them, than the removal
of this unproductive taa, on their sacred places. While they
submit to it, they by no means approve of it. Let the tax be
abolished and this scene of delusion left to its own authors
for support; and, while the British name in India is for ever
freed from one of its deepest stains, this mass of idolatry and
deceit will in time sink with its own weight ! We are well
aware, that nothing delays this step so much as the humane
but groundless fear, that this would increase the evil by
causing a greater influx of pilgrims. This fear is without
foundation. The influx might be greater the first year or two,
but, in the present state of increasing light, this influx could
not long continue. There can be no doubt that the removal
of this tax would raise the British name among the natives
of India. And that a measure which will remove a load of
reproach unmerited, only because it was unforeseen, and give
such general satisfaction to our Hindoo fellow-subjects, will
not ultimately be adopted, with regret that it was not done
sooner, we cannot bring ourselves to believe.”t
The following letter from a Hindoo to a missionary in Orissa
appears replete with important sentiments and deserving
attention.—
A letter from Sundra das Bargee, to Christians in general.
“O ye favoured people, who are blessed with the Divine Spirit, ye have
existed 1800 years, and what have ye done for this dark world? I am a
Hindoo Boistub, poor and destitute, but ask of you neither land, nor ele-
phants, nor horses, nor money, nor palanqueens, nor doolies: but I ask,
what can be done to learn the people to obey the laws of God? O holy
people, this I ask'
“Pooree is the heaven of the Hindoos; yet there the practices of man-
kind are, adultery, theft, lies, murder of the innocent, whoremongery,
eating fish with MAHA PRESAUD, disobedience and abuse of parents, defiling
of mothers, defiling of sisters, defiling of daughters! Such is the religion of
Juggernaut ! For these crimes, the people are visited with rheumatisms,
* See Asi, Jour., Oct. 1830, pp. 87–118; and Bap. Magazine, Mar. 1832.
t Friend of India, Oct. 1825, pp. 278, 284.
WITH IDOLATRY. 167
swelling of the legs, leprosy, scrofulas, grievous sores, and acute pains,
blindness, lameness, and such like! Such are the servants of Juggernaut!
“And now, holy people, hear the names of the gods of this people—
gods which the people, when they have eaten, rise and worship—these are
gold, silver, brass, cedar, stone, wood, trees, fire, water, &c.; these be the
names of their gods, and these be their servants. To serve these gods, they
burden themselves with expensive ceremonies and costly rites; they afflict
their bodies and their souls with pilgrimages and many cruelties. The
Brahmuns no longer observe the Wades, nor the devotees keep mercy. O
ye Christian Rulers, ye feed the rich, the proud, and the great; while the
poor and destitute are dying in want! & good fathers' good children!
good people ! hear the cries of the poor, O good people !
“The thief is judged, the murderer is judged, the perjured is judged,
and all the wicked are punished according to their crimes. . A large army
is kept in obedience to your orders; but why are not the people made to obey
the laws of God P Ye are the seed of the good, ye keep God’s word; cause
the subject to keep it. The Mahrattas were robbers, but they relieved the
distressed. Europeans are faithful rulers, but in their Government false-
hood abounds. Children, Fathers! the fate of all in the four quarters is in
your hands! O good people! the subject has become wicked, having fallen
into error, and in consequence get not food nor raiment.
“Rulers are the example of the people. O good people teach them
God’s commandments by your example. If ye will do this, then it will be
well; if ye will not, then ye are stones to them. What more shall I write *
Do as ye will, still religion is true, religion is true, religion is true!” Cut-
tack, Nov. 1827.
The Author has conversed with many upon the subject of
this book; and the circumstance of Britain supporting the
superstition of Juggernaut, paying a premium to the collectors
of pilgrims, and amassing wealth from idolatry, to use the ex-
pressive language of Scripture, has made “the ears of every
one that heareth it to tingle.” What he has seen and heard,
he feels it an imperious duty to make known. May the sub-
ject excite that attention which it so justly demands, among
* The horrors of idolatry at the temple of Juggernaut are thus described
by a friend of the Author.—“The shades of evening are now prevailing;
the sun is sinking in the western waters and leaving me in darkness. A
feeling of deep horror, which I cannot suppress, steals across my mind, and
irresistibly drives me away. The jackals are leaving their jungles and re-
pairing hither for their mightly repast—I hear them cry at a distance. The
eagles are flitting to the neighbouring tree for the night, filled with the
flesh of man. The din of idol pooja assails my ears from every direction,
and the work of blasphemy commences. Farewell, ye mangled corpses'
ye silent monitors! ye have read me admonitions I shall not forget. But,
ere I retire, I breathe a wish for my country—under whose auspices such a
system is tolerated and supported. By your sad fate, my fellow-creatures,
may she be warned, led to repentance, and wash herself from your blood; and
ºnay her future conduct regarding idolatry here, prove her sincerity.”—
É. Reflections at the temple of Juggernaut, in 1825, p. 36. (Wightman,
ondon).
168 BRITISH CONNECTION WITH IDOLATRY.
those who hold in their hands the destinies of the millions of
India | Let Britain stand at a distance from idolatry; let her
“shake her hands from holding of bribes,” the gains of idols;
let her facilitate the progress of Christianity in the East,
till, “the Idols He shall utterly abolish,” and “there shall be
one Lord and his name one.” “Thus India emancipated,
through our instrumentality, from the yoke of a cruel super- .
stition, and admitted to a fellowship in the peace and hopes
of the Gospel, will recognise in Britain, no longer a conqueror,
to whom she is bound by the terror of our arms, but a bene-
factor, indissolubly endeared by the triumphs of our mercy.”
sº-
* Grimshawe's Appeal on behalf of Hindoo Widows, 1825, p. 28,
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BOOK III.
G H A U T M U R D E R. S.
CHAP. I.
Origin—nature—atrocity—and appalling scenes connected
with the practice of ea posing the sick on the banks of the
Ganges.
THE exposure of the sick on the banks of the Ganges has
been called Ghaut Murders. The term ghaut signifies ‘a
wharf, a landing-place, a ferry, a quay, a flight of steps to a
river;' and at these places the acts of cruelty to the sick,
described in this book, are generally perpetrated.* The
origin of this practice is probably to be traced to the absurd
motion, that the river Ganges is a goddess, and that to die in
sight of it is beneficial. A Correspondent, who has resided
several years in India, writes upon this subject:—“The origin
of this practice is involved in great obscurity; but one or all
of the following reasons may be assigned for its continuance.
The veneration paid to the rivers. The rivers of India, like the
Euphrates and the Nile, annually overflow their banks. The
inundation continues for a considerable time, and covers the
country; and its benefits are very numerous; the fields are
covered with verdure, the soil is enriched, and vegetation
proceeds with rapidity. Hence has arisen that idolatrous
worship which has been paid to them; indeed the most
extravagant and puerile rites are performed in the sultry
plains of India, in honour of rivers; and the advantages
supposed to arise from them are equally absurd. He that
bathes in the morning, in the months of Magha, Voishakha,
and Karteka, destroys the greatest sins. He who at the
* See an interesting article, entitled, The Ghaut, in Ackerman’s “Forget
me not.” 1830, pp. 384–397,
170 G HAUT MURDERS.
conjunctions of Naryumee bathes in silence, in the Koorootaya
river, raises thirty millions of his ancestors to etermal bliss.
The wish to get rid of a burden is another reason. There is
no public provision made for the old or infirm. All who are
past labour become dependent upon their relatives; and the
consideration of the expense may possibly make them wish to
rid themselves of an encumbrance: especially when it can be
done in a way, which, instead of appearing dishonourable or
any proof of want of affection, is rather considered an act of
kindness. It may also be encouraged by the doctrine of fate,
which has generally prevailed in the heathen world. Their
gods, the general dispensations of Providence, and their
private affairs, are all considered under the control of the
iron hand of necessity or gloomy fate; which, while it showers
down upon earth calamities in abundance, cuts off every hope
and effort for the attainment of deliverance. Believing that
every person's kopol (fate) is fixed by an unchangeable decree,
they avoid using those means, which a Being of infinite
goodness has put into our hands for the recovery of the
afflicted.”
The nature of this practice will appear in the descriptions
given of it by different writers, and eyewitnesses. “The
Bengalee Hindoos,” says Hamilton, “ have generally a great
terror of the dead, and will seldom venture to inhabit a hut
or a house where a person has died. This seems connected
with their custom of exposing the sick to perish on the banks
of rivers; which tends to aggravate the last pangs of nature,
and sometimes not only accelerates death, but exhausts that
strength which might probably have enabled nature to
overcome the disease. The practice also furnishes an
opportunity of perpetrating other horrid crimes.”
The late Rev. W. Ward, in his “View of the History,
Literature, and Mythology of the Hindoos,” observes,
“Thousands, yea millions, of people, are annually drawn from
their houses and peaceful labours, several times in the year,
to visit different holy places, at great expense of time and
money, spent in making offerings to the goddess (Gunga).
Expensive journeys are undertaken by multitudes to obtain
the water of this river, or to carry the sick, the dying, the
dead, or the bones of the dead, to its banks.t. What the
sick and dying suffer, by being earposed to all kinds of
* Description of Hindostan, vol. i. p. 111. &
† And yet “the broad stream sweeps by them, guiltless of their impiety,
and unconscious of their homage.” (Heber's Journ, vol. ii. p. 297.) AUTH,
G HAUT MURDERS. 17 I
weather, in the open air on the banks of the river, and in
being choked by the sacred waters in their last moments,
is beyond earpression.” “A few years since a Rajah, living
about 100 miles from Calcutta, sent for an English physician
from that city. By the time he arrived, his relations had
brought the sick Rajah to the river-side, and in a short period
would have killed him. The physician reproved them for
their want of feeling, and ordered his patient to be carried
home, where, in a few days, he recovered. Before the
physician took his leave, he made the Rajah promise to give
him the earliest information, if he should be sick again. Soon
after, the disease having returned, he sent for his old friend;
but, before he could arrive, his relations had despatched him
with the mud and water of the sacred stream / The want
of compassion among the Hindoos towards the poor, the sick,
and the dying, is so notorious, that European travellers are
frequently filled with horror at the proofs of their inhumanity,
merely as they pass along the roads or navigate the rivers in
this country.”f
Dr. Johns, in his Pamphlet entitled, “Facts and Opinions
velative to the Burning of Widows, and other destructive
Customs in British India,” refers to the practice of “Earposing
the Sick and Aged.” “The Hindoo character is, in many
essential points, defective, and led by deep-rooted prejudices,
and barbarous customs, to the commission of crimes, which
ought not to be sanctioned by any moral or religious code.
How often is the aged Hindoo parent deemed an encumbrance
by his family; and, carried a living victim, devoted to die
on the margin of the Ganges, or some other holy stream : his
own children fill his mouth and nostrils with mud; and
cutting off every prospect of recovery, leave the author of
their being, to be carried away by the stream as food for alli-
gators and vultures / Although sanctioned by the Brahmuns,
and perhaps sometimes voluntary on the part of the aged
victim, no religion should tolerate such a sacrifice. That it
is not always voluntary we have many undeniable proofs.
The fatal consequence of not submitting to this viaticum, or
of eluding its effect, by returning to his family in case of a
rescue or recovery, is so provided for, by the brahminical
laws, that death is far more desirable than the continuance
of life on such terms. Many instances might be produced to
confirm this assertion: I shall recite what Captain Williamson,
in his ‘East India Wade Mecum,’ from more experience than
* Vol. i. p. 277. t Vol. iii. p. 295. # pp. 78–80.
172 G HAUT MIURIDERS.
myself, has recorded on this subject.—‘Many Hindoos in
their old age, or when seriously ill, are removed to the banks
of the Ganges, whose waters are held sacred: and, when
about to resign their breath, are taken to the edge of the river
on their beds; where a Brahmun attends to perform religious
ceremonies. No doubt many, who might recover, are thus
consigned to a premature death. The damp borders of the
stream, with a burning sun, rarely fail, however favourable
the season may be, to put a speedy termination to the sick
person’s sufferings ; but it has often happened, that the
attendants become tired by the delay the poor wretch makes
in shaking off his mortal coil, and, perhaps with the humane
intention of finishing his pain, either place the bed at low
water mark, if the spot be within flow of the tide, or smear
the dying man with the slime of the holy waters, and fill his
mouth with the mud. When a person has been taken to the
side of the Ganges, or other substituted waters, under the
supposition that he is dying, he is, in the eye of the Hindoo
law, dead; his property passes to his heir, according to his
bequest; and, in the event of recovery, the poor fellow becomes
an outcast. Even his own children will not eat with him,
nor afford him the least accommodation; if, by chance, they
come in contact, ablution must follow. The wretched
survivor from that time is held in abhorrence, and has no
other resort, but to associate himself in a village inhabited by
persons under similar circumstances. There are but few such
receptacles; the largest is on the banks of the Simla, which
passes near Sooksaugur, about forty miles north of Calcutta.”
The late Rev. D. Brown, of Calcutta, speaking of sick
persons who are left on the banks of the Ganges, says,
“They are swept away by the returning tide. Some, however,
escape; and, as they can never be received again by their
families, they associate with those who, like them, have
escaped the jaws of death. There are two villages not far
up the river Hooghly inhabited solely by these wretched
fugitives. A gentleman told me, as he passed a place called
Culma, a little above Calcutta, that he saw some Brahmums
pushing a youth, of about eighteen years of age, into the
water; and, as they were performing their work of suffocation
with mud, he called on them to desist. They answered
calmly; “It is our custom. It is our custom. He cannot
live; he cannot live ; our god says he must die.’”f
* Oriental Memoirs, vol. i. pp. 220, 221.
f Miss. Mag., vol. i. p. 117.
G H A UT MURI) ERS. 173
The Rev. H. Townley, in his “Address to the Society of
Friends on behalf of the Heathem,” refers to this custom, and
shews its unsatisfactory nature to support the mind of a
Hindoo in the prospect of a future state. “I have conversed
with a dying Hindoo on the banks of the Ganges, and the
substance of his confession was—‘I have no hope of heaven,
from the circumstance of my dying near the sacred Ganges;
nor do I anticipate future happiness from the worship of the
gods. I know of no mode whereby I can be saved; and I
believe, that after death, I shall be castinto hell, as the punish-
ment of my many sins!’” To the same effect is the following
pathetic passage from the late Rev. W. Ward.—“Look at
the heathen by the side of the Ganges, calling upon their
dying relations to repeat the names of Narayun, of Gunga, of
Ram, and of a whole rabble of gods; pouring the water of
this river down the throat of the dying, exposing them, in the
agonies of death, to the chilling damps by night, and to the
scorching beams of the sun by day; and listen to the cries of
the dying—‘Tell me not of works of merit, I have been
committing nothing but sin. And now, where am I going 2
—What is there beyond this wretched existence Am I
going into some reptile or some animal body; or shall I at
once plunge into some dreadful place of torment? I see the
messengers of Yuma coming to seize me. Oh I save me—
save me! O mother Gunga, give me a place near to thee!
O! Ram O ! Narayun O my Gooroo (his spiritual guide),
how dark and heavy the cloud which envelopes me—is there
no certainty, no ray of light from any of the shastras to guide
and comfort me in my departure ? Must I take the irrecover-
able plunge to be seen no more ?' And, when they have seen
and heard all this, let them look at the death of Krishna, the
Christian, consoled by the addresses of his Christian brethren,
by the hymns which they sing, by the words of the everlasting
Gospel which they repeat; let them listen to the pleasant
words which proceed from his dying lips: ‘My Saviour has
sent his messenger for me, and I wish to go to him :’ and
then let them say, whether the Gospel be a boon worth giving
to the heathen.” -
The Rev. W. Yates, in his “Memoir of the late Rev. J.
Chamberlain, Missionary in India,” thus describes what he
witnessed on the Ganges.—“At the Ghaut, or landing-place,
are great numbers of persons bathing and performing their
morning ceremonies; and among them, a poor woman laid on
a low bed, raised only a few inches above the ground, in
dying circumstances, left exposed to the blazing sun, totally
174 G. HAUT MURDERS.
unheeded by all around her, with a young man, her son, sitting
behind her waiting, to appearance destitute of all anxiety, to
see her breathe her last.” In the same Memoir an account
is given of the death of a native Christian, and the conduct
of his heathen friends. “We were informed that the relations
of Seboo Roy, had made a great shradda for him, and buried
him in the Hindoo manner; but I informed them he had
believed in the Saviour, and that, when I last saw him, he
said, “They may persecute and reproach us, but we will
rather lose our lives than forsake our Lord Jesus.” In the
evening, on our return to Cutwa, we were accompanied by
four persons who attended upon the instructions of Seboo Roy,
and who related to us the following particulars:—‘Soon after
his return from Cutwa, he was takenill of a cold and retching,
and died on the second or third day. He requested that they
would take him to Cutwa, saying, “If I do not go thither, I
shall never be well.” But his brother's son would not regard
what he said. When they took him to carry him to Gunga,
he said to them; “It is all to no purpose. I am perfectly
sensible; why will you take me thither ?” He requested to
be buried; but they would not grant his request. They took
him away and burned his corpse. After they had taken him
out of his house he said nothing to any one. Those, who
used to meet with him on Sabbath days, went to see him a
few times during his illness, and he exhorted them not to
forsake the assembling of themselves together, nor to cease
publishing the glories of our Saviour. “I am going,” said
he, “but we shall soon see each other again;' and, with such
sayings as these, encouraged and comforted them.’ Seboo
Roy used to speak very favourably of his wife; and, when he
died, she did not beat her forehead and cry aloud, as is the
custom in this country upon such occasions. Being asked
why she did not, she answered, “What use is that? I sit and
think of what he said to me !’” -
The Rev. S. Sutton, late of Moorshedabad, in a letter to
the Author upon the subject of this book, observes, “The fol-
lowing are a few well-authenticated facts to establish what I
have advanced.—The late Mr. Ward of Serampore, recorded
the following case in his diary in 1813. ‘ On March 18th,
at nine o'clock in the morning, a sick man by the name of
Beekenaut was brought by his relatives to the river side, and
was laid on the wet sand in expectation of soon expiring. In
this situation he remained, exposed to the scorching rays of
the sum, till about four P. M., when he was immersed up to the
breast in the river; and in this position one of his relatives
G. HAUT MURDERS. 175
vociferated in his ears, “Hurree Ram Krishnal Ram l’
After some time, finding that death was not so near as they
had anticipated, he was again replaced on the wet bank.
The next morning the same ceremony was commenced of
immersing and repeating the names of their deities, until five
o'clock P. M., when the man expired, literally murdered by
his own relations.” In the second volume of ‘the Friend of
India, it is remarked, that one very notorious trait in the
character of the natives of India, is their want of humane
feelings towards the brute creation, their own countrymen in
distress, and even towards their sick relatives. ‘That this
is really the case, needs no proof. The cruel manner in which
they often treat the patient bullock, which they use as a beast
of burden—suffering their cows, notwithstanding the vene-
ration they pretend for this animal, often to perish in the
winter for want of food, furnish a sufficient proof of their
feeling for the brute creation. Their inhumanity towards
their own countrymen is sufficiently evinced by their suffering
one of them, in a state of want and disease, cruelly to perish
before their eyes, if he should not happen to be one of their
relatives or friends, or at least of their own division of cast;
and, above all, by their seeing a boat full of their countrymen,
who perhaps a few hours before had been bowing before the
same log of wood as themselves, sinking before their eyes
without making the least effort to save them | But their un-
feeling conduct towards their sick and dying relatives is
sometimes shocking in the extreme. Of this an instance oc-
curred some years ago in a village near Serampore. An aged
father was brought by his children to the river side to die.
After having been there for some time, contrary to their ex-
pectations, he recovered and went home again; but his
unfeeling children, instead of rejoicing that he was spared to
them a little longer, so tormented him by their jeers and scoffs,
because he did not die when carried to the river side for that
purpose, that, weary of his life, the old man at length put a
period to his existence, by hanging himself on a tree near the
public road!’
“To the above statements, I will now add my own testi-
mony. I lived upon the banks of the Ganges for sia years.
During the whole of that period, scarcely a day passed with-
out some circumstance occurring, which strikingly reminded
me of the language of the Psalmist; ‘The dark places of the
earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.” I have seen some
held up in the river by two persons, while a third has been
pouring water down the throat, until life has become extinct.
176 GHAUT MURDERS.
I have seen others in the act of dying, laid upon the wet bank,
with their feet in the water; and I have observed others, who
have been suffered to lie upon mats at a little distance from
the river, for several days before they have earpired; but during
this time no means have been employed for their recovery.
It is a very rare occurrence, for any sick person to be brought
back to his home, after he has once been carried from it to
die.” -
“One evening,” says the Widow of a Missionary, “as I
was walking with my husband by the river side, we saw two
respectable natives carrying a woman in their arms. We
asked them what they were going to do with her ? They
very coolly answered, “We are going to put her into the water
that her soul may go to heaven, for she is our motherſ' I
asked them if she was ill? They said, “She is not very ill;
but she is old, and has no teeth, and what is the use of her
living º' I felt a great deal on hearing this, and said, ‘What!
have you no compassion on your mother will you drown her
because she is old?” The woman instantly fixed her eyes on
me, and said, ‘What sort of a woman are you?' I told her I
was an English woman, and wished to prevent her children
from drowning her; and, if they did, I would acquaint the
Governor with it, and have them hanged. They said, ‘Never
mind;’ and proceeded towards the river. Mr. R. then ran
down the bank, and, taking hold of the woman, insisted upon
their taking her home. They did so : but they brought her
again the next evening, and Mr. F. Carey saw them throw
her into the water, without performing the usual ceremony of
giving her water in the name of their gods.
“A man who worked in the Paper-Mill at Serampore was
bitten by a snake. His companions immediately took him to
the river to throw him in, without knowing whether it was a
poisonous snake that had bitten him or not. When Mr. R.
and Mr. F. Carey got to them, they found the poor creature
between two men; one had hold of his shoulders, the other
of his legs, and they were about to throw him into the river.
Mr. Carey said, he thought the man was not dead, and made
them put him down. Medicine was sent for and a spoonful
given to him. He had no sooner taken it than he spoke and
said, ‘It is very strong. I will sooner die than take any more l’
Mr. C. well understood the nature of the bite, and said it would
be necessary to repeat the medicine every twenty minutes all
night. Mr. R. asked those around him, if any one would
stay with the poor man all night. They all answered, ‘No ;
we cannot lose our sleep. It would be match better for him
GHAUT MURDERS. 177
to die, than for us to be deprived of a night's sleep l’ My
husband stayed all night, and the poor man continued to get
better. In the morning he was so far recovered as to be able
to walk home. The next day he came to our house, and fell
down at my husband's feet, and said, ‘I am come to worship
you, Sahab, for saving my life; and I will work for you as
long as I live l’ He proved a faithful creature; and was
working on the Mission Premises when I left Serampore (in
1820). He attended preaching in Bengalee very regularly.
“The Mission House at Serampore has been, and still is,
a refuge to the Natives. There they are protected from the
Brahmuns at their swinging feasts—comforted when in trouble
—have medicine administered when they are sick;-they are
relieved in distress—they are instructed how they can be
saved without cutting themselves with knives, or running spits
through their tongues, and other cruelties that their Gooroos
require. Not only in the Mission House have they found
protection, but in the houses of our Native Christians. I have
witnessed the death of two, who died under the roof of a Na-
tive brother at Serampore, where they had taken shelter from
the jackals and birds of prey; being cast out by their relatives
when ill, forsaken by their companions in idolatry, and left to
perish. One of them was an old woman covered with wounds.
She had but little clothing, so that the birds had eaten nearly
all the flesh off her back as she crawled along: but she soon
died. Mr. R. had a coffin made, and with his own hands
put her in, for he could get no one to assist him. Our Native
brother and sister had fed and taken care of her while alive; but
they were too much afraid of the disease to touch her when she
was dead. The other was a young woman who worked in
the Paper-Mill. She was left a widow when only ten years
of age, and at this early period became depraved. Her body
was so maimed as almost to lose the appearance of a human
being; but in this miserable condition she was spared eight
months. She died praising God for his goodness to her, in
sparing her so long to enjoy the privilege of worshipping the
true God.”% -
The following extract of a letter from the same individual,
dated Salisbury, May, 1828, is painfully interesting:—
“While I am writing, I am feeling all the horrors I formerly felt respect-
ing the sick in India. I once witnessed one of the scenes in all its aggra-
vations. The sick person was a young woman who was not willing to go
to the river. As they approached the Ghaut her screams were intolerable;
* Youth's Mag. 1823, pp. 292–304.
N
178 GHAUT MURDERS.
crying, ‘Ame moreyjay na " (I am not dying !); but the men who had
taken her were firm to their purpose, and would not listen to anything that
was said to them. They laughed at my entreaties; turned a deaf ear to my
threats; and rushed forward into the water with their victim. Whether
they were relations or not I could not ascertain. The poor creature had
often said, ‘ I am not dying 1° but now she found herself in dying circum-
stances; a few cups of water poured down her throat, in the name of their
gods, stopped her breath. I inquired, whether it was a common case, to
take them to the river against their will. They said, ‘Yes; or else a great
many would disgrace their families by dying in their houses.” Many are
carried thither at their own request; but in this case, the conduct of the re-
latives was extremely cruel. Sometimes they leave them to perish by the
river. I found a poor old man one morning by the river side, who had
been left there all night. Those who had taken him, had rubbed his body
with mud, and had left him quite naked, exposed to the ants; so that he
was completely covered with insects! When I saw him move his head, I
went to him; but, Oh! the horror that thrilled through me, to see a fellow-
creature in his dying moments, thus cruelly tormented with insects. I ran
for assistance, but the Natives refused to do any thing for him, unless I
would allow them to put him a little nearer the water; saying, he was too
far off for the tide to reach him. I said, “perhaps he may get better if he be
cleaned and taken care of.” They shook their heads, and said, “He was
put there to die, and die he must 1” My husband soon came with some wine
for him; we put a little of it into his mouth, which he swallowed, and said
it was very good. I then thought he would revive. But he had lain all
night on the damp ground, and it was now eleven o’clock and the sun
shining on him very hot; it had dried the mud that was on his body, which
fatigued him very much. When we endeavoured to move him, he said he
was very faint, and wished to remain where he was for a few minutes.
Alas! it was but a few minutes indeed! for he soon expired. I could
mention many more facts of horror, but I forbear.”
The existence of this custom and the inhumanities con-
nected with it, were very fully discussed, in the public papers
in Calcutta, before the Author left India in Nov. 1825; a few
brief extracts may be interesting. In the Bengal Hurkaru it
is observed, “During the prevalence of Cholera, one of the
symptoms of which is a sudden prostration of strength, leav-
ing the pulse scarcely perceptible and the patient in an
apparently lifeless state, it must frequently happen, that indi-
viduals are carried down to the river in this condition and
murdered under the pretext that they are already in a dying
state; when, if they had been properly treated, they might
have been restored to health. We have heard, that these un-
happy victims of a demoralizing superstition are sometimes
carried down expressing reluctance by every means in their
power.” (Aug. 1825.) ... .
The following letter, extracted from the Columbian Press
Gazette, is given entire. •.
“I was informed a few days ago, that numbers of sick Natives were daily
brought to the Kidderpore Ghaut, to perform the last ceremony of dipping
G HAUT MURDERS. 179
them in the stream, and forcing the mud and water of the Ganges into their
mouths. Curiosity led me to see this, as well as to try, if I could be of ser-
vice in persuading any to desist from this horrid act. On my arrival at the
spot to which I was directed, I saw three individuals, two old men and a
boy of about thirteen or fourteen years of age. The old people were in a
hopeless state, the boy however looked very well; but as he was lying on
the marshy ground on a bare mat, not five yards from the water, and his body
uncovered, his case seemed dangerous. I went to him, felt his pulse, and
perceived it beat well. I remonstrated with those around him, for having
brought the boy to such a place, and then leaving him in that condition.
I inquired if a doctor had attended him. I was informed that the doctor
attached to the Tannah was sent for, who gave him some English medicine,
and promised to be back again very soon. Shortly after this the inhuman man
(a Brahmun) appeared, but would give no medicine; saying, “I have given
once, for which I have not been paid; and I will NoT administer any more
wntil paid for l’ I was struck with amazement, but all persuasions and
promises were of no avail. Humanity led me to suggest that, if the boy
were taken to his house and kept warm, I would pay any charge the doctor
might make. This was not acceded to: and as it seemed useless to do any
thing further, so long as the boy remained in that damp place, exposed to
the weather, I thought proper to go away. The doctor was still there; but
whether he gave him any medicine after I left the place I cannot say. On
inquiry the following morning, I was informed the boy died about midnight.
Can you inform me if the doctors attached to the Tannahs are paid by
Government? This information from you, or any of the readers of your
valuable Gazette, will much oblige
Tolly's Nullah, Sep. 22, 1825.”
“We are unable to satisfy our Correspondent on this point.”—ED.
Would not this affair in Britain be justly looked upon as
murder? “Ought not inquisition to be made for blood” thus
shed in British India? Does not humanity, even of the
humane, in India, want elevating, which could leave a youth
thus to perish without using compulsory measures to have
him taken care of P*
“In my way down from the Upper Provinces,” says a
correspondent in the same Paper, “my budgerow stopped at
Ghaut on the Hooghly river, in the vicinity of Moorshedabad.
The crowd, which was collected on the spot, excited my
curiosity to know what occasioned it. I went to the place,
and witnessed one of the most inhuman scenes that can be
imagined. A poor helpless creature was stretched on a cot,
the lower part of his body being immersed in water. In this
posture, he was imploring his murderers in the most pitiful
manner to let him go, declaring that he was yet far from
death / To hear his supplications, and observe the forlorn
expression of his countenance, were enough to strike any
heart with horror and pity. But these cruel wretches that
were about him, unmindful of his entreaties, kept crying,
* See Bap. Mag., Sep. 1826.
N 2
I80 G. H. A UT MIUIRIDERS.
* Hurree bol! Hurree bol!’ and continued filling his mouth
with water, till at length the poor creature became exhausted;
his voice, which was at first loud, gradually sunk, and he fell
an unwilling victim to superstition.” (Aug. 1825.)
“We had not proceeded far,” says the Widow of a
Missionary, who died at Digah, writing on the Ganges, Dec.
1826, “when we saw on a sand-bed a poor man and woman
sitting by the water. The woman was busied in laving her
dying son with mud and water, who was old and strong
enough to be heard to say,+* I will not die / I will not
die / To which she was heard to reply frequently, ‘To die
by Gunga is blessed, my son / She at length stifled him ;
when the father assisted in pushing him into the river.”
A Bengalee Newspaper, the Kowmoody, Aug., 1825,
contains the following testimony to the existence of these
atrocities:–“With a view to check the progress of the
Cholera Morbus, the Government have, with their usual
benevolence towards the natives, been pleased to appoint a
native doctor to every Tannah, to afford medical assistance
to the poor patients in the neighbourhood. We are happy
to learn that a young man having been attacked with the
Cholera, and his relations despairing of his life, took him to
the river side, when suddenly his breath stopped, and he
appeared to be dead; his relations prepared a funeral pile,
but to their great surprise they perceived him move, and
approaching him, though with a degree of fear,” had recourse
to some medicines, which restored him to life, and he returned
home to the great joy of his whole family.”
“A respectable man of Sulkea, (says another Bengalee
Paper, the Somachar Durpum, about the same date,) having
been attacked with the Cholera, was taken to the river side;
and on his becoming senseless, though not cold, every one
thought he was dead; and, having prepared a pile, put him
upon it and set it on fire. The poor creature, by imbibing a
certain degree of heat, came to himself and rose up. One of his
orelations who was close by, beat him on the head with a bam-
boo, and killed him on the burning pile. This circumstance
is not groundless; we have obtained the account from a
* “If a Hindoo, after having been taken to the river, and supposed to be
dead, moves himself, or attempts to get up, (as is frequently the case,) his
relations believe that some evil spirit possesses the body; and instantly beat
it down with a hatchet, spade, or some iron weapon which they find close
by; thus killing the poor creature who might have survived. Such is the
cruel reign of superstition among this simple race of people.” (NoTE BY
THE TRANSLATOR.)
GHAUT MURDERS. 181
European gentleman, who was an eyewitness of it. The
perpetrator of this murder (says the Hindoo Translator),
though it was prejudice that prompted him to act as he did,
no doubt conceived with respect to the supposed dead man,
what we have already stated. Such absurd notions of evil
spirits or supernatural beings, are not handed to us by our
ancestors, nor can we find any trace of them in our shastras,
and hence we are at a loss to conceive, how such groundless
ideas could ever take root in the minds of modern Hindoos.”
A correspondent in the World Paper, July 1829, thus
describes the exposure of the sick, and what he terms, the
wholesale Murders so frequently eachibited in Bengal.—
“I witnessed an instance where a diseased mother was exposed, with one
infant at the breast, and another about two years of age, with no visible
disease. We had landed to dig a grave and bury an officer, who died in
the night, and when I returned to the ship, I could not eat my dinner in
consequence of the loathsome sight, of two babes writhing about their mother,
expiring of the Cholera Morbus. Going next day to examine if the
jackals had torn up the officer's grave, I observed the elder babe dead, the
$younger crawling about it, and the mother had been devoured ' Being anxious
to know the fate of the surviving infant, I went next day, and found it had
crawled under the bottom of a boat, and the dead child had disappeared:
next morning the other had been devoured also. This was at Diamond
Harbour, where, the population not being great, we might have saved one
of the children, but feared to try; as I had been in great danger from the
natives at Calcutta, a short time previously, by attempting to carry off one
in a boat, who was laid on the beach with a number of other human sacri-
fices. This was an interesting young woman, who happened to lay near the
boat I was getting in; she seemed to be overjoyed when I raised her up,
and looked equally dejected when I was obliged to drop her and hasten
into the boat, to avoid the stones which were thrown at me. Those I have
seen exposed were laid on their backs; as if the cruelty of the system could
not be complete, unless the poor unhappy creatures, who escaped the wild
beasts in the night, were to die mad, with brain fever or apoplexy, through
the face being exposed to the blazing sun during a tropical day, which, I
believe, would cause the death of any man, even in sound health.”
The appalling scenes presented to the humane, even in
Calcutta, are such as shew the character of the Hindoo and
Mussulman, and the necessity that the mild dictates of
Christianity should be propagated among the people. “It
redounds little to the credit of the Magistrates,” says the
Hurkaru, “ or to their subordinates, that the Ghauts present
spectacles disgusting to every feeling mind. It not unfre-
quently happens that twenty dead bodies, (and as many living
ones,) are brought to one Ghaut to be burnt.* This Ghaut
* “The funerals of the Hindoos contribute to render them unfeeling;
the wood which is to burn the body is sometimes brought and laid in the
presence of the dying man, who is thus treated like an English criminal,
182 GHAUT MURDERS.
will admit of four or five only being consumed at one time.
The rest are, of necessity, suffered to putrefy until an oppor-
tunity is afforded their relations to burn them ; while the
groans of the dying, who are lying close by, are calculated at
once to excite both pity and horror. Sometimes also the
relations are so poor, that they cannot procure money suffi-
cient to burn the body, in which case they leave it at the
Ghaut, and beg for the necessary pittance to purchase the
wood; and two days probably elapse before any charitable
individuals are found to aid them | But why confine these
remarks to Ghauts only Turn towards the city; there we
shall behold circumstances which excite our pity and our indig-
nation. Several bodies of poor men are seen lying in the
streets. A poor man, who was struck by the sun, fell down
on the Circular Road and expired. His body was suffered
to lie a whole day, while the effigies of Hussam and Hussein
were exhibited by the Mussulmans; and the body must have
been trampled on by the crowd, which generally assemble on
such occasions.” (Sep. 1, 1825.)
“We are led to understand (says the India Gazette) that
the sickness among the natives has somewhat abated. Dead
bodies, in rather considerable numbers, may still be seen
afloat, and even in Tolly’s Nullah we have seen several.
Indeed one remained two days near Allipore Bridge, and
would, we suppose, have remained there to this hour, had it
not been carried away by a rising of the water. It is quite
horrible, close to a city like Calcutta, to see human carcases
floating about, or lying at length on the bank, a prey to dogs
or carrion birds. The sight is degrading and brutalizing. It
is no less so, to see the Dooms carrying the dead in a state
the neart to nudity, slung upon bamboos, and thus casting
them into the river; making a nuisance of the stream It
would be a most desirable thing, if such a scandalous mode
of disposing of the dead could be obviated; for scandalous
such spectacles certainly are, to the eyes of Christians, in a
city subject to Christian Laws and Government. The
expense could not be very great of providing a stock of
mango coffins in different quarters of the town, to be availa-
ble for the purpose of the Dooms; who ought also to be made
to attach weights to the dead bodies they cast into the river.
This would not prevent their being carried to the ocean, though
it would keep them from floating on the surface of the water:
when his coffin is carried with him to the place of execution.” Ward's View,
vol. iii. Intro, p. 22. AUTH.
GHAUT MURDERS. 183
perhaps, if the matter were properly represented to Govern-
ment, such a suggestion would meet consideration.” (Aug.
1825.)
From these various facts and observations, some idea may
be formed of the nature of the practice of exposing the sick
and the dead in British India, and the brutalizing and de-
moralizing influence of it upon the population. Does not
the voice of humanity demand attention to these atrocities 2
Where are the tender sympathies of nature ? Let Britain
display her true character in India—let her abolish every
species of human sacrifices, and raise the tone of humane and
moral feeling in society.
CHAP. II.
Eartent of the prevalence of this inhuman practice.
On this subject it is impossible to speak with precision.
The Author hesitates to give an opinion; but it is presumed,
there can be no impropriety in presenting the statements of
those, who, from their residence in the vicinity of the Ganges,
may be supposed best qualified to form some idea of the pre-
valence of this unnatural and destructive custom. “The
immersion,” says Dr. Buchanan, “ of half the body of a person,
supposed to be dying, in the water of the Ganges, must often
occasion premature death. It is optional; not commanded.
Though very common on the banks of the Ganges, it is re-
probated in many places at a distance from it.”t The
Author never saw this practice during his residence in Orissa.
It is hoped that attention will be awakened to this subject,
and more correct information respecting it obtained.
* “One of the first specimens of the manners of the country (says the late
Bishop Heber), which have fallen under our motice, has been a human
corpse, slowly floating past, according to the well-known custom of the Hin-
doos.” (Jour, vol. i. p. 2.) “The practice of throwing dead bodies into the
river is, in many places, a dreadful nuisance; as in case a body should float
to the side of the river, and remain there, it will continue to infect the
whole neighbourhood, till the vultures, dogs, jackals, and other animals have
devoured it. The throwing of dead bodies and other filth into the river
makes the Ganges, in the neighbourhood of large towns, resemble a common
sewer. Still the natives drink it with the greatest appetite, bathe in it every
day, to cleanse their bodies and their souls, and carry it to an immense dis-
tance, as the greatest imaginable treasure!” Ward's View of the Hindoos,
vol. iii. p. 276, t Mem. Ecc, Esta, for British India, p. 94.
184 G HAUT MURDERS.
Some traces of this custom are found in Nepaul-‘‘The
large valley of Nepaul is somewhat of a circular form, and is
watered by the numerous streams contributary to the Bogmutty,
which flow from the surrounding hills towards the centre, and
unite a little way south of the capital (Catmandoo). In the
valley there are two hills, one named Lambhunath is vene-
rated by the Buddhits; the other is greatly reverenced by
the Brahminical followers of the Vedas, as having been the
residence of Siva and his wife, to each of whom a temple is
still, dedicated. These temples are frequented by great
numbers of pilgrims, who, by visiting all the fames, hope to
escape degradation below the scale of man in any future me-
tempsychosis. The hill in a large proportion of its circum-
ference is washed by the Bogmutty, which is here so holy a
Tiver, that all the Hindoos of Nepaul wish to eaſpire with
their feet immersed in its stream, and after death to be burn-
ed on its banks.”*
“Every Hindoo,” says the Rev. W. Ward, in his Farewell
Letters, “in the hour of death, is hurried to the side of the
Ganges, or some other sacred river, if near enough; where he
is laid, in the agonies of death, exposed to the burning sun
by day, and to the dews and cold of the night. The water
of the river is poured plentifully down him if he can swallow
it; and his breast, forehead, and arms, are besmeared with
the mud of the river; for the very mud of the Ganges is sup-
posed to have some purifying properties. Just before the
soul quits the body, he is laid on the earth, and immersed
to the middle in the stream; while his relations stand around
him, tormenting him in his last moments with superstitious
rites, and increasing a hundred fold, the pains of dying. Very
often, where recovery might be reasonably earpected, these bar-
barities bring on premature death. It is pretty certain that,
in using these rites, many private murders are perpetrated.”
In a calculation, made by the same author, of the number of
Hindoos who perish annually, the victims of superstition, he es-
timates, that there are 500 sick persons whose death is hastened
on the banks of the Ganges; and adds, “a gentleman, whose
opinion is of great weight, says, “I believe this estimate is
far below the truth.” Of various kinds of Hindoo cruelties it is
remarked,—“There are a number of actions performed by
Hindoos supposed to be meritorious in their nature, but
which, in the opinion of a Christian, deserve punishment
even in this life. The Hindoo widow burning with the dead
body of her husband, is promised a residence in heaven during
* Hamilton's Hind., vol. ii. p. 675.
GHAUT MURDER.S. 185
the reign of fourteen Indras; yet no Christian doubts whether
these are real murders or not. The death of vast multitudes of
Hindoos is procured, or hastened, annually, by immersing a
part of the body, in a state of dangerous weakness, in the Gan-
ges, and by pouring large quantities of water into the mouth of
the dying person : yet the Hindoos think it a work of great
merit. Many persons voluntarily renounce life in the Ganges,
under the hope of obtaining immediate entrance into heaven,
and yet a jury of Englishmen would pronounce it self-murder.
Infatuated mothers devote their children to this sacred river,
not doubting but that they are sending them to heaven; yet
we feel certain that every such infant is murdered.” Ought
not Britain to exert her influence and abolish all these
murderous practices Is not this one great design of Pro-
vidence in her supremacy over the millions of India What
a blessing would Christianity be to Hindostan
A late resident in India observes, “With regard to the ea-
tent of the practice, every conjecture must be very uncertain.
There are no registers of births and burials to which we can
have recourse; and consequently, we have no data upon
which we can form any accurate calculation. The river
Ganges rises in the mountains of Himmaleh; whence it flows
in the direction of Hurdwar. From this place it gushes
through an opening in the mountains, and entering Hindostan,
flows 1200 miles with a smooth navigable stream to the Bay
of Bengal. In its course through these plains it receives
eleven rivers, some of which are larger, and none smaller than
the Thames. Through the whole course of the Ganges, and
many of the tributary streams, the custom of exposing the
sick prevails. Nor is it confined to those who dwell near its
banks: some are brought from a great dista . that they may
die near Gunga. If we consider the denseness of the popu-
lation, and the number of villages, towns, and cities, near
which this river flows, it is easy to conceive that the loss of
human life, occasioned by this custom, is of awful extent. Nor
indeed have I heard of any Hindoos remonstrating against it,
except Bruja Mohun, who wrote an excellent Tract on the
present state of Polytheism in India. When this respectable
and enlightened man was seized with the Cholera Morbus,
his relatives wished to hurry him away to the river, but he re-
fused and insisted on being left in his house.”
The late Bishop Heber, when at Benares, stated,—“Fuel
is extremely dear, and to this circumstance is imputed the
* Ward's View of the Hindoos, vol. ii. pp. 127, 138, 173.
186 GHAUT MURDERS.
number of bodies thrown into the river without burning. Sut-
tees are less numerous in Benares than in many parts of India,
but self-immolation by drowning is very common. Every
year, many scores of pilgrims from all parts of India come
hither, expressly to end their days and secure their salvation.
They purchase two large kedgeree pots, between which they
tie themselves; and, when empty, these support their weight
in the water. Thus equipped they paddle into the stream,
then fill the pots with the water which surrounds them, and
thus sink into eternity Government have sometimes at-
tempted to prevent this practice, but with no other effect than
driving the voluntary victims a little further down the river;
nor indeed, when a man has come several hundred miles to
die, is it likely that a police officer can prevent him : In-
struction seems the only way in which these poor people can
be improved, and that I trust they will by degrees obtain from
us.” (Sep. 1824.) The success of the British magistrate at
Allahabad, in suppressing this practice, shews that this and
similar cruel customs in India, may be abolished by the
paternal power of Britain.
The late Rev. D. Brown bears his testimony to the appall-
ing extent of this practice:—“The Brahmuns can, as may
serve their interest, devote any sick branch of a family to
death: and incredible numbers are destroyed by this super-
stition.”t “It is my deliberate opinion,” says the Rev. S. .
Sutton, late of Moorshedabad, “that, yearly, thousands of
persons would recover from their diseases, if this absurd cus-
tom were abolished.”
“The exposure of the sick and dying by the sides of the
Ganges, and other sacred rivers, has been practised from time
immemorial, and is extended to all the Hindoos residing near
the rivers. At the hour of death, these poor creatures are
brought from home, and exposed to the scorching heat of a
vertical sun, even in the very agonies of death; or to the
heavy dews and cold of the night. The body of the sufferer
is besmeared with the mud of the river, and a large quantity
of water is poured down him, if he can be made to swallow it.
Hereby the most horrible cruelties are practised on the per-
son of the dying, in the hour when suffering humanity, in
every civilized country, receives the most soothing and un-
wearied attentions; and hundreds are hurried into a pre-
mature grave.” :
* Journ., vol. i. p. 295. | Miss. Mag. vol. i. p. 117.
# Remarks on the Immolations of India. (Parbury,) p. 6.
GHAUT MURDERS. 187
“I was much interested,” says a correspondent in the
Columbian Press Gazette, “with the perusal of your remarks
on the practice of suffocating invalid Hindoos with Gunga-jol,
or water of the Ganges. I have looked upon this horrid custom
for years, in the light in which you represent it; and in many
instances, I consider it absolute murder. It is far more
prevalent than the burning of widows. Among the higher
class of Hindoos, hardly any one is allowed to depart this
life in peace at home, but is taken to the banks of the river,
and there offered up a sacrifice to Brahminical superstition.
This indeed is such a crying and prevalent evil, among Hin-
doos, that it certainly, deserves the serious consideration of
those in authority.”—Aug. 1825. -
Another correspondent states, “The perusal of a Paper
called “ Brahminical Cruelties, and your observations upon
it, induce me again, to say something in defence of the cause
of humanity, which you have advocated. I entirely concur
with you in opinion, that the ‘John Bull, when speaking upon
this subject, must have confined his view to the Bankshall
and Chundpaul Ghauts, as the scenes of the barbarous acts;
and am surprised, he should be so ignorant, of what is passing
a little beyond Calcutta and its immediate environs. I can con-
ſidently assert, that such murderous acts, as the one I described
Žn your last number, are of almost daily occurrence in the Pro-
vince of Bengal. Perhaps few of your readers are acquainted
with a village called Chakdah : it is situated on the banks of
the Hooghly, mear Sooksaugur, a little above Bandel. When
any of the unfortunate individuals, who are carried to the
river to receive the ‘Gunga Labh, survive the dreadful treat-
ment of their murderers, by the physical strength of their
constitution, or other causes, they are generally expelled from
their cast, torn from their relations and sent to inhabit this
village. After they are taken out of the house to undergo
this inhuman rite, they are reckoned unholy and unfit for
association. There they intermarry, and I suppose live as
comfortably, as any of the low cast Hindoos. I do not think
that this village is inhabited by any but these people and
their children. Those who wish to have a correct idea of
Brahminical cruelties, in this respect, may pay a visit to Chak-
dah, and there learn, from the inhabitants, the extent of tor-
tures that each of them has suffered.”
The author of a very interesting little work, entitled, “The
Friends; a true Tale of woe and joy from the East,” pub-
lished in 1830, bears his testimony to the extensive prevalence
of the practice. “A very distressing annoyance to foreigners
188 GHAUT MUIRDERS.
travelling on the Ganges, is the number of persons that are to
be seen dying along its sides. In Bengal, no sooner is a man
thought to be near his end, than he is hurried away to the
edge of the holy stream, that he may breathe his last beside its
waters. Many of these are not actually dying; but as the
loss of cast is attendant upon their recovery after this step
has been taken, their friends keep them exposed to the scorch-
ing sun of the day, and the killing damps of the night; and
often are they seen putting them up to the chin in the water,
pouring it into their mouths, and even choking them with
mud and sand. These are spectacles to be seen not once a
Ayear, but they are the every day,+may, the hourly scenes, of
the lower Provinces of Hindostan.”
The following letter from a gentleman, in a Calcutta Paper,
affords a specimen of the want of humanity and attention to
the sick, so prevalent among the Hindoos :-
“I am a Mofussilite, and, in the absence of better society, I love to make
companionship with a few faithful dogs, which have served me well, ever
since they had the happiness of having me for a master. The evening
before last, having mounted my horse and whistled them about me, I started
with the intention of running a fox if I could find one. I had scarcely
proceeded a hundred yards from my house, when my horse started at some-
thing rolled up in a mat, lying under a tree by the side of the road. As
there were numbers of people passing, who took no notice of it, I thought
it could be nothing of consequence enough to require me to dismount, so I
passed on ; and, after having had my ride, and killed a jackal, I returned
home. About ten o’clock next morning, my bearer informed me that a travel-
ler, oppressed with age, and wearied with his journey, was lying under a
tree a short distance off, and was just about to die: “and,’ added he in a
tone of the most perfect unconcern, “he has been lying there for several days,
without any thing to eat or drink, so he cannot live more than a day !”
Having put on my clothes as hastily as I could, I repaired to the spot, and to my
astonishment found, that what I had taken for a bundle of wood or grass was
nothing less than a man. At first sight it appeared to me that he was totally
stiff and dead; but, on turning him round, I found that life was not extinct,
and that possibly something might yet be done to recal the parting spirit.
I accordingly had him borne to my house, and with considerable difficulty
I forced some medicine down his throat; by degrees he recovered so far as
to make known to me that, having gone on a pilgrimage to the temple of
Juggernaut, he was returning to his home at Moorshedabad, when he was
seized with an illness which day by day increased: that, his money being
spent, he had been eleven days without tasting food; and that, mot being
able to advance farther than the place in which I found him, he had been
left there by his friend. (Mark the word, Mr. Editor). As to not having
eaten any thing for eleven days, his emaciated state bore full testimony to
the truth of his story; for I never could have believed it possible, without
actually seeing it, that the human frame could be wasted to such a degree,
and still have life in it. 4.
* “The Friends,” p. 121,
G. H. A.UT MURDERS. 189
“What a strange idea these people must have of religion, and what it
requires! In this case, two persons set out together from Moorshedabad to
Juggernaut. The one is seventy years of age, the other a young man in
full health. On their way back the old man fell sick; and, although his
friend has been making this pilgrimage for the sake of his salvation, and
trying to make his peace with his gods, yet he hesitates not to leave his sick
companion to die as he may, and become food for dogs; and, when he
returns to Moorshedabad, he, no doubt, thinks that he has washed away all
the sins of his former life, by the merit of a pilgrimage to a shrine polluted
with human blood It is a comfort indeed to think, that we profess a
faith which points out a very different conduct on such an occasion. It is
ours to act the part of the good Samaritan, and pour oil and wine into the
wounds of the distressed, whether Christian, Jew, Pagan, or Mussulman;
and I trust there are but few of my readers, who would have passed by on
the other side, without heeding the miserable skeleton who now lies at my
door. The Hindoos have a definition of the word “neighbour, but it is
widely different from that given by the Author of our faith. They have no
such precept as, “do unto others as you would be done by.” The fate of the
poor wretch I hope to serve is the fate of thousands. Immense numbers of
those who leave their houses in these pilgrimages, leave them never to re-
turn. Hundreds die by the way, and some are crushed to death by the
ponderous car of Juggernaut.
“This is the religion of those who have been so often called the mild
Hindoos : this is the religion of a people, who shudder at the idea of killing
a cow, but subject it to the greatest tortures when alive. This is part of a
system which condemns the unhappy widow to be burned in the embrace of
the putrid corpse of her husband—which has found a merit in exposing a
new-born child to the jaws of a voracious shark, or a greedy alligator—and
which thrusts an iron hook into the back of its poor deluded votaries, and
swings them in the air, with savage satisfaction to the spectators! It is
melancholy to think, that one hundred millions bend the knee to innumer-
able gods, whose chief delight they conceive to consist, in witnessing the
agonies of a human being, expiring under tortures with a view to conciliate
their favour! Give them education sufficient to see the errors of their re-
ligion and the presumption of their priests, and then some bold spirits must
break through those fetters which have bound them for centuries. W.
July 5, 1825.”
The Periodical accounts of the Baptist Mission contain
affecting statements of Hindoo cruelty. A passage or two
only are given. “Do not send men of compassion here, (said
the late Dr. Thomas,) for you will soon break their hearts.
Do send men full of compassion here, where many perish
with cold, many for lack of bread, and millions for lack of
knowledge. In England the poor receive the benefit of the
Gospel, in being fed and clothed, by those who know not by
what they are moved. When the Gospel is generally
acknowledged in a land, it puts some to fear and others to
shame; so that, to relieve their own smart, they provide for
the poor. But here, (O miserable sight!) I have found the
path-way stopped up by sick and wounded people, perishing
with hunger; and that in a populous neighbourhood, where
190 GHAUT MURDERS.
numbers pass by ; some singing, others talking, but none
shewing mercy; as though they were dying weeds, and not
dying men.”
Diego de Lonta, an early Portuguese writer, during his
residence at Goa, speaks of hospitals for animals in India;
but asserts the inhumanity of the Hindoos.-‘‘ One means of
making atonement for their sins is by forming hospitals for
birds. We have seen a remarkable one in the fortress of
Cambayette, in which were very comfortable places provided
for the birds which sheltered there, and persons were employed
to take care of such as were sick. The revenues are derived
from public alms. One hospital has persons in pay, whose
duty it is to walk the streets and fields to search for sick or
infirm birds, and bring them to the hospital. They have
also places for sick and aged beasts, where they are lodged
and attended; people are kept to go in search of old buffaloes,
horses, or mules, wounded or infirm; which are conveyed
to the hospital and cured. If they see a lame man on the
ground, they will not lend a hand to lift him up ; but let him
be trampled upon by men and beasts, because they say he is
reduced to this state by his sins. They buy birds merely to
let them loose; but would not contribute to release a man
from prison, even if it were their own father.”f
These statements forcibly remind the humane and pious
of the declaration of Scripture, “Their sorrows shall be
multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings
of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my
lips.” What a blessing would Christianity prove to the
myriads of India, thus “seeking death in the error of their
way.” The dictate of the Gospel, which it is the imperative
duty of Britain to give to the East, is “Do thyself no harm.”
May its blessings extend as “far as winds can waft and
billows roll.”
- - * Vol. i. p. 284.
f Asi. Jour., March 1827. See Heber's account of a similar institution
at Broach. Jour., vol. ii. p. 171.
GHAUT MURDERS. 191
CHAP. III.
The impossibility of detecting murder with the permission of
this custom—palliation of it absurd—the propriety of
adopting measures for the suppression of its atrocities—
wtility of attending to the sick—confirmation of the state-
ments—concluding remarks.
These appalling facts are submitted to the attention of
the humane in Britain and India. That such atrocious acts,
under the semblance of religion, are perpetrated, is beyond a
doubt; but ought such infractions of the inviolable principles of
justice and humanity to be tolerated? The celebrated histo-
rian, Rollin, severely censures the conduct of Xerxes, in giving
up his brother's wife to the revenge of his own, and says,
“He was guilty of the weakest and most cruel piece of com-
pliance; making the inviolable obligations of justice and
humanity give way to the arbitrary laws of a custom.” It is
written, “Righteousness exalteth a nation.” “Mercy and truth
preserve the king, and his throne is upholden by mercy.”
It is not necessary for the preservation of the British power
in India, that these cruelties should be permitted. The God
of nations, is “a God of truth, and without iniquity, just and
right is he ;” and He will “make inquisition for blood.” Can
it be doubted whether Britain possesses the power to issue a
proclamation, declaring that whoever is accessary to the death
of an individual by Infanticide, the Exposure of the sick, or
any other inhuman custom, is a murderer, and as such ame-
nable to the laws In India. “our will is our law.” How
great is the responsibility of the British Government!
“Hear it, ye Senates—hear this truth sublime;
He who allows of murder, shares the crime.”
The impossibility of detecting murder, with the permission of
this custom, is apparent from the following facts.
The late Rev. W. Ward thus describes the circumstances
of a heathen dying by the Ganges.—“Just before or after
being immersed, they spread the mud of the river on the
breast, &c., of the dying man, and with one of their fingers
write on this mud the name of some deity; they also pour
water down his throat, shout the name of different deities in
his ears, and, by this anxiety after his future happiness, hurry
him into eternity; and, in many cases, it is to be feared,
prevent recovery where it might reasonably be ea pected.
192 GHAUT MU RIDERS.
Some persons who are carried down to the river side revive,
and return home again; but scarcely any instances are known
of persons surviving after the half immersion in water. In
cases of sudden and alarming sickness, many are actually
murdered by these violent means of sending men to Gunga.”
“Private murder is practised to a dreadful extent among the
Hindoos; and is exceedingly facilitated, and detection pre-
vented, by the practice of hurrying sick persons to the banks
of the river, and burning them as soon as dead. Many
anecdotes on this subject might be given.”
Dr. Johns, in his pamphlet before referred to, speaks of a
man drowned in sport. “Some years ago as Shivu Shiromee
(the Brahmun who related the fact to the Rev. W. Ward,)
was returning from bathing, with Kashenaut, another Brah-
mun, they saw a poor old man sitting on the bank of the river,
and asked him what he was doing there? He replied that he
was destitute of friends, and was about to renounce life in
the Ganges. Kashenaut urged him not to delay then, if he
was come to die. But the man seemed to hesitate, and
replied that it was very cold. The Brahmun (hinting to his
companion, that he wished to see the sport before he returned
home!) reproached the poor trembling wretch for his cowardice,
and, seizing his hand, dragged him to the edge of the bank;
where he made him sit down, rubbed over him the purifying
clay of the river, and ordered him to repeat the proper incan-
tations. While he was, with his eyes closed, repeating these
forms, he slipped down and sunk into the water, which was
very deep, and perished.”f Was not this murder
In the Circular Letters of the Missionaries at Serampore,
accounts are given of the drowning of two lepers, at Futwa
and Alumgung. “On hearing the people belonging to the
boat say that a man was going to be drowned at Futwa, I
looked out, and saw the poor creature, without fingers or toes,
but in other respects apparently healthy. He was eating
very heartily, and surrounded by several people, who appeared
to have conducted him to the spot. The bank being high, I
could not get out of the boat, till we got to a considerable
distance from the place where the man sat. As I was running
towards the spot, I heard the people on the top of the boat
call out, ‘He is drowned / he is drowned " His attendants,
who appeared to be his relatives, had assisted him down the
bank of the river; but whether they pushed him in, or
* View of the Hindoos, vol. iii. pp. 269. 291. T Facts and
Opinions relative to the Burning of Hindoo Widows, 1816, p. 70.
GHAUT MURDERS, 193
whether he got into the water of his own accord, I cannot
tell; but the bank was so steep at the place that he could not
possibly get out again. He made great efforts to reach the
side, but had he been a good swimmer he could not have got
out, the stream was so rapid. I saw him struggle much,
before he sunk to rise no more. I endeavoured to impress on
the people who attended him, the heinousness of the crime
they had perpetrated; but they smiled at my concern, and
said they had only complied with the wishes of the deceased,
who had neither hands nor feet.” (Nov. 1812).”
“A Hindoo, of the writer cast,” says the Rev. J. Moore,
“informed me he saw a Hindoo carpenter drowned, because
he had the leprosy. He was carried from one of the Ghauts
at Alumgung in a boat, in the presence of a large assembly
of people, and, when in deep water, put overboard. Two
large earthen pots, one filled with sand, the other with barley,
were fastened to his shoulders. The man sunk, but after some
time floated on the water. The people in the boat rowed
after him and took him up, but made sure work of it the
second time.” (Oct. 1813.)
“The Cama. Morun, or voluntary death, is when a person,
who is in distress or disgrace, or believes it meritorious to die
in the Ganges, forms the resolution of parting with life in the
sacred stream. Some of them abstain from food that they
may expire in the holy place; but the greater number drown
themselves in the presence of the surrounding multitude.
Their children and other relations generally attend them. It
Čs no uncommon thing for a father to be pushed again into
the river by his sons, if he attempt to swim back to land ſ”+
Are not these acts of murder? Must not India be greatly
defiled with blood?
The Editor of the Bengal Hurkaru, in Aug. 1825, very
judiciously and forcibly observes, on this subject,
“We will make a remark or two on a topic that has been brought to
public notice in the Columbian Press Gazette, and which has been attempted
to be palliated on the ground of its being a Hindoo rite. It would be idle
to waste words to prove, that if it could be clearly made out in evidence that
a sick man was put to death by his relations, by Brahmuns, or by any body
* The Rev. H., Townley, recently related the following anecdote, illus-
trative of the Hindoo character.—“A Hindoo once said to me, ‘Why are
you so very earnest to save others? What is it to you if they should be
lost?” ... I said to him, “If you should see a poor fellow-creature sinking
beneath the waves of the Ganges, and your boat was passing by him, would
you not be glad to put out your hand that you might save him f° ‘No,' he
replied, ‘I should look to myself.” Christianity reprobates the inquiry,
‘Am I my brother's keeper P” f Burder's Miss. Anec. p. 37.
O
19.1 G HAUT MURDERS.
else, when carried down to the river, or by any other means, and whether
against the prayers of the sick man or not, at least within the jurisdiction
of the Supreme Court, it would be murder; just as the performance of a
Suttee would be murder. The pretence, that the Hindoo religion authorized
such practices, would be equally unavailable in one case as in the other. The
fact, that death is anticipated by violent means may be denied, and we
certainly are in possession of no other proof than common report; but, if such
facts do eacist, we do not conceive that the presence of Police Peons is any
protection at all against abuse; certainly not if they are Hindoos. We
should be glad to know, by what authority it is that dying persons are
exposed by the river side; and would thank any of our readers, learned
in the languages and customs of the Hindoos, to give us precise information;
for without violence, and without the use of suffocation, the mere ea:posure
on a muddy bank, under a burning sun, of a person dangerously ill, cannot
be considered by any reasonable man, but as an act approaching very near to
murder, under whatever preteat it is done.
“There is a kind of fanaticism prevalent among Europeans in India,
which is a melancholy proof of the force of habit, and of the puerile tendency
to extremes that disgraces even intelligent men, who adopt theories that
their self-love becomes interested to support. We allude not to the fanaticism
in the dogmas of Christianity, but a fanaticism that is ready to go all lengths
in palliation and support of the most revolting doctrines of Hindoo super-
stition. This turn of mind, of which we have perceived many traces in the
writings of Europeans who have been in India, naturally arises from a wish
to dignify those things which have been the subject of their studies and
investigation; and might be excused or pitied did it not lead to laxity of
moral reasoning, and to sneers at real religion. Their religion is one mon-
strous tissue of absurdity and cruelty—absurd in doctrine, cruel in practice;
which no ingenuity in allegory, and no sophistry, can make reconcileable with
common sense and humanity 1 Prudence may induce us to tolerate, prudence
may induce us to be silent, but it is too much to speak of such a system
with respect. Such conduct cannot but excite indignation.
“There may be purposes to be served, and vanities to be gratified;—the
Philologist, who has mastered the difficulties of Sanscrit, and explored with
tedious care the occult meaning of Hindoo Mythology, may gratify the
pride of a futile labour by a preposterous estimation of the value of his at-
tainments:—the cold Politician, who looks only to the preservation of power,
may be tremblingly anxious to prevent all alarm, and to throw discredit
upon all attempts at conversion:—and the concealed Unbeliever in Chris-
tianity may be delighted in an opportunity of instituting presumptuous and
impious comparisons; or insinuating that, when once the order of nature is
quitted, there is no rule of judgment, and one mystery and one miracle is
prima facie as probable as another. But every candid believer, every friend
to morals, to human nature, and to happiness, ought severely to examine
his own mind, and deeply pause, before he is led away by literary zeal and
vanity, by political interest and prejudice, or by polemical hate, to step for-
ward, the concealed or the avowed defender of a system that is degrading to
man, and has entailed slavery, wickedness, and misery wipon millions of
millions of men.”
The inhumanity of the Native police shews the difficulty of
allowing this custom to continue, consistently with the prin-
ciples of justice and the well-being of society. On this sub-
ject it is remarked, in one of the Calcutta Papers;–“In
GHA UT MURDERS. 195
order to prevent the continuance of these inhuman practices,
we deemed it right to call attention to them, and to suggest
the necessity of adopting some regulations, making it incum-
bent on the Brahmuns to have the authority of a Native Doctor,
at least for pronouncing a fellow-creature so far past the hope
of recovery as to justify, according to their own laws and
customs, the administration of the inhuman ceremony adverted
to. But we are told there is no necessity for this; and why
because the John Bull is persuaded that the cruel practices
of Hindoism are, in many instances, exaggerated, therefore
prevention and inquiry are unnecessary ! We are told that
Police Peons are stationed at the Ghauts to prevent such
murderous scenes as are said to occur. These, it must be
admitted by all who know their character, are bad securities
against the perpetration of inhumanity: fellows who look on
with the utmost indifference at any scene of cruelty, whether
it be a widow burning, a man drowning, or a poor diseased
creature suffocated by a Brahmun. As for their reporting to
a Coroner any thing of the kind, even if they did so (which
we believe they would not), he has no control beyond the
Mahratta ditch ; nor indeed have the Police Peons above
referred to, for they are under the jurisdiction of the Zillah
magistrates. We hope the Zillah magistrates will deem it
their duty to institute some inquiry into this matter; for
humanity loudly demands it.”
Palliation of the nature of this rite appears absurd. A
correspondent, in one of the Indian papers, proves that no de-
pendance can be placed on the unprincipled Native officers.
“The idea of chokedars interfering in this business appears
ridiculous to those who are at all acquainted with the
nature of the country. I have frequently passed a dozen
villages and Ghauts without seeing or hearing of a single
chokedar. How are these people to inform the Coroner, or
any body else, of what is passing in these places, when they
themselves are often ignorant of it? Unless there be, a par-
ticular and strict injunction laid upon them by the higher
powers, (which I do not suppose is the case,) it is absurd to
suppose they would interfere.”
The Calcutta John Bull in Aug. 1825, attempted to palliate
these evils.-‘‘We feel at all times a satisfaction in being
enabled to vindicate the Native, and particularly the Brah-
mimical character, from the charges so often thrown upon it,
as disfigured by all that is dishonest, selfish, and cruel; but
we withhold not our assent to the assertion, that there is much
to lament over, after all that has been exaggerated has been
O 2
196 G FI AUT MURDERS.
reduced within the fair proportions of truth. We leave to the
indiscriminate admirer of all that is Hindoo, to speak his
praises of a faith, which is a disgrace to human reason, and
a lamentable instance of human folly; and to arrogate to its
priests, virtues altogether incompatible with the doctrines and
duties which, as ministers of this religion, they must teach
and practise. But it is possible to err on the other side: and
when the Brahmums were represented as in the actual com-
mission of murder, and that, as we are led to understand,
within the very jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Calcutta,
we found that inquiry into the subject was due, if not to them,
at least to the character of British justice itself. The fact
of a person being stationed at the Ghauts within the juris-
diction, whose business it is, among other duties, to prevent
the rites of Hindoo sepulture being given to any one bearing
the marks of a violent death, until due investigation should
be made, certainly seems to us altogether irreconcilable with
the alleged occurrence of Brahmuns, causing the death of
Natives brought to the river side to expire, before the disease
was far from having overcome the vital emergies.
“It is a question, not unaccompanied with difficulty, to say
the precise moment at which death has assuredly made good his
position, if we may so speak. And admitting that, in cases
where this is clear, the practice referred to is not to be in-
terfered with, as arising out of the religion of the Natives, some
caution we think is requisite in affixing the stigma of murder
to the acts of the Brahmuns. We readily admit, that a
practice, which on many accounts we should rejoice to see
abolished, may be, and no doubt is, perverted to the most in-
human purposes. The remark that, in the cases of Natives
being seized with the Cholera Morbus, there is an imminent
risk that before the constitution can rally, the cruel rites of
Hindoism may have extinguished the only chance of life re-
maining, is highly deserving notice. It points to circum-
stances demanding a more than ordinary vigilance on the
part of those whose duty it may be to prevent the violation
of the laws, as they provide for the last rites that are to be
performed by a dying Hindoo; and, if those officers are not
clothed with sufficient authority to act in such cases, every
humane and Christian motive concurs in demanding that they
should.”
To this it is replied, by the Editor of the India Gazette,_
“The existence of the inhuman practice complained of is no
longer denied: but the writer evidently labours under a very
important mistake on the subject. He seems to think that
GHAUT MURDERS. 197
the only danger of murder resulting from it is, that the Brah-
muns may administer this inhuman rite to those who are not
actually dead, owing to the difficulty, where great and sud-
den prostration of strength is a symptom of the disease, of
ascertaining the precise moment, when death “has assuredly
made good his position.” From this it would appear, that the
writer imagines that the Brahmuns never administer this bar-
barous ceremony until their victim is pronounced dead, or
until they actually think him so : but the fact is, that it is by
no means necessary that the poor creature should be dead, nor
do they wait for this. The moment he is pronounced in a
dangerous state by a Native Doctor, or even by themselves;
he is hurried to the river, and subjected to a treatment, enough
in itself, even in a disorder by no means dangerous, to bring
on immediate death, as it no doubt often does. Was he
aware, that, many who have endured these brutal ceremonies,
on the plea that they were dying, have recovered 2 that their
vecovery entails disgrace on them 2 and that whole villages
of these degraded Hindoos eacist within a day's journey of
ws 2 We confess with shame, that we were ignorant of the
fact; but it speaks volumes, as to the necessity of some re-
gulation, to prevent the unhappy victims of a dreadful disease
from being, under false pretexts that they are in a state in
which Hindoo superstition enjoins it, subjected to the cruelties
we have denounced.”
“Since our last,” says another public Journal in Calcutta,
“the John Bull has put forth the following notice respecting
the Ghaut Murders as denounced by us:—‘A Correspondent
has pointed out to us, that the person (not properly speaking
a Police Peon,) stationed at the Ghauts, whose business is to
superintend the burning, &c., of bodies, always prevents those
that are brought from being disposed of according to the
Hindoo customs, should any marks of violence appear on
them, until the same is duly reported to the proper authorities;
with whose duties, it would be obviously incompatible, to
permit the alleged murderous practices of the Brahmuns.”
The absurdity of regarding any regulations like the above, as
a security against the cruelties we have stated, must be suffici-
ently apparent to any one at all acquainted with the subject.
If marks of violence appear, then it seems the circumstance
is reported to the proper authorities, by the Peons (not
|Police) of the Ghauts; but whoever heard of marks of vio-
lence being produced by suffocating a sick man with mud and
water; and exposing him, while under the influence of a
dangerous disease, to the heat of the Sun and the vicissitudes
198 GHAUT MURDERS.
of the weather, both before and after the administration of
these destructive ceremonies It is in this manner that the
murders alluded to are perpetrated, and the fact has indeed
been partly acknowledged to us by a Hindoo, and defended.
He denied that any but OLD MEN were RELUCTANT VIC-
TIMS of these cruelties; but with respect to them he said,
however they might implore to be saved, or allowed to die at
home, they were not listened to, but forced to the water side,
to receive what is, with the Hindoos, deemed more important
than the eactreme unction of the Romish Church. But we
disbelieve this; for we have since been informed by a friend,
who witnessed a circumstance of this kind, that old or young,
willing or unwilling, are equally subjected to this inhuman
mode of terminating their eacistence. It is said that the
Native Doctor, employed by the family, first pronounces the
sick individual incurable; but it is needless to say, that this
is no sufficient security against the perpetration of these
murderous rites, in cases where, but for them, the patient
might recover. If it would not be going further than the
Government might feel justifiable, it would be a wise and
humane regulation, to prohibit the administration of Gunga
jal (Ganges water) until the patient has actually earpired.
In order not to shock the prejudices of the Hindoos, with
respect to its importance as to future beatitude, that they
should die by the water side; it might still be permitted to
carry the sick who are dangerously ill down to the river side,
provided they kept them there under shelter, and not exposed
as they are now, without covering, to the moonday sun or a
tropical shower; enough of themselves to produce a fatal ter-
mination of any disease, without the other barbarous aids.”
There appears, by the past experience of the regulation and
consequent legalization of Suttees in India, no intermediate
measure really beneficial to society, between entire neglect
of the practice and its abolition as murder. The dead body
might be brought to the river, but if the sick lie at the mercy
of Native Doctors, Darogahs, Peons, &c., there can be no
security that they will not be murdered by this cruel rite.
The prohibition of the exposure of the sick appears the dic-
tate of justice and humanity.
The propriety of adopting measures for the melioration, and
even for the suppression of the evils of this practice, has en-
gaged the public attention. The opinion of the Editors of
the India Gazette and the Calcutta John Bull has been
given; the Bengal Hurkaru in Aug. 1825, contains the follow-
ing judicious remarks:—“Ghaut Murders.—From all that
G. HAUT MURDER.S. 199
we can learn on the distressing subject, the Cholera rages
among the natives with unabated fury. It appears, from an
expression in the John Bull, that regular reports are received
from the different Ghauts (where, we presume, the bodies of
the dead are consumed) of the extent of the mortality. If
this be the case, we wish at the same time, that reports could be
furnished of the number of sick brought down to these Ghauts, to
be murdered by those legalized butchers of their fellow creatures,
the Brahmuns, under the pretence that they are past all hope
of recovery. In this state, we understand, many are brought
to the river side, and their existence quickly put an end to
by the administration of what is called Gunga jal / Some
means might be taken, to ascertain the fact that the unhappy
beings put out of the world, in a manner so revolting to hu-
manity, are actually in articulo mortis when brought down
to be submitted to this last inhuman ceremony: for unless
they are, we understand, those engaged in putting a period to
their existence would be liable to the penalty attaching to the
crime of MURDER.
“In cases where the miserable victim is capable of shewing
any reluctance, and evinces it, interference to prevent it would
surely be more than justifiable,_it becomes a sacred duty, the
neglect of which would not be cruel merely but criminal. But
how is this to be discerned 2 or who is to look after it? The
people in authority about the Ghauts, which are the scenes of
such sacrifices, the chokedars, &c., are generally, we believe,
Hindoos, and by no means likely to discharge this duty faith-
fully, even if it be enjoined on them, which we greatly doubt.
Who then is to perform it? This is a question which we
presume the Zillah Magistrates can best answer; humanity
loudly demands that the matter should be investigated; and
we hope it will attract their attention. Where are all the
Native Doctors, about whom we heard so much in former
days, when the Cholera prevailed? Many of these, we sup-
pose, are Mussulmans, and, as they have no prejudice in
favour of the inhuman practice we have adverted to, they
might be very properly employed to prevent it, where inter-
ference is deemed justifiable. We imagine there could be no
impediment of an order to this effect:-That before any un-
fortunate being should be dragged to the Ghaut, to be
suffocated by the Brahmums, it should be incumbent on them
to have the authority of the Native Doctor. We hope this
subject will receive the consideration it merits. We may be
wrong in supposing there is a remedy for the evil, but we have
felt it our duty to endeavour to bring the subject forward, in
200 G|HAUT MURDERS.
order that some means may be speedily devised, to check the
perpetration of these legalized MURDERs, if the entire pre-
vention of them should be deemed impossible.”
“The exposure of the sick by the side of the Ganges surely
requires a regulation securing greater comforts to these dying
persons. Such a regulation might easily be framed, as would
gradually put a stop to these dreadful cruelties inflicted on
persons in the agonies of death, and preventing the recovery of
others suffering under temporary maladies. Highly honour-
able as is the determination of Government not to interpose
in the religion of their Indian subjects, yet cruelties and
7murders, not authorized by the Hindoo laws, have surely no
claim to toleration.” 3.
To legalize a cruel practice, pregnant with murder, is a
highly exceptionable policy. The concession here made is
very important, viz. “The chokedars, &c., are generally Hin-
doos, and by no means likely to discharge this duty faithfully,
even if it be enjoined on them.” The preservation of life is
the imperious duty of a well regulated Government;f and
this cannot be accomplished with the permission of the prac-
tice. Hundreds and thousands have been murdered by the
permission of Suttees. The perpetrators of this practice are
guilty of murder, and the custom should be humanely and
promptly abolished. -
The propriety and utility of medical attention to the sick,
Žn the circumstances here contemplated, are deserving of par-
ticular regard. .
“The number of people in Calcutta, who fell victims to
the Cholera in the course of this week, (says the Editor of the
Somachar Durpun, Sep. 3, 1825,) has been estimated at an
average of four hundred a day. Many, we believe, attacked
with a slight sickness, give themselves up to death, through
fear; the more so when they are taken to the river, which
makes them despair of life, and thus is their end hastened.
We have known, that those who immediately after the attack
of the disease applied to European Doctors have been re-
* Remarks on the Immolations of India, p. 23. (Parbury).
+ “When the Russian Government conveyed to Japan, a number of its
mariners who had been shipwrecked on the Russian coast, the Japanese
Government thanked them; but observed, at the same time, that they might
either leave them or take them back as they might think fit. These are the
sentiments of an ignorant and barbarous policy, though they have sometimes
been mistaken for greatness of mind. But no sentiment is great that is not
humane; and no nation is civilized whose government is not solicitous for
the safety of the citizens.” Ori. Herald. Vol. ii. p. 194,
GHA UT MURDERS. 201
covered by their medical assistance; it is indeed a matter of
great pity, that persons should not apply for medicine till it is
too late. This disorder has also prevailed at Serampore and
its neighbouring villages, but not with much violence. Those
patients to whom we have given medicine in the early stage
of the disease have recovered; and we are happy to say that,
by our appointing a Physician, and rendering medical as-
sistance, many lives have been saved. Two days since, a
patient of the Boistub cast was found lying helpless on Joogul
Uddies Ghaut at Serampore, and we immediately sent our
doctor to afford him relief; and on his giving the poor man
some medicine, he recovered on the third day.”
The following circumstance demonstrates the good effects
of the friendly interference of Europeans in India, in prevent-
ing Hindoo cruelty to the sick:-“A bearer who had lived
for a long time in a family was taken ill, and was on the
point of being carried to the banks of the river, for the pur-
pose of being given over to the care of the Ganges to be
conveyed to heaven. Before he was taken away, he requested
to be allowed to speak to his old mistress; and, on being
taken to her, he begged her to interfere to procure for him a
respite of three days. On her speaking, some remarks were
made by his friends, as to the earpense which would be incur-
red, if they were to comply with this request / / His mis-
tress promised to pay all the expense that might be incurred;
and the result was, that the man, who was so near death five
or six years ago, is now alive in Calcutta in the execution of
his business.”*
A missionary writes on the Ganges:—
“Two or three days ago, I witnessed a scene more shocking
than any I ever saw in this place. A poor weaver was brought,
and cast into the river, with a pan full of water tied round his
waist to make him sink; but the stream was shallow, and he
was taken out, after being in the water a day and a night.
Hearing of the circumstance, I went to him, and found the poor
man only affected with rheumatic pains. I had him brought
to my house, and hope he will be restored to health. What
adds to the horror of this narration, is, that the perpetrators
of this intended murder were the mother and brother of the
unhappy Hindoo!”
The following letter from a native was addressed to the late
Rev. W. Bampton, at Juggernaut, and shews the acceptable-
* Beng. Hulk, Aug. 1823, Asi, Journ, March 1824.
202 G HAUT MURDERS.
ness of kind attention to the Hindoos in sickness. The original
now lies before the Author:—
“Most worth
Sir, -
I have the honour to acquaint you that I am Sick by
the fever this for cannot stand nor walk neither Rise from slip, but pass
yesterday at Evening here did you order if will you go to-morrow then I
will give you some physic, and I cannot go for my misfortune and did not
Cure, therefore I pray before you I am very poor man and orphan So
Gracious Grant me grace to aboid from this fever and always to be nourished
as any Room. I am Sir your Most obedienthumble Servant Fukeerchunder
DOSs.”
“It is pleasant to my feelings,” says a late resident in
India, in a letter dated Salisbury, May, 1828, “that I have
ever been made the instrument of delivering any of the Hin-
doos from such horrid deaths. It used to cost me about
three rupees a month for medicine. I always found them
willing to take it; and in many instances they came to our
house for it, so that my husband has been called up twice in
a night, to administer medicine to the sick. When we have
gone out an hour in the morning, we have frequently found
three or four in the verandah waiting our return ; but these
natives had been accustomed to receive medicine from the
Mission family. The Mission House at Serampore has always
been, and still is, an asylum for the sick and distressed. Mrs.
M is quite a nursing mother to the natives. When I
left India, our brethren had a fine boy under their care, that
was found by the river side, left there to perish, but was taken
up by a Christian woman, and put into the Bengalee school.
He has since been educated in the college, and is now preach-
ing the gospel to his countrymen. I wish I had property, I
would establish a Humane Society for the sick in India, and
again administer medicine to them myself. I hope I shall
meet many of them in a better world, where medicine will
not be needed. My heart's desire and prayer to God for
them is that they may be saved.”
The following is from a Native Paper in Calcutta, the
Chundrika.-
“The city of Calcutta is gradually increasing in size, by which its residents
and visitors are subjected to a proportionate degree of convenience and
comfort. The comforts have been increased by new roads and tanks; by
the Strand ghauts; by the facilities for burning the dead; by contrivances
to allay the dust; by the appointment of the Police Committee, and of
Native juries. These are the acts of Government; but the remedies against
* See also G. B. Repos. Ap. 1829, p. 157.
GHAUT MURDERS. 203
disease remain without improvement. The Native Hospital, and that at
Guranhatta, possess no conveniences suited to the prejudices of the Natives.
The Native Hospital is at the Chandnee-choke, in the European part of the
town, and its arrangements prevent men of cast and respectability, from
availing themselves of it; its benefits are therefore confined to bheestees
(water carriers) and musalchees (flambeau carriers) of Gentlemen, and to
those who are brought thither by the police. Every one knows that this
city contains thousands of poor strangers, of all ranks, without wealth, con-
nexion, or friends, who when afflicted with disease, fly from the city, and
receiving medicine, and the prescribed regimen elsewhere, recover: but
some die on the road, and many perish for want of two pice worth of medi-
cine. Those who live from hand to mouth cannot obtain proper food or
medicine, and for them there is no relief. Those who have no attendance,
and no means of obtaining medicine, perish of course by hundreds in the
city. We hear that the governors of the Hindoo College, propose to estab-
lish an Hospital in its vicinity, the expense of which, will be partly defrayed
from the funds received for the instruction of students. English medicines
will be obtained from the Company’s Dispensary, and other medicines will
be prepared on the spot. The rich, the liberal, the compassionate in this
city, will be able to raise something by way of subscription for it. Should
the plan be carried into effect, the control of the Institution will be divided
between English and Native Gentlemen, and the medical students of the
College will perform its duties, under the instruction of skilful physicians.
Hindoo and Brahmun attendants will be appointed, whereby, men of rank
and respectability will be enabled to resort to it for medicine, and proper
food, and thus save their lives. The practice of English Physicians, which
is now held in such high repute, will thus be imparted to students and
widely diffused over the country.”
These statements admit of abundant confirmation.
Colonel Dow, in his “History of Hindostan,” has a sec-
tion entitled, “A Plan for restoring Bengal to its former pros-
perity;” in which he says, “All religions must be tolerated
in Bengal, except in the practice of some inhuman customs,
which the Mahomedans have already in a great measure
destroyed. We must not permit young widows in their
virtuous enthusiasm to throw themselves on the funeral pile
of their dead husbands; nor the sick and aged to be drowned
when their friends despair of their lives. These are particut-
lar usages, established by time into a law, which our humanity
must destroy. Let no women burn themselves with their
husbands, or dying persons be earposed by their friends. To
leave the Natives to their own laws, would be to consign them
to anarchy and confusion.”f
“The removal,” says the late Rev. W. Ward, “of the dying
to the banks of the Ganges, the voluntary immolations at
places the resort of pilgrims, and the burning of widows
alive, entail so much misery on the Hindoos, that every hu-
mane heart is rent in pieces, whenever these horrid practices
* Asi. Journ., May 1830, p. 10. + Vol. iii. pp. 128–143.
204 GHAUT MURDERS.
are brought into public notice. The great success which has
attended the benevolent exertions of Government, in certain
cases, encourages us to hope that the hand of mercy will,
sooner or later, heal the wounds of a country, bleeding at
every pore from the fangs of superstition. These cruelties
can have so little sanction from any form of religion, are so
abhorrent to every humane feeling, and have in some instances
been prevented with so much ease, that one can scarcely for-
bear wishing, that more may be done to prevent such plain
violations of the duties men owe to themselves and to society.”
The Rev. J. H. Hough, Chaplain on the Madras Estab-
lishment, in his “Reply to the Abbe Dubois,” demonstrates
the facility of the suppression of Hindoo cruelties:—“I main-
tain that the abolition of every practice that outrages thefeelings
and sympathies of human nature, and of which British law
would take cognizance, would tend to confirm our political
power in the East. It might alienate the minds of the in-
terested few who profit by these immolations; but it would
conciliate the bulk of the Natives, and attach them more cor-
dially to our Government. Remove every barbarous super-
stition that paralyses the affections of the soul, and you will
instantly perceive the feelings of humanity begin to revive.
Each cord entwined about the heart will soon vibrate
to the sounds of parental, filial, and fraternal love; and even
the Hindoo, no longer a misanthrope, or deaf and blind to
the claims of society, shall own and rejoice in the relative ties
by which man is bound to man. The gratitude with which
the Rajpoot mothers presented at the feet of Colonel Walker
the children preserved through his humane perseverance; the
conduct of the widow, rescued from the funeral pile at Chica-
cole, towards her benefactress, and the subsequent behaviour
of her relatives, are alone sufficient to vindicate the Hindoos'
claims to the feelings of humanity, and to shew that these
anticipations will, in all human probability, be realized, when
the obstructions that now prevent the exercise of those feel-
ings shall be done away.”f -
“As to the practicability of suppressing this wretched
practice,” says the Rev. S. Sutton, late Missionary in Bengal,
“I am scarcely capable of giving an opinion. Every Indian
custom appears so gigantic in its nature, and is so firmly
imbedded in the affections of the people, that human means
appear but little in opposing it. Two measures may be
* View of the Hindoos, vol. iii. p. 284.
| Hough's Reply to the Abbe Dubois, p. 282,
GHA UT MURDERS. 205
pointed out which are certainly lawful in themselves, and
which can be immediately put into execution without the aid
of the civil power. The first is, small pamphlets might be
written on the subject, in English and the native languages,
and these should be extensively circulated among Europeans
and Hindoos; by this means a spirit of inquiry will probably
arise, and it will become a matter of public discussion. The
second measure is the one you have alluded to, namely, a
Humane Society. I have known many cases where indivi-
dual benevolence has been extended towards lepers, and
others, who have been left to perish; but, if a general Society
could be formed, for this object, in the metropolis of British
India, it would soon eartend its ramifications to all parts of
the empire, and, the victims snatched from the jaws of
destruction by its influence would richly repay its labours.”
The Editor of the Christian Observer remarks, respecting
the sanguinary rites of the Hindoo, “They are of a nature too
criminal to be permitted under any regular government. It
is impossible to regard, without horror, the murders and
atrocities which are openly practised in India under the name
of religion. These are practices which come under the desig-
nation of enormous crimes, and ought not to exist under a
British Government, and which it might be proved, that
Government have it in their power easily and safely to
suppress.”
The late C. Grant, Esq., in a letter written Sep. 1811, has
thus expressed himself on this subject; “I would not be
understood to imply, that the British Government has done
all that it might and ought to do, in relation to the horrid
superstition (the worship of Juggernaut) in question. I con-
ceive that, as a Government, we might and should forbid all
immolation of human victims, or sacrifice in any mode of
human life; and that without using compulsion, or violating
the toleration allowed to the Hindoos. It might do far more
than it has yet done for the safe and gradual introduction and
diffusion of Gospel light in India—the only effectual cure for
all the deplorable evils of idolatry and immorality which exist
there. It has long been an interesting subject to me, and I
regret I have not been able to render more service to a cause
which, well understood, ought to be supported by the Politician
and the Christian, since it is recommended by the soundest
dictates of policy, as well as by the infinitely higher con-
siderations of true religion.”t
* Mar. 1813. f Review of Pilgrim Tax in India, Bap. Mag., April 1828.
206 - GHAUT MURDERS.
The late Hon. J. H. Harington, Member of Council,
Calcutta, in a highly interesting document relative to the
Suttee, justly observes ; “As far as the New Regulation
(enforced at Saugur by a military guard) opposed an esta-
blished usage, originating in superstition, it may be considered
a precedent for prohibiting and punishing other inhuman
practices of a superstitious nature. As I have never heard
of any resistance being offered, or objection made to the exe-
cution of the penal law above mentioned, I cannot but think
it affords some ground of presumption, that other supersti-
tious and inhuman practices, such particularly as the Suttee
sacrifice, though sanctioned in a certain degree by the shastra
and by popular opinion, might be suppressed by a legislative
enactment with equal safety and success.”
Lord Teignmouth, in his interesting pamphlet before quoted,
proves the humane and beneficial influence of the British
Government in India, in abolishing various customs opposed
to sound reason and the true interests of the people.f
“Usages originating in Hindoo superstition, and customs of
immemorial prescription, have been discountenanced by the
British administration in Bengal; whilst the laws of the Ma-
homedans,] which derive their authority from the Koran, have
been modified or altered in various instances. In trial for
murder, the Mahomedan law officers are required to deliver
their opinions, according to the doctrines of certain learned
expositors of the law named in the regulations; but, as these
expositors admit many distinctions as to the mode of com-.
mitting murder, the British Government has enacted, (Reg. 9,
A. D. 1793, S. 75,) that no regard shall be paid to these dis-
tinctions; but the intention of the criminal, and not the
manner or instrument of perpetration, shall constitute the
rule for determining the punishment. The Mahomedan law
considers, the religious persuasion of witnesses as a bar to
the conviction or condemnation of a prisoner, or, in other
words, rejects the testimony of Hindoos. The British Go-
vernment has most justly abrogated a distinction calculated
to defeat the ends of public justice. A person deliberately
* See Par. Papers, on the Suttee, July 1825, vol. v. pp. 8–18.
† pp. 23–38.
# The late Sir Thomas Munro, very forcibly observed;—“No modifica-
tion can make the Mahomedan criminal law good for any thing; it ought
to be abolished, and our own substituted. For whom is this law preserved?
There is not one Mahomedan for twenty Hindoos; nor was the law ever
administered worse than among that small portion.” Asi. Jour, March
1830, p. 232. AUTH. -
G. H. A UT MUPIDERS. 207
intending to murder one individual, and accidentally killing
another, is not, by the Mahomedan law, held liable to the
punishment of murder. The Regulations, in opposition to
this rule, declare the homicide under such circumstances
murder, and the punishment death. A murderer, though
fully convicted, might escape the punishment due to his
crime, by obtaining pardon of, or from a compromise with,
such heirs of the deceased as were entitled to demand retali-
ation. According to an exposition of the Mahomedan law,
a father or mother, grandfather or grandmother, wilfully mur-
dering their child or grandchild, or any person of whom their
child or grandchild may be heirs, cannot suffer death by the law
of Kissaas" (Retaliation); nor can such a sentence be passed
against a master for the murder of his slave, appropriated by
his owners to the service of the public, nor against a person
wilfully killing another at the desire of the party slain, &c.
The Governor in Council has declared to all Hindostan, “the
law of retaliation, in these and similar instances, repugnant to
the principles of public justice.’”
The influence of the British magistrate in India, in sup-
pressing Hindoo cruelties, is very strikingly displayed in the
abolition of self-murder at Allahabad.t. The Asiatic Journal
for August, 1827, contains the following statement:—“A hor-
rid form of self-murder has happily been put down by a Regu-
lation of the Government, and the wise and firm application
of it, by the present truly worthy judge and magistrate of
Allahabad, Mr. Colvin, who said, he had not suffered any one
to drown himself at the junction of the Ganges and Jumna.
He has declared that, if any one aids another, either with a
boat, or assists in tying on the earthen pots, or helps the in-
dividual to throw himself into the river, the person or persons
so acting shall be regarded as accessary to the murder and
dealt with accordingly. An instance of this self-drowning,
Mr. C. said, had not occurred since he had had the govern-
ment of Allahabad; nor will he suffer these or any other
cruelties, which he has power to prevent. We rejoice to state
* The Mahomedan law considers the act as a private injury; not a pub-
lic wrong.
t The nature of the rite is thus described:—“Two Mahratta women had
travelled to Allahabad from a great distance, to devote themselves to the
Ganges. In vain did the missionary attempt to convince them of the de-
lusion and wickedness of their purpose. After worshipping the river, these
women entered a boat, with three others of the same cast; they most un-
feelingly tied two earthen jars, filled with water, round the waist of each to
make them sink, and saw them perish in the stream!” (Miss. Papers, 1823.)
208 GHAUT MURDERS.
that this is the judgment of all the judges and magistrates
with whom we have had intercourse, in the different Districts;
this, in connexion with the fact, that the shackles of cast,
and Brahminical domination, are much and obviously weak-
ening, is a subject of sincere congratulation to the friends of
humanity and piety.”
Let Britain pursue the work of meliorating the state of
society in India, until every custom opposed to the principles
of humanity and justice shall be abolished. In what is here
stated much has been done for the real welfare of India. ‘ O.
si sic omnial'
But to turn from India: it is highly gratifying to see the
subject of the abolition of human sacrifices in Hindostan,
exciting that attention among the members of the Hon. East
India Company, which its importance demands. The fol-
lowing is an extract from “The Speech of J. Poynder, Esq.,
at a General Court of Proprietors of East India Stock, March,
1827,” in defence of a Resolution to the following effect;-
“That this Court, taking into consideration the continuance
of human sacrifices in India, is of opinion that, in the case
of all rites or ceremonies involving the destruction of life, it
*s the duty of a paternal Government to interpose for their
prevention ; and therefore recommends to the Honourable
Court of Directors, to transmit such Instructions to India,
as that Court may deem most earpedient for accomplishing
this object, consistently with all practicable attention to the
feelings of the Natives.” This Resolution was carried by a
decided majority, only five Proprietors (four of whom were
Directors), dividing against it. “The object of the motion
(said the eloquent Gentleman) now before the Court, is, -To
throw the ample shield of British protection, quite as much
over every deluded victim who may cast away life as a volun-
tary sacrifice, as over those who may be sacrificed by force or
fraud. Wherever innocuous ceremonies terminate, and blood
becomes necessary to the propitiation of ‘them that are no
gods,” the motion I have the honour to submit will come into
action; its broad principle being that, “IN THE CASE OF ALL
RITES INVOLVING THE DESTRUCTION OF LIFE, it is the
duty of a paternal Government to interfere for their preven-
tion ; ' precisely, as it is the duty of a parent to save a foolish
as well as a wise child from death, whenever it is in his
power. God, in his Providence, having armed the British
Government, with the power of saving life in India ; the
point for which I contend is, that the Government has a bet-
ter right to exercise that power, than the victim of Superstition
G HAUT MURDERS. 209
has to resist it; and that it is a greater duty in the Govern-
ment to preserve its own subjects from destruction, than to
suffer them to perish. I contend that the wretched victim
of a sanguinary delusion has no more right over his own life,
on the score of religion, than he has a right over the lives of
his fellow-creatures, upon no better pretext. And that, there-
fore, the Government which consents to look on, while these
deeds of darkness are doing, is in the eye of God and man, a
partaker of the guilt of blood.” In accordance with these
sentiments, the abolition of Ghaut murders is the paramount
duty of Britain. The language of the Almighty to Cain is worthy
the attention of all Legislators:—“And the LORD said unto
Cain, Where is Abel thy brother ? and he said, I know not:
Am I my brother's keeper? And he said, What hast thou
done the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from
the ground.” Gen. iv. 9, 10. - ... • - - -
The numerous facts laid before the reader, demonstrate that
the practice of exposing the sick by the Ganges, is of that
inhuman and murderous nature which demands the attention
of the Legislature. The engraving (placed at the beginning
of this book), taken from a Drawing by a Native Artist, shews
a few of the superstitious practices connected with the Ganges.
Some persons are bathing in its supposed sacred stream ;
others are procuring and carrying away its water for holy
purposes. But DEATH is the chief subject of the En-
graving, which displays some of the miserable delusions, under
which the millions of our Hindoo fellow-subjects leave the
world. The man on the couch has been brought down to
breathe his last on the borders of the river, while a Brahmun
is offering him its waters: the women are probably the wives
of the dying man come to witness this scene. On the right
hand is a Temple, before the door of which, another miserable
man has been laid, there to breathe out his soul in the presence
of his Idol.
Even the light of nature is opposed to the practice of hu-
man sacrifices, and hence the abolition of them by certain
civilized States before the Christian era. The Romans, prior
to the establishment of Christianity, exerted their influence to
abolish human sacrifices; and Britain is indebted to them, as
the precursors of that civilization, consequent upon the pro-
pagation of the Gospel in this country. And shall not Chris-
tian Britain emulate the humane example of Pagan Rome
Shall Gelon, the tyrant of Syracuse,” nearly 500 years before
* Rollin's Ancient History, vol. i. p. 10.
P
210 GHAUT MURDERS.
Christ, stipulate with the Carthaginians, as an article of peace,
to abolish human sacrifices; and shall not Britain—
“Whom grateful Afric worships; and whose name
Poor crouching Asia dreads,” -
through every part of Hindostan, proclaim deliverance to them
who are “drawn unto death, and ready to be slain * Reason,
consistency, and the experience of past ages, require this ser-
vice for the common interests of humanity. The blood of In-
fanticides—of Ghaut murders—of Pilgrims led by British
connection with idolatry to its shrines, have long cried to
Britain ; and “ their cries have entered into the ears of the
Lord of Sabaoth.” Britain, awake! “Put on judgment
as a robe and a diadem.” “Lo justly and love mercy.” “Let
judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty
stream.”
The suppression of these cruelties is demanded of Britain.
They outrage ‘the inviolable obligations of justice and hu-
manity.” Locke, in his “Letters on Toleration,” clearly
defines the religious observances, with which the civil magis-
trates can and cannot interfere.—“The magistrate ought not
to forbid the preaching or professing of speculative opinions
in any church, because they have no relation to the civil rites
of the subject; for it does not belong to the magistrate, to
make use of his sword in punishing every thing indifferently,
which he takes to be a sin against God. His post is only to
take care that the Commonwealth receive no prejudice, and
that there be no injury done to any man in life and state.
You will say, “If some congregations have a mind to sacrifice
infants, or practise any other such heinous enormities, is the
magistrate obliged to tolerate them, because they are com-
mitted in a religious assembly No. These things are not
lawful in the ordinary course of life, nor in any private house,
and therefore neither are they so in the worship of God.”t
* Bruja Mohun, a Bengalee, in his “Strictures on the present System
of Hindoo Polytheism,” has the following just remarks:—“With the view
of obtaining Gunga, you, at midnight, in the month of January, dip your
aged, and afflicted parents in the river and thereby murder them. The
weather is then so cold, and the wind so bleak, that were you to submerge
a healthful youth into the river, his death would be no matter of surprise.
You drink the water of a peculiar spot, and anoint your body with dirt and
mud brought from particular places, and esteem these acts holy—we do not.
To burn defenceless women, murder an aged father and mother by immers-
ing them in water, you esteem holy;-we esteem these deeds unholy.”
(Friend of India, Dec. 1820, pp. 267, 290.)
t Locke's Works, vol. ii. pp. 368–370. See Par, Papers on Hindoo
Immolations, July 1825, vol. iv. p. 21.
GHAUT MURDERS, 21 1
The abolition of human sacrifices of every kind would raise
the tone of humane and intellectual feeling in India, and
attach her to Britain, “as a benefactor indissolubly endeared
by the triumphs of our mercy.”
And shall British India lie at the mercy of the hydra of
idolatry; to whom thousands are annually sacrificed on its
sanguinary altars Shall no cry of “Murder! murder!”—no
cry of “Mercy! mercy!” be heard? Oh yes! a cry is heard
—it increases—it is understood—and the inhabitants of Bri-
tain, aided by other Christian countries, are seen rising to
rescue the victims of superstition, and direct them to the cross
of Christ Christianity is the only adequate remedy for the
miseries of India, and of the world. Let the messengers of
mercy, bearing “ Glad tidings of great joy to all people,” be
despatched to every part of India, and of the East; and let
these efforts be accompanied with fervent prayer for the effu-
sion of the Spirit of God, and his “way shall be known upon
earth, his saving health among all nations.” How numerous
the blessings which follow in the train of Christianity Be-
hold the Hindoo “a new creature in Christ Jesus.”
“On Guilt's dark brow her glittering cross appears,
His sullied cheek is wash’d with pious tears;
And Ganges, hallow’d still for holier ends,
Death stream no more, his wave baptismal lends.”
To adopt the language of the late C. Grant, Esq., referring
to the other European nations who have held possessions in
the East;-“It remains for us to shew how we shall be dis-
tinguished from these nationst in the history of mankind;
whether conquest shall have been in our hands the means,
not merely of displaying a Government unequalled in India
for administrative justice, kindness, and moderation; not
merely of increasing the security of the subject, and the pros-
perity of the country, but of advancing social happiness—of
meliorating the moral state of men, and of extending a
superior light, farther than the Roman eagle ever flew. In
success lies our safety, not our danger. Our danger must lie
in pursuing, from ungenerous ends, a course contracted and
illiberal;--but in following an opposite course—in commu-
nicating light, knowledge, and improvement, we shall obey
the dictates of duty, of philanthropy, and of policy. We
shall take the most rational means to remove inherent, great
disorders—to attach the Hindoo people to ourselves—to en-
* Wrangham's Poem on the Restoration of learning in the East, 1805.
t Portuguese, French, and Dutch, in India.
P 2
212 GHAUT MURDERS.
sure the safety of our possessions—to enhance, continually,
their value to us—to raise a firm and durable monument to
the glory of this country—and to increase the happiness of
the human race.” Let Christianity, with all her blessings,
walk through the East, “in the length of it, and the breadth
of it.”
“Light on the Hindoo shed!
On the maddening idol-train,
The flame of the Suttee is dire and red,
And the Fakir faints with pain; -
And the dying moan on their cheerless bed,
By the Ganges laved in vain.
Light for the forest child!
An outcast though he be,
From the haunts where the sun of his childhood smiled,
And the country of the free; .
Pour the hope of heaven o'er his desert wild
For what home on earth has he f
Light for the Persian sky!—
The Sopi's wisdom fades,
And the pearls of Ormus are poor to buy
Armour when death invades;
Hark!—hark! 'tis the sainted Martyn's sigh,
From Ararat’s mournful shades.
Light for the Burman vales!—
For the islands of the sea!
For the coast where the slave-ship fills its sails
With sighs of agony! -
And her kidnapp'd babes the mother wails
*Neath the lone banana tree.
Light for the hills of Greece'
Light for that trampled clime
Where the rage of the spoiler refused to cease,
Ere it wreck’d the boast of time;
If the Moslem hath dealt the gift of peace,
Can ye grudge your boon sublime P
Light for the darken'd earth!—
Ye blest—its beams who shed,
Shrink not, till the day-spring hath its birth,
Till wherever the footstep of man doth tread,
Salvation's banner spread broadly forth,
Shall gild the dream of the cradle-bed,
And clear the tomb
From its lingering gloom,
For the aged to rest his weary head.”
Hartford. . America.
-x-
* “Observations on the State of Society among the Asiatic subjects of
Great Britain.” Par. Papers, June 1813. -
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Book iv.
S U T T E E S.
CHAP. I.
Introductory remarks—origin—nature—number—cause of
former prevalence in Bengal—and atrocity of Suttees.
THE abolition of the cruel custom of Suttee, or the burning
and burying alive of Hindoo widows, by the British Govern-
ment in India, is an event which confers the highest honour
upon the country and the age which gave it birth. The first
Regulation relative to this humane and magnanimous object,
was issued by Lord William Bentinck, Governor General of
India, Dec. 4, 1829; a similar Regulation was adopted by
the Madras Government, Feb. 2, 1830; and before the close
of the year, the Bombay Government followed the same
example. The philanthropist will eagerly inquire, ‘Has this
practice ceased in every part of the Presidencies of British
India, in the tributary, allied, and independent States of Hin-
dostan,—and in all the eastern Islands? Does this hydra of
superstition still revel upon human blood?" Next in order, to
placing upon historic record, the nature and extent of the
Suttee, and the success of the measures adopted for its sup-
pression in India, it will be the object of this book, to shew
the present state of this practice, and the propriety and
facility of prosecuting its annihilation wherever it exists.
Suttee* is the name given in India to a woman who immo-
lates herself on the funeral pile of her husband, or is buried
alive with his body, and denotes that the female is considered
faithful to him, even unto death; the term is also applied to
the rite itself. Diodorus Siculus, who twice refers to the
practice of Suttee, in the 103rd and 106th Olympiad, B. C.
* “Suttee. From swt, good, chaste, pure, &c., a woman who burns
herself on her husband's funeral pile, that being thought an irrefragable
proof of her chastity.” Dr. Carey's Beng. Dict.
214 SUTTEES.
327 and 314 years, supposes the practice to have originated
in the unfaithfulness of the women to their husbands, and
their taking them off by mixing deadly plants with their food.
“This wicked practice,” says he, “increasing, and many fall-
ing victims to it, and the punishment of the guilty not serving
to deter others from the commission of the crime, a law was
passed, that wives should be burned with their deceased
husbands, except such as were pregnant and had children;
and that any individual who refused to comply with this law
should be compelled to remain a widow, and be for ever ex-
cluded from all rights and privileges, as guilty of impiety.
This measure being adopted, it followed that the abominable
disposition to which the wives were addicted was converted
into an opposite feeling. For, in order to avoid that climax of
disgrace, every wife being obliged to die, they not only took all
possible care of their husband's safety, but emulated each
other in promoting his glory and renown.” Strabo is of the
same opinion.f Mandello, a German, who witnessed a Suttee
at Cambay, in 1638, accounts for the rise of this singular
custom in the same manner.1. .
“The origin of the custom,” says an intelligent Magistrate
in India, “will most probably be found in the voluntary
sacrifice of a widow, inconsolable for the loss of her husband,
and who resolved to accompany him on the funeral pile;- not
with any idea that such an act could be acceptable to the
gods, or any way beneficial for herself in a future existence;
but solely because her affection to the deceased made her re-
gard life as a burden no longer to be borne. The example of
this heroine, if it remained the only incentive to Suttee, would
have been rarely followed; but it of course excited admiration
as a novelty; and in a short time the Brahmuns began to
perceive, that, if properly managed, Suttee might be made a
productive source of emolument;S and the most esteemed
* Lib. xix. c. 32, 33. f Geogr. lib. xv. See Asi. Jour., May 1827.
† Asi. Jour., Jan. 1823. A practice resembling the Suttee exists among the
Yarribanians, in Africa, and its origin is very similarly accounted for. Ecc.
Rev., May 1832, p. 378.
§ The expense of the Suttee witnessed by the author at Cuttack, in Aug.
1824, was, according to the pundit, as follows:—“Ghee, three rupees; cloth,
one rupee; the woman's new cloth, two rupees and a half; wood three
rupees; Adawlut pundit, three rupees; the woman gave one rupee for some
purpose; rice, one anna; hemp, four annas; haldee, one anna; mateeamlet,
chumdum, doop, cocoa nut, one anna one pice; carrier, five annas; musi-
cians, half a rupee; paring nails, four annas; cutting wood, three annas;
total, fifteen rupees, five annas, three pice. Intended shradda (funcral feast),
fifteen or twenty rupees.’
SUTTEES. 215
authors of the age were induced to recommend it as a most
meritorious act, productive of good effects to the soul of the
widow and her husband, and to those of the surviving members
of their families: they also prescribed forms and ceremonies,
in which the attendance of Brahmuns was of course indis-
pensable. Menu, and the most ancient and respectable
writers, do not notice Suttee; it was therefore, in their time,
either unknown or not approved.”
Various detailed accounts of Suttees have been communi-
cated to the public through the publications of Missionary
Societies, the eight volumes of Parliamentary Papers on
Hindoo Immolations, and the Newspapers and Periodicals of
the Presidencies in India. A few instances only of the nature
of this inhuman rite are here given.
The “Friend of India,” for Sep. 1824, published at Seram-
pore, contains an account of a Suttee at Cuttack, in Orissa,
which the Author and some of his friends witnessed.
“On August 19, 1824, this place was defiled with innocent blood.
About twelve o’clock the Judge sent a note to the Mission House, informing
us of the intended Suttee. The woman was a Telinga, the wife of a Brah-
mun who had died that morning about daybreak. Her reply to the several
questions proposed to her through the Telinga interpreter was, ‘What have
I any more to do with the world? I must go to my husband. , Support
for life, and a conveyance to her own home, were offered, but they were
rejected. From my pundit I have gathered some particulars which cast
light upon this dreadful rite. He stated, that it is customary to lament the
dead with crying and noise, but she did not; saying she was going to her
husband. She said, she was a stranger and had nothing, and therefore
desired the neighbours to provide what was necessary for a Suttee. She
said also that she had been a Suttee in three former births, and must be so
four times more, and then she should attain endless felicity. Those who
should dare to prevent her, by confining her in a house or jail, their seed
should die, and they should descend into hell. Some approved of this;
others said, that as she had no son nor daughter therefore she wished to
die. To this she replied, she had a brother and sister; and in her own
country many friends, but she wished to go to her husband. From joog to
joog (age to age), in this manner, with the same husband, she was to be
born and die.
“About half-past three o’clock she proceeded to the pile. I was then too
unwell to venture out. Mrs. P. saw her on the way and talked with her.
About six o'clock in the evening I went to the spot, expecting the tragical
business to be closed. I was, however, surprised to find nothing more
done than the pile partly prepared. The Judge and three other gen-
tlemen, with some of our English congregation, were present, and a great
number of Natives. ... Frequent and persevering efforts were made by the
above gentlemen to dissuade her from her purpose, assisted by the members
of the Mission who were present. She was sitting near the pile, with the
corpse of her husband covered with a cloth lying near her. I knew two
* Par. Papers on the Immolation of Hindoo Widows, 1821, vol. i. p. 231.
216. SUTTEES.
Telinga Brahmums present, and, taking them, endeavoured to speak
to the woman. I ºf her, I was a Padree; that God had sent me and
others to teach the people the true Incarnation, Jesus Christ, who died for
our sins: that if she would go with me to my house, she would be able to
learn this knowledge; and that I would send her in a palkee to her own
country: but if she now ate fire and died, how could she gain this know-
ledge, without which she could not be saved P I told her, thus to destroy
herself was not God’s will. I fear my translators were not faithful; but all
the poor woman said was, ‘Narayun, Narayun.” This she repeated with a
stupidity of mind truly indescribable. Mr. B., one of the gentlemen pre-
sent, was desirous to convince her, by some ordeal, that she could not burn;
but the infatuated woman played with a piece of fire like a child, and when
her hand was pressed upon a coal she shewed no resolution. He lifted up
one of her eye-lids, and affirmed that she was intoaxicated 1 This was stated
to the Judge, and urged as a sufficient reason to forbid the horrid murder;
but he thought it wanted evidence, and hesitated to use his authority to
save her.
“The pile, which was slowly preparing, was about eight feet long, four
feet wide, and about two feet high. At each corner was a piece of wood,
which supported the roof; three sides of the pile were blocked up. Raw
flax was laid on the wood, upon which the corpse was placed. Ghee was
forbidden to be put on the pile by the Judge, that the woman might have
the opportunity to escape, by feeling the effects of the fire gradually. As
she had been touched by several persons after her bathing, she went to the
river and bathed again. I saw her enter the pile as a person would get
into bed, and lay herself down by the left side of her husband, and farthest
from the entrance of the pile. The wood under the corpse, after a short
time, burned fiercely; and it was horrible to see it consuming the head
and elevated stiffened hand of the deceased, while the woman was scarcely
touched by the devouring element. I stopped about a quarter of an hour
hoping the unhappy sufferer might labour to escape; but, alas! no signs of
it appeared; and, after viewing the burning of the dead and the living, till
my feelings, and concern for my health, determined me to go away, I left
the horrid circle and hastened home. All such outrages upon the principles
of society are unnatural and inhuman, and, when said to be from religious
motives, a species of insanity; and hence may properly be suppressed by
the powerful voice of reason and authority.”
The following description of a Suttee was communicated,
from the temple of Juggernaut in Orissa, in July 1824, by the
Author's colleague, the late Rev. W. Bampton:-
“The infatuated woman, whose death I witnessed, was the widow of a
Brahmun, who had died in the morning. The man's age was about forty,
and the woman's thirty-five. . The place where the Suttee took place was
called Swurgu Dwar, which signifies the gate of heaven; and when I
reached it, I found the coolies employed in digging the hole, which was
circular, about six feet deep ; its diameter at bottom perhaps a little less
than its depth, and at top twice as much. Soon after my arrival, about
twelve persons came, each bringing a load of wood on his or her head. I
charged them with being accessary to the crime about to be committed; the
general reply was, they worked for money, and did this as they did other
work, because they were paid for it. Carelessness or cheerfulness charac-
terized all the Hindoos near or on the spot. The pit being finished, a
quantity of water was mixed with cow-dung and sprinkled on the margin
SUTTEES. 217
about one-third of the way down; two ropes were also well wetted with the
same mixture. Inquiring the use of two bamboos which lay near, I was
told, that they were to stir the fire and turn about the bodies The bits of
wood prepared for the occasion were between twelve and eighteen inches
long, and, on an average, five or six in circumference; a quantity of them
were thrown into the pit, and a man at the bottom proceeded to set them
up on their ends, two or three thick round the sides; upon this he placed
a second tier; and on the second, a third; he also covered the bottom per-
haps five or six inches thick, so that the pit was now two-thirds lined with
wood. Soon after all was finished, the dead man was brought on a rough
bier, which I suppose might have been made in less than a quarter of an
hour. I soon saw the procession (if it may be called one), halting a few
hundred yards before me: the crowd was kept off the woman by a square,
made of four pieces of wood, five or six feet long. The rabble was preceded
by some of their rude music. Unwilling to see her burn herself, my worthy
companions, Lieut. W. and T. B. Esq., tried several times to prevent the
horrid deed, and I lent my feeble assistance, but all to no purpose. They
halted twenty or thirty yards from the flaming pit, where the last effort was
made, and, that failing, her coadjutors gave her a lighted lamp, which I
think she put into an earthen pot under her arm. In a little time all was
confusion, and a scene, the most perfectly hellish was presented; a way
was made for the woman to the pit, and its margin was left clear; she
advanced to the edge facing her husband, and two or three times waved
her right hand; she then hastily walked round the pit; having completed
the circle, she again waved her hand as before, and then jumped into the
fire * * * * * * -
“At this moment I believe the drums beat, and an infernal shout rent the
air, but I can scarcely say I know;-all was confusion. A dense smoke
issued from the pit, intermixed with partial bursts of flame, occasioned by
quantities of powdered resin thrown into the pit by handfuls. In a little
time the fire was allowed to clear itself, and we saw the wretched woman
in the midst of it: I think her posture was that of sitting on her heels; she
sometimes moved gently backward and forward, as if she bowed. The poor
creature still kept an erect posture; but at length seemed partially to rise,
and pitched forward with her head against the side of the pit. The motion
of her head, in this position, indicated pain, and she continued to live two
or three minutes longer. The gentlemen then went home, but I stayed a
little longer and saw the bodies taken out; for, though the women are
burnt in these pits, the bodies are taken out while they are distinguishable,
and consumed in two different fires (at least this is the case here), and we
are told it is done, that the son may make sure of some fragments of both his
parents to be thrown into the Ganges. Now the ropes came into use; one
was doubled and the middle thrown down to catch the man's chin, one or
two bamboo levers were put under his head to raise it, and get the rope
round his neck; the rope was then twisted in order to fasten it, and they
began to draw, but they failed, for the rope slipped. Another man then
attempted to fasten the rope; he succeeded, and they drew up the
body, with the exception, I think, of the legs; but it was quite dark, and
nothing could be seen but by the light of the fire. They then tried to raise
the woman, but could not easily get the rope round her neck, so they put it
on her arm, which projected in such a way as to favour their doing so;
and, after twisting it well, they drew her nearly to the top of the pit; but
they seemed afraid that they should lose her again, if they trusted entirely
to her arm, so she was held just below the edge of the pit till another man
put the other rope under her chin, and she was then drawn up! Some of
218 SUTTEES.
the people employed themselves in arranging the wood for the fires to con-
sume the bodies, and I stayed perhaps ten minutes longer, finally leaving
the bodies on the brink of the pit. Such are the facts, and I leave them to
produce their proper effect.”
The account of the Suttee represented in the engraving,
is from the pen of the Rev. J. England, of Bangalore, under
the Madras Presidency, in June 1826.
“I received a note from a gentleman that a Suttee was about to take place
near his house. On hastening to the spot, I found the preparations con-
siderably advanced, and a large concourse of spectators assembled. On my
left stood the horrid pile; it was fan oblong bed of dry cow-dung cakes,
about ten feet long, seven wide, and three high. At each corner of it, a
rough stake, about eight feet in length, was driven into the ground, and
about a foot from the top of these supporters was fastened, by cords, a frame
of the same dimensions as the bed, and forming a canopy. This frame must
have been of considerable weight; it was covered with very dry small faggots,
which the officiating Brahmuns continued to throw upon it, till they rose
two feet above the frame-work. On my right, sat the poor deluded widow,
who was to be the victim of this heart-rending display of Hindoo purity and
gentleness; she was attended by a dozen or more Brahmuns; her mother,
sister, and son (an interesting boy about three years of age), and other
relatives were also with her. Her own infant, not twelve months old, was
craftily kept from her by the Brahmuns. She had already performed a
number of preparatory ceremonies; one of which was washing herself in a
strong decoction of saffron, which is supposed to have a purifying effect.
It imparted to her a horrid ghastliness;–her eyes indicated a degree of
melancholy wildness; an unnatural smile now and then played on her
countenance: and every thing about her person and her conduct indicated
that narcotics had been administered in no small quantities. Close by me
stood the Fousdar, a native officer, who, besides regulating the police, is the
chief military officer of the station. So heartily did he engage in this mur-
derous work, that he gave the poor widow twenty pagodas (between six and
seven pounds sterling), to confirm her resolution to be burned
“The Rev. Mr. Campbell addressed her in the Carnatic language,
but the effect of his address was counteracted by the influence of
the Brahmuns. The pile being completed, a quantity of straw was
spread on the top. An increase of activity, was soon visible among
the men, whose “feet are swift to shed blood.’ Muntrams having been
repeated over the pile, and the woman and every thing being in readi-
ness, the hurdle to which the corpse of the husband had been fastened was
now raised by six of the officiating Brahmuns; the end of a cord about two
yards long, attached at the other end to the head of the bier, was taken by
the widow, and the whole moved slowly towards the pile. The corpse was
laid on the right side, and four men furnished with sharp swords, one
stationed at each corner, now drew them from their scabbards. The trem-
bling, ghastly offering to the Moloch of Hindoism, then began her seven circuits
round the fatal pile, and finally halted opposite to her husband's corpse, at
the left side of it, where she was evidently greatly agitated. Five or six
Brahmuns began to talk to her with much vehemence, till, in a paroxysm
of desperation, assisted by the Brahmuns, the hapless widow ascended the
bed of destruction. Her mother and her sister stood by, weeping and
agonized; but all was in vain—the blood-thirsty men prevailed. The de-
voted woman then proceeded to disengage the rings from her fingers, wrists,
SUTTEES. 219
and ears; her murderers stretching out their greedy hands to receive them:
afterwards all her trinkets, &c., were distributed among the same relentless
and rapacious priests. While in the act of taking a ring from her ear, her
mother and sister, unable any longer to sustain the extremity of their anguish,
went up to the side of the pile, and entreated that the horrid purpose might
be abandoned; but the woman fearing the encounter, without uttering a
word, or even casting a parting glance at her supplicating parent and sister,
threw herself down on the pile, and clasped the half-putrid corpse in her
arms. Straw in abundance was heaped on the dead and the living; gums,
resin, and other inflammable substances were thrown upon the straw which
covered the bodies, while muntrams were repeated at their head; six or
eight pieces of kindled cow-dung cake were introduced among the straw, at
different parts of the pile; ghee and inflammable materials were applied,
and the whole blazed in as many places. The men with swords at each
corner then hacked the cords, which supported the canopy of faggots—it fell
and covered the lifeless corpse and the living woman! A piercing sound
caught my ear; I listened a few seconds, and, notwithstanding the noise of
the multitude, heard the shrieks of misery which issued from the burning
pile. In an agony of feeling, we directed the attention of the Brahmuns to
this; and, while so doing, again—still louder and more piercing than before
—the burning woman rent the air with her shrieks! Several of the Brah-
muns called out to the half-consumed, still conscious and imploring widow,
To comfort HER! The pile was now enveloped in flames, and so intense
was the heat, that, as by one consent, the Brahmuns and spectators retreated
several paces; they then sang a Sanscrit hymn; the hymn ended, but not
the shrieks and groans of the agonized sufferer; they still pierced our ears,
and almost rent our hearts! Scarcely conscious of what I did, I left this
scene of fiendish barbarity.”
The number of widows who have annually perished, the
victims of this appalling superstition, has in former years been
variously stated, and it appears (though doubtless undesigned-
ly) exaggerated.* The following information may be relied
on, being extracted from the official-reports of the Magistrates
in India, and printed in England by order of the House of
Commons, from 1821 to 1830. It is probable, that Suttees
have often been perpetrated, without being officially announc-
ed to the police; and no correct idea can be formed, of the
number that occur in the territories of tributary, allied, and
&ndependent Chiefs, whose subjects are not under the laws
and regulations of the British Government.
The following facts shew that several widows have sometimes
been burned with the body of their husband:—
“Goopeenaut, a Brahmun employed in the Serampore printing-office, in
* The first petition in Great Britain, against the practice of Suttee, was
from Bedford, in April 1823. In the petition it is stated,—“From official
returns it appears that the number immolated, in the Presidency of Calcutta
alone, in 1817 and 1818, amounted to upwards of 1500; assuming this
calculation to be a standard, whereby to judge of the extent of the practice
throughout the whole of Hindostan, the total number may be computed at
upwards of 20,000 in every year.”
220 *
SUTTEES.
1799, saw twenty-two females burnt alive with the remains of Ununtu, a
Brahmun of Bagnapore, near Nuddeya. This Kooleen Brahmun had more
than a hundred wives. At the first kindling of the fire only three of these
wives had arrived. The fire was kept burning three days ' On the first day
three were burnt, on the second and third days nineteen more. Some of
these women were as much as forty years old, and others as young as six-
teen. The first three had lived with the Brahmun, the others had seldom
seen him. He married in one house four sisters; two of these were burnt.”
“When Row Lacka, grandfather of the present chief of Cutch, died,
fifteen concubines burned at his funeral pile, but not one of his wives per-
formed the sacrifice.”t -
In the District of Cuttack, Orissa, in one of the instances of Suttee during
the year 1826, “no less than three widows of one man, the proprietor of a
tributary mehal, sacrificed themselves with his corpse; the fourth and senior
widow survives.”: -
Number of Suttees in the different Districts of the Bengal Presidency,
from 1815 to 1826. -

1815||1816, 1817|1818, 1819, 1820, 1821, 1822, 1823, 1824, 1825, 1826
*-*-
*-* | *-* | *-* | *-*- I ºw-ºmºsº | * * : *- : *-*
Calcutta Div. 244 280 || 428 533 || 388 337 || 364 300 || 309 || 348 || 368 || 279
Cuttack Ditto 9 || 9 || 14 || || 1 || 33 33 28, 28 ; 31 || 25 30 ! 45
Dacca. Titto 31 24 || 52 58 || 55 51 52 || 45 j 40 | 40 | 101 || 65
Moorshedabad) l l l 22 || 42 30 || 25 21 | 12 22 | 13 || 14 || 2 || || 8
Patna Ditto 20 29 || 49 57 40 || 42 69 || 70 || 49 || 42 47 || 65
Bareilly Ditto 15; 13 19 || 13 17; 20 15 16; 12 10 17 | 8
Benares Ditto 48 || 65|| 103 | 137| 92 | 93 iſ is 121 | 93 || 55 || 48
* mºm-sm r -º- ºw- *-*- || *-m-
Total... 378 442 || 707 || 839 650 598 658 583 || 575 572 639 || 518
. 7154
Total in the Presidency of Bengal in twelve years
In eight years in the Madras Presidency. 287
In nine years in the Bombay Presidency . . . . . . . . 248
There being no returns for Tanjore, from 1814 to 1819 inclusive
(17 being returned for 1820), lowest possible estimate for º 40
€al S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Iº. Par. Papers, May 1827, no regular returns are given for
Madras. In the Southern Concan Š (Bombay) in 1824, 27 { 60
in 1825, 32. Northern Concan in 1825, 1 Suttee . . . .
Total in twelve years, for the three Presidencies 7789||
As it may be interesting to see at one view the extent of
the practice under the Bengal Presidency, where it chiefly
prevailed; the following abstract is given from the Par-
liamentary Papers, March 1830 –
* Buch. Apol. for Christ. in India, pp. 14–16.
+ Ham. Hind, vol. i. p. 638. Par. Papers, 1830, vol. vii. pp. 139,168.
§ “In the period of four years, 1824 to 1827 inclusive, the total number of
Suttees in the returns is stated at 158,-114 of which number occurred in
the Southern Concan alone, being about twenty-eight annually for that
Province, and thirty-nine annually for the rest of the Bombay territories.”
—Asi. Jour., Nov. 1830, p. 143. See Par. Papers, March 1830, p. 269.
- || Par. Papers, 6 vols. Poynder's Speech, p. 4.
SUTTEES.
221
City Courts, of the Bengal Presidency, during the year 1826.
-- "ABSTRACT STATEMENT
of the number of Hindoo Women burnt or buried alive in the Zillah and
zillah and city courts.si: |zillah ANd city courts. s:
7 Burdwan . . . . . . . . . 45 ſ Behar. . . . . . . . . . . . 3
º Hooghly • * * * * * * * 98 || 3 Monghyr e - ſº e º 'º º tº º º
5 || Jessore . . . . . . . . . . 3 || 3 || City Patna. . . . . . . . 4
.# Jungle Mehauls....| 1 | | # Goruckpore . . . . . . 22
E Midnapore . . . . . . . . 14 || 5 + Ramghur . . . . . . . . 3
* { Nugwan..... • * * * * 1 || 3 | Sarum; . . . . . . . . . . . 10
# Nuddeah ........ 44 || 3 | Shahabad . . . . . . . . 22
3 | Suburbs of Calcutta 35 ||P. Tirhoot ........ tº e I
3 | Twenty-four Per- } 20 || UMonghyr . . . . . . . . tº gº
gunnahs . . . . . . ſ. *-*.
JBaraset . . . . . . . . . . 8 || Total 65
Total .. 279 || iſ Agrah . . . . . . . . . . 1
º *-** Allighur. . . . . . . . . . l
... 3 Bareilly . . . . . . . . . . . • .
& *::ii. C tº º e º e º º ; - Sajehanpore © tº º º E & tº gº
*: Bala tº tº ſº tº gº tº º º º Pelibheet . . . . . . . . Q &
§ | alāSOré . . . . . . . . tº ºr 5 Cawnpore & © e º e a tº e 2
R U - #Tº || 3 | Etawah . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
o Total . . . . . . 45 | ă Joint ditto . . . . . . . . 1
ſBuckergunge......! 45 - Furruckabad . . . . . . tº º,
g 3. ... . . . . . . . . ă Mooradabad . . . . . . e Q
..? | Noacally . . . . . . . . ... || 3 || Nuggeºna . . . . . . . . e Q
3 J Citty Dacca. . . . . . . 12 || 3 || Meeruth. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ridacea.jelalpore. . . . . . .35|| Boolundshehur . . . . . . .
§ ‘Mymmensing . . . . : Saharunpore . . . . . . 3
É Sylhet . . . . . . . . . . • tº Muzuffernugger. . . . . . .
UTipperah .........|_4_| º • - - - - - - - |.
º Total . . . . - 65 - dº --> * > & © e º sº e . . . e -
rt Trn m w Total . . . . S
Beerbhoom . . . . . . . .4 - dºº-ºº-ºº l
à | Bhaugulpore...... . . . . . . . Allahabad . . . . . . . . 3
.# Monghyr ........ ... || 5 Futtehpore. . . . . . . . 1
|E | Dinagepere ...... ..., || 3 | Bundlecund, S. Div. I
P Maldah .......... ... || 5 | Bundlecund, N. Div. 1
º City Moorshedabad 4. º < City Benares tº @ is tº º e I 5
-: ) Purneah. . . . . . . . . . || 8 Ghazeepore • . . . . . . . 19
"3 Rajeshahye . . . . . . tº e. # Juanpore . . . . . . . . ºn tº
# Bagoorah . . . . . . . . ... || 3 || Azimghur . . . . . . . . 5
g Rungpoor . . . . . . . • I wº UMirzapore . . . . . . . . 3
= | Rungpoor Com- } Total . . . . . 48
t IIllSSIOI! . . . . . . W. tº ºr
Total —F Grand Total . . . . 518
ABSTRACT STATEMENT -
Exhibiting the Age of the Hindoo Women who have burnt themselves on the Funeral Piles of their Husbands, in
the several Districts within the CALcuTTA Division, during the year 1826.”
20 and
. 90 and 80 and | 70 and 60 and 50 and | 40 and 30 and Unde
100. upwards.]upwards. º: upwards.]upwards.|upwards, upwards, upwards. 20. * TOTAL.
CALCUTTA Division. r 'r - - - -
Burdwan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... tº º e | | 11 3 10 6 6 7 1 45
Hooghly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... & is e 6 14 23 19 16 10 8 2 98
Jessore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... tº º, ø * c is e i o I 1 1 & ſº tº & C & Q & e 3
Jungle Mehauls . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... © º gº 3 I e e s 3 1 2 tº ſº to 1 | 11
Midnapore . . . . . . . . . . . . . g tº ſº e 2 5 2 tº ſº e 2 || 3 tº tº º tº º 14
Nugwan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . wº l 6 tº e tº dº tº © tº º tº tº g ſº ſº tº & © ſº tº gº tº ... 1
Nuddeah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . © ſº e tº º c 1 2 7 8 11 6 8 1 44
Suburbs of Calcutta . . . . . . . . tº $ tº & © tº 1 9 9 2 || 6 4 3 35
Twenty-four Pergunnahs . . . . ... tº 9 º' tº tº tº gº tº 4 2 7 3 4 ſº tº º 20
Baraset . . . . . . . . . . • * * * * * * e º 0 e s is tº º º 1 I 2 I 2 I tº 8
ToTAL . . . . 1 14 35 50 54 47 38 32 8 279
CUTTACK Commission. - - * , | .
Cuttack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... ... I 1 © & • * * ... . . . 4 4 tº º º 10
Khoordah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... tº dº tº • * > . 1 © & © 6 6 4 17 I 35
Balashore tº gº e º sº e º e dº s e e s e º e • e. 4 & 9 & Cº. tº º º tº ſº tº tº tº º • * * & O & tº $ tº tº º ſº tº 0 tº
ToTAL..... tº dº ſº I 2 © tº gº 6 6 8 21 I 45
* Par. Papers, vol. vii. 1830, pp. 208,209.
§
i

SUTTEES. 223
The cause of the former principal prevalence of this inhu-
human custom in Bengal, and especially in the vicinity of
Calcutta, is thus stated by H. Oakley, Esq., Magistrate of
Hooghly, in 1818:-“The Suttee is supposed by some to be
an act enjoined by the religion of the Hindoos; but, if so,
why does it prevail in one part more than another and why
in the immediate neighbourhood of the Presidency The
worship of the Hindoo deities is tolerably equal, wherever the
religion extends, and the pilgrimages by which they are to
be propitiated are the same throughout India; and, if Suttee
were really an act enjoined by religion, it would be universally
meritorious, and equally observed wherever that religion is
followed; but, as it is not, we must account for its prevalence
among the Hindoos in the neighbourhood of Calcutta, not by
their peculiar strictness in the observance of religious and
moral duties, but by some peculiar circumstances affecting
their moral character. It is notorious, that the natives of
Calcutta and its vicinity exceed all others in profligacy and
immorality of conduct. The idol of the drunkard and the thief
(Kalee) is scarcely to be met with in the distant provinces;
and none, but the most abandoned, will confess that he is a
follower of Kalee. In Calcutta we find few that are not.
Her worship must harden the hearts of her followers, to whom
scenes of blood and crime must become familiar. By such
men a Suttee is not regarded as a religious act, but a choice
entertainment; and we may conclude, that the vicious pro-
pensities of the Hindoos, in the vicinity of Calcutta, are a
cause of the comparative prevalence of the custom. But I
am utterly unable to assign a cause for this local depravity,
and for the prevalence of a worship despised and abhorred by
every Hindoo of respectable character.”*
Ram Mohun Roy, in a Pamphletentitled—“Brief Remarks
regarding modern encroachments on the ancient rites of Fe-
males, according to the Hindoo law of inheritance,” supposes
the prevalence of Suttee in Bengal to have arisen from the
existence of polygamy, and the dependent and unhappy cir-
cumstances in which widows are left.
“All the ancient lawgivers unanimously award to a mother, an equal
share with her son, in the property left by her deceased husband, in order
that she may spend her remaining days independently of her children.” But
modern expounders, “whose opinions are considered by the natives of Ben-
gal as standard authority in the division of property among heirs,” have
thus explained away this ancient law:—“A widow can receive nothing
when her husband has no issue by her; and in case he dies leaving only
&
* Par. Papers, vol. v. p. 237.
224 SUTTEES.
one son by his wife, or having had more sons, one of whom has happened
to die leaving issue, she shall in these cases have no claim to the property:
again, should any one leave more than one surviving son, and they, being
unwilling to allow a shareto the widow, keep the propertyundivided, themother
can claim nothing in this instance; but when a person dies leaving two or
more sons, and all of them survive, and are inclined to allot a share to their
mother, her right is in this case only valid. Under these expositions, and
with such limitation, both step-mothers and mothers have, in reality, been
left destitute in the division of their husbands' property; and the right of a
widow exists in theory only among the learned, but unknown to the populace.
“It is not from religious prejudices and early impressions only, that Hin-
doo widows burn themselves on the piles of their deceased husbands; but
also, from their witnessing the distress in which widows of the same rank in
life are involved, and the insults to which they are daily subjected, that they
become in a great measure regardless of existence after the death of their
husbands; and this indifference, accompanied with hope of future reward
held out to them, leads them to the horrible act of suicide. It cannot pass
unnoticed, by those who are acquainted with the state of society in India,
that the number of female suicides in the single province of Bengal, when
compared with those of any other British provinces, is almost ten to one; we
may safely attribute this disproportion, chiefly to the greater frequency of a
plurality of wives among the natives of Bengal, and to their total neglect in
providing for the maintenance of females.”—Referring to a practice of dis-
inheriting the daughters, throwing the expense of their marriage upon their
brothers, and the sordid principle from which many are given in marriage,
it is added—“The humane and liberal among Hindoos trust that the at-
tention of Government will be directed to those evils which are chief sources
of vice and misery, and even of suicide among women; and to this they are
encouraged to look forward, by what has already been done in modifying,
in criminal cases, some parts of the law enacted by Mahomedan legislators,
to the happy prevention of many cruel practices formerly established.”*
The subject of this cruel custom could seldom be considered
voluntary. This is very forcibly stated by W. Ewer, Esq.,
Sup. of Police, in the Bengal Presidency:—“It is generally
supposed that a Suttee takes place with the consent of the
widow, and that she frequently persists in her intention to
burn, in spite of the entreaties of her relations. But there are
many reasons for thinking that such an event, as a voluntary
Suttee very rarely occurs: few widows wouldthink of sacrificing
themselves unless overpowered by force or persuasion; very
little of either, being sufficient to overcome the physical or
mental powers of the majority of Hindoo females. A widow,
who would turn with instinctive horror from the first hint of
sharing her husband's pile, will be at length gradually brought
to pronounce a reluctant consent; distracted with grief at the
event, without one friend to advise or protect her, she is little
prepared to oppose the surrounding crowd of hungry Brah-
* Miss. Regis. 1823, p. 187—190. See Heber's Jour., vol. i. p. 37.
Oriental Herald, vol. x. pp. 251—258. º
SUTTEES. 225
muns and her interested relations, either by argument or
force. Accustomed to look on the former with the highest
veneration, and to attach implicit belief to all their assertions,
she dares not, if she were able to make herself heard, deny the
certainty of the various advantages which are supposed to at-
tend the sacrifice;—that by becoming a Suttee she will remain
so many years in heaven, rescue her husband from hell, and
purify the family of her father, mother, and husband; while,
on the other hand, that disgrace in this life, and continual
transmigration into the body of a female animal, will be the
certain consequence of refusal. In this state of confusion, a
few hours quickly pass, and the widow is burnt before she has
had time even to think on the subject.”
A letter from a lady who has resided in India, dated Salis-
bury, Dec. 1827, contains an affecting illustration of these
sentiments:—
“At a Ghaut near Serampore, I witnessed the burning of a respectable
woman about thirty years of age, whom I found with five children, the eldest
a fine boy about thirteen. As soon as she saw me, she asked, if I were
come to deliver her. I told her I had no power to deliver her, but was come
to persuade her not to burn. She shook her head and said, ‘I will burn ?
How can I go back P. However the servant is gone to the English Magistrate,f
at his return my fate will be decided.” Two hours elapsed before he returned,
the greater part of which I spent in conversation with her. She often turn-
ed to her children, and with affection placed her hand upon the face of her
youngest child, who could just lisp ma 1 mal. At length the servant return-
ed with permission for her to burn. As soon as she saw him, her counte-
nance changed, her eyes sunk into her head, the furrows deepened in her
face, and when she heard her fate, resolution failed, and nature took posses-
sion of her breast. When the eldest son saw that his mother was so timid,
he said, he would not set fire to her head. But her brother-in-law said, ‘Now
she must burn; for the boro Sahab has sent her permission to burn 12 He
then began to anoint her, and put a little oil into her hand to pour over her
children as her blessing. The eldest son refused the oil, and persisted that
he could not set fire to her. But neither the tears nor the screams of the boy,
nor the agonizing fear of the mother, prevented her being bound to the dead
body of her husband, and pressed down with two bamboos. If I had had any
authority, merely to have said, ‘you are not to burn, all this would have been
prevented. ... I am sure both the people and the Brahmuns would have dis-
persed without a murmuring word. Many call it a bad custom and are quite
tired of it.”
The following account of a Suttee is one of a most appalling
character:—
* Par. Papers, vol. i. p. 227. See vol. v. p. 17.
t “During my residence at Serampore, many widows applied for per-
mission to burn, but were not permitted. Those who did burn were obliged
to get permission of an English Magistrate, and go out of the bounds of
Serampore.”
Q
226 SUTTEES.
“Ome Seetloo, a Brahmun, died when absent from his family. A fort-
might afterwards his widow Hoomuleea, a girl about fourteen years of age,
proceeded, to burn herself, the pile being prepared by her nearest relations,
at the village in which she resided. Her father Puttun Terwarry was in
another part of the country, and does not appear to have been made ac-
quainted with what was passing. Whether the sacrifice was originally a
voluntary one has not been ascertained; it must be presumed it was so.
The preparatory rites being completed, Hoomuleea ascended the pile, which
was fired by her uncle the prisoner Sheolol. The agony was soon beyond
endurance, and she leaped from the flames; but seized by Sheolol Bhich-
hook, and others, she was taken up by the hands and the feet and again
thrown upon it, much burnt, and her clothes quite consumed; she again
sprang from the pile, and running to a well hard by laid herself down in
the watercourse, weeping bitterly. Sheolol now took a sheet offered for the
occasion by Roosa, and, spreading it on the ground, desired her to seat herself
upon it. No, she said, she would not do this; he would again chrry her
to the fire, and she would not submit to this; she would quit the family and
live by beggary; any thing, if they would have mercy upon her. Sheolol, upon
this, swore by the Ganges, that, if she would seat herself on the cloth, he
would convey her to her home. She did so ; they bound her up in it, sent
for a bamboo which was passed through the loops formed by tying it to-
gether, and carrying it thus to the pile, now fiercely burning, threw her into
the flames. The wretched victim once more made an effort to save herself,
when, at the instigation of the rest, the Moosulman Buraichee approached
near enough to reach her with his sword, and cutting her through the head
she fell back, and was released by death. The number of spectators before
whom this diabolical and most lamentable sacrifice was exhibited is variously
stated; about 200 persons were probably witnesses of it.” A trial ensued,
and the following was the sentence;—“Making allowances for the super-
stitious prejudices of the Hindoos concerned, and for the ignorance of the
Moosulman, the Court do not discern in any of them the guilt of murder;
and, viewing the case as culpable homicide, sentence the prisoner Buraichee
to be imprisoned with labour for five years; and the prisoners Sheolol,
Bhichhook, Hurrepal, and Ijrail, to be imprisoned without labour for two
years, from this date.”—Goruckpoore, May 1821. Such an account needs
no comment.*
The description of a Suttee, the motives which generally
lead to it, and the objects for which the victims were sacri-
ficed, abundantly prove that the Suttee has been miscalled a
voluntary self-immolation. This idea receives confirmation
from the fact, that in the annual list of Suttees, from the years
1815 to 1820 inclusive, it appears sixty-one widows were
burnt, most of whom were mere children in years.t

Years of age TTWTT6; TT6 TT5 TIATI3] Tº |
1 || 3
Number . . . . 14 | 1 || 22 || 6 || 2 || 2 || 10
A Bengalee Newspaper, named Kowmoody, published at
Calcutta, in Aug. 1825, contained the following account:-
“Ramchundea Mitto, an inhabitant of Boydbooty, who generally lived
at Calcutta, being attacked with the Cholera Morbus, was taken home by
* Par. Papers, vol. ii. p. 68. + Par. Papers. vol. v. p. 17.
SUTTEES. 227
his relations, and on the night of the 29th he died, aged twenty-five years.
His young and beautiful widow, only about fourteen or fifteen years of age,
thinking herself altogether worthless in the world on the death of her hus-
band; and anticipating the many distresses she would have to suffer if she
survived him, absolutely burnt herself on the funeral pile.”
This paper, in Oct. 1825, contained a similar relation:—
“We are astonished to hear that Muddon Mohun Chuckrobutty, about
fifteen years of age, inhabitant of the twenty-four Purgunnahs having lately
died, his widow, a little girl about twelve years of age 1 no longer willing to
inhabit this transitory world, obstimately burnt herself on the funeral pile.”
Of juvenile and aged Suttees, the Asiatic Journal for Sep.
1827, justly remarked:—“It is lamentable to find, that of the
twenty-four young creatures under twenty years of age, who
underwent this cruel rite in 1824, one was aged thirteen,
another eleven, and another only nine / Of aged Suttees
there are many examples in the Returns, (Par. Papers, vol. v.
1827,) several having burned who were eighty and upwards,
Some aged ninety, and one at the great age of ninety-five.
Surely these poor creatures ought to have been assumed to be
£rrational, and their anticipation of an event which must be
so near, prevented on that ground.” The indifference fre-
quently manifested, by the unhappy mothers, to their orphan
children, confirms the propriety of the rather singular reply
of a Magistrate to an official inquiry relative to the act of Sut-
tees being voluntary or not:—“The act, I apprehend, is
always voluntary, provided a being in a state of stupefaction
and delusion can be said to possess the power of volition.*
The aggregate of Suttees in India in twelve years, according
to the official documents, was 7789; allowing only two chil-
dren to each widow, this would give 15,578 orphans, “left to
the mercy of those who have decoyed their mothers to the
fathers' funeral pile.” The misery of a Hindoo orphan was
thus pathetically described by a writer in a Calcutta paper,
while the Author was in India:—
THE INFANT HINDOO MOURNER.f
“Upon a woody bank I roam’d at eve,
Close to the Ganges gliding stilly on:
And through a glade the sun's last beams I saw,
And o'er the golden tide their radiance stream'd.
- * Par. Papers, vol. v. p. 26.
t These lines were probably written on reading the following account:—
“As a party were proceeding up the river, in passing Isharah, near Serampore,
their attention was attracted by the cries of a child, and on drawing to the shore
they were redoubled. Near her was lying a heap of ashes, not quite extin-
guished, which appeared like the remains of a recent concremation. A number
Q 2
228
SUTTEES.
It was a sweetly pensive hour of calm;
The Myna chirp’d upon the Mango bough,
And gently coo’d the Ring-dove 'midst the leaves.
I heard a fretful cry of infant wail, -
Tremulous, floating on the breeze of eve,
And paused, to listen, when these words I caught:
“Mother! mother! Oh my dearest mother!”
I hurried onward to the sandy waste
That edg’d the water. On the ground there sat,
Near to a heap of ashes mould'ring drear,
Weary and desolate, a little child:
One tiny hand a drooping flower held fast,
Emblem most meet of that unhappy child;
The other wip'd away the scalding tears
That from her dim black orbs came trickling down,
As on that ashy heap she gaz'd intent, -
Repeating still her cry of infant wail,
“Mother! mother! Oh my dearest mother!”
“Stranger!” exclaim’d an aged peasant near,
“The story of that orphan soon is told.
Child of my child, her father paid the debt
Which awful nature claims, nor reck’d his babe,
Who deem’d him sleeping in a heavy sleep:-
“And wont you wake my father?” she would say,
“And wont you speak, nor take me on your knee f*
The Brahmun came—a garland in his hand—
And hung it round the victim mother's neck:
And then the living with the dead went forth.
The drear procession reach'd the fated ground
Where wood and fire as meet convenient lay:
The child her mother follow'd, laughing still,
Or skipp'd before her, sportive as a lamb;
Or grasp'd the hand whose soft caress was life.
At last the parent stoop’d and kiss'd the child,
And as she kiss'd her, down a truant tear
Trickl’d away, and from her quiv'ring lips,
The pangs she spoke not, breath’d upon her child !
A quick presentiment appear'd to cast
Its instant gloom upon the little one:
Unto her mother's bosom fast she clung,
And sobb’d and wept. The mother, soothing, plac’d
Yon flower, now faded, in her infant hand.
The frail pledge remains, but Oh the giver!
One last long kiss she gave, then tore away;
And then the pile she mounted by the side
Of him who press'd that bridal couch of death.
of children were standing near her, and at a little distance three or four
grown up people looking on very contentedly. An inquiry was made by a
humane individual whence the cause of her distress proceeded, and it was
some time before an answer could be obtained. At length it was ascertain-
ed, that, the ashes were those of the funeral pile, on which the mother of this
wnfortunate child had immolated herself with the body of her husband, and
the lamentations of the child were occasioned by this cause.” Bengal Hurkaru,
August, 1823. - - 3.
SUTTEES. 229
Her infant fain would follow; but we held
The little struggler, while her piercing cries
In vain reach'd her, who soon could hear no more;
* Come back, my mother! mother! mother! mother!’
The din of direful discord rose, and smoke
Ascended blackly through the sunny air.
The crowd dispers'd, but still the babe remains,
And has remain’d since that dread morning hour,
Weeping, and gazing for her mother there;
And nothing finds but loneliness and ashes.—
Mark the sad wildness of her young despair,
As on the ashy heap her gaze is fix’d,
With bitter tears and thick convulsive sobs;
And hark again! her cry of infant wail,
‘Mother mother! Oh my dearest mother!’”
CHAP. II.
The Suttee not an integral part of Hindoism, shewn in a
review of a Pamphlet written in Bengalee, in defence of
the burning of Hindoo widows.
The celebrated Ram Mohun Roy, in 1818, addressed to his
countrymen a Pamphlet on the subject of the Suttee, to which
an answer was drawn up by some of the pundits in Calcutta,
written in the form of a dialogue between an advocate for the
system of burning widows, under the term “Bidhaok,” and
an opponent, termed “Nishedhok.” In the work every au-
thority supposed to countenance the inhuman custom, and
every scrap of Sanscrit found on its side among Hindoo
writers, is given in the original text, and translated into Ben-
galee. It is valuable from its containing every thing found in
the Hindoo shastras in favour of this practice. It was evidently
intended for the perusal of Europeans, as an English translation
is prefixed. In our extracts” from this pamphlet we prefer
Quoting its own language for the sake of doing it every degree
of justice. The work commences by the advocate urging the
claims of his cause in the following sweeping declaration:—
“It is ordained by Srutee, Smrtee, Pooranas, and other
sacred books, that the women, on the death of their husbands,
should die in Shuhu-murun, that is to burn themselves alive
with the corpse of their respective husbands; and that, in
* This review is taken from the Friend of India, vol. ii. pp. 453–483,
230 suTTEEs.
want of the corpse, they should die in Unoo-murun, that is to
burn with something belonging to their husbands: which
usages the great sages during all the four ages of the world,
Suttwa, Treta, Dwapur, and Kalee, have regularly maintained
in their codes. It is very improper that you throw obstacles
to prevent such a matter.” To this the opponent replies:
“You say this is improper for want of knowledge of the
shastras or law, but, when you know the shastra, you will no
more say so.” . x-
This forms the signal for the advocate to pour forth on the
opponent every scrap of Sanscrit, in support of the practice,
which he had been able to collect. The chief of these au-
thorities is that of Ungeera, who, however, does little more
than recommend the practice. We give his opinion in the
advocate’s translation:—“The woman that mounts the funeral
pile of her deceased husband equals herself to Uroomdhootee
the wife of Wushishtha, and enjoys bliss in heaven with her
own husband. She that accompanies her husband to the
other world dwells in heaven for three and a half cootee years
(thirty-five millions),” which is equal to the number of hairs
on a human body; and with her own power taking her hus-
band up, in the same manner as a snake-catcher would have
taken a snake out of its hole, remains with him in diver-
sion. She that goes with her husband to the other world
purifies three generations, that is, the generations of her
mother's side, father's side, and husband's side; and so she,
being reckoned the purest and best in fame among women,
becomes too dear to her husband, and continues to divert her-
self with him for a period equal to the reign of fourteen
Indras; and, although the husband be guilty of slaying a
Brahmun or friend, or be ungrateful of the past deeds, yet the
said woman is capable of purifying him from all these sins.
Hence,” says the advocate, “Ungeera affirms, that after the
demise of a husband, there can be no other duty for a chaste
wife than to destroy herself in the fire.”
Purasura is then quoted as confirming part of this recom-
mendation:—“The woman that goes with her husband to the
* “He who offers a single ripe plantain to Seeb, shall, with his relations,
be exalted to heaven for thirty millions of years.” (Asi. Obs. Ap. 1824.)
“If,” says Ram Mohun Roy, “in defiance of all the shastras, you maintain
that such promises of reward are to be understood literally and not merely
as incitements, still there can be no occasion for so harsh a sacrifice as
burning people to death in order to save the lives of progenitors; for, by
making an offering of one ripe plantain to Seeb, or a single flower of kuru-
beer either to Seeb or Vishnoo, thirty millions of lives of progenitors may be
saved P’ AUTH.
SUTTEES. 231
other world, dwells in heaven for three and a half cootee
years, which is equal to the number of hairs on a human
body.” Hareeta is introduced as enjoining it by consequence
in the following observation :-‘‘After the death of a husband,
until his wife does burn herself in the fire, she cannot get rid
of her feminine body.” The Muhabharut is then adduced as
declaring that a woman burning herself on her husband's
funeral pile, atones for her having been a scold or even un-
faithful through life, and secures her accompanying him in the
other world; maugre all unwillingness on his part: and this,
although she burn herself from “amours, wrath, fear, or af.
fection.” The highest countenance given to the practice
therefore, by their own writers, (and these appear but four,
{Jngeera, Purasura, Hareeta, and Vyas,) amounts only to a
recommendation of it from certain advantages the widow is
deluded with the hope of obtaining; that is, enjoyment of
happiness with her husband—by no means to eternity, but
for as many years as there are hairs on the human body; after
which, she must descend to the earth again, and undergo all
that vicissitude of birth which, in the opinion of the Hindoos,
constitutes future punishment.
The advocate for the burning of widows goes on to notice
another authority, that of Vishnoo-Risee, who, however, leaves
burning perfectly optional, in the following language:—“After
the demise of a husband, his wife shall either devote herself
to brumhachurya (a life of austerity), or mount the funeral
pile of her husband.” To remove the force of this option, the
advocate adds, that the choice of a life of austerity would in-
volve in it eight faults or crimes, (but which he has not men-
tioned that the reader might judge of their nature,) and that
even this option is therefore to be rejected. He then goes on
to state the authority for Unoo-murun, or a woman burning
herself after her husband's death with something belonging to
him. For this he adduces the authority of only a solitary
writer, the authority of the Mutsya-Pooran :-"In case of
the demise of a husband in a distant country, the chaste wife
should purify her person by bathing, and then, taking her
husband's shoes or another thing, enter into a burning pile to
be prepared on purpose.” This he justifies by saying, that
the Rig-veda declares such women are not to be guilty of
self-murder; which plainly indicates, if this be self-murder,
in the opinion of the Hindoos, it would be condemned. Such
is the whole of the countenance this advocate has been able
to adduce from the Hindoo writers themselves; and this, one
quotation from Oosuna condemns in the gross, it is the voice
232 , SUTTEES.
of nature involuntarily speaking:—“Let not Brahmunees, or
wives of Brahmuns, suffer death by entering into a separate
pile; but, for the rest of the women, this law is most preſer-
able.” If it be meritorious to ascend the separate funeral pile,
why deny this privilege to the daughters of Brahmuns Na-
ture spoke in the breast of this writer. He was a Brahmun,
and he shuddered at the idea of the immolation of his daugh-
ter, for the sake of a husband, who might perhaps have treated
her with neglect and cruelty. The Brahmuns of the present
day have consigned them to the flames precisely as they do
others; a proof, that a regard for the authority of their own
shastras has little to do in this practice.
To these quotations from Ungeera, Hareeta, and Purasura,
the advocates for this practice are well aware, are opposed
authorities of far greater weight, and such as completely
nullify them and forbid this inhuman custom. The opponent
is now made to quote these, that the advocate for the burning
system may obtain an opportunity of invalidating them. He
first adduces the famous Legislator Menu, whose authority is
paramount to that of every succeeding writer, as prescribing
an opposite course for widows:—“Listen to the law which
Menu has prescribed for the husbandless woman. “After the
death of husbands their wives shall make themselves lean, by
living upon sweet flowers, roots, and fruits; never mind the
name of a man, and, until the time of their death, with resigna-
tion and restriction continue to observe the laws prescribed
for Ekputnees (those who have married but one husband);
that is, they should, with the desire of obtaining the state of
chaste women, devote themselves to the law prescribed for
brumhachurya. As thousands of young Brahmuns, who,
before arriving at full age, devoted themselves to brumha-
churya and begat no children, have gone to Surga or heaven;
the chaste women in like manner, who, after their husbands'
death, devote themselves to the law of brumhachurya, may
obtain bliss in heaven, though issueless.’ Hence, says the
opponent, Menu has ordained that women, after their hus-
bands' death, should spend the remaining part of their lives
in brumhachurya. This decision of Menu the opponent con-
firms, by adducing the following corroborative declaration
from one of the Vedas: “Know that whatever Menu pro-
nounces is medicine for the soul;’ and another from Vrihats-
putee, “A Sreeti inconsistent with that of Menu is not praise-
worthy.’” t
To remove this decision of Menu, which forbids the prac-
tice, is the grand object of this work, and for the sake of this
SUTTEES. 233
alone it is quoted. This, the advocate, knowing that no
commentator can erect himself into a lawgiver, and abolish
the law itself, first attempts by affirming, that it is only the
Smritee inconsistent with Menu which is unworthy of regard;
but, as a woman can live a life of abstinence and chastity
after burning herself, these two of course are not inconsistent
Feeling ashamed of this argument, he quits it, and, adducing
the following sentence from Juyminee, “where there arises
an inconsistency among laws, that maintained by many is
preferable,” attempts to infer, that the recommendation of
Ungeera, Purasura, and Hareeta, ought to outweigh the law
itself, enacted by Menu. Deserting this argument as unten-
able, he quotes a passage from the Rig-veda, recommending
the practice of burning, and affirms that the law of Menu on
the subject means nothing more than that a woman who may
by any accident be prevented from burning herself with her
husband, or afterwards with one of his shoes, ought to devote
herself to a life of austerity. The author, while he professes
to set the authority of the Rig-Veda against that of the great
Hindoo legislator, is however well aware, that the Vedas
contradict each other on this very point. That he may, in
some way or other, obviate this discrepancy, so fatal to his
argument, he now introduces the opponent as quoting a well
known passage from the Veda which forbids the burning of
widows in the following words:—“As by means of living
still, the duties usual and occasional can be performed to
purify the mind, and as by hearing of, fixing our mind and
devoting our soul to Brumhu or the Supreme Spirit, we can
attain it, (absorption in Brumhu,) no woman should therefore
spend her life, that is, suffer death, in hopes of attaining
Surga, or bliss in heaven.”
This is the doctrine which it is the object of the writer of
this pamphlet to overthrow. After the opponent has stated
it, the advocate urges, first, that to infer from the authority of
Menu and the Veda, that a woman, instead of burning herself,
ought to embrace a life of abstinence and chastity, would
strip the writings of those who recommend her burning her-
self of all authority an overwhelming argument truly. He
then adduces a sentence from Menu, to shew that when one
Smriti appears to have one meaning, and another a different
one, both are to be held as law / The plain inference from
this would be, that a widow ought to immolate herself on her
husband's funeral pile, and to embrace a life of austerity too !
To confirm this exposition the advocate quotes the following
contradictory sentence by way of illustration: “In the Otirata,
234 SUTTEES.
or the oblations of clarified butter, offered to the consecrated
fire, the Shorassee is to be taken; and in the Otiratra the
Shorassee is not to be taken.” The just meaning of which
contrary Sutras, says he, is, that if in this sacrifice the Sho-
rassee be taken or received, the sacrifice is superlatively
meritorious; but, if it be not, the deed is still complete.
From this illustration the writer infers, that if a widow wishes
to attain connubial bliss in heaven, she may burn herself;
but if she wishes final beatitude, she may embrace a life of
self-denial; and then adds triumphantly, “See therefore, that
a woman’s burning herself for the sake of connubial bliss in
heaven has no way been forbidden.” Thus, even by these
authorities, if a widow desires final beatitude she is not com-
manded to burn herself; and according to them, all is merely
matter of option. But a further examination of the subject
will shew that this recommendation, while viewed by them-
selves as dagrading in the highest degree, is subversive of the
whole system of Hindoism.
The Hindoos, throughout India, believe the human soul to
form an integral part of Brumhu, or the Deity, and hence
esteem the summit of future bliss to consist in final beatitude,
or absorption into Brumhu. To the attainment of this all
their endeavours are directed; for the sake of it the most tre-
mendous austerities are performed; and nothing beyond this
is supposed to be within the wish of man. There are, ac-
cording to their ideas, many heavens to be obtained by meri-
torious deeds. None of these, however, is considered lasting;
but the duration of every state of bliss, is, according to them,
proportioned to the merit of the deed of which it is esteemed
the reward. Their state of misery is esteemed no more last-
ing than that of happiness; but every kind of suffering is sup-
posed to be proportioned in duration to the demerits of the suf-
ferers; after which, they also are said to be born again on the
earth, and undergo all the vicissitudes of transmigration, till
they become sufficiently pure to obtain absorption. Hence
a woman who may burn herself for the sake of living with her
husband in heaven, for a certain period, on its expiration
descends to the earth, and, according to the Hindoos, may be
found in hell in the course of years. .
The opponentis represented as approving this decision; but,
for the sake of its being answered, he is made to urge another
objection in the following words:—“As in various shastras
contempt has been poured on actions done from cupidity, a
woman's burning herself from such motives is by no means
proper.” He then quotes the Kuthopunishut as declaring,
SUTTEES. 235 .
that while the pursuit of the system of sacred wisdom is consi-
dered safe, he who pursues the other system, which includes
a widow’s burning herself, degrades his own nature. This he
further corroborates by a long quotation from the Bhaguvut
Geet, which charges such as follow the system with acting
only from cupidity and ambition. The whole of this system,
therefore, is, by their best writers, regarded as having nothing
in it of the nature of virtue; but as being, in reality, the
indulgence of cupidity, ambition, and malice. Among these,
the opponent properly classes a widow’s burning herself with
her husband's corpse, with the view of enjoying connubial
bliss in heaven; and intimates that, if actions of this kind are
not evil, they are at least unnecessary. This fires the advo-
cate, who, to overwhelm his adversary at once, exclaims,
“Listen then to Srutee. ‘A man wishing heaven for himself,
shall perform Ushwameda-jauga’ (the sacrifice of a horse);
and again, “a man wishing heaven for himself, shall perform
Jotisuma-jauga.” These, and other Srutees, are they to lose
their spirits 2 (that is, to have no effect). Say what is your
answer P’’ The opponent acknowledges that the Srutees
which commend selfish actions are not useless, but intended
for those who, previously filled with “amours, wrath, and
covetousness,” are not inclined to enter disinterestedly into
the service of the Supreme God; and that, without these
Srutees enjoining them thus to sacrifice from cupidity or
malice, they would be like an elephant without his guide.
To prevent this, says he, certain jaugas were ordained to be
performed by them; as senajauga, by one wishing the
death of his enemy; pootrosti-jauga, by one longing for a
son; and jotistuma-jauga, by one wishing bliss in hea-
ven. This concession is made with a view of enabling the
opponent to bring forward the last objection he has left, that
the advocate may demolish it like a man of straw. This is
couched in the following words:—“If you maintain that
disinterested actions are better than those self-interested, why
do you then, instead of permitting husbandless women to
adopt the law of brumhachurya, which gives final beatitude,
endeavour to preserve the system of self-interested actions of
Shuhu-murun and Onoo-murun, which produce bliss in
heaven?”
This argument, which the advocate was aware must appear
on the face of the subject, and weigh in favour of a life of
abstinence and chastity, in preference to burning, he attempts
to obviate by urging that a woman, in embracing a life of
chastity, would still do it with a view to final beatitude, and,
236 SUTTEES.
therefore, from self-interested motives; hence, as burning
herself would also rescue her husband from the pit he might
be driven into for slaying a Brahmun, or friend, or being
ungrateful, together with the three generations before men-
tioned, and enable the woman to “get herself rid of her
feminine sex,” he esteems it far more desirable that she should
burn.
To this conclusive argument the opponent replies:–“ Now
your sayings are consonant with the shastras.” Still, how-
ever, he suggests the probability of women's attaining the
state of final beatitude, were they, after the death of their
husbands, “to be disciplined in sacred wisdom, which, by
burning themselves, they can never attain.” To this the ad-
vocate has an unanswerable argument ready, that all instruc-
tion would be totally vain; for, says he, “it would be attended
with no other success than to condemn them for both the one
and the other;” in other words, either they would not live the
life of chastity recommended, or they would be too dull to do it
from proper motives. He concludes the argument with say-
ing, “It is therefore very improper, that the women who have
never been conscious of so much as the meaning of the word
wisdom, should be desired to follow the system of sacred
knowledge.”
These are the grounds, on which those who oppose the
abolition of the practice desire to preserve this privilege of
burning alive their mothers, their sisters, and their daugh-
ters. It is not because it is sanctioned by the Hindoo law;
for their greatest legislator positively forbids it by enjoining
on widows a contrary conduct. But this unparalleled course
of murder has been practised wholly as a PREVENTIVE!
As a preventive of what? the effects of their dulness! their
inability to comprehend “the instructions of sacred wisdom "
What would be these effects * That they would live a life of
abstinence and chastity from improper motives, from a desire
after final beatitude 1 and thus, losing final beatitude, only
obtain heaven. This honest declaration, that their chief
motive for supporting this system of burning, is furnished by
women's stupidity, brings to light a part of the creed of these
advocates for matricide, which few ever suspected to belong
to Hindoism. The whole of the sex are hereby doomed to
£nterminable misery, since they are declared to be such, that
it would be improper for them, even to be desired to follow
that system of sacred knowledge universally esteemed by the
Hindoo writers, the only path to final beatitude
The advocate evidently states, that, as they would not live
SUTTEES. 237
a life of chastity, their burning themselves is the only pre-
ventive of their condemnation. And have the Hindoos this
shocking idea of their female relations Will nothing preserve
them in widowhood from a life of lewdness but being burnt
alive 2 Then a Suttee at once loses its name and its nature.
It is no longer the effect of chaste affection; it is the highest
dishonour to every family in which it may happen. But is
it right that this preventive measure should be adopted with
any one, much less with such near relatives If it be, ought
it to be confined to one sea. ? If this preventive course be
allowable, it ought not to be confined to the most virtuous,
merely because they are the most defenceless; it ought to be
extended to the advocates of the measure themselves. The
same preventive might, with equal benevolence, be exercised
on them, or, at least, on such as seem most likely to perpetrate
vice; and, if they are less fond of the burning system than
the poor widow, they might be permitted to choose any other
mode of dying, and thus the country would, in due time, be
purified in the most effectual manner.
The author having thus far silenced the opponent, attempts
to justify binding the poor widow to the corpse of her deceased
husband, heaping wood upon her, and pressing her down with
bamboos. For this purpose he makes the opponent, after
acknowledging that the advocate for the system had given
the “just sense of various shastras,” observe, that instead of
causing the women to mount the burning pile, they make
them first mount the pile, and them, having tied the widows
to the corpse of their husbands, heap over them wood and
large bamboos, and burn them to death. “We proclaim that
you must not slay women in such a manner.” The advocate
does not reply by denying the truth of this shocking fact, or
by urging that it is too strongly stated; but he defends it by
saying, “In whatever country the practice is to mount the
full burning pile, there it is indisputable; but that in those
countries where this is not the practice, this following of local
custom is not inconsistent with the shastras, quoting several
authors to shew that the usages of a country ought to be
observed.” The opponent is then made to reply: “By this
rule, those who, residing in forests and mountains, make it
their profession to kill living creatures, are to be held blame-
less.” “By no means,” says the advocate, “for the actions
of these rude foresters are not approved by men of fidelity,
and the laws on the head of Shuhu murun have been regu-
larly maintained by the holy sages, philosophers, and the
learned.” The plain meaning is, that the learned introduced
238 SUTTEES.
into Bengal this custom of binding women to the corpse of
the deceased husband, heaping wood on them, and pressing
them down with large bamboos, from a regard to the custom
of th country, when no such custom existed till created by
them -
The manner in which the advocate justifies the violation of
the woman’s promise to mount the burning pile, is more
singular. The woman, before she burns, pronounces what is
termed the sunkulpa, which is couched in the following terms,
—“I will mount the BURNING pile.” Adverting to this, the
opponent says, “How can the sunkulpa be completed, because
it is pronounced with a promise to mount a burning pile *
instead of which they mount it before it touches fire.” This
difficulty the advocate removes in a moment.—“Whatever
you say regarding the incompletion of the sunkulpa arises
from your imattention; for, should a little part of a village or
a cloth be consumed by fire, it is then said, even by learned
men, that the village or cloth was burnt. In the same manner
a little burning pile is also called a burning pile, and in that
case the sunkulpa was not incomplete.” As much as to say,
if a single twig be set on fire, this constitutes a burning pile !
The next reply, for its levity and falsehood, is, if possible,
more disgusting. The opponent is made to answer; “I
approve of your saying this; but from what instances do the
people attending funeral ceremonies tie up the women that
are about to mount the burning pile and why are they not
guilty of the sin of slaying women º’ To this the advocate
replies: “In the aforesaid text of Hareeta it was expressed,
that until the women themselves cause their bodies to be
consumed in the fire, they cannot finally get rid of their sex.
In which case, should any part of their bodies, while burning
asunder in the piles, be slipped out thereof, it cannot be wholly
consumed.” It is difficult to say, whether the indelicacy,
levity, or falsehood of this reply be most to be detested. For
men thus to sport with decency, humanity, and truth, in
defence of MURDER, is of itself sufficient to condemn for ever
the INHUMAN CUSTOM. The opponent having expressed
his approbation of this reason for binding women, has only
one scruple left, which is, whether those who assistin burning
the widow are not guilty of sin. To this the advocate replies,
that it rather exalts them to glory, than renders them guilty
of sin, which he confirms by reciting the following example
from the Mutsya-pooran.—“There was a prostitute, named
Leelavutee, who, having resolved to make an offering of an
artificial salt-hill, a goldsmith undertook the work, and per-
SUTTEES. 239
ceiving it to be a divine action he took nothing from the girl
for his hire, but constructed for her a salt-hill with so much
elegance that afterwards, in reward thereof, the said poor and
theological goldsmith, together with his wife, was endowed
with immense riches, and became himself the monarch of the
seven-dweep universe, with a shining form equal to the rays of
ten thousand suns.” Hence he gives the opponent to under-
stand, that whoever assists in burning a widow is likely to
reap glory, as well as this theological goldsmith for assisting
the prostitute in her devout offering. Thus do the supporters of
this system, by the most idle fables, as well as the most indecent
earamples, trifle with the real murder of their female relatives.
We subjoin a few extracts from a document, drawn up in
Sanscrit by Mrityoonjuy-Vidyalunkur (the chief pundit suc-
cessively in the college of Fort William, and in the Supreme
Court), at the request of the chief Judge in the Sudder
Dewanee Adawlut, who wished him to ascertain, from a
comparison of all the works extant on the subject, the precise
point of law relative to burning widows, according to those
who recommend the practice. This document, as the com-
piler of it, from his own extensive learning and the assistance
of his friends, had an opportunity of consulting more works
on the subject than almost any pundit in this Presidency,
may be regarded as possessing the highest legal authority
according to the Hindoos. After having consulted nearly
thirty works on the subject, current in Bengal and the
northern, western, and southern parts of Hindostan, among
which are all those quoted for the practice by the author of
this pamphlet, he says:—“Having examined all these works,
and weighed their meaning, I thus reply to the questions I
have been desired to answer.—The Juttee Mullah Bilas
shastra directs the following formula to be addressed to the
bride, by the priest, at the time of marriage: ‘be thou perpe-
tually the companion of thy husband, in life and in death.”
Hareeta, a later writer, says that it is the inheritance of every
woman belonging to the four casts, not being pregnant, or
not having a little child, to burn herself with her husband.”
The compiler afterwards quotes Vishnoo moonee, as speaking
thus, “let the wife either embrace a life of abstinence and
chastity, or mount the burning pile; but he forbids the latter
to the unchaste.” He then enumerates particularly the va-
rious rules laid down by him and others who have followed
him on the same side of the question, relative to the time and
circumstances in which a woman is permitted to burn herself,
and in what cases she is even by them absolutely forbidden.
240 SUTTEES.
These extracts shew that binding the woman, and the other
acts of additional cruelty which the author of this pamphlet
justifies, are totally forbidden. The Soodheekoumoodee, as
quoted by the compiler, says, “Let the mother enter the
fire after the son has kindled it around his father's corpse;
but to the father's corpse and the mother let him not set fire;
£f the son set fire to the living mother, he has on him the
guilt of murdering both a woman and a mother.” Thus the
possibility of a woman being bound to her husband's corpse
is taken away: the son is not to be, in the least degree, acces-
sary to the mother's death ; if she burn herself at all, it must
be by throwing herself into the flames already kindled. And
the Nirmuya-sindoo forbids the use of any bandage, bamboos,
or wood, by way of confining the woman on the funeral pile;
nor before she enters it must the least persuasion be used, nor
must she be placed on the fire by others.
Mrityoonjuy shews, from various authors, that though
burning is termed optional, it is not to be recommended. To
this effect he quotes the Vijuyuntee:—“While brumhachurya
and burning are perfectly optional, burning may arise from
concupiscence, but brumhachurya cannot; hence they are not
equally worthy, how then can they be equally optional? By
brumhachurya the widow obtains bliss, though she have no
son.” He then quotes several authors, as declaring that wo-
men ought not to burn, because it is merely a work of concu-
piscence; the Julwa mala-vilas and others, as declaring that
the practice is merely the effect of cupidity, and not the fruit
of a virtuous and constant mind; and the Mitakshura, as de-
claring that by embracing a life of abstinence the widow, by
means of divine wisdom, may obtain beatitude; and hence, a
woman’s burning herself is improper; adding, that, in former
ages nothing was heard of women's burning themselves: it is
found only in this corrupt age.
The following is the conclusion drawn by this able pundit
and jurist:—
“After perusing many works on this subject, the following are my de-
liberate ideas. Vishnoo-moonee and various others say, that, the husband
being dead, the wife may either embrace a life of abstinence and chastity,
or mount the burning pile; but, on viewing the whole, I esteem a life of
abstinence and chastity to accord best with the law; the preference appears
evidently to be on that side. Vyas, Sungkoo, Ungeera, and Hareeta, speak-
ing of a widow burning, say, that by burning herself with her husband she
may obtain connubial bliss in heaven; while, by a life of abstinence and
chastity, she, attaining sacred wisdom, may certainly obtain final beatitude.
Hence to destroy herself, for the sake of a little evanescent bliss, cannot be
her duty; burning is for none but those who, despising final beatitude,
desire nothing beyond a little short-lived pleasure. I regard a woman's
SluTTEES. 241
burning herself as an unworthy act, and a life of abstinence and chastity as
highly excellent. In the shastras appear many prohibitions of a woman's
dying with her husband, but against a life of abstinence and chastity there is
no prohibition. Against her burning herself the following authorities are
found:—In the Meemangshadurshun it is declared that every kind of self-
inflicted injury is sin. The Sankhya says, that a useless death is absolutely
sinful. The killing for sacrifice commanded by the shastras has a reason-
able cause, and is yet sinful in a certain degree, because it destroys life.
And while, by the Meemangsha, either of the two may be chosen; by the
Sunkhya, a life of abstinence and chastity is alone esteemed lawful. But,
by the Vedanta, all works springing from concupiscence are to be abhorred
and forsaken; hence a woman’s burning herself from the desire of connubial
bliss ought certainly to be rejected with abhorrence. r
“No blame whatever is attached to those who prevent a woman burning.
In the shastras it is said that Kundurpa being consumed to ashes by the eye
of Shiva, his wife, Rutee, determined to burn herself; and commanded her
husband's friend, Mudhoo, to prepare the funeral pile. Upon this the gods
forbade her; on which account she desisted, but by Kalee-das no blame is
attached to them for this conduct. Thus also in the Shree-Bhagubut; a
woman, named Kripee, had a son, a mighty hero, from love to whom she
forbore to burn herself with her husband; yet she was deemed guilty of no
sin therein. Now also we hear of sons and other relatives attempting to
dissuade a woman from burning; yet they are esteemed guilty of no crime.
It is also evident that a woman, in thus burning herself, dies merely from
her own self-will, and from no regard to any shastra; such the command of
a thousand shastras would not induce to die. They merely reason thus: “By
the death of my husband I have sustained an irreparable loss; it is better
for me to die than to live.” Hence a woman determines to die; and her
relatives, seeing this mind in her, provide the funeral pile, and say, “if you
are determined to die, to die by falling from a precipice would be tedious,
die in this manner:” thus a father who has a son determined to go to a dis-
tant country, finding all dissuasion vain, at length sends a guide with him
who knows all the rivers and dangerous places. The various shastras there-
fore describe this action as being merely that of one who, having received an
incurable wound, is determined to die, whether by falling from a precipice, by
fire, or by water.”
After this full investigation, by one so able and possessing
such opportunities, the subject, as far as relates to the law of
the Hindoos, or to the countenance it receives from the Hindoo
system, may well be supposed to be fully before the public.
While this practice is allowed to have been recommended by
certain writers, it is evident that it was never considered as a
law, or a religious injunction essential to the duty of a good
Hindoo. If it be a law, the greater part of India must have
lived in a state of direct disobedience to the laws of their own
religion; for, as the recommendation is directed to widows of
every cast, it must have been imperative on all, at least as
matter of conscience. Yet, if the number of widows burnt in
Bengal annually exceeds not five hundred, it cannot have been
obeyed even in Bengal, by at least ninety-nine out of a hun-
dred of the population, and in the western part of Hindostan
R
242 SUTTEES.
by a still greater proportion;” while, in the southern part of
the British dominions, it is scarcely regarded at all. But
many have condemned the very principle on which it has been
recommended. Those who contend for the burning of widows
hold that certain deeds, though done from the most unworthy
motives, are in themselves so available, as to merit a certain
degree of recompense. All these deeds the more learned treat
with the greatest contempt, declaring them to be nothing
more than vice in another shape. Thus, those who form the
great support of the Hindoo system, totally condemn the very
PRINCIPLE on which the practice is recommended, while
they insist that the law commands a widow to live a life of
abstinence and chastity. That these compose the greater
part of the Hindoos, may be inferred from the proportion of
widows burnt alive when compared with the whole population
of Hindostan. Such is the state of things relative to this
practice, even when described by its most strenuous advocates.
As a command it has not the least foundation in the Hindoo
system. As a recommendation it has not been supported by
one-fifth of the Hindoo writers on ethics or jurisprudence, nor
practically regarded by a thousandth part of those who pro-
fess Hindoism. It is in direct opposition to the command
of the great Hindoo lawgiver, grounded on principles com-
pletely subversive of the Hindoo system, and opposed to that
course which the Hindoos believe to be the only path to final
happiness.
CHAP. III.
The tendency of partial interference to promote the increase,
celebrity, and legality of the Suttee—authorities to shew
the propriety, safety, and facility of the abolition of the
practice.
The sentiment of the Poet, “"Tis but lame kindness that
does its work by halves,” applies with peculiar force to the
Regulations adopted in British India, relative to the Suttee.
* “Supposing the entire Hindoo population of the Bengal Presidency to
be 50,000,000, and the annual deaths to be 1 in 33, or above 1,500,000; a
sixth of this number, or 250,000, might, on a general computation, be as-
sumed as the number of Hindoo females becoming widows, of whom little
more than 600 devote themselves on the death of their husbands.” (Par.
Papers, July 1825, p. 11.) Auth, -
SUTTEES. 243
This appears from the sentiments of the great majority of the
Indian Magistrates, as expressed in the eight volumes of
Parliamentary Papers, on the burning of Hindoo Widows,
printed July 1821, June 1823, June 1824, July 1825, May
1827, July 1828, March 1830, and June 1830. A few extracts
from these volumes may be interesting, to develope the na-
ture and tendency of the partial system of prevention and
mitigation, deter from the re-adoption of measures too in-
efficient, and lead to the entire suppression of this horrid
custom, wherever British influence can extend. The nature
of the system, formerly adopted by the British Government in
India, for the regulation of the rite of Suttee, appears from the
following Draft of Directions to be issued by the Magistrates
to the Police Darogahs:–
“Whereas, during the ceremony denominated “Suttee,” certain acts have
been occasionally committed in direct opposition to the rules laid down in the
religiousinstitutes of the Hindoos, by which that practice is authorized,and for-
bidden in particular cases; as, for instance, at several places pregnant women,
and girls not yet arrived at their full age, have been burnt alive; and people,
after having intoxicated women by administering intoxicating substances,
have burnt them without their assent whilst insensible; and, inasmuch as
this conduct is contrary to the shastras, and perfectly inconsistent with every
principle of humanity (it appearing, from the expositions of the Hindoo
law delivered by pundits, that the burning a woman pregnant, or one having
a child of tender years, or a girl not yet arrived at full age, is expressly for-
bidden in the shastras; and also that intoxicating a woman, for the purpose
of burning her without her assent, or against her will, is highly illegal, and
contrary to established usage), the police darogahs are hereby accordingly,
under the sanction of Government, strictly enjoined to use the utmost care,
and make every effort to prevent the forbidden practices above mentioned
from taking place within the limits of their thannahs. And they are further
required, on all occasions, immediately on receiving intelligence that this
ceremony is likely to occur, either themselves to proceed to the spot, or send
their mohurrir, or jemadar, accompanied by a burkundaz of the Hindoo
religion, to learn of the woman who is to be burnt, whether she has given
her assent, and ascertain the other particulars above mentioned, relative to
her age, &c., &c. In the event of the female who is going to be burnt
being less than sicteen years of age, or there being signs of her pregnancy,
or on her declaring herself in that situation, or should the people be pre-
paring to burn her after having intoxicated her, without her assent, or
against her will (the burning a woman under any of these circumstances,
being in direct opposition to what is enjoined in the shastras, and manifestly
an act of illegal violence), it will then be their duty to prevent the ceremony
thus forbidden, and contrary to established usage, from taking place, and
to require those prepared to perform it, to refrain from so doing; also to ex-
lain to them that in their persisting to commit an act forbidden, they would
involve themselves in a crime, and become subject to retribution and punish-
ment. But in the case of the woman being of full age, and no other impe-
diment existing, they will nevertheless remain on the spot, and not allow
the most minute particular to escape observation. And, in the case of people
preparing to burn a woman by compulsion, or after having made her insen-
R 2
244 SUTTEES.
sible by administering spiritous liquors or narcotic drugs, it will be then
their duty to exert themselves in restraining them; and, at the same time,
to let them know that it is not the intention of the Government to check or
forbid any act authorized by the tenets of the religion of the inhabitants of
these dominions, or even to require that any express leave or permission be
obtained previously to the performance of the act of Suttee, and the police
officers are not to interfere or prevent any such act from taking place. And,
lastly, it will be their duty to transmit, immediately, for the information of
the magistrate, a full detail of any measures which they may have adopted
on this subject. And also, on every occasion, when, within the limits of
their thannahs, this ceremony of ‘Suttee’ may take place, the same being
lawfully conducted, they will insert it in the monthly reports.”% -
Calcutta, Oct. 9th, 1813.
N. B. Instructions were subsequently communicated, that a Brahmunee
must not burn on a separate pile; and a child, under three years of age,
was not to be left without a written security from some one, that it should
be provided for.t
The nature and influence of the system of legalizing the
practice of Suttee, appear from the following extracts, which
might be greatly increased, if requisite:–
W. Ewer, Esq., Acting Superintendent of the Police, Lower
Provinces, in 1818 observed;—“It appears to me that, if the
practice be allowed to exist at all, the less notice we take of it
the better. The interference of the police may, in some cases,
have induced compliance with the rules of the shastras; but
the official attendance of the darogah stamps every regular
Suttee with the sanction of Government; and I must humbly
submit, that authorizing a practice is not the way to effect
its gradual abolition.” .
The late Marquis of Hastings stated, as his opinion of the
system;-“The Governor General in Council is reluctantly
led to express his apprehension, that the greater confidence
with which the people perform this rite under the sanction of
Government, as implied or avowed in the circular orders
already in force, combined with the excitement of religious
bigotry by the continual agitation of the question, may have
tended to augment, rather than diminish, the frequency of
these sacrifices.”S (Calcutta, Dec. 1819). || .
The increase referred to was evident from the returns of
* Par. Papers, vol. v. pp. 38, 39.
+ Par. Papers, vol. i. pp. 41–43. See pp. 137, 144.
f Par. Papers, vol. i. p. 229. See pp. 232,236. § pp. 241, 242.
| His Lordship's successor, Earl Amherst, declared, in March 1827, “I
am very much inclined to believe, that half measures will be unproductive
of good; nay, that they are not unlikely to produce positive evil; and, I
am not prepared to recommend an enactment prohibiting Suttees alto-
gether.” Par. Papers, vol. vii. March 1830, p. 133.
SUTTEES. 245
Suttees in the several Districts subordinate to the Presidency
of Fort William, viz. in the year
“1815............ 378
1816............ 442
1817............ 707
1818............ 839.”;
Relative to this increase, the magistrates in the Allypore Dis-
trict remarked, “The abstract statement of the number of
Suttees exhibits the frequency of these abominable sacrifices
so progressively and materially increased since the period
referred to (from 1815 to 1818), as to justify our being con-
firmed in the belief, before, more than once, expressed by this
to the superior court, that any interference, save that of a
total prohibition under the severest penalties, will ever be
productive of a mistaken spirit of jealousy and opposition,
which will hope, by encouraging the prevalence of this super-
stitious usage, to induce us to discontinue altogether our in-
terference.”f
“Our Government,” says C. Smith, Esq., Second Judge in
Calcutta, in 1821, “by modifying the thing and issuing orders
about it—orders which even the Government and the Sudder
Judges themselves do not appear clearly to comprehend—
have thrown the ideas of the Hindoos upon the subject into
a complete state of confusion. They will believe that we
abhor the usage, when we prohibit it in toto, by an absolute
and peremptory law. They have no idea that we might not
do so with the most perfect safety. They conceive our power
and our will to be commensurate.”i
The Hon. Court of Directors, in a letter to the Governor
General in Council, in 1823, express their opinion upon the
subject of partial interference :-‘‘To us it appears very
doubtful, (and we are confirmed in this doubt by respectable
authority,) whether the measures which have been already
taken have not tended, rather to increase than to diminish
the frequency of the practice. Such a tendency is, at least,
not unnaturally ascribed to a regulation which, prohibiting a
practice only in certain cases, appears to sanction it in all
others. It is to be apprehended that, where the people have
not previously a very enthusiastic attachment to the custom,
a law, which shall explain to them the cases in which it ought
not to be followed, may be taken as a direction for adopting.
it in all others. It is, moreover, with much reluctance that
* Par. Papers, vol. i. p. 241. t p. 218. See also pp. 254–256.
t Vol. ii. p. 67. -
246 SUTTEES.
we can consent to make the British Government, by a specific
permission of the Suttee, an ostensible party to the sacrifice;
we are averse also to the practice of making British Courts
expounders and vindicators of the Hindoo religion, when it
leads to acts which, not less as Legislators than as Christians,
we abominate.”* • *
The opinions of the second, third, and fifth judges of the
Nizamut Adawlut in Calcutta, in 1824, were as follow :—
“The second judge cannot subscribe to any instructions
that have a tendency to modify, systematize, or legalize the
wsage, or that appear to regard a legal Suttee as at all better
than an illegal one. He is convinced that, if this mode of
issuing orders under the sanction of Government to regulate
Suttees, is continued,—the practice will take such deep root,
wnder the authority of the supreme power of the country, that
to eradicate it will become impossible.”t (C. Smith, Esq.)
“I conceive that we have already done a great deal of mis-
chief in this way, and that instead of diminishing we have
increased the evil.”t (J. T. Shakespear, Esq.)
“I confess that my own opinion inclines me to impute to
the Regulations a positively pernicious tendency, in proportion
to the degree in which they have brought the sacrifices under
the more immediate cognizance of the officers of Government;
whose presence at the ceremony, instead of operating as a
restraint, has, I am afraid, contributed to invest it with addi-
tional solemnity, and to confer on the performance of it, in
the mistaken views of the natives, a species of authoritative
sanction which it was not before considered to possess.”S
(W. B. Martin, Esq.)
The late Rev. T. Thomason, chaplain in Calcutta, in a letter
dated Feb. 1827, speaking of the Bengal Government requir-
ing that the Suttee should be performed agreeably to certain
regulations, observed:—“The measure actually legalized it by
British authority, to the great joy and benefit of the Brah-
muns; securing to them and even increasing their fees by
multiplying the formalities. Every evil might have been an-
ticipated from this unwise act. This regulation legalized the
Suttees. The Government became by it, without intending
it, particeps criminis. It pronounced that to be legal (under
certain circumstances) which ought never, under any circum-
stances, to be deemed legal. If the Government interfere at
all, their interference should be to abolish, and not to limit or
* Par. Papers, vol. iii. p. 45, 48. + Vol. iv. p. 149. # p. 148,
§ Par. Papers, vol. iv, p. 149. See also p. 85. Vol. v. p. 51.
SUTTEES. 247
sanction such an abomination. This I very strenuously main-
tained in argument, with some persons officially concerned in
the regulation. The question has often been asked, whether
this regulation did in fact increase or diminish the number of
Suttees. On a deliberate review of the whole case, I rest in
the conviction, that the number has been increased rather than
diminished.”* - -
The Petition of the Natives of Calcutta, to Lord W. Ben-
tinck, against the Regulation abolishing the Suttee, in the
Bengal Presidency, presented Jan. 1830, shews the sentiments
of the Hindoos upon the subject of partial interference:—“The
qualified measure did not answer the object proposed, the
fact was, that the number of Suttees in Bengal considerably
£ncreased in consequence, within a short time, and in order to
ascertain the cause, a reference was made to the Sudder De-
wanny Adawlut, who could assign no satisfactory cause to ac-
count for it. Though it might perhaps have occurred to
Gentlemen of so much experience, that the interference of
Government, even to this extent, with the practice, was likely,
by drawing to it the attention of the Native community in a
greater degree than formerly, to increase the number of
votaries.”f
The opinion of the British Magistrates in India, generally,
relative to the safety and facility of the abolition of the Suttee,
will appear by a few extracts from the Parliament documents.
H. Oakley, Esq., Magistrate of Hooghly, in 1818, stated;—“I
do not hesitate in offering my opinion that a law for its aboli-
tion would be objected to, only by the heirs, who derive worldly
profit from the custom, by Brahmums, who partly exist by
it, and by those whose depraved nature leads them to look
on a sacrifice as a highly entertaining show ; at any rate, the
sanction of Government should be withdrawn without delay.
The adoption of this measure will most likely be followed by
a decrease in the number of Suttees, and the Magistrate's
jeelings will not be outraged, as they frequently are at present,
by compelling him to so barbarous a custom.”
The late J. H. Harington, Esq., officiating Chief Judge at
Calcutta, in a minute relative to the Suttee, written in 1823,
declared, “On a deliberate view of all those instances in
which the laws, customs, and prejudices of the Hindoos,
when found to be at variance with the principles of justice
* Poynder's Speech on Human Sacrifices in India, 1827, pp. 66–69.
See pp. 32, 70,99. t Asi. Journ., July 1830, p. 133.
f Par. Papers, vol. i. p. 237. See pp. 212, 233,239, 241.
248 SUTTEES.
and good society, have been necessarily superseded and abro.
gated by the Laws and Regulations of the British Govern-
ment,” and the whole of which supercession has been quietly
submitted to, as obviously and eacclusively originating in
motives of equity and humanity, unconnected with any degree
of religious intolerance, we may, I think, safely conclude, that
a similar result will attend the enactment of a legislative pro-
vision to prevent the yearly sacrifice of several hundreds of
deluded unoffending females, born and living under the pro-
tection of the British Government.” This document thus
closes. Referring to certain probable excesses in the per-
petration of Suttees, it is added, “In such a state of things I
could not hesitate to adopt the opinion expressed by the
second Judge of the Court of the Nizamut Adawlut, that
the toleration of the practice of Suttees is a reproach to our
Government; and even now, I am disposed to agree with
him, ‘ that the entire and immediate abolition of it would
be attended with no sort of danger.’”f -
The opinion of J. H. Harington, Esq., officiating chief
Judge in the Nizamut Adawlut, Calcutta, in 1824, on the ex-
pediency of abolishing the Suttee, has been given. The
second Judge, C. Smith, Esq., declared:—“The practice of
Suttee OUGHT TO BE ABOLISHED, and it may be abolished
with PERFECT SAFETY.” The third Judge, J. T. Shake-
spear, Esq., likewise stated:—“I am prepared to concur in a
recommendation to Government, that a regulation be promul-
gated prohibiting Suttees throughout the country.” The fifth
Judge, W. B. Martin, Esq., at the same time stated:—“The
toleration of the practice by our Government, and its dispo-
sition to interfere no further than was necessary to guard it
from abuse, has been misconstrued into a tacit recognition of
the principle of a usage, the legality of which, within certain
limits, it has formally acknowledged.” The minute of the
officiating Judge, J. Ahmuty, Esq., was as follows:—“I feel
satisfied, that it would be far preferable to enact a regulation
prohibiting the practice of Suttees at once, and rendering it
punishable by law, than having recourse to any partial or in-
* Such as the execution of Brahmuns; suppressing the sacrifice of
children at Saugur; preventing women and children, in the provinces of
Benares, from burning in a koorh, or circular enclosure, on the approach of
a public officer to serve any judicial process on Brahmuns; abolishing
Dhurma; Infanticide among the Rajkoomars; burying widows alive; cruel
ordeals, &c. w
t Par. Papers, vol. iv. pp. 8–18. See an article on Female Immolation
from the Friend of India. Par. Papers, vol. iv. pp. 13, 22–24.
SUTTEES. 249
direct means to repress it gradually, if even such a result
could be reasonably expected to ensue.”
The Hon. Court of Directors, in a letter addressed to the
Governor General in Council, in 1823, thus express their
views of the obligatory nature of Suttee, and the means of its
abolition:—“Connected with the opinions expressed by many
intelligent men, that the practice of Suttee is not a tenet of
Yeligion to which the people are enthusiastically attached, but
rather an abuse, fostered by interested priests and relations,
these instances of partial success lead us to regard the notion
of prohibition, modified according to circumstances, of this
Sarbarous custom, with rather less apprehension than it has
generally produced. Assuredly the most acceptable form of
success would be, that which would be brought about by such
an increase of intelligence among the people as should shew
them the wickedness and absurdity of the practice; next to
this, we should rejoice to see the abolition effected by the influ-
ence and the co-operation of the higher order of natives.”f
R. Jackson, Esq., in the debate on the subject of the Suttees,
at the General Court of Proprietors, March 1827, observed,
“He relied upon the opinion of nearly siarty of their most
eminent servants, such as Residents, Judges, and Magistrates,
that it might easily be subdued by a mixture of firm and con-
ciliatory measures; who founded their opinions upon, at least,
as many instances in which such conduct had been successful.
Should it now fail, he would not hesitate at coercion—they
must obey God rather than man!”f
The Rev. T. Scott, of Aston Sandford, in his valuable Com-
mentary, has the following remarks on Numbers xxxv. 33:—
“So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are ; for blood
tt deftleth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the
blood that is shed therein but by the blood of him that shed
Žt.” “The connivance of our Government in the burning of
widows, and in human sacrifices, and in other species of mur-
der committed in our East Indian dominions, under the pre-
text of an idolatrous religion, is wholly unjustifiable, and
burdens our land, and all connected with those distant regions,
with the guilt of blood not earpiated by that of those who
shed it.” -
It appears important to place upon record, the opinion of
* Par, Papers, vol. iv. pp. 148, 149, 153. See also pp. 167, 209. Vol.
vii. p. 142. -
+ Par. Papers, vol. iii. p. 45. See vol. iv. pp. 20, 155, 156, 181, 182.
# Asi. Jour., May 1827, p. 732. See this admirable Speech, published
by Parbury, London, -
250 SUTTEES.
the Hindoos relative to the obligatory nature of the rite of
Suttee. While some of them appear attached to the practice,
it is grateful to see the prevalence of humane principles among
this interesting people. Reference has been made to the
great Hindoo sage, Menu ; Sir W. Jones, in his translation
of “The Institutes of Menu,” thus describes the work:—
“This system of duties, religious and civil, and of law in all its branches,
the Hindoos firmly believe to have been promulgated in the beginning of
time by Menu, son or grandson of Brahma; or, in plain language, the first
of created beings, and not the oldest only, but the holiest of legislators.”
His high character is described in the following terms: “Menu sat reclined
with his attention fixed on one object, the Supreme God; when the divine
sages approached him, and, after mutual salutations, in due form, delivered
the following address;–“Deign, sovereign ruler, to apprize us of the sacred
laws in their order, as they must be followed by all the four classes, and by
each of them, in their several degrees, together with the duties of every
mixed class; for thou, lord, and thou only among mortals, knowest the true
sense, the first principle, and the prescribed ceremonies of this universal,
supernatural Veda, unlimited in extent, and unequalled in authority.’”
After a careful perusal of this work, not the slightest reference to the custom
of the Suttee has been found. It contains various laws relative to females;
a few extracts may be interesting:—“In his passage to the next world,
neither his father, nor his mother, nor his wife, nor his son, nor his kinsmen,
will remain in his company; his virtue alone will adhere to him. When
he leaves his corse, like a log or a lump of clay on the ground, his kindred
retire with averted faces: but his virtue accompanies his soul. Equal care
must be taken of barren women, of women without sons, of women without
kindred, of widows true to their lords, &c. A widow, who, from a wish to bear
children, slights her deceased husband, by marrying again, brings disgrace
on herself here below, and shall be excluded from the seat of her lord. Like
those abstemious men (unmarried Brahmuns) a virtuous wife ascends to
heaven, though she have no child, if, after the decease of her lord, she de-
vote herself to pious austerity. In childhood, must a female be dependent
on her father; in youth, on her husband; her lord being dead, on her sons;
if she have no sons, on the near kinsmen of her husband; if he left no
kinsmen, on those of her father; if he have no paternal kinsmen, on the
sovereign.” The duty of Hindoo widows is evidently a life of anstere
devotion till death, and the custom of Suttee is unknown in the institutes of
this great legislator.
In the bewasta, received from Mrityoonjuy, Pundit of the
Supreme Court, in 1817, respecting the burning of Hindoo
widows, and other sacrifices among the Hindoos, Menu is not
mentioned among the various authorities quoted; and it is
acknowledged, “on the subject of anoogamun (Suttee) the
shastras exhibit a great variety of opinions; but no difference
prevails with regard to leading a life of austerity.”f
The late Rev. W. Ward, in a letter to the Earl of Claren-
dom, relates the following remarkable fact.—“In 1817 I was
* Sir. W. Jones's Works, vol. vii. pp. 240, 334, 271.
f Par. Papers, vol. i. p. 124.
SUTTEES. 251
riding near Serampore, where there had been a Suttee; after
making inquiries respecting the family and rank of the widow,
I addressed a few individuals on the crime in which they had
been assisting. One of these men answered,—Sir, whatever
the act now committed may be, we have nothing to fear.
You (the English Government) must see to that; for the police
magistrate has been here and given the order, and according
to that order the woman has been burnt.”
In Malabar a summary of the laws of the shastra was drawn
up by the natives, from which they actually conclude against
the practice in the following terms;—“From these texts it is
clear, that the rules relative to the observance of amugamanum
(Suttee) do not extend to the Keroola, and cannot be ad-
mitted to be performed there, even if a person is willing to
do so.”f -
Bruja Mohun, in his Strictures on the present system of
Hindoo Polytheism, written in the Bengalee language, and
printed in Calcutta, 1818, reprobated the practice of Suttee.
“Promising heaven to your elder or younger sister—to your
mother or grandmother—or daughter or friend—you bind
them down with ropes and bamboos, and burn them on the
funeral pile. When we witness the perpetration of these
murders, does not nature itself move us to forbid them 2 Some
of you consider the drinking of wine, and the extinction of
life, and the shedding of blood, as conducive to salvation—
we do not. To burn defenceless women, to murder an aged
father and mother, by immersing them in water, you esteem
holy—we esteem these deeds unholy.”f
In 1819 a Petition was presented to the late Marquis of
Hastings, from the Hindoo inhabitants of Calcutta, praying
for the abolition of Suttees. How much it is to be lamented
that this Petition was not regarded. An extract only is
given:—“Your petitioners beg leave to submit, to the bene-
volent attention of your Lordship's Government, that in the
opinion of many of the most learned Brahmuns, founded upon
the shastras, all kinds of voluntary death are prohibited; that
Menu, whose authority is admitted to be equal to that of the
Vedas, positively enjoins widows to lead a life of virtue and
abstinence from sensual gratifications; that the Vedant which
contains the essence of the Vedas, as well as the Geeta, for-
bids all acts done with the view of future temporary reward;
and that amongst the inferior authorities, while some, as the
* Poynder's Speech on Human Sacrifices in India, p. 65. See p. 114,
t p. 217. # Friend of India, Dec. 1818.
252 SUTTEES.
Smritee shastras, actually prohibit all violent death: others,
Mitakshura, declare the leading of a virtuous life preferable
to dying on the pile of the husband; and a few only insist on
the superior merit of concremation.” --
In 1823, “When the meeting was held by the Hindoo
gentlemen of Calcutta, to vote an address of thanks to Lord
Hastings, on his leaving Bengal, Rhadacant Deb proposed,
that Lord Hastings should be particularly thanked, for ‘the
protection and encouragement which he had afforded to the
ancient and orthodox practice of widows burning themselves
with their husbands' bodies; a proposal which was seconded
by Hurree Mohun Thakoor, another wealthy baboo. It was
lost, however; the cry of the meeting, though all Hindoos,
being decidedly against it.”f
Ram Mohun Roy, in his pamphlet entitled, “A Conference
between an advocate and an opponent of the practice of burn-
ſing widows,” states the sentiments of the humane and en-
lightened among the Hindoos on this subject:-‘‘The Veda
declares,-‘By living in the practice of regular and occasional
duties the mind may be purified. By hearing and reflecting
and constantly meditating on the Supreme Being, absorption
in Brumhu may be attained. Therefore, from a desire during
life of future fruition, life ought not to be destroyed l’ Menu,
Yagnyuvulkyu, and others, have, in their respective codes of
law, prescribed to widows the duties of ascetics only. The
ancient saints, and holy teachers, and their commentators,
and yourselves (advocates of the Suttee), as well as we and
all others, agree that Menu is better acquainted than any
other lawgivers with the spirit of the Vedas. He has directed
widows to spend their lives as ascetics.” It is thus closed;—
“It is to me a source of great satisfaction, that you (the ad-
vocates) are now ready to take this matter into your serious
consideration. By forsaking prejudice, and reflecting on the
shastra, what is really conformable to its precepts may be
perceived, and the evil and disgrace brought on this commu-
nity, by the crime of female murder, will cease.”
“I have heard,” says the Rev. H. Townley, “of the reply
being repeatedly given to the expostulations of Europeans:
—‘If there is any blame in our proceedings, it belongs to
yourselves; for we are acting under British sanction.” He
adds, “The native who instructed me in the Bengalee lan-
guage (who was a Brahmun of more than ordinary intelligence),
* Poynder's Speech, p. 220. See pp. 72,222–224.
f Heber's Journal, vol. i. p. 72,
STUTTEES. 253
frequently ea pressed his surprise, that Government did not
issue an order, that no more Suttees should be permitted;
intimating his conviction that no commotion whatever would
ensue.”* -
The Rev. E. Carey, late Missionary in Calcutta, at a public
meeting in Manchester, in 1828, observed,—“As the subject
of Suttees had been mentioned, he would state his conviction,
that all the real obstacles to the practice of burning widows
eacisted at home. He did not mean to say, that obstacles
were to be found in the wishes of any party, but in their mis-
conception of the case. He had conversed with a Brahmun
and Pundit on the subject, who said, ‘If the practice is so
heinous, why not suppress it 3’ “They fear (Mr. C. observed)
to hurt their religious scruples.” “What! (replied the Brah-
mun,)—We have compulsory taxes on the brahminical lands,
and will it go nearer to our consciences, to save our daughters
from the flames P’”
The Journal of the Rev. W. Howell, at Cuddapah, contains
the following passage:—“Jan. 1, 1830. Received visits from
many respectable natives to day ; chiefly servants of the
revenue and judicial department. Mr. Peggs's pamphlet on
Suttees being in my hand at the time, I entered into conver-
sation with them on that topic. Some said it is supposed to
be meritorious, when the wife puts an end to her life on the
death of her husband. I replied, if that is the case why do not
the men do so on the death of their wives? They observed,
Because the men are at liberty to marry again. I said, So
ought the women to be also. I asked them next, whether
they would feel averse to Government abolishing such a
practice among them They said, It was matter of indiffer-
ence to them, but that it is better to preserve life than other-
wise. Blessed be God for its abolition, by a late regulation,
in Bengal.”t * - -
This chapter may be closed by the following Supplicatory
Lines addressed to the Marquis of Hastings before he left
India, in Jan. 1823. Myriads of hearts responded to these
sentiments. O that this prayer had been heard. It is said,
this Nobleman would have abolished this practice, “if he
could have relied upon the popular feeling being in his favour
in our own country, and that the danger was felt, not in India,
but only in England / "f
* Townley's Answer to the Abbe Dubois, pp. 180, 190.
- t Evang. Mag., Sep. 1830, p. 407.
f Account of York meeting relative to the Suttee, 1827, p. 5.
254 SUTTEES.
“Ere thy benignant power retires
From India, bless'd beneath thy care,
O quench those foul unhallow'd fires,
Which hell's own flame has kindled here,
The stain of earth and upper air!
Then o'er the sea,
The orphan's blessing and the widow's prayer
Shall follow thee,
O ne'er to man has pitying heaven
A power so blest, so glorious given,
Say but a single word and save
Ten thousand mothers from a flaming grave,
And tens of thousands from the source of woe,
That ever must to orphan’d children flow !
Save from the flame, the infant's place of rest,
The couch by nature given—a mother's breast;
O bid the mother live—the babe caress her,
And sweeter still its hoping accents bless her.
India with tearful eye and bended knee,
Hastings, her lord and judge, presents her plaint to thee.”
CHAP. IV.
Nature and success of efforts by the British Government in
India, for the abolition of the Suttee—probable prevalence
of the practice at the present period—necessity and pro-
priety of persevering eavertions till it is annihilated. -
The measures adopted by the British Government in Hin-
dostan, relative to this unnatural practice, were for many years
of a partial or preparatory character, and, as might have been
anticipated from their nature, not decisive or successful in the
suppression of Suttees.
The Collector of Ahmednauger, Cap. H. Pottinger, speak-
ing of a Suttee that occurred in that city in 1818, stated:—
“I tacitly consented to the sacrifice, but at the same time
positively refused any assistance towards defraying the ear-
penses for the requisite clothes for the woman, or for the wood
to form the pyre, and likewise declined to sanction the pro-
ceeding by my presence or that of any person on my part. I
have little doubt of the success of my interposition, in the
majority of cases that may occur, when I have it in my power,
to assure the woman of the means of subsistence.”* A former
* Par. Papers, vol. v. p. 20. Vol. i. p. 244.
SUTTEES. 255
volume of the Par. Papers remarks:—“An encouragement
seems at one time to have been held out to Suttees, by grant-
ing to the family of the victim a portion of free land, similar
to the provisions of the descendants of sepoys killed on service.
The instances are far from numerous.”* Chandgurgh, Bom-
bay Presidency, July 1821.
In the Par. Papers, relative to the Bombay Presidency,
reference is made to making provision for the widow who
was prevailed upon to decline immolating herself. But this
plan, like every other, short of entire prohibition, is defective,
as it may have (to use the language of W. Chaplin, Esq.,
Commissioner of the Deccan) “the injurious effect, of leading
persons to feign a resolution to burn themselves, in the hope
of being paid for desisting.”f
The late J. H. Harington, Esq., in 1825, suggested that
magistrates should be authorized, “to hold out some public en-
couragement, as an honorary dress, title, or other rewards, to
any landholder or other person of local influence, who should
distinguish himself by active and successful endeavours to dis-
courage and suppress the sacrifice of Hindoo widows.” The
chief Secretary to Government replied;—“His Lordship in
council will be happy to notice by a suitable mark of his appro-
bation any Zemindar, or other Native of rank or respectability,
who may have caused or may cause the discontinuance of the
practice, where it was before prevalent among his own relations
and connexions, and may have successfully exerted himself
in procuring the general relinquishment of it in his own estate,
or to any considerable extent within the sphere of his influ-
ence.”f
The nature of the system of discountenancing Suttees pur-
sued on the Madras side of India was as follows:—“Before
any woman can destroy herself by burning, permission must
be obtained of the magistrate. On the request being preferred
the applicant is directed to wait a little for an answer; the
magistrate in the mean time sends for his cutwal and instructs
him to proclaim that a certain woman intends burning her-
self, but should any bumian or bukall be discovered selling
any article required for the purpose to the said woman, or
any cooly offering his assistance by carrying oil, wood, &c.,
to the spot appointed, the former shall be turned out of the
bazar, and the latter otherwise punished. It is also proclaim-
ed that, should any crowd collect, the police peons are to

* Par. Papers, vol. iii. p. 47. f Vol. i. pp. 264—268.
t Vol. v. p. 51.
256 - SUTTEES.
disperse it, and to confine to the Cutwal's Choultry all persons
resisting the police authority; should any Brahmun belonging
to any public offices be seen in the crowd, or any of his rela-
tions aiding the ceremony, such servant shall be discharged
from his situation. The whole of this being proclaimed, the
applicant is desired to take leave. As may be expected, it
has been observed, that with these restrictions no burning has
taken placeſ—Prevent a crowd from collecting to witness the
£mmolation, and rest assured no such ceremony proceeds /*
(R. Moligaipore, March 1823.)
The opinion of some of the more intelligent Hindoos, re-
specting the propriety and utility of humane and decisive
measuresfor the prevention of this rite, appears by someletters in
the Asiatic Journal for July 1826, written in English by natives
of Bengal. Two or three short extracts only are given:-
“Her brother Roopnarain Gosaul, who is supposed to be a wealthy man,
and being so long in the Hon. Company’s Service ought to be discharged
from his place, and prosecuted in the Supreme Court for giving countenance
to such an inhuman act. No body anger could be minded when a life is con-
cerned ; she ought to be prevented to burn. If Governor General gives orders
to remove the woman from her relations, at her pronouncing that she will burn,
and allow her to remain one day in a comfortable place with English Ladies
that understand the country's language, there is not doubt her mind shall be
purified, and her foolish thoughts shall be removed, and will not be ana.ious
to do such a base act as to burn with the dead person.” (Muddunmohun.
Mullick, Calcutta, Jan. 1826.)
“I fully agree with the sentiments contained in Muddunmohun's letter.
If the Government in Council give orders to remove all the women on pro-
nouncing that they will burn, to be placed with an intelligent English person
to persuade them to the contrary, and not allow any of the relations to con-
verse, or make them take intoxicating drugs, they will never die in such an
inhuman manner. I have lost my wife these sia: years, and have not married
again for fear she may burn with my body at my death.—The Hindoo
women have no sense; they hear from their superiors the cremation is an
holy act, and they are fools enough to listen to it, which only induces them
to express their sentiments that they will burn; and as soon as such a
declaration is obtained, all the unfeeling relations use all their exertions to
induce the poor unfortunate widows to suffer such a cruel death. I hope
you will not refuse to have this appeared in your interesting Paper, and
oblige me.” (Sunchurn Sill, Calcutta, Jan. 1826.)
In many instances, the humane exertions of Magistrates,
and various other individuals, have been successful in dissuad-
ing from the sacrifice, or rescuing the victims of superstition,
when fleeing from the men, whose “feet are swift to shed
blood.” & ©
In the Bareilly division it is reported in the official docu-
# See also Shepherd's Inefficiency of the Ecc. Esta. of India, 2d. edition
(London), pp. 67, 68; and Asi. Jour., April 1830, p. 260.
SUTTEES. 257
ments that, in 1815, three women were prevented from be-
coming Suttees. In the Patna division, in 1817, twenty-five
Suttees took place, but five women were prevented, who
“were saved from burning by the interference of the people
of the village, or by the arrival of the police officers.” In
the same year five Suttees are stated to have been prevented
in the city of Benares. In the following year three other
Suttees were prevented in the same city, and, “one woman,
cast a Brahmun, ran away from the pile after it was set
fire to, and is still living.” Four widows were saved at
Cuddapah in 1820.* The Magistrate of the Patna division,
in his returns of Suttees for 1822, writes, “It is with
satisfaction that I have noted that twelve widows have been
either prevented or dissuaded from becoming Suttees; in nine
of which they were dissuaded by the police officers; in one
the widow was prevented by a police officer, on account of a
legal impediment, and in the two remaining cases the widows
were dissuaded, one by the Zemindar of the village and the
other by her friends.” In the returns from the same division
for 1823 is the following interesting statement:-‘‘It will
probably be considered the most remarkable feature of the
present report that, on nine occasions of intended Suttees, at
which alone the police officers had an opportunity of being
present, they succeeded, without difficulty or opposition, in
dissuading the widows from sacrificing themselves. From
the inquiries that I have been able to make on the subject of
Suttees during the last two years, I do not hesitate to offer
an opinion that, in this district, it would not be attended with
any dissatisfaction of a dangerous nature, if the Government
should deem it proper to prohibit this lamentable custom al-
together; it even appears to me, that the inhabitants of the
district generally are prepared to hear of such a prohibition.”f
Why was not such a prohibition immediately issued
In some parts of Orissa a pit is used, and the woman, after
circumambulating it three or seven times, throws herself into
the fire. The Author saw one of these pits at Juggernaut's
temple, in May 1824, but did not hear of the Suttee in time to
be present. Even from this pit the victim sometimes escapes.
In the Par. Papers of 1825, is the following account:—“Ra-
hang, in the thannah of Pooree (Juggernaut), died Aug. 25,
1823, and his widow, Mussumut Munee, aged fifty, declared
her intention of becoming a Suttee, and repeated the declara-
* Par. Papers, vol. i. pp. 167, 173; vol. iv. and v. pp. 22–24.
† Par. Papers, vol. iv. p. 122. See also Par. Papers, 1828, p. 18.
S
258 SUTTEES.
tion in the presence of the police officers. In pursuance of
this intention, the day following she went through the usual
ceremonies, and threw herself into a burning pit, where the
body of her husband was consuming; but almost immediately
leaped out and made her escape. She was severely but not
dangerously burnt, and an engagement was taken from the
managers of the village, binding themselves that she should
be taken care of and proper remedies applied. She returned
to her family and was received by them as usual.”
The Regulation of 1813, to confine the practice, as was
anticipated, to the directions of the shastra, has been given,
and its impolitic and mischievous character is evident. To
adduce another proof, in addition to what has been advanced,
J. F. Petty, Esq., Magistrate in the Southern Concan, in
1819, observed,—“As far as my observation goes, I shall say
that the humane intentions of the framers of the Regulations,
regarding these ceremonies, will not be fully answered. Some
few widows, perhaps, escape, as falling under exceptions spe-
cified in the Bengal pundit’s reports; whilst, on the other
hand, it can hardly be doubted, that the necessary presence
of the police officers of Government, at these immolations,
stamps on them that character of strict legality, and seems to
afford them that degree of countenance on the part of Go-
vernment, which must produce an evil effect.”f
Among the decisive measures of the British Government to
suppress the Suttee, was a Regulation “prohibiting widows
of the Jogee tribe from burying themselves alive with the
bodies of their husbands,” issued Sep. 1817. It was as
follows:— . - *
1. “It having been ascertained that the shastra contains no authority for
a practice which has prevailed amongst the Jogee tribe in some parts of the
country, especially in the district of Tipperah, of burying alive the widows of
persons of that tribe, who desire to be interred with the bodies of their de-
ceased husbands, such practice must necessarily be regarded as a criminal
offence under the general laws and regulations of Government.
2. “The magistrates and police officers, in every district where the prac-
tice above mentioned has been known to exist, shall be careful to make the
present prohibition as publicly known as possible; and if any person, after
being advised of it, shall appear to have been concerned in burying a wo-
man alive in opposition thereto, he shall be apprehended and brought to
trial for the offence before the Court of Circuit. -
3. “The magistrates and police officers are farther directed to use all
practicable means for preventing any such illegal act; and an attempt to
commit the same, after the promulgation of these rules, though not carried
completely into effect, will, on conviction, be punishable by the city magis-
* pp. 109,150. See vol. v. pp. 18, 19, 28.
- t Par. Papers, vol. i. p. 254. -
SUTTEES. 259
trate, or by the Court of Circuit, according to the degree of criminality and
circumstance of the case.”
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BURYING ALIVE A HINDOO WIDOW.
The nature of the rite of burying alive, is affectingly de-
scribed by an eye-witness, the late Capt. Kemp, in 1813.
“It is the custom of the Jogee sect to bury their dead; preparation was
therefore made for the interment of the deceased, as also, (shocking to re-
late,) of his wife, a young woman of about sixteen years of age, who had
signified her intention of being buried alive with the dead body of her hus-
band. Accordingly, at six P.M., they repaired to the place of interment, a
little below our bungalow, at the water side. At nine P. M. I went to the
place, and found a large concourse of people of both sexes collected, and
some employed digging a circular grave, which, when finished, might have
been thirteen or fourteen feet in circumference, and five feet six inches in
* Par. Papers, vol. i. p. 141. Mis. Reg., Dec. 1823, p. 564.

S 2
260 suTTEEs.
depth. I could scarcely believe that persons in their senses could, in a
voluntary manner, be brought to terminate their existence in such a horrid
manner, and had suspected some intoxicating liquor, or herbs of a narcotic
mature, were used on similar occasions, to deprive these deluded victims of
their reason; but, on conversing with her, I found her free from all
effects of this mature, and all efforts to persuade her from this desperate
purpose of rushing into the presence of her Creator as a suicide, had no
effect. On asking her mother, who was by her, how she could divest her-
self of that feeling, which was even discernible amongst the most ferocious
inhabitants of the jungle, who would run to save, their offspring from de-
struction, even at the risk of their own lives. Her reply was, it was her
daughter's determination, and what could she do?
“The dead body was now placed in a sitting posture at the bottom of the
grave: the young woman was then brought forward. She held a small
basket, having betel leaves in it, with one hand, while with the other
she distributed, during seven circumvolutions about the grave, koee
(sugar-plums) and cowries; all were anxious to catch some of this
consecrated donation. The seventh time that she had walked round the
grave, she stopped, when a Brahmun repeated some words to her. She
now lifted up her right hand above her head, with her fore-finger erect, she
waved it in a circular manner, pronouncing the words, “Hurree bol, Hurree
bol,’ in which the surrounding multitude joined her. She then, without
any reluctance or dismay, descended to the bottom of the grave, placed
herself behind the dead body of her husband, her left hand round his waist, .
the other over her own head, which she reclined between his shoulders. In
this position the mother was called (as I supposed) to resign her daughter,
or to sanction her conduct, by applying a wisp of lighted straw to the crown
of her head, for the space of a second or two. . The grave was now gradually
filled by the by-standers, whilst two men trod the fallen earth around the *
living and the dead, as a gardener does the mould around a newly trans-
planted tree, and thus deliberately proceeded till the earth rose to the sur-
face, leaving the bodies about three feet beneath; when the multitude
dispersed.” -
*
Burying alive was practised after the promulgation of the
above Regulation. The Magistrate of Burdwan, in 1820, was
commended for not using his authority to save the widow of
a jogee.t. The Magistrate of Tipperah in 1825 reports, “In
this District female Immolation, by means of burying alive,
appears to be very prevalent. This custom is peculiar to the
Jogee or weaver cast, and more than one half of the sacrifices
which occurred, during this year, were done by these means.”f
How soon the above Regulation became a dead letter | The
Somachar Durpun, a Newspaper in Bengalee, also contained
the following account, “A certain jogee, or weaver, inhabitant
of Somrah, died; his wife, according to the custom of her own
cast, went down to the grave with her deceased husband.
Her friends and relatives instantly covered the victim and the
* Dr. Johns’ Pamphlet on the Suttee, 1816, pp. 66–68.
f Par. Papers, vol. ii. p. 27. See vol. vii. p. 21.
f Par. Papers, vol. vii. 1830, p. 27.
SUTTEES. 261
corpse with earth, and in this inhuman manner made an end
of her existence.” It is hoped, that the recent measures for
the abolition of the Suttee, will be of a more effective and
permanent character, than the above Regulation.
Previously to the adoption of Lord W. Bentinck's decisive
Regulation, of Dec. 1829, some preparatory steps appear to
have been taken. The Rev. Mr. Smith, a Missionary at
Benares, adverts to them in Feb. 1829.-“Went out by the
river side and conversed with a number of Brahmuns on re-
ligious subjects, and also brought in the order respecting the
prohibition of Suttees. On hearing which, a Brahmun ex-
claimed. “What has Government now arisen from sleep So
many years has this cruel practice been carried on, and has
compassion at last entered into their breasts? They ought
to have prevented this horrid practice many years ago.” It
astonished me,” says Mr. S., “to hear such expressions from
a Hindoo.” An interesting statement is also given by him, of
this prohibitory order being read by the Daroga at Gopee gunj,
before more than 200 Brahmuns and pundits: after which, the
whole listened to his preaching the gospel, and some indi-
viduals seemed to be much affected by it. “The English,”
say they, “now wish to enlighten us.”
This prohibition enjoined, “That no Suttee should take
place, in future, in the District; but should any woman feel
determined to be burned with the corpse of her husband,
notice should be given to the magistrate; and should it be
sanctioned, she must then gather firewood herself, and pre-
pare the pile without making any fence to it, and it should
be done in the presence of the daroga. After putting a slow
fire to the pile, she must voluntarily get on it; and should
any person be found assisting, advising, and encouraging her
in the horrid deed, they should be prosecuted; as the flames
touch her body, should she wish to get off the pile, nobody
should prevent her; and should any person be found threat-
ening her, in order to keep her in the flame, that they should
be prosecuted as murderers.”t
Some measures of a similar character were also adopted by
the Governor of Bombay, before the abolition of the Suttee
in that Presidency. The India Gazette, in Feb. 1830, stated,
“Although the burning of widows was chiefly practised in
Bengal, yet it is well known that instances of it are not un-
frequent in the territories subject to the other Presidencies.
It is probable that the example of the Supreme Government,
* Asi. Jour., Feb. 1827. + Asi, Jour, Nov. 1830, p. 134.
262 SUTTEES.
will lead to the entire abolition of the practice; but, in the
mean time, it is interesting to know the course which is
adopted for its regulation where it is still permitted. Instruc-
tions, we understand, have been given by the Governor in
Council at Bombay, to all the civil authorities of that Presi-
dency, to the following effect;-That when a Suttee requests
leave of a Magistrate, to burn with the body of her deceased
husband, he is to assemble a Punchayet of the most respect-
able natives, who are to report whether permission should be
given. This is wary treading on what is believed to be dan-
gerous ground; but no one can suppose that the verdict of
the native punchayets against the unfortunate widows, will
exonerate British rulers from the moral guilt of being acces-
saries to the sacrifice, or from the stigma which it attaches to
their political government of the country. This mode of pro-
ceeding is probably as unobjectionable as any other that can
be suggested, short of abolition; but it is a mere subterfuge,
and only proves the anxiety which men of humane and gener-
ous feelings experience, to remove, as far as possible from
themselves, all participation in so unnatural and odious a
transaction.”
The following is the Regulation for abolishing the Suttee
“ throughout the Territories immediately subject to the Presi-
dency of Fort William, passed by the Governor General in
Council, Dec. 4, 1829.”f
“The practice of Suttee, or of burning or burying alive the widows of
Hindoos, is revolting to the feelings of human nature; it is nowhere
enjoined by the religion of the Hindoos as an imperative duty; on the con-
trary, a life of purity and retirement on the part of the widow is more espe-
cially and preferably inculcated, and by a vast majority of that people
throughout India the practice is not kept up nor observed: in some exten-
sive districts it does not exist; in those in which it has been most frequent
it is notorious that, in many instances, acts of atrocity have been perpetrated,
which have been shocking to the Hindoos themselves, and, in their eyes,
unlawful and wicked. The measures hitherto adopted to discourage and
prevent such acts have failed of success, and the Governor General in
Council is deeply impressed with the conviction, that the abuses in question
cannot be effectually put an end to without abolishing the practice altogether.
Actuated by these considerations, the Governor General in Council, without
intending to depart from one of the first and most important principles of
the system of British Government in India, that all classes of the people be
secured in the observance of their religious usages, so long as that system
can be adhered to without violation of the paramount dictates of justice and
* Asi. Jour., Aug. 1830, p. 206. -
tº Par. Papers, vol. viii. June 1830, pp. 4, 5. See a projected Regulation
of the late J. H. Harington, Esq., Feb. 1827, in anticipation of the abolition
of the Suttee, Par. Papers, vol. vii. 1830, pp. 130–132.
SUTTEES. 263

humanity, has deemed it right to establish the following rules, which are
hereby enacted to be in force from the time of their promulgation throughout
the Territories immediately subject to the Presidency of Fort William.
II. “The practice of Suttee, or of burning or burying alive the widows
of Hindoos, is hereby declared illegal, and punishable by the Criminal
Courts.
III. “First, All Zemindars, Talookdars, or other proprietors of land,
whether Malguzaree, or Lakheraj; all Sudder farmers, and Under-rulers of
land of every description; all dependent Talookdars; all Naibs, and other
local agents; all native officers employed in the collection of the revenue,
and rents of land on the part of Government, or the Court of Wards; and
all Munduls, or other head men of villages, are hereby declared especially
accountable for the immediate communication to the officers of the nearest
police station, of any intended sacrifice of the nature described in the fore-
going section; and any Zemindar, or other description of persons above
noticed, to whom such responsibility is declared to attach, who may be con-
victed of wilfully neglecting or delaying to furnish the information above
required, shall be liable to be fined by the Magistrate, or joint Magistrates,
in any sum not exceeding 200 rupees, and in default of payment to be con-
fined, for any period of imprisonment, not exceeding six months. -
“Second–Immediately on receiving intelligence that the sacrifice de-
clared illegal by this Regulation is likely to occur, the Police Darogah shall
either repair in person to the spot, or depute his Mohurhir or Jemadar,
accompanied by one or more Burkendazes of the Hindoo religion, and it
shall be the duty of the police officers to announce to the persons assembled
for the performance of the ceremony, that it is illegal, and endeavour to
prevail on them to disperse, explaining to them that in the event of their
persisting in it, they will involve themselves in a crime, and become subject
to a punishment in the Criminal Courts. Should the parties assembled
proceed in defiance of these remonstrances, to carry the ceremony into effect,
it shall be the duty of the police officers to use all lawful means in their
power to prevent the sacrifice from taking place, and to apprehend the
principal persons aiding or abetting in the performance of it; and in the event
of the police officers being unable to apprehend them, they shall endeavour to
ascertain their names and places of abode, and shall immediately commu-
nicate the whole of the particulars to the Magistrate, or joint Magistrates,
for his orders.
“Third—Should intelligence of a sacrifice, declared illegal by this Regu-
lation, not reach the police officers until after it shall actually have taken
place, or should the sacrifice have been carried into effect before their arrival.
at the spot, they will, nevertheless, institute a full inquiry into the circum-
stances of the case, in like manner as on all other occasions of unnatural
death, and report them for the information and orders of the Magistrate, or
joint Magistrates, to whom they may be subordinate.
IV. “First–On the receipt of the reports required to be made by the
Police Darogahs, under the provision of the foregoing Sections, the Magis-
trate, or joint Magistrates, of the jurisdiction in which the sacrifice may
have taken place, shall inquire into the circumstances of the case, and shall
adopt the necessary measures for bringing the parties, concerned in pro-
moting it, to trial before the Court of Circuit.
“Second—It is hereby declared, that after the promulgation of this Regu-
lation, all persons convicted of aiding and abetting in the sacrifice of a Hin-
doo widow, by burning or burying her alive, whether the sacrifice be volum-
tary on her part or not, shall be deemed guilty of culpable homicide, and
264 SUTTEES.
shall be liable to punishment, by fine or by imprisonment, or by both fine
and imprisonment, at the discretion of the Court of Circuit, according to the
nature and circumstances of the case, and degree of guilt established against
the offender; nor shall it be held to be any plea of justification that he or
she was desired by the party sacrificed to assist in putting her to death.
“Third—Persons committed to take their trial before the Court of Circuit,
for the offence above mentioned, shall be admitted to bail or not, at the
discretion of the Magistrates, or joint Magistrates, subject to the general
rules in force, in regard to the admission of bail.
V. “It is further deemed necessary to declare, that nothing contained in
this Regulation, shall be construed to preclude the Court of Nizamut
Adawlut from passing sentence of death on persons convicted of using vio-
lence or compulsion, or of having assisted in burning or burying alive a
Hindoo widow, while labouring under a state of intoxication or stupefac-
tion, or other cause, impeding the exercise of her free-will, when, from the
aggravated nature of the offence proved against the prisoner, the Court may
see no circumstance to render him or her a proper object of mercy.”
This magnanimous act of the Government of Lord W.
Bentinck, will be mentioned in terms of high approbation by
all succeeding generations. He has acquired honours, in
comparison of which,
“The laurels that a Caesar reaps are weeds.”
In the official “Letter from the Governor General in Council,
to the Court of Directors,” relative to this important measure,
are the following paragraphs, which appear worthy of the
most extensive publicity.
“Your Honourable Court will be gratified by perceiving the great pre-
ponderance of opinions of the most intelligent and experienced of the civil
and military officers, consulted by the Governor General, in favour of the
abolition of Suttees, and of the perfect safety with which, in their judgment,
the practice may be suppressed. A few indeed were of opinion, that it would
be preferable, to effect the abolition by the indirect interference of the Ma-
gistrates, and other public officers, with the tacit sanction alone on the part
of Government; but we think there are very strong grounds against the
policy of that mode of proceeding, independently of the embarrassing situa-
tion in which it would place the local officers, by allowing them to exercise
a discretion in so delicate a matter. To use the words of the Governor Ge-
neral, we were ‘decidedly in favour of an open, avowed, and general pro-
hibition, resting altogether upon the moral goodness of the act, and our power
to enforce it.”
“In conclusion, we venture to express a confident expectation, that under
the blessing of Divine Providence the important measure which we have
deemed it our duty to adopt, will be efficacious in putting down the abhor-
rent practice of Suttee, a consummation, we feel persuaded, not less anxiously
desired by your Honourable Court, than by every preceding Government of
India, although the state of the country was less favourable in former times
than at present, for its full and complete execution. It would be too much
to expect that the promulgation of the abolition will not excite some degree
of clamour and dissatisfaction, but we are firmly persuaded that such feel-
ings will be short-lived; and we trust, that no apprehension need be enter-
SUTTEES." 265
tained of its exciting any violent opposition, or any evil consequences
whatsoever, -
We have, &c.
(signed) W. BENTINCK.
CoMBERMERE.
W. B. BAYLEY.
“Fort William, 4th December, 1829. C. T. METCALFE.”*
The Madras Governor in Council, speedily followed the
noble example of the Supreme Government in Bengal, and
enacted a similar Regulation, bearing date Feb. 2, 1830. In
the letter upon the subject to the Hon. Court of Directors,
are the following important remarks,—“We fully concurred
in Mr. Lushington'st opinion, that so far from this inhuman
practice being strictly enjoined by the most celebrated and
revered of the Hindoo lawgivers, a life of piety and virtue
was, by them, specially ordained to be observed by widows;
and that the abolition of this cruel and revolting custom
would be an act of duty and of mercy, to that small portion
of the Hindoos who still adhered to it, provided it could be
accomplished without entailing worse consequences upon the
people at large, and upon our empire over them. Having,
therefore, under consideration, the long experience which all
classes of the people have now had of that spirit of toleration
and regard, for all their religious institutions, by which our
Governments have always been distinguished; reflecting also
upon the present tranquil state of these Territories, and of our
political relations throughout India, we felt no apprehension,
that the few who may be disaffected to the Company's power,
would be able to excite any serious misconstruction from our
execution of what has been so long the humane desire of your
Honourable Court, and we therefore resolved, that the time
had now arrived when this barbarous custom might be safely
prohibited.”f -
The Suttee was abolished in the Bombay Presidency, before
the close of the year 1830. The Asiatic Journal contains the
following “Motion of thanks, to Sir John Malcolm, from the
Bombay Missionary Union,” bearing the date Nov. 1, 1830:-
“That the grateful acknowledgments of the Union should
be presented to the Hon. Major General, Sir John Malcolm,
G. C. B., Governor of Bombay, for the facilities, which he
has granted for the preaching of the gospel in all parts of the
Bombay Territories, for his honourable eacertions in the
abolition of Suttee, and for the kind manner in which he has
* Par, Papers, vol. viii. 1830, pp. 3, 4. f The Governor.
- † Par. Papers, vol. viii. 1830, p. 6.
266 * SUTTEES.
countenanced Christian education.”—The “Reply” is so hon-
ourable to all parties, that its insertion cannot but be acceptable
to the reader:-‘‘Sir, I entreat you to convey to the Bombay
Missionary Union, that they may communicate to the Societies,
of which they are agents, my warm and sincere thanks for the
kind expression of their sentiments; and I beg that you will
assure them, that it is solely to their zeal and Christian hu-
mility, combined, as I have ever found it, with a spirit of
toleration and good sense, that I owe any power I have
possessed of aiding them in their good and pious objects,
which, pursued as they are, by the members of the Societies
who have honoured me with their approbation, must merit
and receive the support of all who take an interest in the pro-
motion of knowledge, the advancement of civilization, and the
cause of truth.” -
The probable prevalence of the Suttee at the present time
in the tributary, allied, and independent States of India, and
in the Asiatic Islands, is a subject of much interest. It may
be presumed, that this unnatural custom being abolished within
the Territories of the Hon. East India Company, the respec-
tive Governments will be led to promote its suppression wher-
ever their influence can be exerted.
An interesting Paper, read before the “Institute of France,”
gives the following information respecting Hindostan. Allies
and Tributaries of the British Government in India:—“The
Nizam, inhabitants, ten millions; the Rajah of Nagpour, in-
habitants, three millions; the king of Oude, inhabitants, three
millions; the Guicowar, inhabitants, two millions; the Rajah
of Mysore, inhabitants, three millions; the Rajah of Sattarah,
one million and a half; Travancore and Cochin, one million;
Rajahs of Jeypore, Bicanere, &c., Holkar, the Seiks, the Row
of Cutch, and a multiplicity of other chiefs—total inhabitants,
fifteen millions. Independent States. The Rajah of Nepaul,
inhabitants, two millions; the Rajah of Lahore, inhabitants,
three millions; Sind, inhabitants, one million; the dominions
of Sindia, inhabitants, four millions.” Happy day when Bri-
tish and Christian influence realizes the abolition of the Suttee,
and every inhuman custom among these numerous tribes and
nations.
In Nepaul, an independent State north of Bengal, the rite
of Suttee has existed, and it may be feared is still practised.
Hamilton, in his account of this State, observes;–“The higher
ranks, when not compelled by the most urgent necessity, con-
* Asi, Jour., April 1831, p. 195.
SUTTEES. 267
ceal their women, and their widows ought to burn themselves
with their husbands' corpse, the custom being more prevalent
than in most parts of India, the vicinity of Calcutta eaccepted.
In Nov. 1816, the Rajah of Nepaul, while the ministers and
principal persons of the Court were deliberating, regarding
the expediency of having him vaccinated, died of the smallpox,
at the early age of 21 years. One of his Queens, one of his con-
cubines, and five female attendants were burnt alive along with
the corpse. The last words of the unfortunate Queen were
collected, and treasured up; as whatever a Suttee utters is
supposed to be prophetic.” The Calcutta John Bull, in
Jan. 1824, contained the following appalling fact.—“General
Bheem Syre's eldest nephew, Vizier Singh, arrived at Nepaul
in November, and died Dec. 3d. The following day the body
was burnt, and along with it, two of his wives and three
slave girls / the latter had not the honour of being burnt on
the same pile, but had one to themselves. The brother of
the deceased, with his nephew in his arms, lighted the funeral
fires—such being the custom l Suttees are not unfrequent
£n the valley. A curious one took place some months ago,
of a woman burning herself with her seducer, who had been
killed by her husband. So much for religious ordinances !”
“By accounts lately received from the Hill country, twenty-
eight females were burnt with the remains of one of the
Rajahs ; there appear to have been two other women who
escaped; one was pregnant, the other resisted all importunity
to be burnt. How can we expect that these horrid practices will
cease among the neighbouring heathen princes, while they are
countenanced by the British Government!”f Surely the con-
duct of Britain, in suppressing this horrid rite in her eastern
dominions, will lead to its extirpation in every part of Asia.
The writer of “Sketches of India,” observes;–“ In the
middle of the hills of Upper Tibet, (beyond Depra,) are many
rude piles of stones four or five feet high, erected in the sim-
plest manner. On a few of them moss had gathered and im-
printed age and decay. On inquiry I learned that these were
the monuments of Suttees, and that in these peaceful regions,
they were very frequent.”t
The Asiatic Journal contains an account of a Suttee, in the
little Independent Territory of Angria, contiguous to Bombay,
subsequent to the abolition of the practice in the other Presi-

A.
"…,
* Ham. Hind., vol. ii. pp. 672, 684, 689.
t Proceedings of Manchester Meeting relative to Suttees, May 1827.
† For a description of a Suttee in Tibet, see p. 68. -
268 SUTTEES.
dencies of India.-‘‘The widow of a native of Bombay, in
Aug. 1830, determining to perform the rite of Suttee, pro-
ceeded from Bombay to Allybagh, in Angria's territory, where
she ordered a pile to be erected. She refused to accept the
dress which is usually given by Angria, to Suttees coming to
his country. Having performed the religious ceremony pre-
paratory to self-immolation, she approached the pile with
courage, accompanied by a crowd of people, and the horse-
men and other retinue furnished by Angria: and as she was
about to ascend the pile, she took a pinch of snuff, and gave
her nose-ring and ear-rings to her son, who was standing by
her. She requested that the posts supporting the shade over
the pile, (which are usually cut down, and thus shorten the
sufferings of the Suttee,) might on no account be cut away.”
The Suttee probably still exists among the Jahrejas of
Guzerat and Cutch. Col. Walker thus described its pre-
valence in 1808:—“It is remarkable that it is the practice of
these rackelees, to perform Suttee with deceased Jahrejas,
which is but rarely done by their wives. When Rao Lacka, the
grandfather of Rao Raydim, the present chief of Cutch, died,
fifteen rackelees burnt at his funeral pile ! Two of these
women were Mahomedans of the country, and another a See-
deen; the rest were Hindoos of different casts, but not one of
Rao Lackas's wives sacrificed herself on this occasion. This
deviation from the general Hindoo practice is merely the
effect of another custom, as there is no law against a Jahreja
wife burning with her husband, and she sometimes voluntarily
devotes herself to the flames. This ceremony is less expected
from the wife than the rackelee ; and these unfortunate females
conceive it a point of honour to consume themselves with
their lords, being often inspired with a dreadful emulation
to become the first victim. It may be mentioned as another
extraordinary deviation from the general custom of Hindoos,
that, in the district of Hulwud, the wives of the lowest casts
&nvariably burn with their husbands, which may be the reason
that the Jahreja women excuse themselves; and, as it is only
people of rank who keep rackelees, instances of this nature
are not frequent.”f
Sir John Malcolm, in his account of Malwa, in 1821, makes
the following deeply interesting, but brief reference to the
prevalence of the Suttee in the adjacent states:—“It is
consolatory to state, that those shocking scenes which still
* Asi. Journ., April 1831, p. 188.
f Par. Papers on Infanticide, 1824, p. 41.
SUTTEES. 269
occur on the death of the princes of Jaypore, Joudpore, and
Oudipore, to swell whose funeral honours numbers of unwil-
ling females are forcibly thrown upon the pile, have long
been unknown in Malwa.”
Crawford’s “History of the Indian Archipelago,” states the
existence of the sacrifice of women, among the inhabitants
of the Island of Bali.-“In Bali, this practice is carried to
an extent unknown even in India. When a wife offers her-
self, the sacrifice is termed Satya ; when a concubine, slave,
or other domestic, Bela, or retaliation. A woman of any
cast may sacrifice herself in this manner; but it is most
frequent with those of military and mercantile classes. Women
of the servile class seldom sacrifice themselves; and never of
the sacred. It mostly occurs on the death of princes and
persons of rank.” The Rajah of Blelliry stated, that when
the body of his father was burnt, 74 women sacrificed them-
selves with it. In 1813, 20 women sacrificed themselves on
the funeral pile of Wayaham Balanteg. The female domes-
tics of a chief, in numbers sacrifice themselves, as well as
his wives.”
“In 1633 the Dutch sent an embassy to the Sultan of Motaram, who saw
an execution of this kind. The Queen was dead. The narrative states,
“The same day about noon, the Queen's body was burnt without the city,
with twenty-two of her female slaves. The body was drawn out of a large
aperture made in the wall. The female slaves destined to accompany the
dead went before, according to their ranks; those of the lowest rank taking
the lead, each supported from behind by an old woman, and carried on a
badif skilfully constructed of bamboos, and decked all over with flowers.
There were placed before a roasted pig, some rice, some betel, and other fruits,
asan offering to their gods; and these unhappy victims of the most direful idol-
atry, were thus carried in triumph to the sound of different instruments, to
the place where they were to be, in the sequel, poniarded and consumed by
fire. Each, there, found a particular scaffold prepared for her, nearly in the
form of a trough raised upon four short posts, and edged on two sides with
planks. After moving three times round in a circle, at the same pace at
which they arrived, and still sitting in their litters, they were forthwith taken
out of the vehicles, one after another, in order to be placed in the troughs.
Presently five men and one or two women approached them, pulling off the
flowers with which they were adorned, while at each occasion, holding their
joined hands above their heads, they raised the pieces of the offering, which
the other women, posted behind, laid hold of and threw upon the ground,
as well as the flowers. Some of the attendants set loose a pidgeon or a fowl,
to mark by that, that their soul was on the point of taking its flight to the
mansion of the blessed.
At this last signal they were divested of all their garments, except their
sashes, and four of the men seizing the victim, two by the arms which they
* Report on Malwa, Feb. 1821, ... Par. Papers, vol. v. p. 44.
† A kind of litter.
270 suTTEEs.
held out extended, and two by the feet, the victim standing, the fifth prepared
himself for the execution, the whole being done without covering the eyes.
... Some of the most courageous "demanded the poniard themselves, which
they received in the right hand, passing it into the left; after respectfully
kissing the weapon, they wounded their right arms, sucked the blood which
flowed from the wound, and stained their lips with it, making, with the
point of the finger, a bloody mark on the forehead; then returning the
dagger to their executioners, they received a first stab between the false
ribs, and a second from the same side under the shoulder blade, the weapon
being thrust up to the hilt, in a slanting direction towards the heart. "As
soon as the horrors of death were visible in the countenance, they were per-
mitted to fall prone on the ground; their limbs were pulled from behind,
and they were stripped of the last remnant of their dress, so that they were
left in a state of perfect nakedness.
After this, the nearest relations, or others, washed the bodies, which were
then burnt to ashes. The dead body of the Queen was then brought forward,
which was also consumed. The bones of the Queen only were preserved,
the rest having been gathered up and thrown away. When a prince or
princess of the royal family dies, their women, or slaves, run round the body,
uttering cries, or frightful howlings. The King designates next day, who
are to be slaughtered. A woman whose husband dies is not obliged to fol-
low this barbarous custom; yet those who do not offer themselves are shut
up in a convent, and should they escape, and be taken, are then poniarded,
dragged through the streets, and the body then cast to the dogs. At the
funeral of the King's two sons, who died just before the Queen, forty-two
women of one, and thirty-four of the other, were poniarded and burnt. On
such occasions, princesses of the royal blood leap at once into the flames.
The first wife of the younger of these two, having been married but three
months, and very young, wished to be excused, and asked her father
whether she ought to devote herself. Her father persuaded her to devote
herself, and the wretched young woman leaped into the flames. On the
death of the reigning King, 100 or 150 devote themselves to the flames, and
then none are poniarded.”
A recent account of the Island Bali, or little Java, furnished
by some Missionaries who visited it in 1829, shews that the
Suttee exists among its rude inhabitants:—
“There are instances of the widows of the lower class choosing to burn
with the dead body of their husbands, but these are very rare; whereas, when
a king dies, it is the invariable custom, for several of his widows to burn with
him. At the death of a king, his wives of royal blood, are asked if they will
follow him, as they term it, into the other world, and on their assenting they
are put to live apart, and are allowed to eat and drink the richest viands, to
dress in the most costly apparel, and to visit their friends and relations as
much as they please, in order that they may enjoy all this world's delights
previous to their going out of it. The king's body is consumed separately,
and a distinct pit of fire is prepared for each of the women who choose to
burn. Here they part with their ornaments, and scatter presents among the
people; after which, taking a creese, they wound themselves slightly in the
arms, and smearing themselves with the blood, mount the scaffold, and pre-
cipitate themselves into the pit. In the last year, thirteen women, some of
them blooming and young, were burnt alive in Baliling, upon occasion of the
* Histoire General des Voyages, vol. xvii. p. 52, &c.
SluTTEES. 27I
death of the old king. Some of them are said to feel their hearts fail, when
they see the fire; but the stage is so constructed, that by tilting up the end of
the board, they are precipitated into it, whether they will or not. If by any
means they escape, they are creesed on the spot. The women are induced
to take this resolution, from the degradation which threatens to await them
should they refuse; and from the certainty of their being creesed in private
if they be of royal blood: for it would be an indelible dishonour on the whole
nation, if the royal widows were to go astray.”
The reader will hear with surprise, that a rite similar to the
Suttee has been found to exist among the sable Yarribanians,
in Africa. The Landers, when at Jenna, in April 1830, dis-
covered that, “it is the custom there, when a Governor dies,
for two of his favourite wives to quit the world on the same
day, to ‘bear him company.’” The travellers state, in their
interesting narrative:–
“To-day, one of these unfortunates was discovered in her hiding-place at
the present governor's, and the alternative of a poisoned chalice, or to have
her head broken by the club of the fetish-priest, was offered her. She has
chosen the former mode of dying, as being the less terrible of the two, and
has come to our yard, to spend her last hours in the society of her faithful
slaves. These address their mistress by the endearing name of mother.
Poor creatures! As soon as they learned her misfortune, they dropped their
spinning; the grinding of corn was also relinquished; their sheep, goats,
and poultry were suffered to roam at large without restraint; and they
abandoned themselves to the most excessive grief. But now, the arrival of
their mistress has added, if possible, to their affliction. . . . . Females
have been coming all day to condole with the old lady, and to weep with
her; so that we have heard and seen nothing but sobbing and crying from
morning till the setting of the sun. The principal males in the town have
likewise been here, to pay their last respects to their mistress; and so has her
grave-digger, who has just risen from prostrating himself on the ground be-
fore her. Notwithstanding the representations and remonstrances of the
priest, and the prayers of the venerable victim to her gods for fortitude to
undergo the dreadful ordeal, her resolution has forsaken her more than once.
She has entered our yard twice, to expire in the arms of her women, and
twice has she laid aside the fatal poison, in order to take another walk, and
gaze once more on the splendour of the sun and the glory of the heavens,
for she cannot bear the idea of losing sight of them for ever! She is still
restless and uneasy, and would gladly run away from Death, if she durst;
for that imaginary being appears to her in a more terrible light than our
pictures represent him, with his shadowy form and fatal dart. Die she
must, and she knows it; nevertheless she will tenaciously cling to life till
the very last moment. Meanwhile her grave is preparing, and preparations
are making for a wake at her funeral. She is to be buried here in one of
her own huts, the moment after the spirit has quitted the body, which will
be ascertained by striking the ground near which it may be lying at the time,
when, if no motion or struggle ensues, the old woman will be considered as
dead. The poison used by the natives on this occasion destroys life, it is
said, in fifteen minutes.
“The reason of our not meeting with a better reception at Laatoo, when
we slept there, was the want of a chief to that town, the last having followed
* Asi. Journ, Nov. 1830, p. 242.
272 SUTTEES,
the old governor of Jenna to the shades, for he was his slave. Widows are
burnt in India, just as they are poisoned or clubbed here; but in the former
country, I believe, no male victims are destroyed on such occasions. The
origin of this abominable custom is understood to have arisen, from a dread
on a part of the chiefs of the country in olden time, that their principal wives,
who alone were in possession of their confidence, and knew where their
money was concealed, might secretly attempt their life, in order at once to
establish their own freedom, and become possessed of the property. That,
far from having any motives to destroy her husband, a woman might, on the
contrary, have a strong inducement to cherish him as long as possible, the
existence of the wife was made to depend entirely on that of her lord; and
this custom has been handed down from father to son even to the present
time. But why men also, who can have no interest to gain on the death of
their prince, should be obliged to conform to the same rite, is not near so
easily accounted for. The present governor of Jenna must of necessity go
down to the grave on the first intelligence of the demise of the king of Yar-
riba; and as that monarch is a very aged man, the situation of the former
is not the most enviable in the world.
“Previous to her Swallowing the poison, the favourite wife of a deceased
chief or ruler destroys privately all the wealth, or rather money of her for-
mer partner, in order that it may not fall into the hands of his successor.
The same custom is observed at Badagry also ; and although the king's
son may be of age at the period of his father's death, he inherits his autho-
rity and influence only. He is left to his own sagacity and exertions to pro-
cure wealth, which can seldom be obtained without rapine, enslavement,
and bloodshed. -
“The old queen-dowager, like Prior's thief,

“Often takes leave, but seems loath to depart:”
although her doom is inevitably sealed, she has been more cheerful to-day
than yesterday, and seems determined to spin out her thread of life to its
utmost limit. Spies are now set over her, and she is not permitted to go
out of the yard.
—“Nothing deserving particular motice has occurred to-day. We have
had the customary visit to our yard, of a long line of women, who come every
morning, with rueful countenances and streaming eyes, to lament the ap-
proaching death of the old widow. They weep, they beat their breasts and
tear their hair, they moan, and exhibit all manner of violent affliction at the
expected deprivation. Perhaps their sorrow is sincere, perhaps it is feigned.
At all events, their transports are ungoverned and outrageous; the first
woman in the line begins to cry, and is instantly followed by the other voices;
the opening notes of the lamentation are rather low and mournful, the last
wild and piercing.
“The principal people of the place, finding the old lady still obstimately
bent on deferring her eacit, have sent a messenger to her native village, to
make known to her relatives, that, should she make her escape, they will
take all of them into slavery, and burn their town to ashes, in conformity to
an established and very ancient law. They would therefore strongly advise
the relatives of the old woman, for their own sakes, and for the sake of the
public, to use all their endeavours to prevail upon her to meet her fate hon-
ourably and with ſortitude. A deputation is expected from the village to-
morrow, when, no doubt, after a good deal of crying and condoling, and
talking and persuading the matter will eventually be decided against the
old lady. It is understood, that she has bribed a few of the most opulent
STJTTEES. 273
and influential inhabitants of Jenna with large sums of money, to induce
them to overlook her dereliction from the path of duty, and that by their
representations she has obtained the tacit consent of the King of Katunga
to live out the full term of her natural life. But the people for many miles
round, horror-struck at such impiety and contempt for ancient customs, have
risen to enforce the laws of the country against her.”
The necessity and propriety of persevering eavertions till
this horrid practice is eartirpated from the world, is evident.
The rite of Suttee was prohibited by Lord Bentinck, in the
Bengal Presidency, in Dec. 1829. In Jan. 1830, a petition
was presented to his Lordship, by a deputation of respectable
natives of Calcutta, opposed to the Regulation; a similar
petition was presented from the interior. In the reply his
Lordship observed, “If the petitioners should still be of
opinion that the late Regulation is not in conformity with the
enactments of the Imperial Parliament, they have an appeal
to the King in Council, which the Governor General will be
most happy to forward.”t A few days afterwards, two coun-
ter petitions were presented, expressive of thanks for the
abolition of the Suttee practice; one signed by about 300
native inhabitants of Calcutta, presented, on their behalf, by
Baboos, Callynath Roy, Huree Hur Dutt, Ram Mohun Roy,
and others; the other from the Christian inhabitants of Cal-
cutta, signed by about 800 persons. The following is the
Native Address, which was read in Bengalee by Callynath
Roy, and afterwards in a translation into English by Huree
Hur Dutt. The Native Petition, and Lord Bentinck's reply,
appear worthy of preservation, and cannot fail to interest the
humane. -
“To the Right Hon. Lord William Cavendish Bentinck, &c.
“My Lord: - -
“With hearts filled with the deepest gratitude, and impressed with
the utmost reverence, we, the undersigned native inhabitants of Calcutta,
and its vicinity, beg to be permitted to approach your Lordship, to offer
personally our humble but warmest acknowledgments for the invaluable
protection which your Lordship's government has recently afforded to the
lives of the Hindoo female part of your subjects, and for your humane and
successful exertions in rescuing us for ever, from the gross stigma hitherto
attached to our character as wilful murderers of females, and zealous pro-
moters of the practice of suicide.
“Excessive jealousy of their female connexions, operating on the breasts
of Hindoo princes, rendered those despots regardless of the common bonds
of society, and of their incumbent duty as protectors of the weaker sex, inso-
much that, with a view to prevent every possibility of their widows forming
subsequent attachments, they availed themselves of their arbitrary power,
* Landers' Expedition to the Niger. Eclectic Rev., May 1832, pp.
377–379. t Asi. Journal, July 1830, p. 136, •
T
274 SUTTEES.
and, under the cloak of religion, introduced the practice of burning widows
alive, under the first impressions of sorrow or despair, immediately after the
demise of their husbands. This system of female destruction, being admi-
rably suited to the selfish and servile disposition of the populace, has been
eagerly followed by them, in defiance of the most sacred authorities, such as
the Oopunishwds, or the principal part of the Veds, and the Bhugvut Geeta,
as well as of the direct commandment of Munoo, the first and the greatest
of all the legislators, conveyed in the following words: ‘Let a widow con-
tinue till death, forgiving all injuries, performing austere duties, avoiding
every sensual pleasure,’ &c. (Ch. v. 51. v. 8)
“While, in fact, fulfilling the suggestions of their jealousy, they pre-
tended to justify this hideous practice by quoting some passages from
authorities of evidently inferior weight, sanctioning the wilful ascent of a
widow on the flaming pile of her husband, as if they were offering such
female sacrifices in obedience to the dictates of the shastras, and not from
the influence of jealousy. It is, however, very fortunate that the British
Government, under whose protection the lives of both the males and females
of India have been happily placed by Providence, has, after diligent
inquiry, ascertained that even those inferior authorities, permitting wilful
ascent by a widow to the flaming pile, have been practically set aside; and
that, in gross violation of their language and spirit, the relatives of widows
have, in the burning of those infatuated females, almost invariably used to
fasten them down on the pile, and heap over them large quantities of wood
and other materials adequate to the prevention of their escape—an outrage
on humanity which has been frequently perpetrated under the indirect
sanction of native officers, undeservedly employed for the security of life
and preservation of peace and tranquillity.
“In many instances, in which the vigilance of the magistrate has deterred
the native officers of police from indulging their own inclination, widows
have either made their escape from the pile, after being partially burnt, or
retracted their resolution to burn when brought to the awful task, to the
mortifying disappointment of the instigators; while, in some instances, the
resolution to die has been retracted, on pointing out to the widows the im-
propriety of their intended undertaking, and on promising them safety and
maintenance during life, notwithstanding the severe reproaches liable
thereby to be heaped on them by their relatives and friends.
“In consideration of circumstances so disgraceful in themselves, and so
incompatible with the principles of British rule, your Lordship in Council,
fully impressed with the duties required of you by justice and humanity,
has deemed it incumbent on you, for the honour of the British name, to
come to the resolution, that the lives of your female Hindoo subjects should
be henceforth more efficiently protected; that the heinous sin of cruelty to
females may no longer be committed, and that the most ancient and purest
system of Hindoo religion should not any longer be set at nought by the
Hindoos themselves. The magistrates, in consequence are, we understand,
positively ordered to execute the resolution of government by all possible
Iſleå.I].S.
“We are, my Lord, reluctantly restrained by the consideration of the
nature of your exalted situation, from indicating our inward feelings by
presenting any valuable offering as commonly adopted on such occasions;
but we should consider ourselves highly guilty of insincerity and ingratitude,
if we remained negligently silent when urgently called upon by our feelings
and conscience to express publicly the gratitude we feel for the everlasting
obligation you have graciously conferred on the Hindoo community at large.
We, however, are at a loss to find language sufficiently indicative even of


SUTTEES. 275
a small portion of the sentiments we are desirous of expressing on the occa-
sion; we must, therefore, conclude this address with entreating that your
Lordship will condescendingly accept our mostgrateful acknowledgments for
this act of benevolence towards us, and will pardon the silence of those who,
though equally partaking of the blessing, bestowed by your Lordship, have,
through ignorance or prejudice, omitted to join us in this common cause.”
The following was his Lordship's reply:
“It is very satisfactory for me to find that, according to the opinions of
so many respectable and intelligent Hindoos, the practice which has re-
cently been prohibited, not only was not required by the rules of their reli-
gion, but was at variance with those writings which they deem to be of the
greatest force and authority. "Nothing but a reluctance to inflict punish-
ment, for acts which might be conscientiously believed to be enjoined by
religious precepts, could have indueed the British Government at any time
to permit, within territories under its protection, a usage so violently op-
posed to the best feelings of human nature. Those who present this address
are right in supposing, that by every nation in the world, except the Hin-
doos themselves, this part of their customs has always been made a reproach
against them, and nothing so strangely contrasted with the better feelings
of their own national character, so inconsistent with the affections which unite
families, so destructive of the moral principles on which society is founded,
has ever subsisted amongst a people, in other respects, so civilized. I trust
that the reproach is removed for ever; and I feel a sincere pleasure in
thinking, that the Hindoos will thereby be exalted in the estimation of man-
kind, to an extent in some degree proportioned to the repugnance which
was felt for the usage which has now ceased.”
The Hindoos in Bengal, inimical to the abolition, deter-
mined to appeal to the King in Council; and a European (it
is presumed professing himself a Christian') was found, who
undertook to advocate their object. To meet the expense of
the undertaking a considerable sum was subscribed, and this
renegade Christian embarked for England, to prosecute the
revival of the unnatural rite of widow burning. The
enlightened Hindoos were not backward in the representation
of their sentiments in England, relative to the propriety of the
Suttee abolition. The legal authorities against the rite were
put together at great length from their most celebrated shas-
tras. A Gentleman, who was proceeding to Europe, under-
took the charge of them, free of expense, declaring, “he
esteemed himself sufficiently happy in having witnessed the
extinction of female Immolations.”f Ram Mohun Roy also
was the bearer of a Hindoo petition, in favour of the abolition,
which was presented to the House of Lords, in July 1831.1
The Appeal to the King in Council, against the Regulation
abolishing the Suttee, was heard June 23, 1832, and the two
following Saturdays. The author addressed letters, contain-
* Asi. Jour., July 1830, pp. 138–140. t Asi. Jour., Dec. 1830, p. 185.
t Asi. Jour, May, p. 20, and Aug. 1831, p. 229. . . j
T 2
276 SUTTEES.
ing extracts from Menu against the rite, to Lords Brougham
and Russell, and to the Hon. E. Ellice, M. P. by him to be laid
before the Council for the Hon. East India Company, which
was done. The Evening Mail, July 9th, thus speaks of the
third meeting of the Privy Council:—“The Lords of His
Majesty's most Hon. Privy Council, held a meeting on
Saturday, at the Council chamber, Whitehall, to resume the
hearing of an Appeal from the Hindoo inhabitants of India,
against an order of the Governor General and the Supreme
Council of Bengal, abolishing the rite of Suttee. The Lords
present were, the Lord President, the Lord Chancellor, the
Master of the Rolls, the President of the Board of Control, the
First Lord of the Admiralty, the Paymaster of the Forces,
Earl Amherst, Sir L. Shadwell, and Sir H. East; the Rajah
Ram Mohun Roy was present. Mr. Greville, and the Hon.
W. Bathurst, attended as clerks of the Privy Council. Mr.
Sergeant Spankie resumed his address on the part of the East .
India Company, in support of the powers possessed by the
Governor and Council to issue the order in question. Dr.
Lushington rose to reply on the part of the appellants, and
pointed out the spirit of discontent, which, according to the
evidence of those most conversant with the feelings and cus-
toms of the Gentoo nation, would be excited, should their
Lordships sanction this interference with one of their most
sacred rites. Dr. L. concluded at three o’clock, when coun-
sel withdrew. Their Lordships afterwards remained a con-
siderable time in deliberation, and will submit the result to
His Majesty in Council for his approbation.” A few days
after, a Privy Council was held by the King, at which the
report of the Lords of the Council, on the petition from cer-
tain Hindoos, against the order of the Government of Bengal,
abolishing the Suttee, heard at three different sittings, was
taken into consideration by the King in Council, when it was
ordered—that the petition be dismissed / Thus the impor-
tant object of the abolition of Suttees has been happily
effected, and the efforts of the few Hindoos in Bengal, who
desired the continuance of this murderous rite, rendered
abortive. - -
The Government in India should now be stimulated to
promote the abolition of this rite in the tributary, allied, and
independent states, and in the Eastern Islands. Represen-
tation and remonstrance from its Functionaries, would go far to
effect the extirpation of this custom in every part of the East.
This object should be steadily and sedulously pressed upon their
attention. The expression of public opinion in this country
SUTTEES. 277
is very influential. The Hon. Court of Directors, in a public
letter to the Governor General, in 1827, remarked, relative to
the abolition of the Suttee, “You will have perceived, from
the public channels of intelligence, that this is a subject which
has excited a strong interest in the public mind of this coun-
try.” Let every philanthropist exert himself to promote the
annihilation of this and every inhuman practice in Hindostan.
Britain is eminently qualified for such a work, may she know
and act agreeably to her high destiny. “Who that sees
Great Britain yet upon her throne, after a conflict in which
she has survived the united assaults of the European nations,
and has equally triumphed over the arts and arms of her ori-
ental enemies—who that beholds her “sitting as a queen,” and,
after having humbled the Tyrant of Europe, and raised the
nations he had oppressed, now legislating in peace, for her
own remote empire in the East; —who that beholds her en-
riched by commerce, and ennobled by conquest, will hesitate
to pronounce, that this is peculiarly the time to interpose for
the deliverance of her own subjects from the oppression of a
sanguinary superstition, and to prove to the world that she
has herself been preserved amidst surrounding ruin, for no
ordinary purposes *t And what are those purposes, but
being the eminently honoured means, of promoting the uni-
versal diffusion of the principles of that Gospel, by which the
language of prophecy shall be fulfilled:—“All the ends of
the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all
the kindreds of the nations shall worship before Thee. They
shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the
earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters
cover the sea.”
* Par. Papers, vol. vi. July 1828, p. 21.
t Poynder's Speech, on Human Sacrifices in India, 1827, p. 214
278 SUTTEES.
A VOICE FROM INDIA ;
OR,
THE HORRORS OF A SUTTEE.
WHAT means that gloomy funeral pyre,
On Ganges’ banks its tall head raising,
And those red gleams of murky fire,
E’en now around its broad base blazing?
What mean those wild and frantic yells,
As from a thousand throats resounding,
With drums and trumpet’s awful peals,
From distant hills and woods resounding?
Ah! 'tis a dark and murd’rous deed,
Which cruel Brahmuns there are doing,
Well may the heart turn sick, and bleed,
While such a dreadful theme pursuing!
For see! on that detested pile,
By her lord’s corpse the widow lying,
While Moloch, with a fiendish smile,
Looks on, and views his victim dying.
See how she writhes! hark to her screams,
As now the lurid flames enfold her!
But all is vain, no pity gleams
In the stern face of one beholder
Her kindred stand with hearts of stone,
Cased by the demon Superstition;
Hear her last agonizing groan,
Nor heave a sigh at her condition'
Ye British matrons, husbands, sires,
Your souls with soft compassion glowing,
O! haste to quench the horrid fires
Whence human blood is daily flowing?
With your loved King and Country plead,
Implore the Senate of your nation,
That Hindostan may soon be freed
From scenes of such abomination.
And send, O! send the Gospel forth
To the dark haunts of superstition!
That they may learn a Saviour's worth,
And find in him sin’s true remission.
Arise, thou Sun of Righteousness!
On heathen lands pour forth thy splendour;
Then love and peace their homes shall bless,
And their steel'd hearts grow soft and tender.
Matlock Bath. ELLEN.
Nº ºn AS".
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BOOK W.
S L A V E R Y.
CHAP. I.
Introductory remarks—origin, nature, and evils of
Slavery in India.
A LATE highly respected writer on India, has stated, relative
to slavery in the East,-‘‘Though no slavery legally eacists in
the British territories at this moment, yet the terms and ges-
tures used by servants to their superiors, all imply that such
a distinction was at no distant date very common. “I am thy
slave;’ ‘Thy slave hath no knowledge,’ are continually used
as expressions of submission and ignorance.” From this
extract, and others of a similar kind which might be made
from different writers, it is evident that the nature and extent
of slavery in India are imperfectly understood.* A volumi-
nous collection of Papers on this subject, containing nearly
1,000 folio pages, was “ordered by the Hon. House of Com-
mons to be printed, March 12th, 1828;’ and it is important
that their contents should be generally known. Of these
papers it has been remarked, ‘An attempt to digest such a mass
of documents into a narrative, or to reduce them into any
symmetrical shape, is hopeless;’ the Author has not been thus
discouraged in his investigation of them; but, being convinced
that slavery in India is a subject of considerable interest, he
has devoted much time to the perusal of these Papers, and
hopes his labours may be beneficial to the interests of suffer-
ing humanity in India. While so many works are extant on
West India Slavery, the Author is acquainted with but one
on Slavery in India,t and that a small pamphlet recently
* See an article on East Indian Slavery, in the Friend of India, (Quar.
Ser.) Dec. 1823.
t East India Slavery by Saintsbury, 1829. See also East and West
India Sugar, 1823, Hatchard. - -
280 SLAVERY,
published. To bring the real state of India before the British
public must be beneficial; and, under this conviction, the
Author submits his humble labours to the candid attention of
his readers. -
J. Richardson, Esq., Judge and Magistrate of Zillah Bun-
dlecund, in his valuable communication to the British Govern-
ment in India, on the subject of slavery, in March 1808, very
justly remarks,—“The humane abolition of the slave trade
in England has added lustre to the enlightened wisdom of the
British senate; and enrolled, to the latest posterity, the name
of Wilberforce amongst the benefactors of mankind. That
slavery should ever have been authorized, in any civilized com-
munity, is as astonishing to the mind, as disgraceful to human
nature. The great Author of creation made all men equally
free. By what act then can that freedom be forfeited or given
up Surely liberty can be forfeited by no act that does not
militate against the general security and well-being of society.
Nor has man more right to sell or give up the natural freedom
of his person, than he has to lay down his natural life at
pleasure; much less can he have any title to dispose of the
liberty of another, even of his child. That slavery is an in-
fringement of the law of nature cannot be disputed. The
most respectable authority proves that, it is in its own nature
invalid. Blackstone, speaking of the law of nature, says, “this
law of nature, coeval with mankind, and dictated by God
himself, is of course superior in obligation to any other. It
is binding all over the globe, in all countries, and at all times;
no human laws are of any validity if contrary to this; and
such of them as are valid, derive all their force and authority
mediately or immediately from this original.” The most
strenuous defenders, of this imposition of the powerful on the
weaker part of mankind, pretend not to maintain its propriety
but on ideas of political utility. Impartial and minute inquiry
into its effects would at once remove this specious veil, by
which the principle is sometimes hidden; and the system,
decorated in the eye of sensible and virtuous men under mis-
taken notions of human expediency, proves the uniform ten-
dency of slavery to be depressive of every emanation of the
mind, and highly destructive to our species.” -
The origin of slavery in India, as it exists among the Hin-
doos, is involved in considerable obscurity. Its rise among
the Mahomedans is evidently to be traced to the triumph of
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, 1828, p. 299. There is much truth
in the observation—“He who loses his liberty, loses half his virtue.”
SLAVERY. 281
their arms. The following extracts, from the Parliamentary
Papers on slavery in India, afford some information upon a
subject interesting to every humane mind. These Papers com-
mence with the following Regulation for punishing decoits or
robbers, and shew one source of slavery in the East.—“That
whereas the peace of this country hath for some years past
been greatly disturbed by bands of decoits, who not only in-
fest the high roads, but often plunder whole villages, burning
the houses and murdering the inhabitants: And whereas these
abandoned outlaws have hitherto found means to elude every
attempt which the vigilance of government hath put in force,
for detecting and bringing such atrocious criminals to justice,
by the secrecy of their haunts, and the wild state of the dis-
tricts which are most subject to their incursions; it becomes
the indispensable duty of government to try the most rigorous
means, since experience has proved every lenient and ordinary
remedy to be ineffectual: that it be therefore resolved, That
every such criminal, on conviction, shall be carried to the
village to which he belongs, and be there executed for a ter-
ror and example to others; and, for the further prevention of
such abominable practices, that the village, of which he is an
inhabitant, shall be fined according to the enormity of the
crime, and each inhabitant according to his substance; and
that, the family of the criminal shall become the slaves of the
State, and be disposed of for the general benefit and conveni-
ence of the people, according to the discretion of the govern-
ment. Aug. 1772.”* - -
“If we may judge (says the Editor of the Asiatic Journal,
in a review of the contents of the Papers on East India Sla-
very,) from a subsequent minute and regulation of the Bengal
Government (1774), this proposal was not listened to ; for
therein, not only is the stealing of children or selling any Hin-
doo as a slave (without a regular deed) forbidden, but it is
proposed to abolish slavery altogether, after the first genera-
tion then living, owing to ‘the great increase of late years
of this savage commerce, and in order to prevent hasty strides
towards depopulation.” Further inquiry however seems to
have convinced the Bengal Government, that there were dis-
tricts where slavery was in general usage, and the abolition
of which mightimpede cultivation. The Government observes,
that the opinions, of the most creditable Mussulman and Hin-
doo inhabitants, condemn the usage of selling slaves, as re-
* Par. Papers, p. 2.
282 SLAVERY.
pugnant to the particular precepts both of the Koran and the
Shaster.”* -
The Provincial Council of Patna, in Aug. 1774, address
the Governor, Warren Hastings, Esq., on this subject as fol-
lows:—“We find that there are two kinds of slaves in this
province, Mussulman and Hindoo; the former are properly
called Mualazadeh, and the latter Kahaar. Slaves of either
denomination are considered in the same light as any other
property, and are transferrable by the owner, or descend at
his demise to his heirs. They date the rise of the custom of
Kahaar slavery from the first incursions of the Mahomedans
when the captives were distributed by the general among the
officers of his army, to whose posterity they remained. All
other slaves have become so by occasional purchase, as in
cases of famine, &c. The Kaboleh must be signed by the
mother or grandmother, and not by the father. Children also
born of slaves are the property of the owner of the woman,
though married to a slave of a different family.”f
The Collector at Trichinopoly, in the Madras Presidency,
in reply to the inquiries of the Government, addressed to a
number of Collectors on the subject of slavery in their respec-
tive districts, describes the origin of pullers or agricultural
slavery as follows:—“It is, I apprehend, indisputable, that
in the earliest ages of Hindoo government, agricultural and
domestic slavery existed to an indefinite extent. The practice
was sanctioned by prescription, and upheld by law; but it
will be found that the terms of bondage, and the nature of the
services required from the slaves, differed essentially in almost
every district. No distinct information can be obtained at
what period agricultural slavery commenced. It is now im-
possible to trace, whether this establishment took its rise
from the voluntary submission of the indigent to the wealthy,
or whether the pullers were originally captives taken in war.
But, as this species of bondage is generally the concomitant
of barbarous governments, it must of necessity have been a
very ancient institution of the Hindoos. Under their arbitrary
government, the distinctions of cast were scrupulously main-
tained; and, adverting to the circumstance of the meerassidars
in Trichinopoly being Brahmuns, it scarcely excites surprise
that agricultural slavery should eacist here unchanged and
wn diminished.”: -
* Asi. Journ, Nov. 1828, p. 559. -
f Par. Papers on Slavery in India, p. 5. † Par. Papers, p. 892.
SLAVERY. 283
The late Sir Stamford Raffles, Lieut. Governor of the Island
of Java, in 1812, gives the following information, respecting
the origin of slavery in the Eastern Isles:—
“Macassar and its neighbourhood may be considered as a principal source
from which slaves have been exported; and without entering into any dis-
cussion of the origin and causes of this state of society, which, in a general
point of view, must be referred to backwardness of civilization and prevalence
of native authority, it must be observed that, in consequence of its being the
favourite source of revenue among those chieftains, it will require much
caution in attempting any measures to restrain, where argument could be of
no avail, and force would be inconvenient. In my instructions to Captain
Phillips, on his proceeding to Macassar, I directed his attention in a par-
ticular manner to this interesting subject; but I regret to find from his
report, that at present there is little prospect of his favourable interference.
In short, he seems decidedly of opinion that, “as men-stealers are very
common over the country, if he prohibited their selling their stolen property
at Macassar, they would still carry on the trade in the Boui territory;’
where, though so immediately under the eye of the Resident, the Rajah
would no doubt maintain his right, equally with that which he exercises at
pleasure, of life and death.
“The native laws, usages, and habits, regarding slavery, are in many
instances so various and contradictory, and it is so difficult to trace them to
any authentic source, that is universally admitted, that I am fearful very little
light will be obtained from them. Prisoners of war are in many cases con-
sidered as the property of the conqueror, and consequently sold as slaves.
The families of criminals, who may be executed for particular crimes become
likewise a droit of the chief; and in many cases criminals are pardoned on
condition of being sold into slavery. Throughout the whole of the Eastern
Islands, debtors become responsible in their services to their creditors, and it
does not appear, that there is any generally acknowledged law among them,
to prevent the chief of a family selling his wife and children into slavery.
The desperate manner in which the Bugguese prows are known to defend
themselves at sea, is accounted for by the numerous crew, who are all sepa-
rate adventurers on a borrowed capital, having left their families hypothecated
for the debt, who become slaves to the creditor, in the event of the debtor
parting with the property under any circumstances without his life.
“The Dutch law being blended with the Roman, and the colonial law
founded on both, slavery has been fully recognised as legal by the European
government; while the universal prevalence of Mahomedanism renders it
legal with every native administration, and as such it appears, without any
occasional difference of opinion, to have been always viewed. Slavery on
the island of Java, is exclusively confined to domestic purposes, and may be
considered rather as a regulated domestic servitude, than that detestable
system which the legislature of Great Britain have, to the credit of humanity,
so vigorously suppressed in the West Indies. Slavery, however, under any
shape, or if it bears only the name, is so repugnant to every principle of en-
lightened administration, and so inconsistent with your Lordship’sº benevolent
plans, that I fear I should not stand eaccused, in ny defence of such a system,
wnder any modifications or circumstances whatever.”f

* Lord Minto. f Par. Papers, p. 154—156. For an account of the
Slave Trade at the Island of Nias, near Sumatra, see an interesting article
from the Singapore Chronicle, in the Imp. Mag. Jan. 1830, pp. 48–54.
284 SLAVERY.
The rise of slavery in Penang, or Prince of Wales’ Island,
is thus described in a letter from the Judge and Magistrate in
Jan. 1802, to the Marquis of Wellesley, then Governor
General of India:— -
“My Lord Marquis:—In a case which lately came judicially before me
a question arose, ‘Whether civil slavery, that is, a right of one man over
the person and fortune of another, was to be considered as established at
Prince of Wales’ Island.’ I was not ignorant that slavery, limited and un-
limited, had been tolerated. I know that emigrants, both from the Malay
Peninsula and from the Eastern Island, who had become inhabitants of
Prince of Wales’ Island, have been permitted to retain in slavery, those whom
they had brought as slaves to this place. Some of these, indeed, are in utter
slavery, while others are only in limited servitude. The latter is the con-
dition of those who are styled slave debtors, and these are people that
voluntarily become slaves to their creditors till their debts are paid. But
all this passed, sub silentio; for, after a careful search, I have not found
any regulation of the local government, or any order from the Governor
General in council, authorizing the establishment of slavery, limited or un-
limited, at Prince of Wales’ Island. This right, if any such in fact exists,
rests therefore simply on a usage of fourteen years. Thus circumstanced,
having no authority to guide my judgment, my delicacy increased in pro-
portion to the interests on which I was called to determine; and, in this
case, subordinate to the question of civil slavery, arose two other questions.
The first a question of fact, “Whether the father of A. ever had been a slave
at Quiddah P. The second a question of law, ‘What was to be the con-
dition of A. now resident at Prince of Wales’ Island, whether born of one
parent who was free, and of another, who was enslaved, or born of parents
who were both slaves, and now resident at Prince of Wales’ Island.
“I was desirous of avoiding the determination of this case, and remitted
it to the Lieutenant Governor; but, in deference to his particular request, I
gave my opinion, that the evidence did not prove that the father ever had been
a slave, but that it inclined to shew that the mother had been a slave at Quid-
dah, and I thought the son should follow the condition of his father. I was led to
this opinion, from a consideration that it is the old law of villanage in England,
and, although I know it was contrary to the maxim of the civilians, partes
sequitur ventrem, yet the latter authority had no weight with me; first,
because slavery had not yet been established by authority; next, because I
could not see any local circumstance requiring its establishment; and, lastly,
because a state of slavery is, in its own nature, bad, neither wseful to the
master nor to the slave, nor to the state under which they live. The Lieutenant
Governor, on the contrary, was of opinion that the evidence proved both
parents of A. were slaves, and under the regulations for the administration
of justice on this island, ultimately decreed, that A., resident in this island,
should be delivered up as a slave to Hakim Sullee, Captain Malay, resident
also on this island. - -
“By this decree slavery is now recognised and established by the local
government of this island; and therefore, in addition to the observations
which I have had the honour of submitting to the consideration of your
Excellency in council, I feel the necessity of representing that regulations
are now requisite, in which the right that a master is to possess over the per-
son and fortune of his slave, at Prince of Wales’ Island, should be explicitly
defined; and I hope that yourExcellency in council will take into consideration
the case of the º of slaves, and particularly of those, who are born of
SLAVERY. 285
one parent who is free, while the other is a slave. Nothing can be presumed
on the moderation or justice of Mahomedans who possess slaves. By their
usages the virtue or honour of female slaves is at the mercy of their master!
I could hope that the right of the master was by law expressly limited to
the bounds of humanity. I have no other apology to offer, than my con-
viction, that the subject matter of my letter is of the first importance, to the
interests and prosperity of this rising colony.”
The nature of slavery in India will appear from the fol-
lowing extracts. The Governor General, in 1775, transmitted
to the Hon. Court of Directors, extracts from a translation of
the Hindoo Laws, by N. B. Halhed, Esq. From this code
it appears that slaves are divided into fifteen classes, viz. –
“1. Whoever is born of a female slave, and is called Gerhejat.
2. Whoever is purchased for a price, and is called Keereeut.
3. Whoever is found any where by chance and is called Lubdehee.
4. Whoever is a slave by descent from his ancestors, and his called
Dayavaupakut. --
5. Whoever hath been fed, and hath had his life preserved by another
during a famine, and is called Enakal Behrut.
6. Whoever hath been delivered up as a pledge for money borrowed, and
is called Abut.
7. Whoever, to free himself from the debt of one creditor, hath borrowed
money from another person, and, having discharged the old debt gives him-
self up as a servant to the person with whom the present debt is contracted;
or whoever, by way of terminating the importunities of a creditor, delivers
himself up for a servant to that creditor, and is call Mookhud.
8. Whoever hath been enslaved by the fortune of battle, and is called
Joodih Peeraput.
9. Whoever becomes a slave by a loss on the chances of dice, or other
games, and is called Punjeet; according to the ordinations of Perkashkar
and Pareejaut, and according to the ordination of Chendeesur, it is thus,
that by whatever chance he is conquered, and becomes a slave, he is called
Punjeet—approved.
10. Whoever of his own desire says to another, “I am become your slave,”
and is called Opookut. -
11. When a Chebteree, or Bice, having become Sinassee, apostates from
that way of life, the magistrate shall make him a slave, and is called Per-
berjabesheet.
12. Whoever voluntarily gives himself as a slave to another for a stipulated
time, and is called Gheerut. .*
13. Whoever performs servitude for his subsistence, and is called Bheekut.
14. Whoever, from the desire of possessing a slave girl, becomes a slave,
and is called Berbakrut.
15. Whoever of his own accord sells his liberty, and becomes a slave, and
is called Bekreet.”f
Sir R. Chambers, on the trial of the commander of a Danish
trading vessel, for procuring native children, and exporting
them as slaves, in 1789, stated the only cases in which slavery
was lawful under the Mahomedan Government.—“Infidels,
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, pp. 429, 430.
t Par, Papers, pp. 7, 306.
286 SLAVERY.
taken prisoners in war, fighting against Mussulmans, were con-
sidered the slaves of the captors; and the slavery extended to
their children. In cases of famine, publicly declared, it was law-
ful for farmers to sell their children; and persons of more than
Jifteen years of age, might sell themselves to obtain a subsis-
tence. But that in these four cases, (the only existing ones
under the Mahomedan Government,) the condition of slavery
was put under many legal restrictions, and that it was un-
!awful for a Mussulman to sell his slave. That the expor-
tation of subjects of a Mussulman government to be sold to a
state of slavery was unknown; and, he believed, that it was the
first time such an offence had been committed under the Bri-
tish flag, and he trusted it would be the last. He wished it
to be understood that, if a similar offence should ever unhap-
pily be again tried before the court, the punishment would
be more severe.”%
The nature of slavery, Hindoo and Mussulman, will appear
by the following extract, from the valuable communications
to the Bengal Government, of the Magistrate of Bundlecund.
This gentleman observes, “Previously to my submission of
the draught of the Regulation directed to be submitted to the
court of Nizamut Adawlut, I deem it of essential importance
to the elucidation of the subject, to offer a few remarks, on
the laws of slavery as they now eacist in that part of Hindos-
tan, which it has pleased God to allot to the government of
the British nation. For the sake of perspicuity, I shall tran-
scribe the questions put to the Mahomedan and Hindoo law
officers officially, for the purpose of procuring a declaration of
law on the subject of slavery, according to their respective
codes, insert their answers, and,-offer such remarks as
present themselves to my judgment, or as seem applicable
to the subject.
Questions put to the Muftee by the Nizamut Adawlut.
First Ques. “What description of slaves are authorized
by the Mahomedan law 3" -
Ans. “All men are by nature free and independent, and
no man can be a subject of property, eaccept an infidel in-
habiting a country not under the power and control of the
faithful. This right of possession which the Moslems have
over Hurbus (infidels fighting against the faith) is acquired by
Isteela, which means, the entire subduement of any subject
of property by force of arms. The original right of property,
which one man may possess over another, is to be acquired
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, p. 21.
SLAVERY. 287
solely by Isteela, and cannot be obtained in the first instance
by purchase, donation, or heritage. When, therefore, an
Imaum subdues, by force of arms, any one of the cities in-
habited by infidels, such of them as may be taken prisoners
become his rightful property, and he has the power of putting
them to death or making them slaves, and distributing them
as such among the ghazees (victorious soldiers), particularly
when fighting against infidels; or he may set them at liberty
in a Mussulman country, and levy the capitation tax; should
he make them slaves, they become legal subjects of property,
and are transferrable by sale, gift, or inheritance. But if, after
captivity, they should become converts to the faith (Islam), the
power of death over them is thereby barred, though they
would continue slaves; for, slavery being the necessary con-
sequence of original infidelity, the subsequent conversion to
Islam does not affect the prior state of bondage to which the
individual has been regularly rendered liable by Isteela, pro-
vided this be clearly established. From this it is evident that
the same rules are applicable to the slaves of both sexes. If
slaves are afterwards sold, or given away, by the Imaum, or by
the ghazees, who shared at the distribution, or if they should
become the property of another by inheritance, they then
become slaves under the three different classes of purchase,
donation, and inheritance.
“If a female should bear offspring, by any other than by
her legal lord and master, whether the father be a freeman or
a slave, and whether the slave of the said master, or of any
other person, in any one of these cases, such offspring is sub-
ject to slavery, and these are called khanazad (born in the
family); but, if the children be the acknowledged offspring of
the right owner, they are then free, and the mother of them
(being the parent of a child by her master) becomes, at his
decease, free also ; and this rule is applicable to all their
descendants to the latest posterity. The practice among free
men and women of selling their own offspring, during the
time of famine, is exceedingly improper and unjustifiable,
being in direct opposition to the principle above stated, viz.
that no man can be a subject of property, eaccept an infidel
taken in the act of hostilities against the faith. In no case
can a person, legally free, become a subject of property; and,
children not being the property of their parents, all sales or
purchases of them, as any other articles of illegal property,
are consequently invalid. It is also illegal for any free man to
sell his own person, either in time of famine or though he be
oppressed by a debt which he is unable to discharge. For
288 SLAVERY.
in the first of these cases a famished man may feed upon a
dead body' or may rob another; and a distressed debtor is
not liable to any fine or punishment.
“We are not acquainted with the principal or detailed circum-
stances, which led to the custom prevailing in most Mussulman
countries of purchasing and selling the inhabitants of Zangui-
bar, Ethiopia, Nubia, and other Negroes: but the ostensible
causes are, either that the Negroes sell their own offspring, or
that Mussulman or other tribes of people take them prisoners
by fraud, or seize them by stealth from the sea shores. In
such cases, they are not legally slaves, and the sale and pur-
chase of them are consequently invalid. But if a Mussulman
army, by order of an Imaum, should invade their country, and
make them prisoners of war by force of arms, they are then
legal slaves; provided that such Negroes are inhabitants of a
country under the government of Infidels, and in which a
Mussulman is not entitled to receive the full benefit and pro-
tection of his own laws. With regard to the custom, prevail-
ing in this country, of hiring children from their parents, for
a very considerable period, such as for seventy or eighty
years, and under this pretext making them slaves, as well as
their produce also, under the denomination of kharazad (do-
mestic slaves), the following laws are applicable;—It is law-
ful and proper for parents to hire out their children on service,
but this contract of hire becomes null and void when the child
arrives at the years of discretion, as the right of parentage
then ceases. A free man, who has reached the years of dis-
cretion, may enter into a contract to serve another, but not
for any great length of time, such as for seventy years; as this
also is a mere pretext, and has the same object of slavery in
view, whereas the said free man has the option of dissolving
any contract of hire under either of the following circum-
stances:—It is the custom, in contracts of this nature, for a
person hired on service to receive a compensation in money,
clothes, and food, as the price of hire; any day therefore that
a servant receives such a compensation, he is in duty bound
to serve for that day, but not otherwise. The condition of
contract of hire requires that the return of profit be equal to
the price of hire, and this cannot be ascertained but by de-
grees, and in course of time. The contract of hire, therefore,
becomes complete, or fulfilled according to the services or
benefit actually rendered in return for the price of hire re-
ceived, and the person hired has consequently the option of
dissolving the contract at any moment of the period originally
agreed for. . -
SLAVERY. 289
“It is unavoidable and actually necessary in contracts of
a different nature, such as in rent of land, &c., that the lessee
should not have this power; but reverting to contracts of hire
for service for a long period, the nefarious practices of sub-
jecting free men to a state of bondage, under this pretence,
it appears expedient to provide against such abuses; and with
this view to restrict the period for service in all contracts of
hired freemen to a month, one year, or the utmost to three
years, as in cases of Ijanawugh, a form of endowment. It is
customary also among the Zanane Towaf, (women who keep
sets of dancing girls,) to purchase female free children from
their parents, or by engagements directly with the children
themselves; exclusively of the illegality of such purchases,
there is a further evil resulting from this practice, which is,
the children are taught dancing and singing for others, and
are also made prostitutes, which are extremely impropel, and
expressly forbidden by the law.”
Remarks.-‘‘From the reply it is evident that, by the Mussulman law, no
man can have the right of property over another human being except a
Mussulman, and even he can acquire that right over an infidel only, in-
habiting a country not under the power and control of the faithful; and that
this right, which Mussulmans have over infidels fighting against the faith, is
acquirable by Isteela, which means the entire subduement of any subject
of property by force of arms; the right of property, therefore, which one
man may possess over another, is to be acquired, in the first instance, by
Isteela. It follows that all persons in a state of bondage, over whom the
right of property has not been obtained by Isteela, or the offspring of parents
over whom the above right was not acquired, are, by the Mussulman law,
free; and that it is the duty of the Hakim, respecting persons claiming their
freedom, over whom the right of property derived from Isteela cannot be
legally established or traced, to declare such persons of either sex free by a
legal recorded decision, which shall secure to them the future enjoyment of
that freedom.
“Slaves sold or given away by the Imaum, or the ghazee (conquerors
or victorious troops) who shared at the distribution, or if afterwards they
become the property of another by inheritance, continue slaves under the
different rights of purchase, donation, and heirship. It appears by the
Mussulman law that the offspring of a female slave, whether by a free-
man or slave of any description, except by her master, such offsprings are
slaves, and are called khanazad (born in the family). If, however, the
offspring shall be acknowledged by the master, they shall be free, and the
mother also, at the death of her owner, becomes free; and this also emanci-
pates their descendants to the latest posterity. It may be inferred from the
provision here noticed, &c., that, to entitle the child to freedom, and the
mother to emancipation, on the death of her lord, his acknowledgment, and
that he is the father, the offspring of the slave is necessary to give the law force.
Here the principles pursued by European legislation are reversed, and there
are many obvious motives that may induce the owner to deny his being
the father of the child.
“It is declared by the Mussulman law, as here developed, that a free
man cannot sell his own person. The law officer here states his unacquaint-
U
290 SLAVERY.
ance with the circumstances which led to the prevalence of the custom in
most Mussulman countries, of purchasing and selling the inhabitants of
Zanguibar, Ethiopia, Nubia, and other Negroes: they are evidently not
legally slaves by the Mussulman law.
“A free man arrived at the years of discretion, may contract to serve for
a reasonable, not a great length of time, such as seventy years; but it is
here stated, that the said free man, so contracting, is to receive a compen-
sation, and is compelled to serve for that day for which he has received
compensation, but not otherwise; the person hired has consequently the
option of dissolving the contract at any moment of the period originally
agreed for. It is observable, that this is contrary to the nature of all con-
tracts, which are, or ought to be, specific and mutual; but the Mussulman
law assigns reasons, in the subsequent paragraph of the answer on which I
am remarking, explanatory of the causes which render this contract different
from others, such as rents, &c., where the lessee has not this power, and
those reasons are more enlightened, and shew a greater anxiety for the per-
sonal liberty of the individual, than is commonly to be found among the laws
of Mahomed.
“Here is stated a custom existing amongst the Zanane Towaf, (women
who keep sets of dancing girls,) of purchasing female free born children from
their parents or others, or making engagements with the children themselves,
to be taught the practice of dancing and singing for others, and also for the
purpose of being made prostitutes, which are allowed to be extremely im-
proper and expressly forbidden by the law. The eactent of the above evil
would be best ascertained by a few appropriate queries put to the several magis-
trates, but more especially to those of the large cities; the result would at once
open the eyes of government to an evil which loudly calls for the interference
of the Legislature, on every principle of humanity, morals, and policy.”
Second Ques. “What legal powers are the owners of slaves
allowed to eacercise upon the persons of their slaves, and par-
ticularly of their female slaves?”
Ans. “The rightful proprietor of male and female slaves
has a claim to the services of such slaves to the extent of
their ability. He may employ them in baking, cooking, in
making, dyeing, and washing clothes; as agents in mercantile
transactions; in attending cattle, in tillage, or cultivation; as
carpenters, ironmongers, and goldsmiths; in transcribing; as
weavers, and in manufacturing woollen cloths; as shoemakers,
boatmen, twisters of silk, water drawers; in shaving; in per-
forming surgical operations, such as cupping, &c.; as farriers,
bricklayers, and the like ; and he may hire them out on ser-
vice in any of the above capacities; he may also employ
them himself, or for the use of his family in other duties of a
domestic nature, such as in fetching water for washing on
evazoo (religious purification), or anointing his body with oil,
rubbing his feet, or attending his person while dressing, and
in guarding the door of his house, &c. He may also have
connexion with his legal female slave, provided she is arrived
at the years of maturity, and the master or proprietor has not
previously given her in marriage to another.”
SLAVERY. 29]
“There is nothing objectionable in the duties here stated to be lawfully
demandable from slaves of both sexes. The obvious immorality, and the
great impolicy and inhumanity of the licentious authority stated in this
answer, requires no comment. The law officer, although he has stated in
part the truth, has not embraced the whole truth: the Islamite has the
power, by the Mussulman law, of exercising, with his female slaves, licentious
intercourse, at the mention of which modesty recedes with blushes and
humanity shrinks with horror!”
Third Ques. “What offences upon the persons of slaves,
and particularly of female slaves, committed by their owners
or by others, are legally punishable, and in what manner *
Ans. “If a master oppress his slave by employing him on
any duty beyond his ability, such as insisting upon his carry-
ing a load which he is incapable of bearing, or climbing a tree
which he cannot, the Hakim or ruling power may chastise
him. It is also improper for a master to order his slave to do
that which is forbidden by the law, such as putting an inno-
cent person to death, setting fire to a house, tearing the clothes
off another, or prostituting himself by adultery and fornication;
to steal or drink spirits, or to slander and abuse the chaste
and virtuous; and, if a master be guilty of such like oppres-
sions, the Hakim may inflict exemplary punishment by Fazir
and Ucqubut Shukool Allah, literally, the right of God, and
meaning on principles of public justice.
“It is further unlawful for a master to punish his male or
female slave for disrespectful conduct, and such like offences,
further than by sadeeb (slight correction), as the power of
passing sentence of tazeer and gizes is solely vested in the
Hakim. If, therefore, the master should exceed the limits of
his power of chastisement, above stated, he is liable to tazeer.
If a master should have connexion with his female slave,
before she has arrived at the years of maturity, and, if the
female slave should in consequence be seriously injured, or
should die, the ruling power may punish him by tazeer and
Uqubut Hagool Jillah, as before defined.” .
“It will be allowed, that the spirit which enumerates and limits the em-
ployments which a master is hereby forbidden to extort from his slaves, under
the penalty of being liable to exemplary punishment by the Hakim, on
principles of public justice, is humane and proper, and might be sufficient
for the purpose of good order and government, were it possible that the
spirit of the law could be carried into effect. To any man acquainted with
the manners and customs of the natives, no argument is necessary to prove
that the reverse is the case. It is hardly necessary to remark on the degree
of suffering that an illiterate, wretched, and desponding slave will submit to
from his lord, whom, from infancy perhaps, he has been accustomed to look
upon, with trembling anxiety, as the sole arbiter of his fate, upon whose
pleasure all the little happiness, or rather the absence of misery, which he

292 SLAVERY.
hopes to experience, entirely depends. Is it likely that a slave under such
circumstances should dare to apply to the ruling power for redress?
“If a master, excited by lust, unrestrained by shame, or by habit, shall
have connexion with a female slave before she has arrived at the years of
maturity, if the female slave should in consequence be severely injured or
die, what is the consequence? The ruling power may punish him as before
defined. Shall a British government sanction so horrid a law P”
Fourth Ques. “Are slaves entitled to emancipation upon
any and what maltreatment, and may the courts of justice
adjudge their emancipation upon the proof of such maltreat-
ment 2 In particular, may such judgment be passed upon
proof that a female slave has, during her minority, been pros-
tituted by her master or mistress, or that any attempt of
violence has been made by her owner 3"
Ans. “If the master of male or female slaves should tyran-
nize over them by treating them unjustly, stinting them in
food, or imposing upon them duties of an oppressive nature;
or if a master should have connexion with his slave girl before
she has arrived at the years of maturity, or should give her
in marriage to another, with permission to cohabit with her
in this state, such master sins against the divine laws, and
the ruling power may punish him ; but, the commission of
such crimes by the master does not authorize the manumission
of the slave, nor has the Hakim any right or authority to
grant emancipation. Adverting to the principle upon which
the legality of slavery is originally established, viz. that the
subject of property must be an infidel, and taken in the act
of hostilities against the faith ; and also to the several
branches of legal slavery arising from this principle, as by
purchase, donation, inheritance, and khanazadee; whenever
a case of possession of an unlawful male or female slave
should be referred to the Hakim for investigation, it is the
duty of the Hakim to pass an order, according to the original
right of freedom of such individual, to deprive the unjust pro-
prietor of possession, and to grant immediate emancipation to
the slave. -
(Signed and sealed)
Soorajoddeen Ullee
Mahomed Rashed.”
“The purport of this question is, whether on any and what maltréatment
a slave is entitled to emancipation on proof, and whether the courts of justice
are entitled to pass such judgment, particularly on females prostituted
by their master or mistress during their minority, or on any attempt of
violence being made. From the reply to this question, it appears that
acts of oppression, and even violation of the person of a female slave, be-
fore she is at the years of maturity, by the master, or the crime of giving
SLAVERY. 293
her at that age in marriage, are declared, as they truly are, crimes against
the divine laws, and the ruling power may punish by stripes; but it is to be
observed that, by the Mussulman law, the commission of these crimes by the
owner does not entitle the wretched slave to manumission, nor has the ruling
power a right to grant her emancipation!!
“Humanity, which is shocked at the idea of its being a question whether
or not British legislation shall sanction so diabolic a law, under the impres-
sions of horror which every humane mind must feel at the depravity of such
inhuman laws, is relieved by the perusal of the next sentence. Adverting
to the principle upon which the legality of slavery is originally established,
viz. the subject of property must be an infidel, taken in the act of hostilities
against the faith; and also to the several branches of legal slavery which
shoot from this root or principle, purchase, donation, inheritance, and
khanazeed; whenever a case of possession of an unlawful male or female
slave, that is to say, who is not himself or herself under the original descrip-
tion of an infidel taken in the act of hostilities against the faithful under an
Imaum, or descended from a person of the above description, over whom
the right of property has not been obtained by one of the modes described,
shall come before the ruling power, to pass an order according to the origi-
mal right of freedom of such individual, and to deprive the unjust proprietor
of possession, and to grant an immediate emancipation.” -
Similar questions put to the Hindoo Pundit by the Nizamut
Adawlut.
First Ques. Ans. “There are fifteen different sorts of male
and female slaves.” See p. 285, in this Volume.
Remarks,—“Of the injustice and unreasonableness of the whole of the
description of slaves sanctioned by the Hindoo law on the acknowledged
principles of matural freedom, or on principles of expediency and humanity,
few I conceive will doubt; and to enter into argument to prove this self-
evident perversion of the laws of nature and of God, written in the hearts of
all enlightened men, would be a waste of intellect. I am confident such
wide-spread degradation of the human race can never be authorized by an
enlightened British Government.”
Second Ques. Ans. “The owner of a male or female slave
may require of such slave the performance of impure work,
such as plastering and sweeping the house, cleaning the door,
gateway, and necessary; rubbing his master's naked body,
bunudome mehanu, with oil, and clothing him; removing frag-
ments of victuals left at his master's table, and eating them;
removing urine and human ordure; rubbing his master's feet
and other limbs, &c. In cases of disobedience or fault com-
mitted by the slave, the master has power to beat his slave
with a thin stick, or to bind him with a rope: and, if he
should consider the slave deserving of severe punishment, he
may pull his hair or earpose him upon an ass; but, if the
master should exceed this extent of his authority, and inflict
punishment upon his slave of a severer nature than above
stated, he is liable to pay a fine to the Hakim or ruling power,
294 SLAVERY.
of a thousand puns of khar mahozrens, eight thousand cowries.
This is declared by Menu, according to Patnakar Behbad,
Chinta, Munnie, and other authorities.” -
“The facility and impunity with which power can tyrannize over a wretch
in a state of bondage and absolute dependence is evident; and what is the
punishment if, against all chance or hope, the tyrant is brought to trial, and
even to conviction P A pecuniary fine! - * -
Third Ques. Ans. “A master has no right to command his
male or female slave to perform any other duties besides those
specified in the answer to the second question, or authority to
punish his slave further than in the manner before stated; and
if he should exceed this discretionary power, in either case,
he is liable to the same penalty, viz. one thousand puns of
cowries. This is declared by Menu and Beshie.” .
Fourth Ques. Ans. “The commission of offences, of the
above nature by the master, does not affect the state of the
slave; and the ruling power has not the right of granting his
manumission; but if it should be established in evidence,
before the Hakim, that any person having stolen or inveigled
away, a child or slave, had afterwards sold him to another,
or that any person had compelled another into a state of
slavery by violence, the ruling power may then order the
emancipation of such child or slave; and if a master, or any
other person by permission of the master, should cohabit with
a slave girl before she has arrived at the years of maturity, and
this fact be proved, the ruling power may sentence such offen-
der to pay a fine of fifty puns of cowries, but cannot emanci-
pate the slave girl! -
“Whenever a slave girl has borne a child by her master,
such slave, together with the child, becomes free, and the ruling
power should sanction their emancipation.
“This is the law declared by Jak Bulk Mamnoo and Kutoo-
bun, according to Mittuchora and other authorities.
(Signed) - Chattoor Bhooj Necarutun
Chiterput Oapadhea.”
“It does not appear that the commission of any, or all of the offences sup-
posed in the fourth question, affect the state of bondage in the sufferings of
the wretched slave, nor by the Hindoo law has the ruling power the authority
of emancipating the injured bondsman, even under all the above maltreat-
ment; but a treacherous inveigling away of a child and selling it as a slave,
or subjecting to slavery by violence, are declared illegal, and the ruling
power may emancipate such child or slave. Should however a master, or
any other by permission of the owner, cohabit with a slave girl before she
has arrived at the years of maturity, and the fact be proved, the ruling power
may sentence the offender to fifty puns of cowries. Here a crime, most
SLAVERY. 295
monstrous, by which the laws of nature are outraged, is punishable by a
pecuniary fine! I suppose for the benefit of the ruling power.”
“The foregoing being the Mussulman law, as expounded
by the law officers, and the Mussulman law being that by
which we govern in cases of life and limb, surely it ought to
be extended to personal freedom; for from personal freedom
alone can life or limb, the first gifts of nature, acquire their
due value. The foregoing, I think, will be admitted, and in-
vestigation will render it evident, that at the present moment,
of the many thousands male and female slaves held in bond-
age in the Company's dominions, and subject to the grossest
usage, prostitution, and every other depravity, under the
pretence of slavery being sanctioned by the Mussulman law,
not a single man or woman eacists, to whom the right of pro-
perty, on the principle laid down by that law, can possibly
be established / The mode, therefore, of remedying the gross
evils that exist, is as easy as it is obvious. Enforce the spirit
and letter of the Mussulman law as it applies to slaves, and
as far as that portion of the inhabitants of our Indian posses-
sions are concerned, you remedy the evil, and give the bless-
ing of liberty to thousands, without infringing a particle of the
Mahomedan religion; on the contrary, so far as this regulation
is connected with the Mussulman religion, you only check a
licentious deviation from the principles of law and religion on
the point in question.”*
The practice of kidnapping children, for the purpose of sell-
ing them as slaves, appears to have been very prevalent in
various parts of India. Respecting a case of this kind at
Midnapore, on the borders of Orissa, in 1794, the Magistrate,
R. Bathurst, Esq., thus expressed his indignation of the
crime.—“To that part of the futwa which respects Shazaddee,
equity and humanity alike prompt me to objectin the strongest
terms. Her crime is of a nature to break asunder the
tenderest ties, and to consign its innocent victims, either
Tudely torn, or cruelly seduced from their parents’ home, to
hopeless slavery, to earperience in the course of it, too probably,
no wages but stripes, no relief but death. Such is the com-
plexion of her guilt. What says the futwa, which, regulated
|by Mussulman justice, weighs, it would seem, in the same
scale of moral turpitude, the stealing of a cur dog and the
kidnapping of a child? Thirty-five strokes with a rattan and
four months confinement, which if changed to hard labour
and imprisonment for life, although still disproportioned to the
* . Par. Papers on Slavery in India, pp. 309–317.
296 SLAVERY.
extent of her offence, might, perhaps, operate to deter others
from the practice of similar enormities.”
The nature of slavery in Canara, under the Madras Presi-
dency, is thus described by J. G. Ravenshaw, Esq., Collector,
in 1801:-“There are three distinctions of the Daerds or
slaves, the Moondaul, Mogare or Magor, and Mavey Daerd:
the former two differ from the latter in the way of food;—
neither of them will eat the flesh of a cow or bullock; or go
near the place where one has died or been killed, till the car-
case is removed; the Mavey Daerd, though he will not kill
the animal, will eat its flesh after it is dead. If one dies at the
house of a Moondaul or Magor, a Mavey is sent for to remove
the carcase. In the Moondaul and Mayer sects, property
descends from uncle to nephew; a father gives up his children
to their uncle. In the Mogare sects, property descends from
father to son. A Mogare and a Moondaul will eat together,
though it is not common; if, however, they do, the form of
taking away the dishes or pans they eat out of, washing and
returning them clean to the party who gives the repast, is in-
variably observed. They mever intermarry by consent; but
if a Moondaul runs away with a Mogare, the latter sect as-
semble, call on the Moondaul, and, after reprimanding him
for the crime he has committed, make him pay a fine for the
offence, and give a repast to the whole party; when they have
eaten, the Mogare is considered as having relinquished her
cast, and being made over to the Moondaul. Neither of these
sects associate with the Mavey Daerd.
“If a Moondaul goes to a landlord, or other person, and
says he wants to marry through his interests; if the person
consents, he gives him from three to four pagodas to pay the
expense of the ceremony; the Daerd, as soon as married,
brings his wife to his landlord's house, and both are bound to
serve him and his heirs as long as the husband lives. The
landlord is considered as bound to give the man, per annum,
two cloths, each five cubits in length; and the woman two,
each of eight cubits length, one to cover the lower and one
the upper part of their frame, the estimated expense of which
is one and a half rupees; the man is to receive one and a half,
and the woman one hami of rice per diem, besides one mora
of rice per annum between them; this allowance is called
‘mogu.” This couple have no claim over any children they
may have born ; they are the eacclusive property of their uncle.
If he agrees to their remaining with their father till they are
* Par. Papers, p. 52. See also pp. 242, 243.
SLAVERY. 297
grown up, and their father consents to keep them, this may
be done; and if, when grown up, their father's owner gives
the males money to marry, they are bound to serve him and
his heirs as long as they live. If, however, their uncle does
not agree to their remaining with their father when young,
he takes them, and his master pays them according to the
work they do. As to the daughters, if their uncle agree,
they may remain with their father, till some person comes
with their uncle's consent to ask them in marriage; they are
then given up and bound to serve their husband's owner. In
the event of the husband's death, his master has no right
whatever over the mother and children, who become the pro-
perty of, or for whom the children's uncle is bound to provide,
and they are bound to serve his master if he has work for
them. If a man wants to marry a second time, his master
supplies him with money; in consideration of this extra ex-
pense, he stops the “mogu, or allowance of one mora of rice
per annum. A man receives no daily allowance for himself
and family during his master's harvest, but, in lieu thereof,
he gets an eleventh part of as much grain as is cut, thrashed,
and stacked by the whole of them ; when this work is done,
they receive their daily subsistence as usual. The sect may
be called a life property on the male side; they are never
sold, though they sometimes mortgage themselves, and their
owners may also mortgage them.
“The Mogare are bought and sold, and hence they and
their male heirs are bound to serve their master and his heirs
for ever. Females remain with their fathers till married, after
which their owners have no claim on them; they become the
property of their husband's master. The average price of a
man and his wife, if purchased together, is from four to five
pagodas. These Mogairs receive the same daily allowance
of rice and cloth as the Moondauls, but they get no annual al-
lowance, the piece of land and the two trees they get are sup-
posed more than to equal this; and in addition to it, if their
master can afford it, he frequently gives them a bullock. The
owner pays only as many of the family as work for him. This
sect are sometimes mortgaged, as well as sold.
“If a person purchases a man and woman of the Mauray
sect, and marries them, they and their male heirs are bound
to serve him and his heirs for ever; the purchaser pays the
expense of the marriage. If the man dies, and the woman
marries again, the children she may have by her new husband
are all the property of her owner, by reason of his having
purchased the woman; but he has no claim whatever on the
298 S LAVERY.
new husband. When these people are not purchased, but
merely bind themselves to the service, on account of some
person having paid the expense of their marriages, as the
Moondauls do, the same rules are observed as with them;
but there are many of these sects, who belonging, or being,
as it were, an appurtenant to an estate, are bought and sold
therewith: they enjoy the same privileges and allowances as
those of the same sect who are purchased without an estate.
The landlord can neither sell nor mortgage them, nor can
they, without the landlord’s consent, mortgage themselves or
children. * >
“In many of the foregoing cases, an owner is bound to give
daily subsistence to as many only of the family of his Daerds
as he employs; if he has more than he requires, he may lend
them out to other people, who pay him the mogu, or annual
allowance of one mora of rice, as a sort of acknowledgment
that the Daerd he employs belongs to him. Daerds cannot
go to work for another person without their owners' consent,
and they are bound to return whenever he may have work for
them. This is the result of an inquiry I was induced to make
into the customs of the people, in consequence of many com-
plaints having come before me of Daerds being ill-treated by
their masters. The little labour has been amply repaid, from
a consciousness of my having done justice to many of them,
which I should not have considered myself competent of doing
without a knowledge of their manners and services.”
“The utmost to which the sale of slaves is tolerated in
Malabar,” says J. H. Baber, Esq., Judge and Magistrate in
the North Zillah in 1812, “is domestic slavery, and this
exclusively confined to those born in a state of bondage.
Formerly this degraded race of men were the exclusive pro-
perty of the Hindoos of Malabar, but in course of time, from
necessity and other causes, they were transferred and sold to
the Mopillas, but it was never bargained that they were to
be made proselytes. A Pooliar sold or transferred could not
be removed out of the district, his place of nativity; in con-
sequence the social tie amongst them was still preserved;
even the women, though sold, are never separated from their
husbands, whom they still follow, however often they may
change their masters; the owner of the female, however, still
maintaining his claim to her and to her offspring, whose
right is thus perpetuated from generation to generation. In
some districts, the offspring are divided between the owners
* Par, Papers on Slavery in India, pp. 548–550.
SLAVERY. 299
of the father and the mother, but they are never separated
from their parents until adults.”
The evils of slavery are innumerable. “To remedy the
evil,” says one of the Judges in India, “it appeared to me
highly necessary that it should be ascertained and acknow-
ledged, and its extent fully understood.”f The propriety of
this appears from the want of information respecting slavery
in India. The following extracts from the valuable Papers
on this subject, it is hoped will rouse the attention of Britain,
to the state of slavery in her eastern dominions.
“No progress in arts or science can be expected,” says the
worthy Judge of Bundlecund, “from unhappy beings whose
daily reflections press their forlorn condition upon their
thoughts. The rudest cultivation of the earth is performed
with reluctancy, by wretches whose miseries know no end,
but in the moments of repose. Perhaps exposed to the burn-
ing heat of a vertical sun, immerged to the knees in water,
stagnate and unwholesome, respiring a vapour inimical to
existence; perhaps buried alive in mines replete with nox-
ious minerals and baneful air, which slowly consumes the
human frame. Or if (which is the summit of a slave's good
fortune) they meet with a more lenient lord, still their com-
forts are embittered by the dread of a change. The stroke of
death, or the pressure of misfortune, may transfer them with
their former master's cattle or his lands, to a less tender lord;
devoid of any established mode of providing for, or bringing
up a family, and fearful of entering into the marriage state,
having no protection or security that their dearest and most
tender connexions will not be set at nought by the capricious
lust of pampered power, population suffers.
“In Hindostan slaves are kept for show, or employed in
the meanest and most laborious offices of servitude. In an-
cient times slaves were bred to trades; to cultivate the sciences
and other philosophic studies, and some of this class distin-
guished themselves by their abilities, and contributed to
enlighten mankind. But how much more speedily has gene-
ral improvement increased, since the establishment of freedom
through the principal parts of Europe. The freest nations
have ever been the first to dispel the clouds of error, and
brighten the dawnings of knowledge into the meridian splen-
* p. 567. See p. 897. This state of society is prevalent in the Indian
Archipelago. See a description of Malay Slavery by the Acting President
of Fort Marlborough in 1813. Par. Papers, pp. 203–205. -
- t Par. Papers, p. 308.
300 SLAVERY,
dour of truth. If any thing can add to the horror which the
idea of slavery raises in every human breast, it is the reflec-
tion that, by the Mussulman law respecting female slaves, the
master is not only legal lord of their persons for purposes of
laborious services, but for sensual gratification; even such as
his unnatural passions may impel his brutality to indulge.
It is not less shocking to reflect that women, who have spent
their youth and worn out their persons in the grossest de-
bauchery, when their faded beauty no longer produces their
wonted luxuries, and even their former paramours in guilt
turn from them with disgust, purchase female children for the
avowed purpose of the most licentious life. These females,
were such injurious practices prevented by the abolition of
all slavery, would become useful members of the community,
and add to the prosperity of the state, by the increase of their
species. -
“Under systematic slavery the minds of mankind are in-
evitably debased. Children being educated amongst, and
attended by these wretches, imbibe their dispositions, and,
having the examples of their parents always before their eyes,
learn to consider those under them as a distinct race, unworthy
of the rights of humanity. The first efforts of imitative cruelty
are viewed by the parents without reprehension, their own
minds having undergone the same perversion by the same
tuition, and the practice of maturity having deadened their
feelings; so that I fear, not unfrequently this early discovery
of vicious inclination is considered by the fond, but mistaken
parent, as a sure presage of spirit and future greatness. View
the manners of those nations who tolerate slavery, and say
whether this reasoning is not warranted by reality.”
Sir William Jones, in a charge to the grand jury at Cal-
cutta, in 1785, described the miseries of slavery existing at
that period, even in the metropolis of British India. “I am
assured, from evidence which, though not all judicially taken,
has the strongest hold on my belief, that the condition of
slaves within our jurisdiction is, beyond imagination, deplo-
rable; and that cruelties are daily practised on them, chiefly
on those of the tenderest age and the weaker sex, which, if it
would not give me pain to repeat, and you to hear, yet, for the
honour of human nature, I should forbear to particularize. If
I except the English from this censure, it is not through par-
tial affection to my own countrymen, but because my infor-
mation relates chiefly to people of other nations, who likewise
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, pp. 298–300.
SI, AVERY. 301
call themselves Christians. Hardly a man or a woman exists
in a corner of this populous town, who hath not at least one
slave child, either purchased at a trifling price, or saved,
perhaps, from a death that might have been fortunate, for a
life that seldom fails of being miserable. Many of you, I
presume, have seen large boats filled with such children,
coming down the river for open sale at Calcutta ; nor can you
be ignorant that most of them were stolen from their parents,
or bought, perhaps, for a measure of rice in a time of scarcity;
and that the sale itself is a defiance of this government, by
violating one of its positive orders, which was made some
years ago, after a consultation of the most reputable Hindoos
in Calcutta, who condemned such a traffic as repugnant to
their shastra. The number of small houses, in which these
victims are pent, makes it indeed very difficult for the settle-
ment at large to be apprized of their condition; and, if the
sufferers knew where or how to complain, their very com-
plaints may expose them to still harsher treatment—to be tor-
tured, if remanded, or if set at liberty, to starve. Be not
discouraged by the difficulty of your inquiries; your vigilance
cannot but surmount it; and one great example of a just
punishment, not capital, will conduce more to the prevention
of similar cruelties, than the strongest admonition or the
severest verbal reproof. Should the slave-holders, through
hardness of heart, or confidence in their places of conceal-
ment, persist in their crimes, you will convince them, that
their punishment will certainly follow their offence, and the
most hardened of them will, no doubt, discontinue the
contest.”
In 1810 a claim was preferred before the court of Sudder
Dewanny Adawlut, for the restoration of some slaves who had
escaped from Nepaul, and sought an asylum in the British
territory. Nine slaves were stated to have been purchased
for 226 rupees. This sum was given by the British Govern-
ment, and the slaves liberated. The depositions of two or
three of them shew the cruel nature of slavery in Nepaul.
“Jeewee acknowledged that he was a slave, but alleged that, being em-
ployed in cultivating, and receiving nothing from the prosecutor, he had run
away. He represented that if he should now return to the hills, the prosecu-
tor would cut off his ears as a punishment for his offence.
“Dhunsree acknowledged that she was the slave of the prosecutor, saying,
that she having killed her own child, was brought by the prosecutor before
Meer Singh Tuppa, who gave her to him to keep as his slave, that this was
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, p. 10. For an affecting account of a
slave girl seized at Serampore, see pp. 48–50.
302 SLAVERY.
the wsual punishment for murder in the hilly country: she added, that,
having received nothing from the prosecutor to eat, she had run off.
“Joonhee and Lamee also acknowledged that they were slaves, and
alleged the same reason for having run away from the prosecutor.
“Oodhree, witness, deposed that Meer Singh Tuppa had given Nathee
and Dhunsree to the prosecutor's son as payment of his monthly allowance;
that Nathee had formerly been the slave of Shoobur Suen, and that Dhunsree,
having killed her own child, had been given by Meer Singh Tuppa to the
prosecutor, whose slave she had now been for three years. . With respect to
the other four persons, the prosecutor not having given them any present,
they had therefore run off. He further stated, that it was the custom of the
hilly country that, if any woman put to death her new-born infant, she was
reduced to slavery by the ruler; but, if she be able to give her value to her
master, he may free her; and, in case of a dispute regarding the amount ſ
the purchase money, it is to be settled on the oath of the master.” It is added,
“ that if the slaves were delivered to the prosecutor, he would certainly put
them to death, on getting them to their own country.”
The misery of arbitrary servitude is depicted in a very
affecting manner, in the Par. Papers relative to thirty-five
natives of Bengal, who, in 1813, were found in the service of
Mr. W. Browne, at Sydney, New South Wales; they were
discharged by the colonial magistrates, and restored to their
native country, at the expense of the British Government in
India.t. A few of their depositions before the magistrate are
given.
“Chotee Lutchman, servant of Mr. Browne—I complain of want of food;
I sometimes got rice, sometimes ottar and wheat, and dhal and corn, the
same as the rest; I have been ill-treated while I was employed in the store.
Mr. O'Brien tied a rope to me to awake me in case of alarm; I did not like
it, and objected to it; Mr. O'Brien persisted in it, and then he gave me a
rope's-ending. I used to do all sorts of work for him; I got a thrashing for
throwing some straw out, which offended Mr. O’Brien, in consequence of
which I went up to the farm; Mr. Browne ordered me back to Sydney, but
as it rained he allowed me to remain till next day. I got drunk, for which
Mr. P. Browne put me for three days on short allowance. I ran away in
the bush; I was not flogged for it. I have worked on Sunday’s for myself;
if the others go home, I want to go also, but if they stop I will not. I had
two bottles of rum charged to me; it was watered. I have lost my cast for
eating victuals of Europeans, because I could get nothing else.
“Keereim, a table waiter of Mr. Browne's, sworn on the Koran, saith—I
have to complain of bad and insufficient food. Mrs. Browne agreed I should
be her table waiter, but, since I have been here, I have been put to the
work of a groom and chamber-maid, and cooking the dog's victuals. I have
often received a thump on the face, and a box on the ear, on frivolous occa-
sions. I was once sent for by Lieutenant M'Quarie to prepare his hookah
for him. I was told by the ladies to go in my cap; Mr. Browne asked me
why I did so, and gave me five or six blows with his fist; I ran behind a
cask, where I was so severely beaten that two men came and lifted me up,
gave me water, took me in the kitchen, and nursed me. I was so beaten
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, pp. 119, 120. See pp. 243,244.
+ See pp. 267–296.
SI, AVERY. 303
that I lay behind the cask for an hour; Mrs. Browne called out of the win-
dow, ‘Give the rascal two or three more kicks.” Mr. Browne once gave me
fifteen strokes with a horse-whip, because I did not get his breakfast ready
in time; I still bear the marks. Both Mr. Brownes were up at the farm,
and I was ordered by Mrs. B. to remove their chamber-pot; I refused to
do so, and she made me do it, by which I have lost my cast. I applied for
my provisions to the man who gives them out; he kicked me for asking for
them. I came to Sydney to complain to Mr. Browne, and I was sent to
the watch-house, brought before Mr. Wentworth, and by him discharged.
Mr. Browne said he would investigate it; he came up, and gave the men a
club to beat me with. I agreed for twenty seers of food per month; I have
never received that quantity while I was in Sydney; I have received rice
and ottar, but at the farm I had nothing but damaged corn; Mrs Browne
said, “Shall I feed these hogs upon rice? Sometimes we had buttermilk,
but always three parts of water; Mrs. Browne once said, ‘You hog, you give
me all the little potatoes, and keep all the large ones yourself.’ I once received
some good flour, but generally bad; I gave it to the dogs, and complained
to Mrs. Browne, when she gave me some rather better. I want to go home,
but, if I had been well-treated, I would have remained twenty years.
“The memorial of Chamine Dongrine, and of Charon Munny, respect-
fully sheweth:-
“That both memorialists engaged with Mrs. Browne of Calcutta, to serve
her in New South Wales, and have both been employed on Mrs. Browne's
farm; but, by reason of cruelty and ill-usage on their mistress's part, they
pray humbly, but earnestly, to be released from such agreement. The for-
mer memorialist has to complain, that she was employed at field labour,
such as commonly is done by men in this colony; and, having been put to
bed of a male infant, she was ordered to return to work by Mrs. Browne, on
the fifth day after the child was born 1 Upon remonstrating that she was
not sufficiently strong, Mrs. Browne withheld her victuals; thereby com-
pelling her to go reaping wheat, the infant lying on the ground of the store-
l'OOIſl º up, which occasioned its death at twenty-one days old, for want
of milk /
if: Your memorialist, Charon Munny, has to represent, amongst a con-
tinued length of ill-treatment, that, having been forced to carry a large bra-
Zen vessel of great weight, she then being heavy with child, miscarried ;
the next day Mrs. Browne ordered her to work, such as carrying large logs,
and other loads. Relying fully on the justice and humanity which distin-
guish every court under British administration, your petitioners submit their
hardships to your consideration, should the same appear to require such re-
dress as they ask.” -
Of the state of slavery in Malwa, in 1821, Sir John Mal-
colm observes, “Male slaves are few in Malwa, and are
generally treated more like adopted children than menials.
The case is very different with females, who in almost every
instance are sold to prostitution; some, it is true, rise to be
favourite mistresses of their master, and enjoy both power and
luxury, while others are raised by the success in life of their
sons; but these are exceptions. The dancing women, who
are all slaves, are condemned to a life of toil and vice, for the
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, pp. 274–276, 281.
304 SLAVERY.
profit of others, and some of the first Rajpoot chiefs and
Zemindars in Malwa, who have from 50 to 200 female slaves
in their family; after employing them in all the menial labours
of their house during the day, send them at night to their
own dwellings, where they are at liberty to form such con-
nexions as they please; but a large share of the profits of
that promiscuous intercourse, into which they fall, is annually
exacted by their masters, who adds any children they have to
his list of slaves. The female slaves in this condition, as well
as those of the dancing sets, are not permitted to marry, and
are often very harshly treated; so that the latter, from this
cause and the connexions they form, are constantly in the
habit of running away. If discovered, they are always given
up, provided the deed of purchase can be produced; which
with them, above all others, must be registered at the cutwall’s
chabootre at the period the slave is bought.
“It is not the habit of the native governments of Malwa, to
take any cognizance of the punishment which masters inflict
upon slaves, except such extend to their life, when they are
responsible; they are in some cases cruelly treated, but this
is not general; it is indeed against the interest of the master
to do so, when there are so many opportunities of escaping
from his authority. The state of Malwa for the last thirty
years has been favourable to the species of slavery described,
and that province is filled with the mixed progeny of these un-
fortunate women. This traffic must however now decrease,
as the Gwarriahs and others who carried it on, can no longer
steal or conceal children with that confidence of impunity
which they had long done. A few years ago, no man dare
leave his own district to inquire after his wife and daughter;
the whole country can now be traversed in safety. From this
cause, and the discoveries of guilt which have recently been
made, the stealers of women and children have taken alarm;
while the restitution to their relatives of slaves, bought by
them at high prices, must deter future purchasers.”
The Committee appointed by the Government of Prince of
Wales’ Island, in 1808, to report on the propriety of the
abolition of slavery, advert to one of the many evils of this
state of society in the following terms:—“Allowing that the
abolition of slavery might have the effect to retard the increase
of the population, by partially preventing the arrival of settlers,
it would benefit the island in another respect more essentially
—by effectually putting a stop to the infamous practice (still
* Par. Papers, pp. 415, 416.
SLAVERY. 305
existing, notwithstanding every effort and regulation of
Government) of purchasing females for the purpose of hiring
them, and compelling them to ply as public prostitutes,
and enable many industrious Chinese and others to obtain
wives, whom this infamous practice has hitherto prevented
(the great gain resulting from it, enabling the bawds to pur-
chase these females at most extravagant prices); and conse-
quently by connecting these Chinese and others more per-
manently, through the medium of families, with the settlement,
will not only much improve the character of the community,
but tend ultimately to afford a more certain source of increase
of population than from casual residents.”
The evils of slavery in the Island of Nias, near Sumatra, are
forcibly depicted in an article from the Singapore Chronicle;—
“The circumstances that attend the traffic of slaves are no less revolting to
humanity, than those which marked it on the coast of Africa. The unhappy
victims torn by violence from their friends and country, and delivered,
pinioned hand and foot, to the dealers in human flesh, are kept bound during
the whole course of the voyage—a precaution which is found necessary to
the safety of the crew. Instances have occurred, where the captives have
seized a moment of liberty, to snatch up the first weapon within their reach,
stab all whom they encountered, and complete the scene by leaping overboard,
and voluntarily seeking a watery death ! The sudden change of diet to
which they are subjected on board a ship, added to the confinement and
dejection of mind, prove fatal to many. Of a cargo of thirty slaves, twenty
have been known to perish before the conclusion of the voyage; and on a
moderate calculation it may be estimated, that, of the total number pur-
chased, one-fourth never reach their destination. • , , .
“On the scenes of violence that take place in the country itself, in the
search of victims, it is needless to dwell; they can be better imagined than
described. We shall relate one well authenticated instance, given by an
eye-witness. A plan had been laid to attack a single insulated house, in-
habited by a man, his wife, and children, and to seize the whole family. At
the appointed hour the house was surrounded; the man no sooner discover-
ed his situation, and saw that there was no escape, than he locked himself
in the inner apartment, drew his kris, killed first his wife and children, and
then plunged it into his own breast, preferring death to a life of slavery !
“Independently of the habits of cruelty and rapine, which the slave trade
tends to infuse, the exorbitant profits it holds out, create an aversion to the
slower advantages of legitimate commerce and agricultural labour. In
order to convey their produce to the sea-ports, the inhabitants of the interior
are obliged to unite in parties of several hundreds, all completely armed,
and, with their loads of rice on their backs, descend in order of battle to the
shores to dispose of it; such is the general insecurity and distrust, that the
husbandman goes armed to his labour in the fields, they select the most
difficult situations for their villages, and construct their houses with every
precaution against surprises.”f -
* Par. Papers, p. 441. t See Imp. Mag., Jan. 1830–For
an account of the misery of slavery in the Isle of France, see Memoir of
Mrs. Judson, p. 81, respecting a Burmese female slave; see also p. 306.
X
306 SLAVERY.
Slavery in Cape Colony, is thus described by a modern
writer:-‘‘The timid silent step with which the young slave
girl enters the room—the subdued tone in which the message
is delivered—her looks of apathy, where all the warm stirring
blood of youth seems tamed down;–and when I have gazed
upon dark lustreless eyes that were born to flash, and upon
the listless form that was born to bound, I could not but feel,
that the being before me was bowed down—that all the ener-
gies which liberty would have called forth, were crushed
beneath the severity of her lot. In travelling, when stopping
at a Boor's house, I remember thanking a slave girl for some
trifling service, when she turned to her companion, with a
look of more than surprise, and they both burst into uncon-
trollable laughter—laughter, that to my ear, “had no mirth in
it;” for it told of a state in which blows might follow the
non-performance of any command; but to which thanks were
an unknown sound. All this is characteristic of slavery, and
strikes an Englishman from its strong contrast with the re-
spectful, yet cheerful manners of the servants of this country.”
Many pages of the Par. Documents on East India Slavery
are occupied in detailing the state of the slaves in Malabar;
especially in the investigation of the conduct of a Mr. Browne,
of Anjarakandy, towards his slaves (see pp. 560–790). A
few extracts only can be given of the examinations of these
slaves, taken by the Magistrate of Zillah North Malabar.
“I was with five children who were tending cattle, and while at play two
mopillas seized me and took me that very night to Aloppi, where they gave
me to Assen Ally, who sent me in a moonchoo to Mahe: thence I was sent
to Anjarakandy, where they made me eat Pooliars' food; before, if I should
be defiled by Pooliars, I must wash myself. I am not willing to return to
Anjarakandy, if I can be admitted again to my cast; I wish to go to my
country. My house name is Tekkadati.
“My tambooran is Panakada Camden; I was asleep at might when Pana-
parambil Pamikaree seized and brought me away, and gave me to Ayeca-
gata Shuk Moidun, who gave me to a Sahib at Cochin; thence I was put in a
moonchoo and landed at Chetwa; whence Coony Pareay and Bappen
brought me by land to the Sahib, at the Bangsaul of Anjarakandy, twelve
other poliars who were also brought with me, are now here.
“I was at work, when, without the knowledge of my tambooran and poo-
lian (husband), myself and two of my children, Dampan and Kanda, were
seized by Eddacatta Vudeen, mopla and some others, and brought to Cochin,
detained there eleven days, and then given to Walladara who brought us in
a manchoo and landed us at Chitwa, Besides myself there were eleven
others, whence two moplas of Mahe, named Coony Parray and Bappen,
brought us to Anjarakandy, and made us stay with a Sahib; those eleven
that were brought with me are present here.”
- * Par. Papers, pp. 605, 609, 613.
SLAVERY. 307
“Nothing can be more abject and wretched (says T. H.
Baber, Esq., Magistrate in Malabar, in 1813,) than the con-
dition of that degraded race of mortals, the slaves of Malabar,
‘whose huts (to us the words of Mr. Francis Buchanan in his
tour through Malabar) are little better than mere baskets,
and whose diminutive stature, and squalid appearance,
evidently shew a want of adequate mourishment.”
“The slave alone (says Mr. Graeme in his Report of Mala-
bar, 1822) has his sieve of a hut in the centre of the rice lands;
but on the coast at least, he is an industrious, and not an un-
intelligent being, in good condition, and nothing deficient in
bodily frame. In the interior, he is a wretched, half-starved,
diminutive creature, stinted in his food, and earposed to the
finclemencies of the weather, whose state demands that com-
miseration and amelioration which may conſidently be earpect-
ed from the humanity of the British Government, provided it
can be shewn, that a change for the better can be effected
without hazarding an evil of any formidable magnitude; with-
out incurring the risk of general discontent, or exciting a
worse feeling towards the objects themselves, by an unsuc-
cessful endeavour to mitigate their ill treatment. The slaves
of Malabar, known generally by the name of chermurs, are
entirely pradial, or rustic, being engaged only in the culti-
vation of rice lands and plantations. I except, of course, the
Mussulmans, who may be domestic slaves, and live in the
houses of their masters, and partake of all the privileges of
their religion. This kind of slavery is a social fratermity, and
is a step to the best comforts, and the highest honours of life
among Mussulmans. It is totally dissimilar, in every essential
point, to the servitude of the chermur, which is the most
prevalent designation of the slaves of Malabar.”t
“In the Calicut district, there is an anomaly in the general
system among the Paliur, the Kulladee, and the Kunnakur,
which are the only three casts of slaves residing there. There
is a mixture of the two customs of mukkatayum and murroo
mukkatayum, that is, the one or the other does not obtain
separately in different families in the district, but in all the
families throughout the district the inheritance partakes of
the two modes; and, half of the children are considered to
go with the mother, and consequently to belong to her pro-
prietor, and half to be attached to the father, and therefore
to be the property of his master. Where the number may
not admit of an equal division, the odd number is reckoned
* Par. Papers, pp. 760, 761. - t p. 914.
x 2
308 SI, AVERY.
to be the mother's l The wife of a Palium, and of all the
casts who observe the murroo mukkatayum, may be sold
separately, and may therefore belong to a different master from
the master of her husband, but she cannot be separated from
her husband; she must be allowed to remain with him; she
is purchased separately in consideration of her future offspring,
which, by the custom of murroo mukkatayum, would become
the property of her purchaser. In the other casts, the females
are not separately saleable, neither the wife nor her female
children. The daughters become the temporary property of
the masters of their husbands; but this right of property ceases
upon the death of the husband, and the wife returns to the
house of her father. The rules of Malabar prescribe that a
slave of the cast of Poleyan, Waloovan, and Brayen, shall
remain seventy-two paces from a Bramin and from a Nair, and
forty-eight from a Tean. A slave of the Kunakur cast sixty-
four paces from a Bramin and Nair, and forty from a Tean;
and the other casts generally forty-eight paces from a Bramin
and Nair, twenty-four from a Tean In the northern division
these rules are deviated from in practice, in favour of the
slaves; whilst in the southern division, they are thought to be
exceeded in strictness.”
One of the Malabar Magistrates, in 1823, suggested that,
on account of “certain instances of cruelty practised on slaves
by their masters, the forfeiture of the right of property over
slaves should be made the penalty for ill usage.”—Slaves ap-
pear occasionally to have their noses cut off by their cruel mas-
ters. “Adverting (says one of the Judges) to the facts elicited
during the foregoing trial, it will no longer be denied that
cruelties are practised upon the slaves of Malabar; and
that our courts and cutcherries are no restraints upon their
owners or employers. Whatever doubts may exist with re-
gard to the exact period of the death of the Cherooman
Koorry Noryady, or to the immediate cause of his death,
there can be none as to the fact, of his nose having been am-
putated, as well as those of three other slaves belonging to the
same owner; and that, although the case had come before
the Magistrate, no steps have been taken to bring the perpe-
trators of such horrid barbarities to justice. Upon the latter
head it may be argued that the slaves themselves preferred not
complaint: but, if it is to depend upon the slaves themselves,
to seek for the protection of the laws, their situation must be
hopeless indeed; for, having no means of subsistence, inde-
* Par. Papers, p. 920,
SLAVERY. 309
pendent of their owners or employers, their repairing to and
attending upon a public cutcherry is a thing physically
impossible; and even though those provisions of the regula-
tions, that require all complaints to be preferred in writing,
were dispensed with in favour of slaves, and they were ex-
empted from the payment of tolls at the numerous ferries they
would have to pass, and though an allowance were made to
them by government during their detention at the cutcherries
and courts, unless forfeiture of the right of property over slaves
was the penalty for ill usage, their situation would only be-
come more intolerable than it was before they complained.”*
The last page but one of the Par. Papers contain the following
remarks respecting the misery of slavery in British India.
“The second Judge makes mention of two cases tried in Ca-
mara, wherein the accused were charged with causing the
death of their slaves by severe chastisement, which, he states,
induced him to make inquiry at Mangalore, regarding the
prevailing custom in instances where the slave of one master
marries the slave of another; and particularly whether their
respective owners can prevent them from living together.
The second Judge remarks that the frequent absence from
his “master's work, which occasioned the deceased's chastise-
ment in one of the above cases, was owing to visits to his
wife, who resided at a distance on her master's estate, echo
would not allow her to live with her husband.’ He was told
that it is usual for the female slave to reside with her husband,
and, if his residence be at such a distance as to prevent her
from coming to work daily at her master's house, the master
of the husband must indemnify her owner by the payment,
annually, of half a moorah of rice; but, if the master should
employ the female at his own house, he must employ also her
husband, whose owner he must indemnify by the payment
annually of one moorah of rice. The Judge offers his opinion
that the Magistrate should correctly inform himself on this
point, and be required under the authority of Government,
after due notice given, to enforce the obligation on the part of
the owners, to allow their married slaves to live together.
The court of Foujdaree Adawlut are of opinion that the in-
terference here proposed to be exercised by the Magistrate,
could not be put in practice without the enactment of a Re-
gulation for that purpose; and they are not prepared to sug-
gest provisions with this view which would be free from
objection; should, however, the Honourable the Governor in
* Par. Papers on Slavery, p. 928.
310 SLAVERY.
council deem it fit to give effect to the humane recommenda-
tion of the Judge, it may be in the power of the provincial
court, in communication with the Magistrates in the provinces
of Malabar and Canara, to devise a mode to prevent the sepa-
ration of married slaves, without any violation of rights,
which the established usages in this respect confer.”
This chapter may be closed,
by contrasting “ the effects of
slavery, with those of voluntary servitude, under a system of
liberty,” as described by the Judge of Bundlecund.
SLAVERY.
“1. It is the constant object of the
master, to get the greatest quantity
of labour at the cheapest rate; con-
sequently he stints the slave in food
and raiment. It may be urged, by
clothing and feeding well, the slave
would be strong, and better able to
endure fatigue, but it is the constant
practice of avarice, by short-sighted
policy, to counteract its own wishes:
a trifling immediate advantage being
generally preferred to much more
essential objects, if more remote.
VolunTARY SERVITUDE.
2. It is the uniform endeavour of
the slave to mitigate the hardship of
his lot by evading toil, which brings.
him no advantage.
3. The slave, finding himself sub-
ject to capricious treatment and
change of masters, will seldom add
the cares of providing for a family of
children to his other woes, and con-
sequently avoids marriage.
4. In their old age, it is the mas-
ter's interest to get rid of the feeble,
who eat but cannot labour; conse-
quently the worn down slave is neg-
lected, and perishes for want of care,
having no family or children to ease
the pains of sickness, or prop the
weakness of decline, by the soothing
attention of filial duty.
5. In times of scarcity and famine,
the master must starve his slaves,
1. The same object actuates the
master here also, but the servant being
free to stipulate, his interest coun-
teracts that of the other, and the
contest reduces and establishes the
price of labour to its just rate; that
is, it allows the servant to provide
for himself and family, and leaves
the master a competent profit.
2. It is the general wish of servants
to satisfy their masters, that they may
not lose their employment; or, if their
services are no longer requisite, to
entitle them to a recommendation.
3. The servant knowing he can
dispose of his earnings as he pleases,
and being provided with a fund for
the provision of a wife, &c., will
marry; thus the state reaps benefit
by the increase of population.
4. Under voluntary servitude, by
the time old age approaches, many
have saved a little from the rewards
of their services, to assistin softening
the hardships of sickness and debility,
&c.; and almost all, having married
and added to the general stock of
industry and riches, have some chil-
dren to soothe the evening of life.
Though this may have little weightin
thescale of political reasoning,itought
to have some in that of humanity.
5. In scarcity, a servant is not
harder to subsist than a slave; he
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, pp. 935, 936.
SLAVERY.
311
send them to plunder, or emancipate
them. The latter, his avarice will
never permit.
6. When slaves can sell them-
selves or their children, numbers are
induced to flock to great towns and
cities, where many die from disap-
pointed expectation, who would other-
wise pick up a scanty subsistence in
scattered villages.
7. It would appear to be the ad-
vantage of masters, to promote the
rearing of their slaves. This, like
many other theoretic ideas, is found
to be fallacious, and contradicted by
fact. The expense of rearing, and
the loss incurred by the indispensa-
ble attendance of the parents on their
offspring, has always made proprie-
tors prefer recruiting casual diminu-
tions of their slaves by purchase;
even in Rome, where slavery was
universal. How much more will
masters avoid such trouble and ex-
pense in India, where I have seen,
in a time of local scarcity only, a
stout lad of fourteen or fifteen years
old, sold for the trifling consideration
of two rupees, scarcely a month's
wages for the meanest servant.
8. Women of bad fame purchase
females for the most public prostitu-
tion, which are thereby lost to the
community.
9. Children are sometimes sold in-
to bondage by the villany of others,
in the case of death or absence of
parents, instances of which are not
Ulſh CORITIOC)]].
10. The sanction of slavery, not
many years ago, gave birth to an in-
famous traffic, and as injurious to
our government as disgraceful to
those concerned, diminishing our re-
sources, by depriving us of subjects.”
will not eat more, and, having his
wages, he is better enabled to evade
the effects of famine, by making
timely provision for its approach.
6. Were slavery abolished, this
evil could not happen : knowing
they could not sell themselves or
children, they would not be tempted to
cities in such numbers; having only
a precarious charity to rely on, they
would substitute many modes of Sup-
plying a mere sustenance, from ber-
ries, herbs, &c.
7. Were voluntary servitude sub-
stituted for slavery, avarice, real or
mistaken, could not affect population,
8. Abolish the unnatural law of
slavery, and the evil could not occur.
9. Nor this.
10, Nor this.
“The effects of slavery are as plainly injurious, as the be-
nefits of freedom are obvious and undoubted.”
* Par. Papers, pp. 301—303.
3
l
2
SLAVERY.
CHAP. II.
Nature and success of efforts for the abolition of the Slave
Trade in India—melioration of Slavery by the Hindoos,
Mussulmans, French, Dutch, and British.
The abolition of the Slave Trade, by the British nation,
was attended with very salutary effects in British India. It
is pleasing to trace the influence of just and humane princi-
ples in the abolition of the Slave Trade in our Eastern domi-
nions; and the nature of the efforts, though partial, to melio-
rate the existing state of slavery in those extensive territories.
Lord Cornwallis, Governor General of India, in a letter to
the Court of Directors in 1789, states his detestation of
slavery, and his purpose to suppress it as far as he was able.
—“An infamous traffic has, it seems, long been carried on in
this country by the low Portuguese, and even by several
foreign European seafaring people and traders, in purchasing
and collecting native children in a clandestine manner,
and exporting them for sale to the French islands, and other
parts of India. I have, at different times, taken steps to pre-
vent the continuance of practices which are so shocking to
humanity, and so pernicious to your interests. And, in order
to deter all persons under the authority of this government,
from being concerned in that species of trade, I lately directed
that a commander of a country vessel, who carried off some
children last winter, should be prosecuted criminally before
the Supreme Court; and I have likewise published a procla-
mation, to give notice that any person living under the Com-
pany’s protection, or in any shape under the authority of this
government, who shall be convicted of carrying on, or aiding,
or abetting the barbarous traffic that I have mentioned, will
be certain of meeting with the most exemplary punishment.
“There are many obstacles in the way against abolishing
slavery entirely in the Company's dominions, as the number
of slaves is considerable, and the practice is sanctioned both
by the Mahomedan and Hindoo laws. I have, however, a
planº under consideration, which I hope to be able to execute
without doing much injury to the private interests, or offering
great violence to the feelings of the natives, and which has
for its object the abolition of the practice under certain limi-
* “No further notice of the plan, here adverted to by his Lordship, has
been traced upon the records of the Bengal Government.”
SLAVERY. 3.13
tations, and the establishing some regulations to alleviate, as
much as may be possible, the misery of those unfortunate
people during the time that they may be retained in that
wretched situation.”
A Proclamation was made in the same year, and was
“published in the English and country languages.” Refer-
ring to the period at which it was issued, this document must
be read with considerable interest. See the Proclamation at
the foot of the page.
“PRoclamATION.—Whereas information, the truth of which cannot be
doubted, has been received by the Governor General in Council, that many
Natives, and some Europeans, in opposition to the laws and ordinances of
this country, and the dictates of humanity, have been for a long time in the
practice of purchasing or collecting Natives of both sexes, children as well
as adults, for the purpose of exporting them as slaves in different parts of
India, or elsewhere: and whereas the Governor General in Council is de-
termined to exert to the utmost extent the power vested in him, in order to
prevent such practice in future, and to deter, by the most exemplary punish-
ment, those persons who are not to be otherwise restrained from commit-
ting the offence: his Lordship hereby declares, that all and every person or
persons, subject to the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, or in any respect
to the authority of this government, who shall in future be concerned directly
or indirectly in the above mentioned inhuman and detestable traffic, shall
be prosecuted with the utmost rigour, in the Supreme Court, at the expense
of the Company, and, if British born subjects, shall be forthwith ordered to
Europe; or, if such person or persons be not subject to the Court’s jurisdic-
tion, he or they, upon information being given to the Magistrate of the
place or district in which the offence shall have been committed, shall be
apprehended by him and kept in confinement, to be dealt with according to
the laws of the country.
“And also, that no one may plead ignorance hereof, the Superintendents
of the police for the town of Calcutta, and the magistrates of Adawluts, in
the several parts of the country, are hereby required to give immediate no-
tice of this proclamation in such manner as shall render the knowledge of
it universal to persons of all description, and to repeat the same on the first
day of January in every year; they are further directed to pay the strictest
attention to the Regulations contained in it, and to take the most active
steps in their power to enforce them. *
“And that all persons offending against this proclamation may be brought
to punishment for the same, and the unhappy sufferers rescued from misery,
a reward of one hundred sicca rupees is hereby offered for the discovery of
every offender, to be paid on his conviction before the Supreme Court of
Judicature, or before the Magistrate of the District, and of fifty rupees for
such person of either sex, who shall be delivered from slavery, or illegal
confinement in consequence of such discovery. The money will be paid to
the informer or informers on his or their application to the Secretary of
government, and presenting to him a certificate of the conviction of the per-
son or persons committing the offence, of which such informer or informers
made discovery,
* Par. Papers, p. 13.
314 SLAVERY.
It is pleasing at this period to see the French authorities in
India co-operating with the British, in suppressing this trade in
human beings. “We understand,” says the Calcutta Gazette
in Sep. 1789, “Monsieur Montigny, Governor of Chanderna-
gore, has lately issued a proclamation prohibiting all persons
within the jurisdiction of the French Government, from pur-
chasing or transporting any of the Natives of these provinces
as slaves; and, in order more effectually to prevent this in-
famous practice, a reward of forty rupees is offered to any
person who shall give information of the offender, besides the
sum of ten rupees to be given to each slave who shall be
released in consequence. Both sums to be paid by the offender.
The master attendant of Chandernagore is also directed to
see that no Native be embarked, without an order signed by
the Governor; and all captains of vessels trading to the port
of Chandernagore are strictly prohibited from receiving any
Natives on board. Nothing can reflect greater honour on the
humanity of Monsieur Montigny, and the liberal policy of the
French Government, than the above order; andwe have no doubt
this co-operation with the measures already taken by our own
government, will put an effectual stop to this odious traffic.”
“The Governor General in Council further recommends to British com-
mercial houses, and private merchants, to assist, as far as depends upon
them, in carrying these regulations into effect, by taking the most effectual
means in their power to prevent the commanders of their ships or vessels,
or of ships or vessels consigned to them, or otherwise placed under their
directions, from carrying away natives of this country in order to sell them
for slaves.
“The master attendant of this port is hereby forbidden to grant in future
an English pilot to any ship or vessel, the commander of which shall not
have previously declared upon oath, that there are not then on board, and he
will not, during his continuance in the river, consent to receive on board,
any natives to be exported as slaves, with an intent to dispose of them at
some foreign place, or whom he has any reason to imagine will be disposed
of as such after they leave this country.
“And the master attendant is hereby directed to give notice to all the
native pilots, that if they should pilot out any vessel, having on board natives
of this description, knowing or believing them to be such, the privilege of
piloting will be taken from them for ever, and their names and offence re-
gistered. And, that no one may plead ignorance of this order, it is hereby
directed that it be placed constantly in view at the Banksaul, in the English
and country languages.
Proclaimed at Fort William, in Bengal, this 22nd day of July, 1789.
By order of the Governor General in Council, *
(Signed) E. HAY, Secretary to the Government.”f
* Par. Papers, pp. 18, 19. See also in 1791, pp. 34, 487, 493, 520.
t Par. Papers on Slavery in India, p. 22.
SLAVERY. 315
Some free Natives of Bengal having been taken to St. Helena,
and sold as slaves, the practice was prohibited by authority.
The Hon. Court of Directors, in a Letter to the Governor
General in 1793, observe—“It having been stated in the
letter to you from the Governor and Council of St. Helena,
in July, 1791, that they have heard of other complaints
of the Natives of Bengal, who were free, having been
unjustly sold on that Island, we direct that you cause an ad-
vertisement to be issued for the discovery thereof, and that
you take the most effectual means for liberating such as may
be under this unfortunate predicament; and for putting a stop
to a practice so disgraceful to humanity, reporting your pro-
ceedings for our information.” To secure the return of
Native servants, proceeding from Bengal to Europe, it was
determined by the Government that a bond of 1000 rupees
should be given for each individual. “The humane purpose
of this bond,” says the Hon. Court, in 1796, “is sufficient to
ensure our approbation of the measure.”
The murder of a slave, under the Bengal Government, is
made a capital offence. In 1799 was issued “A Regulation
for certain Modifications of the Mahomedan Law in cases of
Murder.” It enjoins—“In every case of wilful murder, where-
in the crime may appear to the court of Nizamut Adawlut to
have been fully established against the prisoner, but the futwa
of the law officers of that court shall declare the prisoner not
liable under the Mahomedan law to suffer death by kissans,
(or retaliation), solely on the ground of the prisoner's being
father or mother, grandfather or grandmother, or other ancestor
of the slain; or of the heirs of the slain, or one of the heirs of
the slain, being the child, or grandchild, or other descendant
of the prisoner; or of the slain having been the slave of the
prisoner or of any other person, or a slave appropriated for the
service of the public; or on any similar ground of personal
distinction and exception from the general rules of equal jus-
tice; the court of Nizamut Adawlut, provided they see no
circumstances in the case which may render the prisoner a
proper object of mercy, shall sentence him to suffer death, as
if the futwa of their law officers had declared him liable to
kissans, or to suffer death by seazut, as authorized by the Ma-
homedan law in all cases of wilful murder, under the discre-
tion vested in the Magistrate, with regard to this principle of
punishment, for the ends of public justice.”f
* Par. Papers, p. 45. By a recent Regulation all persons born on the
Island are free. t Par. Papers on Slavery in India, p. 76,
316 SLAVERY.
In 1796 a communication was addressed to the Governor of
Bombay, from the Sultan and Chiefs of the island of Johanna,
praying for assistance against the incursions of the French
and the Madagascar people, who destroyed and enslaved the
inhabitants. They offer to “give these islands to the Com-
pany,” and that “whatever shall be produced in this country,
half shall be for you and the other half for us.” In consider-
ation of the friendly treatment which ships invariably received,
at Johanna, some assistance was given to these islanders.” In
1813 an application was made to Bombay, by the Sultan of
Johanna, respecting some persons who had been carried from
the island to the Mauritius by the French, and there reduced
to slavery. The Hon. Court of Directors very humanely re-
mark, upon the proceedings of the Indian Government, L
“With respect to the circumstance alleged by the King of
Johanna, of certain persons, his subjects, having been carried
by the French to Mauritius, and there made slaves, we en-
tirely approve of your suggestion to the Governor of the
Mauritius, for the purchase of such individuals, if in a state
of slavery ; and likewise of your further application to the
Governor of Mauritius, respecting several natives of our Indian
provinces of both sexes, being in a state of slavery on that
island, and requesting his assistance in obtaining their release,
or in purchasing their freedom, and charging the expense to
your Government.”f -
In 1811 an important “Regulation for preventing the im-
portation of slaves from foreign countries, and the sale of
slaves in the Territories immediately dependent on the Pre-
sidency of Fort William,” was passed by the Vice President
in Council. Copies of the regulation were ordered to be cir-
culated among the officers of the Bengal Government, and also
forwarded to those of Fort St. George, and Bombay. It was
also resolved, that this “Regulation be sent to the political
department, in order that a communication may be made to
any of the Native States, which it may be deemed proper to
apprize of the purport of the Regulation.”].
The Resident at Delhi, in 1812, C. T. Metcalfe, Esq.,
actively prosecuted the humane measures of the Government.
He wrote to the Chief Secretary as follows:—“The slave
trade, which has been prohibited for a considerable time in
the other provinces in the British dominions in India, continued
to exist in the district of Delhi subsequently to its abolition in
* See the letters, which are very interesting documents, pp. 82—84.
+ Par. Papers on Slavery in India, p. 224. # See p. 99.
SLAVERY. 317
other places, no local orders having been issued for its discon-
tinuance; and, in consequence, the resort of slave merchants
to this quarter was becoming more frequent than ever. Being
convinced, that it was not the intention of Government that
this iniquitous traffic should be encouraged in any part of its
territories; satisfied rather that it was, and is, its earnest de-
sire to abolish so abominable a commerce; I consider myself
to be only fulfilling the manifestintentions of the Right Hon-
ourable the Governor General in Council, in putting a stop
to the sale of human beings in the town and country of Delhi.
I have accordingly proclaimed the orders of Government for
the abolition of the slave trade.”
The officers of the “Nepaul admistration, in 1811 requested
the co-operation of the British Government, in their measures
towards an amelioration of the situation of the inhabitants of
the mountains.” The co-operation requested was cheerfully
granted.t .
The proceedings in India, are particularly worthy of notice,
as it respects the bearing of the Act of Parliament, passed in
the fifty-first year of his Majesty George III. commonly called
the Slave Felony Act, or “An Act for rendering more effec-
tual an Act made in the forty-seventh year of his Majesty's
oreign, intituled, “An Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade.’”
Two hundred copies of this important act were printed in
Calcutta, and duly circulated. A Letter to the Chief Secre-
tary at Fort St. George, and a similar one to Bombay, shew
the sense taken of this act in India. See this important
communication at the foot of the page.
“The exact nature of the traffic in slaves, mentioned by you to be carried
on from Travancore, not being stated in your letter, the Governor General
in Council is of course precluded from forming a judgment, whether that
traffic falls within the purview of the Act of the 51 Geo. III. c. 23, intituled,
“An Act for rendering more effectual an Act made in the forty-seventh year
of his Majesty's reign, intituled, “An Act for the Abolition of the Slave
Trade.” With respect to that particular point, his Lordship in Council can
only observe, that he does not consider the provisions of the Act in question,
applicable to the importation or removal of slaves by land. It having been
deemed proper, however, to consider maturely the measures which should
be pursued by the local governments of this country, with respect to the
above mentioned statute, the following is the purport of the resolutions
adopted by the Governor General in Council on that subject.
“The provisions of the Act being highly penal in their operation, and its
object highly important, the Governor General in Council has considered it
proper to order a copy of it to be published in the Calcutta Gazette, for
* Par, Papers on Slavery in India, p. 101.
t Par. Papers, p. 115.
3.18 SLAVERY.
The Bombay Government, in 1813, issued a “Regulation
for preventing the importation of slaves from foreign countries,
and the sale of such slaves, in the territories immediately
dependent on the Presidency of Bombay.”* A difference of
opinion upon the application of this act to India bas been
entertained; that of the Advocate General of Bombay, H. G.
Macklin, Esq., is expressed in the following terms, in a letter
to the Secretary to Government:— -" :
“With great deference to the opinion of the Right Honourable the Go-
vernor General in Council, I think the Act extends to importation by land
as well as sea. In the preamble it is recited, that it is fit such measures
should be extended, to the effectual abolition of the slave trade wheresoever
it may be attempted to practise the same; and, in the enacting part im-
mediately following, “If any person residing or being in any of the Islands,
&c., or Territories under the government of the United Company of Mer-
chants trading to the East Indies, shall, &c., carry away or remove, &c., as
a slave or slaves, &c., any person or persons whatsoever from any part of
general information. In like manner, his Lordship in Council has directed
copies of the Act to be forwarded to the local governments of Bombay, Java,
of Prince of Wales’ Island, of Mauritius, of Ceylon, and the Residents at the
Moluccas, and at Fort Marlborough. On the same principle, copies of the
statute will be forwarded to the magistrates of Chittagong and Cuttack (the
only sea ports, excepting Calcutta, in Bengal), in order that in their capacity
of justices of the peace, under the law of England, they may aid in enforc-
ing the provisions of the statute.
“The Governor in Council, at Fort St. George, is aware that a Regulation
was some time ago passed at this Presidency, for preventing the importation
of slaves from foreign countries. Inquiries will be made, with the view of
ascertaining whether the provisions of that Regulation have been effectual
in preventing that species of traffic; if not, a further Regulation will be
passed without loss of time, establishing severer penalties for the infringe-
ment of the prohibition now existing under the Regulation above noticed,
of the importation of slaves from foreign countries, in conformity to the
spirit of the statute, to which the foregoing remarks allude. In like manner,
the Governor General in Council begs leave to recommend that a Regulation be
passed, at Fort St. George, for preventing the importation of slaves by land
into the territories subject to that Presidency, under such penalties as the Go-
vernor in Council may deem fully adequate to the prevention of that traffic.
“The foregoing remarks, it is presumed, will inform the Governor in
Council sufficiently of the construction annexed by the Governor General in
Council to the Act of the 51 Geo. III. c. 23, and of the measures which
it has been judged necessary to adopt at this Presidency. It is scarcely
necessary to add, that his Lordship in Council is of opinion that similar
measures should be adopted by the government of Fort St. George, with
such modifications as local circumstances may suggest, without of course
departing from the principle on which the measures above detailed are
founded. I have, &c.
- G. Dowdeswell, Sec. to Government Judicial Department.
Fort William, Sept. 26th, 1812.t
* Par. Papers, p. 216. + p. 137.
SIAVERY. 319
Africa, or from any other country, territory, or place whatsoever; or shall
import or bring, &c., into any island, colony, country, territory, or place
whatsoever, any such persons as aforesaid, for the purpose aforesaid; then
in every such case, &c., the persons so offending, &c., are declared to be
felons.”
“This enactment is taken verbatim from the statute, and appears to me,
to comprehend every possible case of the importation (that is, the introduc-
tion) of slaves into British Territories. The act is highly penal, and I have
great satisfaction in observing that his Lordship in Council is resolved to
lay before the Hon. Court the difficulties which attend carrying the penal
part of the statute into execution in India, where slavery is of a much milder
feature than in the western hemisphere. The manumission of the slave will
be sufficiently provided for by the regulation, and the King's Courts may act
upon the statute in cases of aggravation or enormity.”* . It is unnecessary
to enlarge upon the importance of this view of the subject. It is evident,
that the abolition of the slave trade, both in the West and the East Indies,
is not the abolition of slavery. It prevents the increase of slaves, but leaves
those already in slavery nearly in the same state that they were.
A Proclamation against the slave trade was issued by the
Government in Madras, in March 1790, similar to the one
issued by the Marquis Cornwallis, in 1789.f
It is grateful to see the Dutch authorities in India, at this
period, co-operating with the British, in suppressing the de-
testable traffic in human beings. The following letter was
addressed to the Governor of Madras, in 1793:—“Favoured
with your Honour's letter, we cannot indeed emphatically
enough express our indignation and aversion, with regard to
so horrible an event, as the exportation of 180 natives from
Bimlipatam, as slaves, in a French brigantine bound to the
French islands; which, however, according to the declaration
that came enclosed, was surprised and taken at Pedir by the
Malays, who killed all those that were on board of her, and
did not escape out of their hands.
“To shew how much the exportation of the unhappy
creatures merits our disgrace, we shall renew, in the strongest
manner, our orders to our northern factories, to oppose such
inhuman practice; not only in our subjects, but also with all
possible diligence in strangers, in case they should think our
territory a safe place for it; with a charge to deliver the un-
happy creatures out of the hands of those who will not desist,
but are refractory, either by good or forcible means, and to
send them to one of your agents there, for the protection of
their liberty, and the benefit of their support. We feel the
propriety of your Honour's resolution, that such kidnapping
may be prevented, to check it with exemplary punishment;
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, pp. 216, 217.
† See Par. Papers as above, pp. 469, 470.
320 SI/AVERY.
and, in case any of our subjects transgress the orders instituted
against it, they shall be seized and delivered over to justice,
to be punished according to the exigency of the case.”
These extracts shew the efforts of the European authorities
in India, with the occasional co-operation of the Natives, to
abolish the Slave trade. The success experienced in these
humane efforts should have encouraged them to attempt more
than has yet been done;—not merely to meliorate, but to
abolish slavery in the East. In consequence of the active
measures described, many slaves were liberated, and theirim-
portation into India, by sea, in a great degree prohibited.
It is interesting to trace the melioration of slavery in the
East. From the following extract of a translation of the
Hindoo Laws, transmitted by the Bengal Government to the
Hon. Court of Directors in 1774, it appears that the Hindoos
admit various modes of enfranchising slaves.—
“Whoever is born of a female slave; whoever hath been purchased for a
price; whoever hath been found by chance any where, and whoever is a
slave by descent from his ancestors, these four species of slaves, until they
are freed by the voluntary consent of their master, cannot have their liberty;
if their master, from a principle of beneficence, gives them liberty, they be-
come free. gº
“Whoever, having received his victuals from a person during the time of
a famine, hath become his slave, upon giving to his provider whatever he re-
ceived from him during the time of famine, and also two head of cattle, may
become free from his servitude; according to the ordinations of Pachesputtee
Misr, approved. Chendeesur, upon this head, speaks thus: That he who
has received victuals during a famine, and hath, by those means, become a
slave, on giving two head of cattle to his provider, may become free.
“Whoever, having been given up as a pledge for money lent, performs
service to the creditor, recovers his liberty whenever the debtor discharges
the debt; if the debtor neglects to pay the creditor his money, and takes no
thought of the person whom he left as a pledge, that person becomes the
purchased slave of the creditor.
“Whoever being unable to pay his creditor a debt, hath borrowed a sum of
money from another person, and paid his former creditor therewith, and
hath thus become a slave to the second creditor; or who, to silence the im-
portunities of his creditor's demands, hath yielded himself a slave to that
creditor, such kind of slaves shall not be released from servitude until pay-
ment of the debts. -
“Whoever, by the loss of chance in any game, and whoever by the fortune
of war is enslaved, these two persons, upon giving two others in eachange, are
released from their servitude 1
“If the slave of one person goes to another, and of his own desire con-
sents to be the slave of that person, in this case he must still be the property
of the person to whom he was first a slave. The mode of release for every
kind of slave shall take place according to the ordination laid down for
each.
* Par. Papers, pp. 537, 538.
SLAVERY. 321
“A Chehtree and Bice, who, after having been Sinasses (religious mendi-
cants) apostate from that way of life, and are become the slaves of the
magistrate, can never be released.
“If a Brahmin hath committed this crime, the magistrate shall not make
him a slave; but, having branded him in the forehead with the print of a dog's
foot, shall banish him the kingdom.
“Whoever hath yielded himself a slave for a stipulated time, upon the
completion of that term, shall recover his freedom.
“Whoever performs a servitude for his subsistence, shall recover his free-
dom upon renouncing that subsistence.
“Whoever, for the sake of a slave girl, becomes a slave to any person, he
shall recover his freedom upon renouncing the slave girl.
“Whoever hath become a slave, by selling himself to any person, he shall
not be free until the master, of his own accord, gives him his freedom.
“If the master, from a principle of beneficence, give him his liberty, he
becomes free.
“If a thief, having stolen the child of any person, sells it to another, or a
man, by absolute violence, forces another to be a slave, the magistrate shall
restore such person to his freedom. -
“If the master of a slave should be in imminent danger of his life, and
at that time this slave, by his own efforts and presence of mind, is able to
save the life of his master, the slave shall be freed from his servitude, and be
held as a son. If he choose, he may stay with his former master, or, if he
choose, shall quit that place, and go where he will at liberty.
“Whoever is without a legitimate child, and hath a child from the womb
of a slave girl, that girl, together with her son, becomes free. -
“When any person, from a principle of beneficence, would release his slave,
the mode of it is this: the slave shall fill a pitcher with water, and put therein
berenge-a-rook (rice that has been cleansed without boiling), and flowers and
doub (a kind of small salad), and, taking the pitcher upon his shoulder, shall
stand near his master; and the master, putting the pitcher upon the slave's
head, shall break the pitcher, so that the water, rice, flowers, and doub, that
were in the pitcher, may fall upon the slave's body; after that, the master
shall three times pronounce the words, “I have made you free: ' upon this
speech, the slave shall take some steps towards the east, whereupon he shall
be free.
“Whoever hath become a slave to any person, the master is proprietor of any
property which that slave may acquire, eacclusive of the price of his own slavery,
and eacclusive also of any thing which may be given to him as a present.”*
“I make no scruple,” says Sir W. Jones, in his charge to
the Grand Jury at Calcutta, in 1785, “to declare my own
opinion, that absolute unconditional slavery, by which one
human creature becomes the property of another, like a horse or
an ox, is happily unknown to the laws of England, and that
no human law could give it a just sanction; yet, though I
hate the word, the continuance of it, properly explained, can
produce little mischief. I consider slaves as servants under a
contract, expressed or implied, and made either by themselves
or by such persons as are authorized by nature or law to con-
tract for them, until they attain a due age to cancel or confirm
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, pp. 7, 8,
Y
322 SLAVERY.
any compact that may be disadvantageous to them. I have
slaves whom I rescued from death or misery, but consider
them as other servants, and shall certainly tell them so, when
they are old enough to comprehend the difference of the
terms.”% T. '.
In the province of Dacca many children were kidnapped,
given away, or sold by their parents into slavery; a number
of these were recovered, and restored to their parents or rela-
tions. The Collector of Dacca, in 1787, addressed the Su-
perintendents of Police at Calcutta—“I have the pleasure to
acknowledge the receipt of your letter, accompanying twelve
boys and twenty-one girls belonging to this district, under
charge of Churreemeulah and three other peons, and which,
in obedience to the wish of the Right Honourable the Go-
vernor General, shall be restored to their parents or relations,
in the same manner as those transmitted to me two years
since.”f - -
It appears to be a received opinion among the Mahome-
dans, that murder may be atoned for by money, or by giving
a slave. In 1790 two persons, named Mungaly Khan, and
Assud Khan, were convicted of the murder of Nowaz Khan,
and were ordered to make a pecuniary compensation to the
plaintiffs, viz. Peranow the widow, and the brothers of the
deceased. In conformity with the Nawaub’s orders, they were
called upon to pay “the price of blood.” The widow stated,
“Mungaly Khan being unable to pay a pecuniary compensa-
tion, has given to me his son, to be my servant for life. Assud
Rhan has given me, in satisfaction of the murder, his share
of the village of Caympoor.” The other plaintiffs declaring,
“In consequence of the poverty and distress of Mungaly
Khan and Assud Khan, they remitted their claim to a com-
pensation.” The Governor General, Earl Cornwallis, and his
council, disapproved of the proceeding, agreeing that—“The
Naib Nazim be recommended not to admit of Mungaly
Khan's making over his son as a slave for life to Peranow,
and that he be requested to levy the amount of the compen-
sation, which it may be determined to exact from Mungaly
Khan, by the customary mode of process.”]. -
Ceylon has been a market of slaves from Bengal. In 1789,
a “Captain Horrebow took on board at Fultah, 150 children,
whom, previously to his departure, he purchased in Bengal:
he transported them, under English colours, to Columbo,
where they were sold as slaves. The Dutch Governor, Myn-
* Par. Papers, pp. 9, 10, and 710. f P. 12. + p. 27.
SLAVERY. 323
heer Van De Grave, in terms most honourable to himself, re-
fused to permit their being landed; but Captain Horrebow
found means to elude the vigilance of the Governor, and
availed himself of an excellent market for his wares.” He
“was sentenced to be imprisoned for three months, to pay a
fine of 500 rupees, and to give security for his future good
behaviour for three years; himself in a bond of 10,000 rupees,
and two sureties in 5,000 rupees each.”f
The state of slavery in Ceylon, anterior to its subjugation
by the British, and the mitigation of it proposed by the con-
quering power, are ably stated in a communication to the
Marquis Wellesley, Governor General of India, in 1800. A
short extract only can be given :—
“The scandalous manner in which the unhappy persons, whom it is the
principal object of the proposed regulations to protect, are treated in general
by their masters and mistresses of every nation, cast, and religion, within
these settlements, render it a positive duty of Government, to delay, as little
as possible, the adoption of strong measures for their relief. Those which
I propose are taken chiefly from the statutes of Batavia, particularly from one
published in the year 1770, and which was in force at the time of our occupa-
tion of this Island (though never observed in practice). I have also recurred,
in some instances to the civil law, on which the jurisprudence of Holland is
founded; and, as the principal class of the proprietors of slaves are of the
Mahomedan religion, I have adopted, and made general some of the admirable
regulations by which the Khoran, and its commentators have softened the
rigours of slavery, at the same time that they established its lawfulness.
... “The principal point on which all codes, which have allowed domestic
slavery, have universally insisted, the clear and wnequivocal definition of the
slave, and of the means by which he or she may have been acquired, was neg-
lected in Ceylon, with the most barbarous indifference. Of more than a
hundred cases that have been brought before me, the masters or mistresses
of the beings claiming liberty, have not, in more than six or seven instances,
produced slave bonds properly authenticated, or such as a Dutch tribunal,
acting according to the Dutch laws, would have received. In many cases
no papers are existing; in others simple testamentary devices, proving the
opinion of the defunct as to his power over the slave bequeathed, have been
insisted on, not as a collateral, but as a positive proof of the slavery of the per-
son claimed under it; and, in the province of Baticalva, the assertion that
a child was sold by his parents in a famine, was urged before me, as the
right on which the greater part of the slaves in that province have been held
for some time past, as well as their posterity. The practice of kidnapping
at Cochin, was, for many years, notorious, but the reception of slaves from
that place was subject to scarcely any restrictions on this Island; and those
restrictions, I am afraid, were but ill observed. In short, that institution,
Yeprobated as it is by good policy, morality, and religion, exists here with all
the aggravated horrors of wheertainty in its application, and cruelty in its
eacercise.”: :

The abolition of slavery in Ceylon is thus described by Sir
A. Johnstone, in a letter to W. W. Wynn, Esq.-‘As the
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, p. 14. t p. 21. # pp. 84—92.
Y 2
324 SLAVERY.
right of every proprietor of slaves to continue to hold slaves
in Ceylon was guaranteed to him, by the capitulation under
which the Dutch possession had been surrendered to the
British arms, in 1794, the British Government of Ceylon
conceived that, however desirable the measure might be, they
had not a right to abolish slavery in Ceylon by any legisla-
tive act. A proposition was made on the part of Government
by me, to the proprietors of the slaves in 1806, before trial
by jury was introduced, urging them to adopt some plan of
their own accord for the gradual abolition of slavery; this
proposition, at that time, they unanimously rejected. The
right of sitting upon juries was granted to the inhabitants of
Ceylon in 1811. From that period I availed myself of the
opportunities which were afforded to me, when I delivered
my charge at the commencement of each session to the jury-
men—most of whom were considerable proprietors of slaves
—of informing them what was doing in England upon the
subject of the abolition of slavery, and of pointing out to them
the difficulties, which they themselves must frequently expe-
rience, in executing, with impartiality, their duties as jury-
men, in all cases in which slaves were concerned. A change
of opinion upon the subject of slavery was gradually per-
ceptible among them; and, in the year 1816, the proprie-
tors of Alaves, of all casts and religious persuasions in Cey-
lon, sent me their unanimous resolutions, to be publicly re-
corded in Court, declaring free all children born of their
slaves from the 12th of August 1816. This, in the course of
a few years, must put an end to the state of slavery, which
had existed in Ceylon for more than three centuries.”
The valuable co-operation of the Rajah of Kotah with the
Resident at Delhi, in 1808, in the suppression of the sale of
children into slavery, shews how much Europeans in India
may accomplish for the interests of humanity.t
While the Island of Java continued in the possession of
the British, the abolition of the slave trade, and the improve-
ment of the condition of the slaves, was considered an object
of importance. The importation of slaves into the Island,
after the commencement of 1813, was prohibited by Procla-
mation; and instructions on the subject were sent to “the
* Ori. Her, vol. xvi. p. 136. “At a levee of Cingalese Chiefs, held
at Kandy, Jan. 1832, the Governor, Sir. W. Horton, declared it to be the
intention of Government gradually to abolish slavery throughout the Island,
and called upon the Chiefs to afford their assistance in this benevolent
work.”—E. I. Mag., Sep. 1832, p. 291. -
- f Par. Papers on Slavery in India, pp. 99, 100.
SLAVERY. 325
Islands depending on the Government.” Previously to the
transfer of Java to the Dutch, the slaves were emancipated.
Upon which the Hon. Court of Directors declared,—“We
entirely approve of your proceedings, in emancipating the
slaves at Java, previously to the transfer of that place to the
Dutch, as we do of the option you gave to all the slaves, of
being conveyed at the public charge to their native country.”f
The slave trade appears to have been very effectually
suppressed under the Bengal Government, by the humane
and vigorous efforts above described. The magistrates of the
Bareilly Court, in 1812, state—“We have now the honour to
submit attested copies of the answers received from eight out
of the nine magistrates under our authority; from which it
will be evident to Government that, since the promulgation
of the Regulation above specified, the traffic in slaves im-
ported from foreign countries is almost, if not entirely, Sup-
pressed in the districts of Bareilly, Moradabad, Cawnpoor,
Furruckabad, Etawah, Agra, Alligurh, and Seharunpore
South.” “But, it should be understood, the slave owners
still disposed of those who were actually slaves, as part of
their real property.”$ -
The British Government in India has abolished the duty
levied on the sale of slaves, by the former Government of Ku-
maon, and suppressed the traffic in slaves in those countries
bordering on Nepaul, which were brought under its authority
by treaty in 1815. This duty or tax was for every male and
female slave two rupees eight annas. “We cannot touch
on this subject,” said the late Marquis of Hastings, “without
adverting to a consequence of our having wrested the hill
country from the Ghorkas, in which your Hon. Court will
feel the most lively satisfaction. A slave trade of great extent
has been totally extinguished; and the hapless families, from
whom the Ghorkas used to tear away the children for sale,
have now to look with joyful confidence on the security be-
stowed towards their offspring by the British Government.”||
In this part of India, an extraordinary practice existed, of
selling wives and widows, which has been abolished." The
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, p. 185. See also pp. 168, 169.
t p. 265. # p. 140. § p. 141. Il p. 266. See Heber's Jour., vol. i. p. 492.
‘I “The people of Laos are in great dread of the Burmese, and the cruel
system of border warfare and man-catching, to which our occupation of the
Tenasserim provinces has put an end to the southward, still continues in
force to the north, between Laos and Ava. It would appear that, as in
Burmah, women are bought and sold at Laos. The price of one is ten head
of cattle, or twenty-five rupees.”—Asi. Jour, Nov. 1830, p. 256.
326 SLAVERY.
Governor General, in 1826, wrote to the Court of Directors—
“We took measures to furnish the Commissioner, without delay,
with the form of proclamation approved by us, prohibiting
the sale of wives and widows by their husbands or late hus-
band's family. We need not repeat the expression of our
determination to put down so barbarous and hateful a
custom.”% • *
The Calcutta Journal, in March 1824, contained, an article
entitled, the “Slave Trade in British India.” An extract or
two only are given :- . - -
“Our readers are of course aware, that the nefarious traffic in human
beings is equally forbidden by the letter and the spirit of British law in
every portion of the British dominions, be their geographical position what
it may, whether in the frozen regions of the north, or the scorching climate
of the torrid zone; wherever the British flag waves, the disgraceful com-
merce is made criminal by British law; what them, will the humane and
enlightened community of this magnificent capital of our Eastern possessions
say, when they are told, that with all its glittering spires of the temples of a
pure religion; all its splendid palaces, bespeaking the taste, the refinement,
and the riches of their inhabitants; with all its colleges, and schools, and
societies, to promote the propagation of knowledge, civil and religious;
what will they say, when they learn that, amidst all these signs of veneration
for Christianity, the philanthropy, the greatness, and the refinement of Bri-
tons and British subjects, in a British capital, it is disgraced' by witnessing
the lowest degradation of the human species?—that this great capital is, in
short, at once the depot of the commerce and riches of the East, and the
mart in which the manacled African is sold, like the beast of the field, to
the highest bidder. It is known, too, that the Arab ships are in the habit
of carrying away many of the natives of this country, principally females,
and disposing of them in Arabia, in barter for African slaves for the Calcutta
market! Can it be possible that such degrading, such wicked scenes are
passing around us, and that the actors are suffered to escape unnoticed and
unpunished P. We fear the fact is too true; but we hope that the publicity
thus given to it will lead to the prevention of such gross violations of law
and humanity in future. We can conceive the difficulty of detection in
these cases; but let all those who are aware of the illicit practices of
these followers of Mahomed, remember that they are imperiously called on
as Christians, and as British subjects in particular, to bring to punishment
these violators of law and humanity. Nature shudders at the thought of
the barbarities practised by these abusers of God’s noblest creatures, who are
led by an accursed thirst of gold to brutalize the human species.”f

The Magistrates of Calcutta immediately addressed the
Government upon the subject, acknowledging, “Under the
provision of Reg. X., 1811, a bond is taken from the com-
manders of a certain class of ships, previously to their being
allowed to land their cargoes; and they are also required to
give in a list of their crews and passengers. We must con-
fess, however, that these are very inadequate restrictions to
* Par. Papers, p. 416. 1 Par, Papers on slavery in India, p. 378,
SLAVERY. 327
prevent the introduction of slaves into the town; the penalty
could only be enforced by the detection of the offence, which
is attended with much difficulty.” Translations in the Per-
sian and Arabic languages were made of an extract of the
51 Geo. III. c. 23, t for circulation among the merchants;
which measure was certainly of a decisive character.
Slaves appear still to be clandestinely imported into India.
A Calcutta Paper, in June 1830, contains the following ex-
tract from a native paper:—“‘Jewellery, and other articles,
to the value of four lacks of rupees, had been offered by a
European jeweller for purchase by the king (of Oude), who
took other merchandise in the shape of a batch of newly-im-
ported Abyssinians, which had been offered for sale, and
bought by his Majesty.’ This demands, and we hope will
receive investigation, and if it is properly conducted, and all
the obstacles to the prosecution of the offenders are removed,
we venture to predict that it will be found that the importa-
tion of slaves continues to be carried on, to an extent utterly
disgraceful.”f - -
In 1821, the opinion of the Recorder of Prince of Wales
Island was taken—“ as to the legality of apprehending and
sending back to Malacca a runaway slave.” This important
question was answered in a Letter to the Secretary of Govern-
ment. “I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of yours,
with a copy of a dispatch from the Governor of Malacca. I am
not acquainted with the Dutch language, and therefore if there
should be any circumstance in that part of the dispatch which
varies the question submitted to me, from the Governor of
Malacca's letter in French, I should wish to have a translation
of it; but, as it is not probable, I do not delay my request,
that you will communicate to the Honourable the Governor
in Council, that in the absence of any treaty, I am of opinion,
that the slave in question cannot be legally secured and sent
back to Malacca.”S - - -
A number of slaves, procured in the neighbourhood of Jug-
gernaut's Temple in Orissa, in 1790, were liberated and the
captain of the vessel severely reprimanded, and threatened that,
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, p. 377.
t Par. Papers, p. 380. By a more recent Act of Parliament, 4 Geo. IV.
c. 27, the traffic in slaves has been declared to be an act of piracy, and all
British subjects who may be concerned in it, are liable to be dealt with
accordingly. - -
# India Gaz, June 1830. Asi. Jour., Dec. 1830, p. 191. See Asi, Jour.,
March 1831, p. 123. - -
§ Par. Papers on Slavery in India, p. 462; see also p. 456.
328 SLAVERY.
“on committing a second offence, he should be punished to
the utmost rigour of the law and sent by the first conveyance
to England.” Some slaves from Ganjam were also set at
liberty, and the slave trader directed to be “fined, the sum of
200 rupees (to be distributed amongst the natives liberated
from the vessel under his command), imprisoned for three
months, until he pays the fine, and that he be then publicly
expelled the District.”t -
The sale of slaves, under the Madras Government, for the
arrears of the State was not discontinued till 1819. The
Secretary writes to the Collector of Malabar:—“The Board's
proceedings on the general subject of slavery have been laid
before the Government, whose final orders will hereafter be
communicated to you; but, in the mean time, I am directed
to desire, that the practice of selling slaves, for arrears of
revenue, may be immediately discontinued.”f -
These extracts display the humane and vigorous efforts of
the British functionaries in India to abolish the slave trade,
and mitigate the evils of slavery. The state of slavery at the
present period next demands attention. The following chap-
ter will shew that much remains to be done, before every
British subject in India is free.
CHAP. III.
The present state and eartent of Slavery in Hindostan.
The nature and extent of slavery in the British territories
in India, is a subject that cannot but be deeply interesting to
every liberal and humane mind. The following extracts, from
the valuable Papers on East India Slavery, will throw some
light on a subject, upon which little information is possessed.
The Resident at Delhi, in 1812, C.T. Metcalfe, Esq., issued
a proclamation prohibiting the sale of slaves. On this subject,
the Governor General addressed the Court of Directors, in
1818 –“We observed, that the proclamation not only pro-
hibited the importation of slaves for sale into the assigned
territories, but the sale of slaves actually within those terri-
tories previously to its promulgation; a measure which we
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, p. 476. + p. 494. f. p. 873.
SLAVERY. 329
were not prepared to sanction. Odious and abominable as
such a traffic is, although it must be admitted that the system
of slavery in this country is infinitely mitigated, when com-
pared with that against which the enactments of the legisla-
ture in England have been directed. The laws, which have
hitherto been enacted to restrain it, have been confined in
their object, to THE TRADE IN SLAVES BY IMPORTATION
oR ExpoRTATION; but they have not been eartended to the
emancipation of persons already in a state of slavery, nor to
the prohibition of their transfer by sale, to other masters
within the country which they inhabit.
“We informed the Resident that for these reasons, and
from other considerations of much apparent weight, our views
were limited to the prohibition of the further importation of
slaves for sale into the territories of the Hon. Company; and
we accordingly directed that the terms of the proclamation
might be modified, so as to correspond with the enactment
contained in Regulation X. of 1811. The consultation of the
annexed date contains the Resident's reply to the instructions.
He stated that a general opinion prevailed, among the natives,
that the total abolition of the Slave Trade had taken effect in
the ceded and conquered Provinces; that he had not found
the prohibition of the sale of slaves had occasioned any
surprise at Delhi; and that the people were not aware, that
by the proclamation which he had issued, greater restrictions
were in force in the assigned territory than in any other part
of the country; and that should it be published, that slaves
of a certain description might continue to be sold, it would
give a more formal sanction to the sale of slaves, than that
traffic was ever believed to possess. The effect of this erro-
neous belief, on the part of the natives, appeared to the Resi-
dent to be attended with salutary consequences; and he
submitted, that it was not desirable the delusion should be
removed, by the publication of a formal sanction for the sale
of any description of slaves. We signified to the Resident,
our concurrence in the grounds on which he had suspended
the execution of our instructions, and, that the proclamation
issued, should continue in full force and effect.”*
But, though the sale of slaves was thus prohibited in the
Province of Delhi, slavery is still continued. This is evident
from the Resident's communication to Government:—“In
issuing a proclamation for the abolition of the future importa-
tion and sale of slaves, I had no idea of infringing on the

* Par Papers, pp. 101, 102, See also p. 134.
330 SLAVERY.
rights of the actual proprietors of slaves. The proprietors of
slaves in this territory, notwithstanding that proclamation,
retain all their rights over their slaves, eaccept that of selling
them or making them the property of another. This is per-
fectly understood, in consequence of the decisions given in
the court of judicature in trials between owners and slaves.
I have more than once embraced the opportunity afforded by
such trials, to explain publicly, that slaves are still the pro-
perty of their owners, though not disposable property.”
The Magistrate of Bareilly in 1812, referring to the efficacy
of the provisions of Regulation X. 1811, for preventing the
importation of slaves from foreign countries, remarks; “This
traffic, I believe, has suffered a very material check since the
promulgation of the Regulation, inasmuch as children are no
longer brought down from the hills, and publicly exposed for
sale, as formerly, within this district; but, children are still
sold within the Company's provinces, by subjects of the British
government, nor does the Regulation contain any prohibition
of such sale. Parents, prevented by poverty from rearing a
large family, will dispose of their children to an advantage,
when offered, rather than allow them to starve; the feelings
of nature will confine this traffic to cases of necessity only,
and will act more forcibly than any legal prohibition in pre-
venting abuses; it may be much doubted, indeed, whether
the condition of children imported from the hills was not, in
most cases, much ameliorated by such importation.”t
A Mr. Browne, the proprietor of an estate at Anjarakandy,
in Malabar, claimed the right of a master over some slaves,
as a part of the Mahomedan law, under which he considered
the Provinces of the Madras Presidency to be governed. “I
cannot (says the Chief Secretary of the Government in 1813)
agree to the proposition, that these Provinces are, so far as
relates to British subjects, governed by the Mahomedan law.
In questions of civil right, they are governed by the laws of
the different nations to whom justice is to be dispensed. In
criminal prosecutions, the Mahomeden law is, for what reason
I do not know, established over all the natives in the Provinces,
but not over the British. They retain the rights of their
birth, and ought also to retain all the relations connected with
the British character, to which it is equally abhorrent to be
, the master of slaves, as to endure slavery. It is expressly
provided, in the several statutes, that our law shall not inter-
fere with the authority exercised by the heads of families
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, p. 104. + p. 141.
SLAVERY. 331
amongst the natives; who, from local residence at the Presi-
dencies, are made subject in general to the British laws, but
no such provision is made for British subjects as the masters
of slaves /* The Advocate General expressed the same
opinion; and this important position, that a Briton in India
cannot be a slave-holder, was thus definitely determined by
a letter from the Chief Secretary to the Government, Fort
William, in 1813, to the Secretary of the Madras Government:
—“The Advocate General, having stated it as his opinion
that it is quite impracticable, as the law at present stands, for
any British subject, to support a claim to the person or ser-
vices of any one residing within the limits of the British ter-
ritories as a slave; and that opinion corresponding entirely
with the sentiments entertained by the Right Honourable the
Governor General in Council on the subject, his Lordship in
Council thinks that every case of that mature, which may be
brought before the Governor in Council of Fort St. George,
should be regarded as an illegal and unauthorized assumption
of power; and that legal measures should be resorted to,
should circumstances appear to require it, against any British
subject so acting in violation of the law.”* The difference
between the state of public opinion, feeling, and, we may add,
law, in the East and in the West Indies, cannot fail to strike
the attention of every reader. It is very justly observed, “the
habitual exercise of the authority of a master over slaves, is
peculiarly destructive to the national honour and character.”t
When shall these just sentiments pervade the breast of every
British subject! -
Of Slavery in Dacca the Magistrate, in 1816, observes:–
“I have to state in reply, for the information of the Court of
Circuit, that I have found in this court several prosecutions
for inveigling away children and other persons with various
intents, and they are generally females: such cases, -how-
ever, in this city and district, are not very numerous. The
unfortunate persons who are sold for slaves, are generally
little children (females), or grown up girls that are enticed
away from their parents or other relations in the Mofussil.
Persons already in a state of slavery are seldom, as far as I
can discover from the records of the court, or from other in-
formation, inveigled away with a view of being sold; but
female slaves are often enticed away for other purposes, some-
times by men, and sometimes by women keeping houses of
ill-fame. Both descriptions of offence are, I believe, very
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, p. 148. t p. 147.
332 SLAVERY.
prevalent, especially the former, though few of them compara-
tively come officially to the knowledge of the magistrate.”*
The registration of slaves was proposed by the Bengal
Government to the Nizamut, Adawlut in 1816, which inti-
mates that the prevalence of slavery is considerable. “In
preparing the draft of the proposed regulation regarding
slavery, the Governor General in Council requests that the
court will take into their consideration, the expediency of re-
quiring, that the future purchase or transfer of slaves shall
be regularly registered, and that any breach of the rules which
may be framed for that purpose shall entitle the slave to de-
mand and obtain his freedom.”f - :
Inquiry was made from Bombay, of the Supreme Govern-
ment in Calcutta, in 1817, respecting the application of the
51st Geo. III. c. 23, relative to “the abolition of the slave
trade, to domestic slaves, and the property of individuals in
them; such slavery being known and legalized under the laws
of both the Hindoos and Mussulmans, according to whose
codes the courts are bound to administer justice.” To which
it was replied;—
“On this point the Vice President in council observes, that none of the
provisions of the Acts of Parliament passed for the abolition of the slave trade
in any manner affect, or profess to affect, the relation between master and slave,
wherever that relation may eacist by law. Whatever therefore was the law,
according to the Mahomedan and Hindoo codes (for those over whom they
extend), on the subject of domestic slavery, before the passing of the Act of
the 51st Geo. III. c. 23, continues to be the law still ; more especially as
those codes have been distinctly recognised and ordered to be observed by
Parliament. At the same time it is not credible, that any intention existed
to abrogate those codes, without reference to the established laws and usages
of this country, and without repealing the Acts of Parliament, by which the
observance of them is guaranteed to the natives. The native subjects of the
British Government, residing in the territories subordinate to the several
Presidencies have, in fact, the same authority over their slaves, and the
same property in them, that they would have had if the Act in question had
never been passed; and the several zillah and provincial courts are bound
to receive and determine all cases of that nature, which are respectively cog-
nizable by them, under the existing regulations.
“The other points adverted to, in the documents now under consideration,
relate to the conduct which should be observed, on the occasion of applica-
tions being made by the subjects or governments of neighbouring states,
with whom we are in amity, for the restoration of slaves who have taken
refuge within the Company’s territories. On this point it may be remarked,
that the construction which has been uniformly given by the Supreme
Government to the Act of the 51st Geo. III. c. 23, viz. that it was only in-
tended to apply to the importation or removal of slaves by sea, would not
involve any alteration in the course of proceedings hitherto adopted in similar
cases. A slave, by entering the Company's territories, does not become free;
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, p. 248, + p. 249.
SLAVERY. 333
nor can he, who was lawfully a slave, emancipate himself by running away
from one country where slavery is lawful, to another where it is equally lawful.
The property in the slave still continues in the master; and the master has
the same right to have it restored to him that any native subjects of our
territories could have, supposing that right to be established in the mode
prescribed by the local laws and regulations.”
The permission of the sale of slaves in the Deccan, appears
from a letter in 1819, addressed by the Political Agent in
Candeish, to M. Elphinstone, Esq., the Commissioner. “Ap-
plication having been lately made to me for permission to pur-
chase some slaves, I took the opportunity of investigating the
circumstances, which I have the honour to report for your
information. It appears that the slaves were young women
and girls, in the possession of some Mahratta Wunjarries,
who, upon being questioned, state that they purchased them
in Berar, from the Tandas of the Rajpoot Brimjarrias, who
said they had got them during a late scarcity, which took
place in the Nirmut district. Upon further investigation, I
understand that the practice of carrying off children from one
part of the country, to sell in another part, is not unusual
with these people. The women appear unwilling to be sold,
though they complain of their scanty food, and of the treat-
ment they experience from their present masters. Although
your letter, in answer to a former application on this subject,
informed me that no variation whatever was to be made in
the existing laws regarding slaves, yet it appears to me possi-
ble, that may be intended to be applied merely to the propri-
etary right over slaves in actual possession, and of recovering
such as may desert; I request to be informed, if the prac-
tice of carrying slaves about for sale, of which several instances
have lately been brought to my notice, is still to be permitted.
In the mean time I have prohibited the sale of the young
women in question, till I hear from you.” To which it was
replied by the Commissioner:—“The sale of slaves, as de-
scribed in the above mentioned letter, is to be permitted; but all
attempts to carry off young people by force, will be punished
in the severest manner.”f -
“The mitigated kind of domestic slavery which prevails in
the Deccan,” says W. Chaplin, Esq., “and has prevailed
from time immemorial in most parts of India, appears to be
of a description entirely different from the foreign trade in
slaves, which is proscribed by recent Acts of Parliament,
passed since the abolition of this traffic; and, although it
may perhaps, at a future period, be necessary to introduce
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, pp. 333,334. t p. 339.
334 SLAVERY.
some regulations to prevent the stealing or kidnapping of
children, I conceive that any restrictive measure, that should
at once put a stop to the sale of slaves, would be an innovation,
which would trench materially, not only on long established
customs, but on the rights of private property. Whether
this species of servitude, or rather of mild bondage, is even-
tually to be continued under certain modifications, or to be
abolished entirely, is a question which is probably now under
consideration; but as the importation of slaves from the
Nizam's frontier, in consequence of the scarcity which pre-
vails there, has of late greatly increased, the subject of your
letter will be referred for the decision of the Honourable the
Governor in Council. Whatever evil may result from the
continuance of the traffic, it is certainly, I think, the means
at the present moment of much actual good, inasmuch as it
has the effect of preserving the lives of numbers of parents
and children, who would otherwise perish from famine.”—
Poona, Dec. 1819.
The difference of opinion and procedure of some of the
Indian Magistrates, manifests the difficulty of legislation
where slavery exists. This appears by some slave cases,
stated by W. Leycester, Esq., Second Judge of the Bareilly
Court of Circuit in 1815.- -
“In one case, Enayt Khaun is taken up by the police-darogah, of Bhu-
dyke, and sent as a prisoner to the magistrate of Cawnpore, for importing
two female slaves, and the magistrate discharges him, and gives him the slaves.
“In a second case, Ooda is taken up for importing a woman named
Mauncooer, by a police sowar, and delivered over to the police darogah of
Bindrabun. Ooda says he bought her for twenty-one rupees in the Ranna's
country, and she admits it, and adds, she understands he means to resell
her. The acting magistrate liberates the woman. - - -
“In a third case, Sabet Khawn is taken up by a jemmedar, and delivered
over to the darogah of Koria Gunje. It would seem he had been sent by
Assud Alee Cauzee of Jelameh, to purchase a slave in the vicinity of Casse-
pore and Roderpoore (the market for slaves imported from the hills); but on
coming to Bareilly he falls in with Besharut Khan, a slave-dealer, who from
his stock in hand sells to him a woman named Zuhorun, twenty years of age;
but the Cauzee, thinking her too old, leaves her on Sabet Khaun's hands.
The assistant magistrate liberates the woman. -
“In a fourth case, Nurotum is taken up by the darogah of Nudjeebabad.
It would seem that he had purchased a woman named Anundee, for twenty
rupees, of an inhabitant of the hills. The assistant magistrate does not lib-
erate the woman, but takes a recognizance from Nurotum to produce her,
if any other claimant should appear. - - -
“In a fifth case, Choonee, the head of a set of dancing girls, prosecutes
Hyatt Alee Cutwaul of Amrooa, for detaining forcibly Munnuvur Jaun, one
of her female slaves. Munnuvur Jaun says, she is not satisfied to remain
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, pp. 341,342.
SLAVERY. 335
with Choonee, and the magistrate liberates her. Choonee appeals, and pro-
duces a deed of sale for the slave, executed by Shumshere, an inhabitant of
the hills. The opinion of the law officer of the Court of Circuit is taken,
who declares, ‘the sale of a resident of this country illegal;' and the order
of the magistrate was confirmed. - -
“The first case was submitted by me to the Nizamut Adawlut, with a
recommendation that the said Enayt Khaun should be punished, and the
slaves discharged, or sent back, as required by the 10th Regulation of 1811;
and the court in reply adjudge that, under the construction given to the
provisions of the 10th Regulation, 1811, the case in question does not fall
within the operation of that Regulation; and, having referred to the court's
orders, it would seem, that on a representation from Mr. Blunt, the court
had decided that the regulation in question was “applicable only to the im-
portation of slaves for the purpose of being sold, given away, or otherwise
disposed of.’”* -
It appears, that when slaves have been imported, their
owners have endeavoured to evade the law against the Slave
Trade, by not immediately disposing of them; on which it is
very justly remarked,—“Is not keeping a person imported as
a slave, to be a slave, a disposal of him and what is to be
said to the notorious fact of females, so imported as slaves,
being let out in retail for the purposes of prostitution, and
any offspring they may have being sold, agreeably to the
daily practice regarding the indigenous slaves of the country,
for the benefit of the slave master 3 This surely is a disposal
of them and of their issue.”t Is not this species of slavery
equal in atrocity to the slavery of the West Indies
“Slavery in Malwa,” says Sir John Malcolm, “is chiefly
limited to females; but there is perhaps no province in India
where there are so many slaves of this sex. The dancing
girls are all purchased when young by the nakins, or heads
of the different sects, who often lay out large sums in these
purchases; female children and grown up young women, are
bought by all ranks. Among the Rajpoot chiefs these slaves
are very numerous, as also in the houses of the principal
Brahmuns; the usage descends to the lowest ranks, and few
merchants or cultivators with any property are without mis-
tresses or servants of this description. Male slaves are rare,
and never seen but with men of some rank and property, with
whom they are usually the confidential servants. There are
a variety of ways in which slaves are procured in Malwa;-
numbers date their condition from a famine or scarcity, when
men sold their children to those who were able to support
them. A great number of the slaves of Malwa are from Raj-
pootana, where the excesses of the Mahrattas drove the inha-

* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, pp. 342, 343. t p. 344.
336 SLAVERY,
bitants to exile, and to such distress as to be compelled to
part with their children. But, besides these sources of slavery,
there are others of a more criminal nature. There are many
instances of Rajpoots, and men of other tribes, particularly
Soandees, selling the children whom they have by their slaves,
and who are deemed to be born in a state of bondage. This
takes place when the father is in distress, or when he is
tempted by a large price. The sale of the offspring of these
women by other fathers than their masters is more common.
These slaves are not numerous; but the further demand is
supplied by the Binjarries, who import females into and from
Guzerat and other countries, whom they usually pretend
to have bought; and by the tribe of Gwarriah, professed
stealers of female children. When these slaves are bought,
an inquiry is made as to their tribe, and the general answer
(particularly from the Gwarriahs) is, that they are Rajpoots.
The children are taught to make pretensions to high birth, and
daily instances occur of whole families losing cast in conse-
quence of their being too hastily credited. Females in Malwa,
exceptin times of scarcity or general distress from any cause, are
sold from 40 to 50, to 100 and 150 rupees; the price is accordant
with their appearance. They have been, at times, an article
of considerable commerce, many being annually sent to the
southward, particularly to the Poonah territories, where they
sold high. This trade, which has of late years decreased,
was principally carried on by the Mahratta Brahmuns, some
of whom amassed great sums by this shameless traffic.”
The Par. Papers contain more minute information, respect-
ing the state of slavery under the Madras Presidency, than of
the other Presidencies in India.—“In Malabar and Canara,
where the land is very generally divided, and occupied as
separate and distinct properties, the labourer is the personal
slave of the proprietor, and is sold and mortgaged by him,
independently of his lands. In the Tamil country, where
land is of less value, and belongs more frequently to a com-
munity than to an individual, the labourer is understood to
be the slave rather of the soil than of its owner, and is seldom
sold or mortgaged, except along with the land to which he is
attached; but in Telingana, where it is difficult now to trace
the remains of private property in the land, this class of peo-
ple is considered free. It has been stated by very competent
authority, Mr. F. W. Ellis, the Collector of Madras, that in
the Tamil country, the parriyars and pullers, most of whom are
* Par. Papers as above, Report on Malwa, 1821, pp. 414, 415.
SLAVERY. 337
slaves attached to the lands of the vallaler, as well as the
pulli, who are generally serfs on the lands of the Brahmun
meerassidars, sometimes claim meras, or hereditary private
property, in the “incidents of their villainage;’ and that “it is
generally allowed to them and their descendants, on proving
their former residence in the village, however long they may
have been absent from it.’ On the other hand, the late Ma-
gistrate in Malabar, in addressing Government respecting the
sale of men, women, and children of the Pollar, Cherumakul,
Panian, Kanakan, Kallady, Yocallan, and Nacady tribes,
submits that, “if the general question of slavery, as recognised
by the local usages of Malabar, or by the Hindoo and Ma-
homedan law, is not affected by the laws made to abolish the
Slave Trade—adverting to the wretchedness and diminutive
appearance of this description of natives—it still appears to
be a subject well worthy the humane consideration of the
Right Hon. the Governor in Council, to enact such legisla-
tive provisions as will tend to ameliorate their condition, and
prevent their being sold out of the talook, or, indeed, of the
estate, the place of their nativity; and above all, from being
exposed to sale by public auction, in execution of decrees, or
in satisfaction of revenue demands.”* ."
It appears to have been common, to dispose of the slaves on
an estate as a part of the real property.—“The Hindoo law
(says the Collector of Malabar), on the subject of transfers of
property, speaks of ‘land and slaves employed in the cultiva-
tion of it, and evidently contemplates those two species of
property as one and the same, and as not properly separable
from each other; and we find that not only in this, but in
other countries, it has been usual to transfer the slaves who
were a “ descripti glebae' with the land itself. Indeed the at-
tachment of the Hindoos to the lands which they have always
occupied, and to the village where they have always resided,
is proverbial; and to separate them from their native soil,
might, under such circumstances, be considered an additional
act of cruelty. A certain portion of the produce of the soil
which they cultivate, is, in the Tamil country, allowed by the
master for the maintenance of his slaves, whose duty it is to
till the ground; and, unless they were transferred with the
land, the new proprietor, when he obtained possession, might
experience difficulty in carrying on the cultivation, and the
former master might be deprived of the means of enabling
him to afford subsistence to his slaves. The probability of
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, p. 817.
Z
338 SLAVERY.
being transferred with the land, gives them on this coast a
sort of property in their huts and little spots of ground, which
they can thus occupy without any great fear of being turned
out, or transferred, contrary to their interests, feeling, and com-
fort. It must, however, be observed, that on the other coast
wniversally, and even generally on this coast, slaves are not
necessarily sold with the land, although the convenience of
all parts seems to have rendered the practice common.” . . .
The apathy manifested by the Collector of Calicut in 1819,
respecting the sale of slaves for default of revenue, shews the
influence of the slave system upon the most respectable of the
European functionaries of Government. “In attempting to
ameliorate the condition of these slaves, care must be taken
that we do not increase them. The partial measure, of de-
claring them not liable to be sold for arrears of revenue, will
be a drop of water in the ocean; though, why Government
should give up a right, which every proprietor enjoys, is a
question worthy of consideration.” 4.
An extract of one of the Rejected Police Regulations, re-
fused Registration by the Supreme Court of Bombay, in 1826,
affords some idea of the state of slavery in that part of India,
at the period referred to. . . . . . .
Of the Slave Trade and Slavery. . . . .
“All importation of slaves into this Island for sale is prohibited.
“The petty sessions shall in such cases emancipate the slave and send
him or her back to the family, or to the place to which he or she was brought
at the expense of the importer. When the slave is desirous of remaining,
the importer shall pay him the money which would otherwise have been
employed in defraying the expense of his return. The petty sessions may
inflict further punishments in aggravated cases, not exceeding the fine of
500 rupees, and imprisonment for six months in default of payment.
“All children born of parents in a state of slavery in this Island, after the
first day of January 1812, shall be free. + -
“The said court of petty sessions shall have power of summary conviction
in all cases of persons enticing or conveying away any married females, or
unmarried females under the age of thirteen years, out of the protection and
against the will of the husband or father, or other person having the lawful
protection and governance of any such female; for the purpose of her prosti-
tution in any way, or for her disposal in marriage against the will of the
person having such lawful protection or government as aforesaid; such of
fenders to be punishable by fine not exceeding 500 rupees; or in lieu there-
of, as the case may seem to require, or in default of payment, imprisonment,
with or without hard labour, as the case may seem to require, for any time
not exceeding six months.”f .
The following copious extracts from the reports of eleven
Collectors, to whom the Madras Government had addressed
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, p. 846. See p. 435.
ºf See Ori. Herald, vol. xiv. pp. 515–533.
SLAVERY. 339
queries respecting the state of slavery in their respective dis-
tricts, appear peculiarly interesting. The whole letter, from
the Secretary of Government in the revenue department, con-
tains fourteen folio pages, and bears date, April, 1819.
“In SALEM slavery does not appear to exist. The Collector observes, ‘I
can safely state that, in the manner referred to in these communications,
there is no vestige whatever of slavery in this collectorate, nor has any such prac-
tice obtained from the time the country came into possession of the Honourable
Company. During the Mussulman government, there were a few slaves be-
longing to certain Nunjah lands in the vicinity of the Cauvery, and there
are now some descendants of these people; but they are as free as any other
inhabitants. I have heard of one or two instances of a child being sold for
the purpose of domestic slavery; but this is uncommonly rare, and such a
circumstance as a person being sold as a slave has never transpired.’
“In MADURA and DINDIGUL slavery existed during the Mahomedan go-
vernment. The slaves were sold at the pleasure of their masters, but they
were not “adscripti glabae;’ not necessarily sold whenever the land was sold.
The Collector's words are, ‘When a puller or parriah was unable to gain
a livelihood, he was accustomed to offer himself or his relatives as slaves to
the cultivating inhabitants, for a sum of money, varying from one to ten
cully chuckrums, when a bond of slavery was drawn out and signed. . If
they married, their children were considered the property of the owners; they
were employed in the cultivation of land, and were maintained by the
owners, who frequently, for their services, would grant them a soluntrum,
or allowance in grain, in addition to other allowances. If the proprietor of
land was obliged to dispose of the whole of his lands, he still retained pos-
session of his slaves, and disposed of them as he pleased, as they were not
considered attached to the land thus sold. If an owner was unable to
maintain his slave, he could let him out to others, by which means he fre-
quently derived a maintenance both for himself and his slave; but the slave
was obliged to return to his master whenever he required him, who could
mortgage or sell him at pleasure. Since the assumption of the country,
some slaves continued with their masters; others have left them, and have
even enlisted as sepoys. I cannot discover that any puller has sold himself
as a slave of late years. Indeed, slavery seems gradually disappearing; which
may be attributed to the knowledge, that it is not encouraged in the different
courts of justice. Some pullers cultivate their own lands, and have their
own puttiams. Those who cultivate the lands of others, and who are not
slaves, receive a regulated hire.” - -
“In Corm BATORE slavery is reported to exist, “but in a very few villages.”
The Collector observes, ‘From all that I can learn, it appears certain that,
the owner has a right to sell his slave without the land; but that it is a right
very seldom, if ever, eacercised. The highest price for a good slave is fifty
rupees; the price, however, is seldom so high. The children of slaves are
born slaves. " On the birth of a child, the master presents the parents
with cloths, and one or two rupees. The master is supposed to be vested
with despotic authority over their slaves, and with power to punish them.
An º however, that the exercise of such authority is not per-
mitted by the British government appears generally prevalent, and rather
operates to prevent the merchandise of slaves, as they are considered to be less
valuable, when free from the fear of punishment. There appears reason for
thinking that the slaves are, on the whole, better treated by their masters
than the 'eommon class of free labourers. The master possesses a power,
not only over the person, but over the property of his slave; and he may make


Z 2
340 SLAVERY.
use of the cattle reared by the slave for agricultural purposes! The slaves
are sold with the land; but, if they should object to serve another master,
they are not forced to do so. This I take to be an indulgence of the master,
not a right of the slave. The slaves have a share of the produce allotted for
their subsistence, about AN EIGHTH. In some instances, land has been made
over to the pullers, which they cultivate for their support. In many places,
where slavery does not exist, a species of bondage is introduced, by the
ryots undertaking to bear the expense of their puller's marriage, upon con-
dition of the latter binding themselves to serve the ryots exclusively for life.
Slavery may almost be considered as extinct in Coimbatore.’’ - .
“In TANJoRE slavery exists; but, as in Madura and Dindigul, it is found-
ed, in the first instance, upon voluntary contract. “The slaves are never
seized or sold for arrears of revenue. The slaves here are of two casts only,
the Puller and Pariah ; the origin of their bondage arises in a voluntary
agreement, on their part, to become the slave of some other man more
powerful than themselves, upon whom they thus impose a more strict obli-
gation to protect and maintain them and their families, than if merely serv-
ing them as labouring servants. The Brahmuns, in consideration of their
cast, do not receive bonds of slavery directly in their own name, but have
them generally drawn out in that of some of their soodra dependents. When
a bond of slavery has been given, it ceases not with the life of the party, but
is binding upon the descendants of the original giver, who continue bound
by the conditions of it. In return, the owner is obliged to find subsistence
at all times, and under all circumstances, for the family of his bondsman;
whom he can employ in any manner he pleases, although it is generally as
a labourer in the fields. The bondsman does not reside in his master's
house, nor form any part of his family, but has a house provided for him
along with the others of his cast, to which a back yard of eighty goontalls
rent-free is attached, the same as other labourers. The master has the power
of selling the slave, but he cannot sell him to any one who will carry him to a
distant part of the country, without his own consent. If the master, through
poverty or other cause, fails or becomes unable to subsist his bondsman and
his family, he is at liberty to seek employment as a free labourer, but is
liable to be reclaimed at any time by his master, when he may be in a con-
dition to fulfil his part of the agreement. When lands are sold, in any way,
it is always independent of the bondsmen, if any, upon it. If they are like-
wise to be sold, separate deeds of transfer are passed. If not, they continue at-
tached to their former masters. No persons of this description have ever yet
been considered as seizable property, or sold for an arrear of revenue; nor
do I believe ever by a judicial decree in any civil cause; nor have I ever
known this species of property recognised by the officers of government,
although it is by the natives themselves, in their transactions with each other.
‘On the part of the bondsman, his rights are subsistence and protection
for himself and family from his master, with liberty to seek it elsewhere, as
a free agent, if not found him; and the right of not being removed by sale
to a distant country from the place of his birth. With regard to himself,
personally, his treatment from his master is the same as that of his other la-
bourers, which is, in general, of a mild nature; but he is not more liable to
personal punishment than others, in consequence of his state of bondage;
and any cruelty or abuse of authority on the part of the master, towards his
bondsman, would be complained against, and punished with equal strict-
ness, as if committed upon a free man. The Board will perceive that the
condition of these people differs very little from that of the common labourers.
The disadvantage to the bondsman is, the power of being sold or transferred
to other masters; and this is not very frequent, as it is the last property, ge-
SLAVERY. 341
nerally, which is disposed of by a person in distressed circumstances. The
advantages are, the more effectually securing subsistence and protection to
themselves and families, particularly in times of trouble or difficulty, than it is
binding on masters in general to bestow upon common labourers; and this
without rendering their condition in any degree intolerable, towards the ame-
lioration of which, the equity and mildness of the British Government
have greatly operated, in respect to rendering the conduct of masters to their
servants indulgent. I do not find that the system of slaves attached to the
soil, and transferrable by purchase as appendages to the land, obtains here.”
“TINNEvelly. “From all the information I have been able to collect, I
understand, it is usual, in this district, for slaves to be sold or mortgaged
either with the land or separately, as the proprietor pleases, or his wants re-
quire; and that there is no particular rule, or general custom, by which the
conduct between the master and slave, and between slave and master, is
governed, further than that the master has, at all times, the command of
his slave's labour, and that the slave cannot work for any other person with-
out the permission of his master.
“In regard to the treatment of masters towards their slaves, it does not
appear to be incumbent on them to afford a subsistence except when em-
ployed in their business; and then it is on the lowest scale of allowance, be-
ing generally no more than two measures of paddy per day. At other times
their slaves are obliged to seek a livelihood at the hands of others, being
bound only to return to their masters when the season of cultivation com-
mences. Besides this allowance, which the slaves receive from their mas-
ters on working days, they are entitled, when the crops are reaped, to a
small deduction from the gross produce, called here, ‘Paroo,” which varies
in different villages, but amounts generally to about 23-8 per cent. It is
usual, when deaths occur among them, for their masters to assist them in
the necessary funeral expenses; and on marriages, births, and festival days,
to grant them presents, according as their circumstances will admit; but
these acts are quite voluntary on the part of the masters, and the slave can
claim nothing more than a bare subsistence while he works, and his solun-
trum, as above described, at the time of harvest.
“All punishment of the slave by the master, if this power ever existed,
and was recognised informer times, seems to be at an end; and there is no in-
stance, within my experience in this district, of a slave complaining of ill-treat-
ment from his master. The fact, indeed, appears to be, that the slave is so
necessary to the cultivation, and labourers are so scarce, that the proprietors
find it their interest to treat them well; and the slaves, in time, become so
attached to the village in which they are settled, that they seem not to con-
sider their situation, nor shew any desire to be free. In calling upon the
tehsildars for an account of a person's property, to know whether he is a fit
security for another, it is usual, if he possess slaves, to include them, a male
slave being estimated in value from 3 to 15 C. Chuckrums (R 6; to 31
#), and a female from 3 to 5 C. Chuckrums (6 # to 10 ;), but I have
always rejected them in the account as unavailable property by the Sircar,
and none have ever been sold in this district for an arrear of revenue.”
* “The jemn value of a good Parier, as well as a good Addian (slave), is
thirty rupees; Otty, twenty-seven and a half rupees; Kanom, fifteen rupees;
and the jemn value of a less able one of either tribe, is twenty rupees; Otty,
seventeen and a half rupees; Kamom, ten rupees; and Pameyam, eight ru-
pees. The jemn value of children (male) of those sects is twelve rupees.
The jemn value of a female slave, of any of the two tribes above mentioned,
342 SLAVERY.
“SouTH ARcor. The slaves in this collectorate are mostly of the Pully
and Pariar casts, and the majority of them are chiefly devoted to the pursuit
of agriculture. The number of slaves in this district, of both sexes, includ-
ing children, amounts to upwards of 17,000; and they appear to have been
generally born in a state of servitude, through some contract of their fore-
fathers. The Hindoo code of laws, religious and civil, seems to declare
that the Soodra tribes are naturally born in a state of servitude; and,
although some of the superiors of the sub-divisions of that tribe in modern
days, have emancipated themselves from this degrading thraldom, yet the
lower casts are always looked upon as natural slaves, the property of any
person, who contributes to defray their marriage expenses, which is the ordi-
nary way, at present, of constituting hereditary slavery. Previously to the
assumption of the Carnatic, the owners of slaves were empowered to punish
them, either by castigation or confinement, at their discretion; but that
power, subsequently to the British administration, has ceased to be exercised.
The possessions and acquisitions of slaves, are generally considered the pro-
perty of their masters, who, however, usually relinquish them to the family
of the slave. Slaves cannot enter into any matrimonial connexion without
the consent of their owners, who, as they defray the expenses of the mar-
riage, virtually revive the contract of hereditary bondage; for the offspring
of slaves are always regarded as the property of their father's owner. W
‘It is stated that the slaves of this district can be sold by their owners to
any person, and to an alien village; and that no slaves are attached to any
particular soil or village; but I am induced to believe that such a practice
is at variance with the ºrights annexed to the state of real bondage;
for in some Meerassi villages: it. is known that the Meerassidars have
advanced pretensions to possess an equal proportion of the slaves with
their share of the villages, and . I also believe that such a practice is
hardly ever resorted to. The price of a male slave and family, when sold
by their owner to another person, varies considerably, and ranges from ten
to fifty pagodas. The owners of slaves are required to provide them with
food and clothing, to defray their wedding expenses, and to assist them on
the births of children, and in their funeral charges. The food differs ac-
cording to the opulence of the owner, but is always sufficient for subsistence,
or the owner permits the slave to serve elsewhere during his poverty. The
clothing is very scanty, except when the slaves are chiefly employed for do-
mestic purposes; and I cannot discover that the apparel is designedly cal-
culated to portray the class of the wearers. The duties of slaves are to
attend the cattle and agriculture, and to assist in domestic services, con-
nected with the house or person of their owners. .
as well as of their female children, is three rupees and eighty reas. The
pattom of a good cherman of any of the two sects above mentioned, is three
paddies of paddy; that of a less able one, two paddies; that of a boy, one
paddy; and that of a female of those sects is also one paddy. The jemn
value of a good slave of the Moopan and Naiken tribe, is sixty-four silver
fanams; Otty, fifty-two; Kamom, thirty; and Verroom Pattan, four silver
fanams, but the females of those tribes are not given on Pattom or by sale.
The jemn value of a good Poolean slave is twelve rupees; Otty, ten rupees;
and Kanom, six rupees; and the jemn value of a less able one, eight rupees;
Otty, six rupees; Kanom, four rupees; and Verrom Pattom, one paddy of
paddy. The value of a good Panian or Addian (slave), might be said to
have increased, by five rupees, above the old price, but that of the Naiken,
Moorpan, and Poliar, continues still the same.” (Par, Papers, pp. 852,853.)
SLAVERY. 343
“It does not appear that enfranchisement of slaves ever takes place; yet as
Some owners have been reduced to indigence, and are unable to employ or
subsist their hereditary slaves, those persons are ostensibly free, and labour
for any person who will employ them. Cases of emancipation occur in the
extinction of the owners’ families; and from this description of Soodras,
who still sacrifice their liberties, modern slaves are constituted; for they are
mostly very needy, and consent to perpetual and hereditary bondage for
about twenty or thirty pagodas, which the cultivator advances for the cele-
bration of the marriage ceremony. In no instance, I believe, do engage-
ments exist, where a labourer discharges such a loan by his manual labour.”
“CHINGLEPUT. “The slaves employed in the cultivation of the lands,
and to which this report principally refers, have, for the most part, their
allowances, regularly rendered; so much grain being granted to each
labourer, and a proportionate subsistence to each of his children or others
of the family. They are housed and clothed; and, during the principal
festivals, certain allowances are made them both in money and articles re-
Quired for their ceremonies. Their marriages are also performed at the
charge of their masters; and, when reduced by infirmity, they are also sup-
ported by their proprietors. The condition of this description of people,
composing the chief part of the Pariahs of the district, has, of late years,
considerably changed. Thismay, in a great measure, arise from the vicinity
of their situation to Madras, where this system is known to be abrogated.
Many of them there obtain employment, and their proprietors would find it
difficult to reclaim them; and the regulations have so far circumscribed the
authority formerly exercised by the proprietors, that they cannot keep them
under control, when the power was vested in them of inflicting on them
very severe corporeal punishment, or confining them for the neglect of the
duties assigned them: in former times the discipline, exercised by the pro-
prietors over their slaves was of a very severe description. The proprietors
finding themselves very incapable of employing their services, or rather con-
trolling them as arbitrarily as before, complain less of the loss of this descrip-
tion of property. The slaves are also possessed by many of the Vellairs,
&c., who have long since established themselves in the cultivation of par-
ticular villages; but their situation, in such cases, is similar to those in the
service of other soodras. The sale of adami (slaves) has been, I believe, of
late years, discontinued, or of very rare occurrence; and in these parts no
attachment of such property has ever been made on account of the dues of
government.” - *
“TRICHINopoly.—“In the wet districts of Trichinopoly, the number of
pullers may be stated at 10,000, including those employed for the purpose
of watching and feeding the cattle. In the dry districts, there are about
600; but pullers are only to be found in those villages where there is paddy
cultivation. The pullers of the dry districts appear to be liable to the same
rules, and to possess the same rights, as those of the wet districts. The
services they perform are chiefly confined to the irrigation of the land in its
several stages of cultivation; but their services are also occasionally re-
quired by their masters, in the menial offices of their household establish-
ment. If a wall or pundall is required, the pullers are obliged to erect it,
without any further recompense than their established emoluments. The pul-
lers are usually sold with the land; but there are many cases in which they
may be purchased independent of it. The price of a puller varies from five
to ten pagodas, according to his age and qualifications. Their services are
also occasionally mortgaged; a pullee, or female slave, is never sold; while
it would appear that, in Malabar, men, women, and children, are sold indis-
criminately. -
344 SLAVERY.
‘The pullers are supposed to be entirely supported by their masters, in
sickness and in health. Their marriages are made at the expense of the
meerassidars, as well as the expense of their funerals. They enjoy some
little gratuity at every birth, and receive a certain established sum at the
principal Hindoo festivals. I have noted a list of the yearly emoluments a
puller is properly entitled to receive ; and these emoluments, though small,
I have every reason to believe, are scarcely ever withheld.*
‘I have examined the pullers themselves, on the subject of their being
well or ill treated, and asked them what course they would pursue if ill
used. They replied, they would seek other masters at a distance, that would
treat them more kindly. In corroboration of this fact I have never received
a complaint, either in my fiscal or magisterial capacity, since my appoint-
ment to this district, from a puller against his master. The right of the
puller is so distinctly defined by custom, and the interest of the meerassidar
so substantially affected by the good conduct and health of the puller,-that
it is hardly possible to suppose the meerassidars would be so blind to their
own interest as to cause their pullers to abscond, or by harsh treatment re-
duce them to sickness. From what has been already stated, it will be found,
that agricultural slavery has eacisted in this district from time immemorial.”
“CANARA.—“The origin of slavery in Canara is to be traced from extracts
in an ancient book, called Sheehadry Pooranum, but by no means an au-
thentic record. This treatise is stated to contain a fabulous narrative, which,
when divested of its oriental imagery and metaphors, will be found to at-
tribute the origin of slavery in Canara to the right of conquest.
* “The extent of cultivation to be made by a puller and by a pullee, is
150 cullums of paddy. -
Annual Emoluments. Ill. 3.I].
Warum of a puller culs. . . . . . . . 8 5;
Do. of a pullee . . . . . . . 6 6+
- - 15 0#
Batta at the commencement of each fusly for ploughing 2 4
Soluntrums for sowing . e e - & e O 6
Reaping share a 5 per cent. 7 6
Thrashing do. . º ºr I ()
Pongal feast • I O
Duparaly do. 0 0#
Gramadava do. . 0 1;
Total annual . . º . 26 1; 5:#fs.
Proposed addition of warum a' 2 per cent. . e º . 3 0 0
29 1; 5:#fs.
Contingencies estimated:
For a marriage . & ſe e e & e e . 4 0 rS. 8
For a birth . º Q º º e º º º ... O 2 fº. 2
For a death wº 0 2 fs. 2
4 4 rs. 8 4
Total 33 53 rs, 9 fs. 1; ”
SLAVERY. 345
‘The right of sale was, and is still, the master's exclusive privilege, either
with or without the land. The price varies, and is settled amongst the pur-
chasers and sellers. The usual rates are as follow:— -
‘For a strong young man, from twelve to twenty-sia, rupees.
“Do. a strong young woman, twelve to twenty-four rupees.
‘Do. a child, never under four rupees.
“It is customary to pass a bill of sale, on a bargain being made, or a
mortgage bond. The transfer, by purchase or gift, (in charity, or to the
pagoda), is attended with a short ceremony, between the seller or giver, and
receiver, and the slave. The slave drinks some water from his brass basin, and
calls out, ‘ I am now your slave for ever.” The zillah court, has guaranteed this
right by decrees, both on transfer of landed property, and on sale in exe-
cution of decrees. The master can lend his slaves out on hire. He can sell
the husband to one person, and the wife to another 1. This is not often done,
because neither of the purchasers can be sure of keeping his purchase. Care
is always taken in purchasing not to carry the slave to any distant estate.
The master can sell the children; but this is seldom done from the foregoing
cause, the fear of desertion. The master, according to his means, feeds and
clothes his slaves. He never pays them wages in money, but presents them
on their marriages, or particular ceremonies, with a small sum. The quan-
tity of food and clothing to a slave varies in everytalook. It does not seem
to be regulated by any rule, although it would appear that some original
quantum obtained. The average may be thus estimated:—
FOOD. . . CLOTHING.
# Canara seer coarse rice, Two pieces of cauthey,
two rupees weight salt, six cubits. In some ta-
a little beetel nut and | looks, a coombly and
A man . . . .
leaf. - roomal given.
A woman . . . . 1 seer. - I do. seven cubits long.
A child . . . . . ; do. 1 do. four do.
“The salt, beetel, &c., is optional. It is also customary to give them con-
jee from the master's house. I cannot learn that any want or cruelty is ex-
perienced by the slaves, the master being well aware that, on any ill-treat-
ment, they will desert him; and that the trouble and expense attending
their recovery would perhaps amount to the value of the deserters. Slavery
seems to be inconsistent with rights and privileges. On these points I can only
generally state, that the dhers of Canara possess none. The number of slaves
of all descriptions, in Canara, has never been correctly ascertained; they
may be estimated at 82,000.’ * *
“MALABAR.—In Malabar (exclusive of Wynaudº) the number of slaves is
estimated by the Collector at 100,000. “They are,’ says the Collector, “slaves
of the soil, and are generally attached to the land of the proprietors of the
* “The landed proprietors of Wynaud are torpid to a degree; all the
field work is done by slaves called Paniers, who are held in higher estimation
than the slaves of the lower districts. They are admitted to the threshold of
their masters' houses, and they are even employed in grinding rice for the use
of the temples P’ (Par. Papers, p. 924.) Hamilton thus describes the cere-
monies of respect in Malabar:—“A nair, (soldier) may approach, but not
touch a Brahmun. A tair, (cultivator) remains 36 yards off. A puliar,
(slave) 96 steps off. A tair is to remain 12 steps from a nair; a meliar 3 or
4 steps farther, a poliar 96 steps. A meliar may approach, but not touch a
tair. A polier is not to come near a malear or other cast. If he wish to
speak to a Brahmun or other, he must stand at the above prescribed distances
and cry aloud. Formerly a nair was expected instantly to cut down a tair,
346 SLAVERY.
ground on which they were born; but this is by no means considered an
essential point, being frequently transferred by sale, mortgage, or hire. In
Malabar, as in the West Indies, a man's wealth is as much appreciated by the
number of his slaves, as by any other property he may passess / In one sect they
observe what is termed makkatye; in another they observe the marramakka-
tye; the former, being the common laws of kindred, the lattersimilar to the cus-
toms among the Nairs, in which inheritance.goes to the sister's son, and this
constitutes the value of a female of one cast over that of the male, and vice
versa, a male being more valuable where the progeny goes with him. The
marriage contract is made entirely among the parents of the parties, without
any interference on the part of the proprietor; ..to, whom, however, it is
necessary to make the proposed connexion. ... . . . . . .4
* No valuable consideration is given to the owner by the male for the pos-
session of the female. The contract may be dissolved at the pleasure of the
parties connected; in which event the husband takes off the marriage neck-
lace (commonly composed of shells or brass ornaments), which makes the dis-
solution complete, and each is at liberty to form new connexioms; but whilst the
contract lasts I have had opportunities in my magisterial capacity, when an as-
sistant in the courts, of observing a wonderful degree of jealousy and tenacious-
ness of family honour, when contrasted with the general appearance, habits,
and apparently brutish stupidity of these casts. . . The measure of subsistence
to be given by the proprietor is fiaced, and he is bound by the prescribed cus-
toms of the country to see it served daily. A frequent failure on the part of
the master to perform this duty, is sure to be attended with desertion to
another, from whom they expect kinder usage; and, when this takes place,
the recovery of them is attended with difficulties that are not easily overcome;
for, independent of being obliged to have recourse to courts of justice,
months and years perhaps elapse before they can discover to what place the
slave has absconded. The proprietor feels it his interest to see them well
treated, through apprehensions of the consequence of an opposite conduct.
‘I do not recollect any instance of a churma having appealed to a court
of justice for protection from the ill usage of his master; but instances are
not wanting of persons having been brought to justice and to a severe ac-
count for the murder or wounding of a slave; and as it is universally known
throughout Malabar that British justice considers the life of the lowest in-
dividual as valuable as the highest character in the country, and that as
severe a retribution would fall on the head of the murderer of a slave as of
a rajah, we may consider them as well protected by the laws as any other
race of beings. In some respects, churmas may be considered in more com.
fortable circumstances than any of the lower and poorer class of Natives.
An instance of a churma being a beggar is unheard of: they and their
families are sure of having the means of subsistence, for if the owner should
be unable to afford this, he will sell, mortgage, or hire his churma to another,
on whom would devolve the duty, as well as interest, of affording him such
subsistence, as to enable him to go through the labours of the day.”* †
or musna, (fisherman) who defiled him by touching him; and the same fate
awaited the poliar or pariar who did not turn out of the road for the mair.”
(Ham. Hind., vol. ii. pp. 278, 280) - -
- * Par. Papers on Slavery in India, pp. 887–896. w
t “The churmas in Malabar are absolute property; they are part of the
live stock on an estate. In selling and buying land it is not necessary that
they should follow the soil; both kinds of property are equally disposable,
and may fall into different hands. The churmas may be sold, leased, and
mortgaged, like the land itself, or like any cattle or thing. The feumokar
SLAVERY. 347
To the above may be added the Report of the Collector of the NorthERN
Division of ARcot.—“The slaves in the district are not numerous; ex-
hibiting a total of 688, inclusive of men, women, and children. The practice
of keeping them, may be said to be confined to the five talooks of Arcot,
Trevultoor, Cauvareeput, Poloor, and Suttawaid; for in Sholungar and
Wondawash (the two other talooks in which, according to the statement,
slavery prevails) their numbers are very small indeed. They are ostensibly
employed in agriculture, and the pasturing of cattle, although they may oe-
casionally do house work; and the persons in whose service they are prin-
cipally engaged, are the Rajah, Brahmun, and Vellumwar casts. Children,
born when their parents are in a state of slavery, become slaves also. It
does not appear to be accurately settled to whom the ehild of a slave belongs;
in one talook, it was said to the master of the male, in another to the master
of the female slave; the question, perhaps, has never been agitated; for the
people who keep slaves, most likely find it dheaper to buy than to rear them 1
and the offspring, when left to their parents’ ehârge, who have barely suf-
ficient to support themselves, die of absolute want? . . They have not any par-
ticular marks whereby they may be distinguished, exoept it is their wretched
appearance; they are fed and clothed and subsisted entirely by their masters;
their food consists of raggy, the coarsest kind of grain, and their clothing is
a common cumly. I cannot discover, though I was very particular in my
inquiries on the point, that they have any rights or privileges; and they are
not possessed of any property, neither ean they inheritany.” . . . .
The latter part of the Par. Papers refers to the practice of
stealing children, which appears “very prevalent at Madras.”
“I beg (says the Magistrate at Tinnevelly in Dec. 1825) to
bring officially to notice a custom which is, I believe, more
or less prevalent throughout the Madras territories, and, as
far as my observation has gone, is very frequent in the district
of Tinnevelly. The practice I allude to, is the sale and pur-
chase of female children by dancing women, for the avowed
purpose of bringing them up to alife of immorality. The custom
is so notorious, and its tendency’so evident, that no comment
can be necessary; but I am apprehensive that, unless it be
specially excepted from those purchases of children which are


may hire them for pattom or rent independently of the land, or he may sell
them altogether with his estate. The pattom on a churma is four fanams a
year; if they are disposed of on otty, their price is thirty two fanams; if on
the attipitola or jemmon, forty-eight fanams. The jenmokar, by the ancient
laws of Malabar, is accountable to no person for the life of his own churma,
but is the legal judge of his offences, and may punish them by death, if
they should appear to deserve it. The kolloonaven can neither put to death
a churma nor sell him, but he may chastise him. In the same manner as
the soil the possession of churmas was originally confined to a particular
class. . They were then employed entirely in the labours of agriculture;
but, although they were the first and sole cultivators in Malabar, it is not to
be imagined that this is the case at present, since there are many kuddians
of all casts, who cultivate their own lands.”—(Walker's Rep. on Malabar.
Par. Papers, p. 866.) - . . . . . . . .
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, pp. 873, 874.
348 SLAVERY.
now (under some circumstances) legal, an opinion may be en.
tertained that such dealings are countenanced by law. A pro-
hibition of such transactions could not be complained of as
an infringement of any acknowledged rights; it would serve
as a check upon child-stealing, which is occasionally practised
under the pretence of purchase, and the public expression of
the will of the Government could not but have a beneficial
tendency to promote morality.” . . . . . . . . .
The reply to this communication, by the Secretary of
Government at Madras, it is presumed, cannot be read without
feelings of strong disapprobation. “It is understood, from your
letter, that in the opinion of the judges of the Foujdaree
Adawlut, no new enactment is required upon this subject,
because the selling or purchasing of children, for the avowed
purpose of prostitution, may be punished under the law as it
at present stands. The Governor in Council entirely concurs
with the judges in deeming any enactment unnecessary; and
is further of opinion, adverting to the nature of the institution
of dancing women, and to its connexion with the ceremonies
and observances, both religious and civil, of the great bulk of
the people, that if it is at all expedient for the officers of Go-
vernment to interfere, for the purpose of preventing parents
or guardians from assigning children in the customary modes
to be brought up to this profession, the interference requires
to be conducted with the greatest caution. The remarks, to
which reference is made, relate to the practice of selling
children to be made slaves, and generally to the usages of the
country with respect to slavery; and, it was observed, that
that subject was one of much difficulty and delicacy. The
subject now under consideration is of no less delicacy, and it
seems to afford less inducement to interfere; for it is to be
considered, that loss of personal freedom is not among the con-
sequences of being brought up to be a dancing woman, and
that the species of immorality which the interference would
propose to redress prevails, is generally tolerated, in the
most enlightened and most highly civilized nations of Europe,
and is much more closely connected with general depravity
and with misery in England than it is in India.”f
The present state of the melioration of slavery—for the
abolition of it is not attempted—appears in an extract of a
letter from the Hon. Court of Directors to the Governor of
Madras, in April, 1824. “In the districts subject to your
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, pp. 934, 935.
t p. 935. See also pp. 901—903.
SIAVERY. 349
Presidency the rights and obligations of master and slave ap-
pear to be very indistinctly defined: and this obscurity of
the law we apprehend to be favourable to the slaves; for
whatever the legal power of masters may be, their actual con-
trol over the liberties of those persons who are nominally their
slaves appears to be but small. We desire that you will be
eactremely cautious, in making any regulation for defining
the relations of master and slave. It is our wish to improve
the condition of the latter to the utmost eartent, and we fear
that, in defining the power of masters, acts of compulsion
might be legalized, which by custom are not now tolerated,
and the slaves might be placed in a worse condition than
before. We shall defer making any further remarks on the
subject, till we receive a further communication from you.”
To this, nearly two years after, the Governor in Council re-
fers with approbation. “The opinions and views stated in
these paragraphs coincide with those entertained by us.”t
(Feb. 1826.). Thus the state of slavery in India, which at one
time is represented as mild and scarcely needing attention, at
another is considered of such a nature, that the Government
is afraid to touch the subject—even to “define the relations
of master and slave.” Is this the way to eradicate one of the
greatest evils incident to mortal man? “Surely,” says the
late Bishop Heber, “we are, in matters of religion, the most
lukewarm and cowardly people on the face of the earth;”].
and is it not equally true, as it respects the interests of hu-
manity in India?
The eartent of slavery in India, at the present period, it is
presumed, cannot be ascertained by the Parliamentary Docu-
ments now before the public. No census or general registra-
tion of the slaves appears to have been taken; it is only,
therefore, from occasional remarks by the Magistrates, or the
more regular statements of some of the Collectors under the
Madras Presidency, that any probable estimate can be taken
of the extent of slavery in the British dominions in the East.
By the publication of this first volume of Parliamentary
Papers on Slavery in India, sufficient information is given to
urge the full development of the nature and extent of this
system, and to excite the friends of humanity to increased
exertion, till Britain, in all her dominions, regards the divine
injunction, “Let the oppressed go free, and break every
yoke.” . . . . -
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, p. 901. f p. 901,
: Jour., vol. ii. p. 465.
350 SLAVERY.
The second Judge of Dacca, in 1812, remarks, respecting
that district, “Inveigling away and selling slaves, has long
been a prevailing offence, I believe peculiar to this district,
and numerous prosecutions are consequently preferred for re-
covering them.” . . . . . . .
The same Gentleman observes respecting Sylhet, “The
odious practice of trafficing, in slaves has long subsisted in
that zillah, and doubtless many and various abuses have been
committed under the cloak of an authorized commerce, or, at
least, of such mercantile transactions not specially prohibited.
The trade is carried on to a considerable extent, as is universally
acknowledged; and, from the best information on the subject,
it is computed, that the number of slaves in the district amounts
to about ONE-SIXTH of the whole population ; and this num-
ber progressively increases, as their offspring are also born
slaves. It is impossible to form a correct calculation of
the number of slaves annually exported from the district,
but it is believed to be much less considerable now than
formerly.”f . . . . . . . .
Of Sylhet, and the zillah Backergunge, the Magistrate,
J. W. Sage, Esq., in 1816, observes, “During the ten months I
was at Sylhet, I often heard that some persons gained a live-
lihood by enticing boys and girls (whose parents were free)
from their houses in the district, and from the adjoining ter-
ritories of Kackar and Jynteah, disposing of some to wealthy
natives in the district, and carrying some for sale to other
places. It is a common practice amongst the lower class of
native women, on the loss of their husbands, or at the time of
a scarcity of grain, both in Sylhet and this district (Backer-
gunge) to sell their children; by which the mothers gain a live-
lihood, and the children are better taken care of by their new
masters. Some mothers sell their female children to prostitutes;
sales of that description are always made known to the police
darogahs, whose duty it is to convey the parties instantly to
the Magistrate, that they may be punished for so nefarious a
transaction. There are some, whose families have been in a
state of slavery for the last hundred years, and who, when a
sale of an estate takes place, are included in the purchase;
as however many suits are instituted in the Sylhet district for
slaves, and appeals are admitted by the court of appeal, I do
not suppose Sir R. K. Dick had it in contemplation to draw
the attention of Government to that class of people. It might,
in some measure, prevent illicit transactions, if every one,
* Par. Papers, p. 242. + p. 244.
SLAVERY. 351
purchasing a child, was, under pain of a heavy fine and im-
prisonment, ordered to register such sale, and enter into an
agreement at the court, at the time of registering, binding
himself to produce at the court the boy or girl he may buy,
whenever the Magistrate should call upon him.”
“There are.(says the philanthropic Judge of Bundlecund,
in 1808, J. Richardson, Esq.) districts under the Company’s
dominions, (particularly Ramghur,) wherein, to my own know-
ledge, the greatest part of the cultivators and labourers are
slaves.' I have no scruple to avow, I deem this one great
cause of the wild and uncultivated condition of the country,
and the barbarous state of its inhabitants; for what human
being will labour with good will, or a desire of improvement,
when another enjoys the sole produce ’t This Gentleman
further observes, “By an enforcement of the spirit and prin-
ciples of the Mussulman law, a total stop would be put to the
horrid practice of slavery, which, almost incredible to state,
eacists contrary to law and reason, throughout our dominions
in India, to a degree scarcely to be believed; not a Mussul-
man family, of even mediocrity, that has not numbers both of
male and female slaves. The people about their persons, and
the female attendants on their women, are almost all slaves;
and, to my certain knowledge; they have slaves for the pur-
pose of cultivation and field labour.”f -
“In Nepaul,” says Hamilton, “most of the domestic ser-
vants are slaves; and there are some Brahmuns who are slaves
to Rajpoots, and, in high families, are employed as cooks (an
office of great dignity), or in the service of public chapels.
All other ranks are sold for common slaves, and persons of the
best family have been degraded by the Raja, and given to
damais, or tailors; by which they not only lose their liberty,
but also their cast, which, to a Hindoo, is of much more im-
portance, as in general among the higher classes, the cast of
a slave is respected. It is reckoned very disgraceful to sell
their children to any person of impure birth, or to an infidel,
yet in cases of exigence it is frequently done, and the parents
do not lose cast, which however they inevitably would, if
they afterwards received their child into their house, even
were he liberated by his master. All the female slaves, or
Keties, not excepting those belonging to the Queen, are pros-
titutes, although the latter are allowed some privileges, and
have considerable influence at court. In the day time they
attend the Queen, and when she goes out, some of them,
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, p. 247. t p. 300. p. 317.
352 SLAVERY.
armed with swords, follow her on horseback, and form her body
guard; on which occasions they are dressed and ride on horse-
back like men.”*t -
Hamilton, in his Description of Hindostan, thus speaks of
slavery.—“Domestic slavery is very generally prevalent in
Bengal, among both Hindoos and Mahomedans. More trusty
than hired servants, slaves are almost exclusively employed
in the house, for attendance on the members of the family,
and in all the most confidential services. Every opulent
person, every one raised above the condition of the simplest
mediocrity, is provided with household slaves, and from this
class chiefly, are taken the concubines of Mahomedans and
Hindoos. In the lower provinces, under the Bengal Presi-
dency, the employment of slaves in the labours of husbandry
Žs almost unknown. In the upper provinces, beginning from
Western Behar and Benares, the petty landlords, who are
themselves cultivators, are aided in their husbandry by slaves,
whom they very commonly employ as herds and ploughmen;
landlords of a higher class have in a few instances the pre-
tensions of masters over a part of their tenants long settled on
their estates, and reputed to be descended from persons who
were the acknowledged slaves of their ancestors. Their claims
to the services of these hereditary serfs, who are scarcely to
be distinguished from the rest of the peasantry, are nearly
obsolete and scarcely attended with any practical consequences;
but those employed in husbandry by the inferior classes of
landlords are decidedly slaves. The employment of slaves in
handicraft work is more rare, but not entirely unknown. It
would be difficult to form a computation of the number of
slaves throughout the country, and any steps towards the
preparation of an accurate estimate would involve inquiries
which cannot fail of exciting great alarm. Slaves are neither
so few as to be of no consideration, nor so numerous, as to con-
stitute a notable proportion of the population. The slave is
more usually a favourite and confidential servant than an ab-
ject drudge; and he is held superior to the hireling both in
his master's estimation and his own.”t
“A portion of the population of the district of Tiperah are
slaves, and the custom of disposing of persons already in a
* Hamilton's Hind., vol. ii. p. 680. + vol. i. p. 105–107.
f “Domestic Slavery, which is very common in India, however mild,
surely demands the reprehension of every individual who has a proper idea
of the dignity of human nature. In some parts of India, children are as
much an article of sale, as goats or poultry.”—Ward's View of the
Hindoos, 1820, vol iii. p. 281. - - -
SLAVERY. 353
state of slavery is common throughout the district. On these
occasions regular deeds of sale are executed, some of which
are registered in the court of justice; and when an estate, to
which slaves are attached, is sold privately, the slaves are
commonly sold at the same time, although a separate deed of
sale is always executed.” -
“Among the domestics in Rungpore are both male and
female slaves, especially towards Assam, and every where
along the northern frontier. The people of Assam sell many
slaves, and those of Cooch Bahar are not unwilling to carry
on the same trade.”t
“Slaves in Dinagepore are very few, and were mostly pur-
chased during the great famine in 1769, and the scarcity of
1787, to keep them from starving; but they turned out so
idle and careless, that their labour was found much more ex-
pensive than that of hired labourers.”f
“In the district of Purmeah are various classes of slaves;
of which one class costs from £1 15s. to £2 5s. ; in another
class a youth costs from £1 8s. to £2 5s., and a girl of eight
years from 11s. to £1 15s. They are allowed to marry, and
their children become slaves, but the family are seldom sold
separately.”$ -
“Real slaves of the malesex, in Boglipore, are called Nufur,
and their women Laundies. They may be sold in whatever
manner the master chooses, but they are not often brought to
market. The slaves here are in general industrious, seldom
run away, and are rarely beaten.”||
In Behar “slaves of the description of Nufur and Laundi,
are very numerous, often liberated, seldom sold, and frequently,
owing to the poverty of their owners, left to find a subsistence
for themselves. In Gya, and some other places, slaves are
occasionally sold, and formerly fetched a rupee for each year
of their age, until they reached twenty, when they attained
their highest value; but in general the price has recently
greatly risen "I . .
“Theft is common throughout Ramghur, but murder more
prevalent among a particular class, which are the slaves pos-
sessed by persons inhabiting the mountainous and inaccessi-
ble interior, and of savage and ferocious habits. When petty
disputes occur, these slaves are compelled by their masters to
perpetrate any enormity, and are more especially employed for
the purposes of assassination. Any hesitation or repugnance
* Hamilton's Hind, 1821, vol. i. p. 182, of Sylhet, see p. 196.
+ p. 207. f p. 223. § p. 234. || p. 248. "I p. 258,
2 A
354 SLAVERY.
on the part of the slave, is attended with immediate death,
which is equally his fate should he fail in the attempt. On
the other hand, if he succeed, he is sought out by the officers of
Government, and executed as a murderer. The usual police
have hitherto been unable to seize the cowardly instigator,
and if recourse be had to a military force, he retires into the
jungles. On the occurrence of such an event, the whole coun-
try is thrown into confusion and rebellion, during which many
unoffending persons lose their lives; and the troops, after
many ineffectual efforts to execute the Magistrate's orders,
return to their stations, worn out with fatigue, and their num-
bers thinned by the pestilential atmosphere of the jungles.
Neither do the slaves attach the slightest idea of guilt to the
murders they are thus delegated to commit; on the contrary,
when seized, they always confess, and appear to expect ap-
plause for having done their duty.”*
“Slaves are common in Afghanistan, mostly home-born,
the rest imported. Abyssinians and Negroes are sometimes
brought from Arabia through the ports of Sinde ; the Baloo-
chees sell Persians, and other prisoners; and many Caffrees are
purchased or made prisoners. The Caffree captives are ge-
nerally females, and much sought after on account of their
beauty.'t - -
“Slaves are much employed in agriculture at Malari in
Kumaon, and used to be purchased here by the Gorkhas.”
Respecting Assam, contiguous to Bengal, Hamilton states,
—“Capital punishments extend to the whole family of a
rebel—parents, sisters, wife, and children; and it is probable,
from these sources that the rafts are supplied, which are fre-
quently seen floating down the Brahmaputra, past Goalpara,
covered with human heads. All the domestics are slaves, and
they are numerous; every man of rank having several, mostly
procured among the necessitous, who mortgage themselves.
Some are exported, and about 100, of pure cast, are annually
sold in Bengal. The girls chiefly are bought by professional
prostitutes, and cost from twelve to fifteen rupees. A Cooch
boy costs twenty-five rupees; a Kolita fifty; slaves of impure
tribes are sold to the Garrows.”$
“The tract, at present occupied by the Independent Gar-
zows, cannot be estimated at more than 130 miles in length,
by thirty in breadth. Rungta, one of the principal Garrow
* p. 284. See an account of Goomsur, in the Northern Circars, vol. ii. p. 70.
- p. 543. * . f p. 661
§ Ham. Hind, vol. ii. p. #4%.
SLAVERY. 355
Chiefs, died many years ago, and was succeeded by his son
Agund, who is still alive, and is said to possess great wealth
Žn slaves, brass pots, and human sculls / This chief attended
the marriage of the Zemindar of Currybarry's son, when a
palanquin was presented to him; which, having first deprived
of the poles as useless, he entered, and was borne away
over the hills, on the heads of his slaves. On the death of a
highland chief, of common rank, the head of one of his slaves
should be burned with him; but if he be a chief of great dignity,
a large body of his slaves sally out from the hills, and seize a
Hindoo, whose head they cut off, and burn along with the
body of their chieftain.”* -
The Governor of Penang, or Prince of Wales Island, in
1807, very justly observes, “Although domestic slavery, as
practised by the Malays, meliorates, in a great degree, the
situation of the slave, as permitted on this Island, when com-
pared with that of the same class of people in other quarters
of the globe—still, slavery in its mildest form is degrading in
the minds of Britons; and hitherto only tolerated as a means
of drawing population to an infant colony, which, from the
now flourishing state of this Island, is no longer necessary,
therefore derogatory to our national character, and should, in
my opinion, cease to exist: at the same time every reasonable
consideration is due towards their proprietors, so as to remu-
nerate the one, without injustice to the other, or too suddenly
interfering with ancient and authorized usages. This subject
has, it appears, engaged the attention of the Hon. the Court
of Directors, and they have more than once urged their Go-
vernment here to adopt the necessary measures for effecting
so humane and honourable an object, as the personal freedom
of a considerable proportion of their subjects. I have conse-
quently felt interested in the cause, and made such inquiries
as enable me to state that there cannot be fewer than three
thousand men, women, and children, in a state of bondage on
this Island.”f
The state of the slave trade in Pulo Nias, in 1821, is de-
scribed in “The Life of Sir S. Raffles.”—“The number of
slaves taken from Nias, in each year, exceed 1,500. The
circumstances attending this inhuman traffic, were of the
most appalling mature. Sir Stamford Raffles, then Governor
of Bencoolen, in the immediate neighbourhood, was anxious
to do the utmost possible good for such a people. He warmly
* Ham. Hind., vol. ii. p. 762.
t Par. Papers on Slavery, p. 436; see also p. 454.
2 A 2
356 SLAVERY.
advocated the receiving this Island under the protection of
the British flag, and the immediate suppression of the slave
trade, and hoped so great a benefit, so easily obtained, would
be met with approbation by all the wise and good. But the
Court of Directors of the East India Company, “had no hesi-
tation in declaring, that his proceedings, with regard to Pulo
Nias, were deserving of their decided reprehension;' and,
“ they were inclined to visit him with some severe mark of
their displeasure for the steps he had taken, and threatened
to remove him from his government. After the transfer of Su-
matra to the Dutch, the slave trade was resumed with greater
vigour than ever, and numbers of these poor people have since
been carried away to Batavia, and to the French Island of
Bourbon.”* - •
We have seen that the Suttee exists in the Island of Bali,
or little Java, and it is painful to state, that slavery also is
found, and a slavery encouraged by European governments.-
“Slavery may be said to exist on Bali, as all malefactors
among the men, and all unfortunates among the women, be-
come immediately the slaves of the king. Some of these he
employs in working for him, and some he sends out to trade,
on condition of their bringing him a certain portion of the pro-
fits; some, when old and useless, or flagrant offenders, are
creesed out of the way; and some of better promise are sold
to the Chinese, who dispose of them to the Dutch, or to
French vessels, visiting the different sea-ports. Prisoners
taken in war may be dealt with in the same way; and poor
unprotected persons, who have no relatives to befriend them,
are in danger of sharing the same fate. At Bali Badong, a
person was established, on behalf of the Netherlands Govern-
ment, to buy up these people and transport them to Java, to
be employed as soldiers in the Dutch service. The contract
was, it appears, for 1,000 fighting men, at twenty dollars a
head; about one half of this number has been supplied dur-
ing the last two years, who have cost the Government, includ-
ing agency and transport, about 20,000 dollars. No persons
are chosen for this purpose but young able-bodied men, the
old, infirm, and deformed being rejected; and as soon as a
sufficient number are collected together, the colonial cruizers
come to take them away. Last year, two French ships came
from the Mauritius, one to Badong, and the other to Penang
Cove, to buy slaves. These preferred women, and valued
them according to their youthful and plump appearance; for
* World Paper, Oct. 3, 1831.
SLAVERY. 357
young women they gave generally 150 rupees, eighty for the
middle aged, and rejected the old ones. Boys were also
bought by them; but they seldom took grown-up men, as
they might prove too stiff and stubborn for their management. .
These vessels took away about 500 slaves between them, and
talked of coming again; the time of their arrival is generally
in the beginning of the year, and of their return in March.
With respect to the traffic of these French vessels, there can
be no demur in denouncing it as a regular slave trade, de-
serving to be reprobated and punished as such. The Nether-
lands Government and their agent may, perhaps, designate the
transactions in which they are engaged by some other name;
they may, perhaps, call it redeeming these poor people out of
slavery, or rescuing them from a still worse doom; but to the
impartial observer, it would appear very nearly allied to it.”
Slavery exists in “its most hideous shape” in the Island of
New Zealand; and the author of a recent work, relative to
this Island, very justly remarks;–“That slavery should be
the custom of savage nations and cannibals, is not a cause of
wonder; they are the only class of human beings it ought to
remain with.”t Let the advocates of slavery consider with
whom they are thus unceremoniously, but how justly, classed.
Of the Daerds, in Canara, under the Madras Presidency,
the Collector of the Southern Division in 1801, states, “By
far the greatest part of the slaves employed in agriculture are
the Daerds, of whom there are various descriptions; no order
was ever given for their being included in the registers; the
whole number of them, by the population statement, is
52,022, men, women, and children; of which number there
are, in the Baincoor talook, 5,894: the number belonging to
every landlord shall hereafter, as desired, be entered in the
registers.”f “Exclusive of the Daerds, there were another
sect of slaves in Canara, though, I believe, many of them are
now free. Under the Biddemore Government, all illegitimate
children, save those by dancing girls, were considered the
property of the Sircar, which took possession of, and sold
them as slaves, to any person who would purchase them;
the number of this sort now is about 722; there are also many
slaves imported from Arabia.”S
Some of the Daerds having enlisted in the Company’s army,
the Collector of Mangalore requested the Madras Government
- - * Singapore Chronicle, June 3, 1830.
† Earle's Residence in New Zealand. Eclec. Rev., Sep. 1832.
f Par. Papers, p. 548. - § p. 550.
358 SLAVERY.
that they might be interdicted the service. The minute of
Government acknowledges the existence of slavery in this and
other parts of India.-‘The circumstances stated, by the
Collector of the southern division of Canara, require, in the
Board's opinion, particular consideration. He has repre-
sented, that serious injury will be sustained by the landholders
of Canara, if their slaves are permitted to enter the sepoy
corps, and desert the lands which they and their progenitors
had cultivated for many generations. It is observed, by Mr.
Ravenshaw, that, where these people enlist, they seldom con-
tinue in the service, but almost invariably desert; in this
point of view it appears ineligible that they should be allowed
to enter the corps; but as it may be considered beyond the
province of the Board, to discuss the propriety of this measure
in a military point of view, or the policy of emancipating this
class of people, they will only observe, that encouraging these
slaves thus to desert their masters would be disturbing a pro-
perty sanctioned to them by the usages of the country, and
the ordinances of their law; and, whilst it would be of no
advantage to the army, it would be of considerable detriment
to the revenue; for not only in Canara, but in several parts
of India, it is this class of people who cultivate the soil, and
on whose industry the landholder depends for the payment of
the dues of the Sircar (government), and for the means of his
own support.”
The Board of Revenue for the Madras Government in 1818,
in a very judicious minute on slavery, candidly acknowledges
its extensive prevalence;—
“The provinces now subject to this government, appear originally to have
constituted several distinct Hindoo states, which are still to be traced by the
difference of language, manners, and customs, that so strongly distinguish
the inhabitants of one part of the country from the other. The five northern
sircars of Ganjam, Vizagapatam, Rajahmundry, Masulipatam, and Gun-
toor, together with the districts of Bellary, Cuddaph, Paluand, and Nellore,
or wherever the Telinga is the language of the people, may be considered
one of these; the second may be said to include the district of Chingleput,
the two divisions of the Arcot Soobah, Salem, Baramahl, Coimbatore, Ma-
dura, Dindigul, Trichinopoly, Tanjore, and Tinnevelly, or wherever the
Tamil language is spoken; and the third comprises the provinces of Mala-
bar and Canara, on the other coast of the Peninsula, where the Malayalam
and Toolavo are the vernacular dialects of the country. In all these dis-
tricts, the labourer, who holds the plough, and performs therinferior offices of
husbandry, is of the lowest, poorest, most ignorant, yet most numerous order in
society; in general an outcast, or, at least, often of the degraded class of Hin-
doos, and therefore usually resident in the outskirts of his village; every where
without any property in the land which he can transfer by gift, sale, or be-
* Par. Papers on Slavery, p. 552.
SLAVERY. 359
quest; and receiving from his employer, the ryot, little more than food, with a
scanty supply of raiment 1 It is almost superfluous to remark that, with
this %; of persons, the government officers have seldom had any
direct communications; yet this may possibly be the cause that their situa-
tion has not yet received that consideration which it appears to merit; for it is
not, perhaps, sufficiently known, that throughout the Tamul country, as
well as in Malabar and Canara, far the greater part of the labouring classes
of the people have, from time immemorial, been in a state of acknowledged
bondage, in which they continue to the present time. It is, certainly, a curious
circumstance, that in those provinces where the severe and arbitrary system
of the Mussulman government was established at the most early and for the
longest period, where consequently the public assessment on the land is the
highest, and private property in the soil the most rare and least valuable,
the labourer should also be the most free; while his condition is the most
abject, in those countries where the ancient institutions of the Hindoos have
been the least disturbed, where the public demand on the soil is the light-
est, and private property in the land is universal and of the highest value.
It seems probable, that slavery may have been as prevalent in the northern
as it now is in the southern and western provinces; and the same circum-
stances, that reduced the landlord of Telingana to the situation of a land-
holder, may have tended gradually to weaken the power he possessed over
his slaves, until they finally became emancipated from his authority.”
As has been stated, no correct idea can be formed from
the Par. Papers, of the actual number of slaves in British
India. The slaves in Batavia in 1812, before its surrender to
the Dutch, exclusive of those belonging to Government
(which did not exceed 281), were as follows;– -
“At Batavia and its environs, &c. º ge * . 18,972
In the Samarang division . wº gº * sº . 4,488
In the Sourabaya division . & º 3 * . 3,682
27,142”f
The following are the only official number of slaves observed
(with the exception of those in Amboyna, amounting to 1,613,
now ceded to the Dutch) in a careful investigation of the
Papers;–
“Penang . . fº . . © º e © 3,000
Arcot, S. Division . © * * º º . 17,000
N. Division . te º & * g * 688
Trichinopoly . * sº ſº º * s . 10,600
Canara . tº ſº º tº tº tº & . 82,000
Malabar . g ſº tº i.e. tº tº º ... 100,000
213,288”;
These few items, producing more than 200,000 slaves, would
lead to the supposition, that their number in British India
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, pp. 816,817. t p. 157.
# pp. 436, 887–890.
360 SLAVERY.
may equal and even exceed that of the West Indies.—And
should not this fact be known, and efforts made to meli-
orate the state of these degraded people, and to elevate them
to their proper place in society When shall every subject
of Britain be free as the air he breathes? How tardy, though
encouraged by success, are our proceedings in this work of
justice and mercy. But this will more clearly appear in the
following chapter. . .
CHAP. Iv.
Methods proposed for the melioration and abolition of Slavery
&n India—answers to objections to its abolition arising
from the supposed kind treatment of slaves—the preserva-
tion of children and adults in famine by selling themselves
for support—the indifference of the slaves to emancipation
—decreasing the population of an Island or District—
Mahomedan prejudices prohibiting any others than slaves
attending on their women, and that they cannot dispense
with slaves, and the interest of the slave owners and the
Government—concluding remarks.
It is interesting to trace the various steps proposed or
adopted for the melioration and abolition of slavery in India.
The Madras Board of Revenue, in 1819, thus close their in-
teresting letter, from which copious extracts have been
given:— . .
“The Board are decidedly of opinion that slaves should not be sold for
arrears of revenue; and prohibitory orders to this effect will be issued to
Malabar, where alone it has occurred. In Malabar and Canara, alone, the
number of slaves is calculated at 180,000; and the Board have now under
consideration certain propositions from Mr. Graeme, the Commissioner in
. Malabar, for the melioration of their condition, and the gradual emancipa-
tion of slaves in that country. In the Tamil provinces the number of slaves
is comparatively few; their condition is better, and any immediate emanci-
pation of them would be attended by inconvenience, difficulty, and perhaps
distress. This might, therefore, be at present deferred, until the practical
remedy for the gradual abolition of slavery on the other coast shall have
been fully considered and decided on. But, whatever may be the future
decision respecting those who are already slaves, the Board think that a
Regulation ought to be published, to prevent the further extension of slavery,
and to meliorate, in some degree, by a few general enactments, the condi-
tion of those who are already slaves. The further purchase of free persons,
as slaves, should be declared invalid and illegal; and all children hereafter
born slaves should be declared free. But any person should be at liberty to
SLAVERY. º 361
contract, for a given sum, to labour for a term of years, or for life. Such
contracts, however, should be in writing, and only binding upon the indivi-
dual who executes it, not upon his wife or children.
“Slaves should be declared competent to possess and dispose of their own
property, to the exclusion of any interference therewith on the part of their
master. The Board further submit, whether it would not be proper to annex
some penalty to the purchase of female children, for the purpose of being
brought up as prostitutes. It might also be provided that the proprietors
are to provide wholesome food and clothing for their slaves; that in sick-
ness, age, or infirmity, they shall not neglect them; that they shall not have
the power of corporeal punishment; that slaves, on being ill-treated by their
masters, shall be allowed to claim the privilege of being sold to another;
and that in breach of these laws, or refusal to comply with them, on the part
of the master, the slave shall receive his liberty. It might further be pro-
vided, that slaves shall have the power to purchase their liberty at the price for
which it was forfeited; and that slaves attached to lands or estates, which
may escheat to Government, shall be liberated. . Many of these provisions
will be found to contravene those of the Hindoo law, which, with respect to
Hindoos, is declared by the regulations to be in force; and the necessity,
therefore, of a formal enactment of them in the code will be sufficiently
apparent. . . --
“The Collector in Trichinopoly has submitted a proposition for meliorat-
ing the condition of the pullers in the district, by adding two per cent. to
their warum, which is at present only ten per cent. By this, he observes,
‘the situation of the pullers would be greatly benefited, and the expense to
Government would be not more than 2,000 pagodas per annum. This sum
would materially tend to the comfort of 10,000 people, by whose industry
the country is cultivated, and who, in point of fact, are the creators of re-
venue.” The Board are not aware of any objection to this measure, and it
is accordingly resolved to recommend the adoption of it to Government.
The Collector will report the result of it, and the effects it may have on the
condition of the people. Resolved, also, That the Collectors in the other
Tamil Districts be desired to report whether a similar measure could not be
adopted with advantage in their Districts; and, if so, the extent of remission
proposed. The Board would remark that the subject discussed, appears to
them of great importance; that the suggestions which they have submitted
should be well weighed before they are †. and that any legislative
enactment, that may be deemed requisite, be framed with great caution. It
may also be for the consideration of Government, whether the subject may
not, as a general one, be referred, in the first instance to the Supreme Go-
vernment, in order to ascertain the state of slavery in the Bengal territories,
and whether any restrictions are imposed on it there.”*
The propriety of improving the condition of slaves in India,
has been urged by different functionaries of the British Go-
vernment. Mr. Graeme, in his Report on Malabar in 1822,
made the following judicious remarks:—
“Upon occasion of the condition of the slaves of Malabar being brought
into notice, it was lately suggested that slavery should be subjected to the
rule of the Mahomedan law. This, if carried completely into effect, would
indeed mitigate the severity of slavery, and render slaves in Malabar a very
different race of mortals; but, strictly speaking, slavery is not permitted by
* Par, Papers on Slavery in India, p. 900.
362 - SLAVERY.

the Mahomedan law to be practised by any but Mussulmans, and even by
them, only as regards the inhabitants of countries not agreeing to become con-
verts to Mahomedanism, and at the same time refusing to pay the taa: imposed
by Mahomed upon infidels, or to permit the free ewercise of the Mahomedan
religion. Slaves made so by stealth, and not in open war, or an authorized
occasion, are not recognised by the Koran; and the acquisition of slaves by
purchase, as practised by the Moplar Mahomedans in Malabar, is equally
irreconcilable to the Mahomedan law. Ill-treatment of slaves is, with them,
punishable by the slave being emancipated, or being sold to another master,
on conviction before the quazee.
“Though it may be allowed that slavery in Malabar is not intolerable,
and not exercised to an excessive degree of active cruelty, the diminutive
and squalid appearance, and the wretched hovels of a race of beings in the
province, who, by a census taken of the population in Fusly 1216 (A. D.
1809) were reckoned to amount to 94,786, sufficiently indicate, that they do
not enjoy that comfortable state of eacistence which every person should have it
in his power to acquire by his labour. There are no doubt many freemen in
the different ranks of society who are equally indigent with the slave. The
slave is scarcely ever exposed to the extremity of actual starvation; and it
has been stated by respectable public authority, and I understand with cor-
rectness, that a beggar of this cast is seldom or never found. But among
freemen there are many, who are too proud, idle, and dishonest to work,
and they have recourse to charity and fraudulent means to gain their sub-
sistence; but it matters not, that many worthless characters are in worse
circumstances, the question is, -whether slaves are as comfortable as they
ought to be, and whether they acquire as much by their own industry in ser-
witude, as they would in a free state.” .
The Bengal consultations as early as 1774, in a letter to
the Council of Dacca, contain the following judicious and
humane observations, respecting the annihilation of slavery;
—“In those districts where slavery is in general usage, or any
way connected with, or is likely to have any influence on the
cultivation or revenue, which we are informed is the case at
Sylhet, and may be so in the other (especially the frontier)
parts of your division, we must desire you particularly to
advise us what is the usage and every circumstance connected
with it, and we shall then give such directions as we may
judge to be necessary; but considering your reference, in the
mean time, in the light of a general proposition, we are of
opinion, that the right of masters to the children of the slaves,
already their property, cannot legally be taken from them in
the FIRST GENERATION, but we think that this right cannot
and ought not to eartend further, and direct that you do make
publication accordingly.”t
It is to be deeply regretted that this excellent suggestion
does not appear to have been acted upon. The second judge
of the Bareilly Court of Circuit, in 1817, W. Leycester, Esq.,
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, p. 922. f p. 4.
SLAVERY. 363
proposed the same rational and effective method of gradually
annihilating slavery. “Many estates in the country are cul-
tivated by indigenous slaves, but it is very desirable, it should
no longer be possible to transfer the African slave trade from
the West to the East Indies, with only one proviso against it,
that the slaves may not be resold; and it is also most desir-
able, that the present importation of females, for the purpose
of breeding an hereditary race of slaves, should be put a stop
to. Nothing, perhaps, is so revolting as the idea of hereditary
slavery—of a man's inheriting, at his birth, nothing but the
misfortunes of his parents, without hopes of emancipation,
without the possibility of rising in life, through exertion or
talent, and liable every moment to be taken to the market and
sold, and transferred to the possession of another. I can
hardly conceive that there could be any objection to modify-
ing the present system of slavery, by an act declaring the
children of slaves to be free; that, if men will have slaves,
they should also have to pay for them, and not to rear and
&nherit them like the produce of a farm yard.” The reply
of the Court of Nizamut Adawlut to this humane judge was
as follows;–“The Court will only add, at present, that they
participate in the sentiments expressed by Mr. Leycester, in
abhorrence of hereditary slavery, and earnestly wish it could
be discontinued, with regard to all children born under the
British protection; but whilst it is allowed to remain, with
respect to the progeny of existing slaves, born under the Bri-
tish Government in the West Indies and South Africa, the
abolition of it, on general principles of justice and humanity,
could not, the Court apprehend, be consistently proposed for
India, where it has, from time immemorial, been sanctioned
by the laws and usages of the country, and where the state of
slavery is not so injurious to the objects of it, as in other
countries where it is still maintained.”f
The measures proposed by Sir Stamford Raffles, Governor
of Java, in 1812, for the melioration of slavery in that island,
were cordially approved by the Governor General, Lord Min-
to, and his Council. For an account of them, see Par. Papers,
pp. 155–161.1
The Madras Board of Revenue in 1818, express their con-
viction of the necessity and propriety of improving the civil
condition of the slave.—
-*.
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, p. 345. t p. 346.
# Relative to the melioration of slavery in Prince of Wales Island, see
p, 453.
364 SLAVERY.
“The right which the slaves in the Tamil country possess to continue at-
tached to the soil where they are born, which, though not universal, is
pretty general among them; their dependence rather on a community
than on an individual; and perhaps the vicinity of some of them to the
Presidency, where a general knowledge prevails that the spirit of our go-
vernment is inimical to bondage, seem all, more or less, to have contributed
to render their condition in some degree superior to that of their brethren
on the other coast. It is by no means, however, to be understood that this is
universally the case. Their treatment necessarily depends principally on the
individual character of their owners; and when we reflect on those evils that
are inseparable from even the mildest state of slavery, and consider how large a
portion of our most industrious subjects are at present totally deprived of a
free market for their labour, restricted by inheritance to a mere subsistence,
and sold and transferred with the land which they till,—policy, no less than
humanity would appear to dictate the propriety of gradually relieving them.
from those restrictions, which have reduced them, and must continue to confine
them, to a condition scarcely superior to that of the cattle which they follow
at the plough 1
“While such ought to be the policy pursued, with regard to this class of
people, it would be obviously unjust to interfere with the private property,
which there can be no doubt the ryots at present possess in their slaves;
and it might be dangerous too suddenly to disturb the long established re-
lations in society subsisting between these two orders. For the present, it
would seem sufficient, with the view to prevent oppression or abuse of au-
thority, to define, by legislative enactments, the power which may be lawfully
exercised by a ryot over his slaves; but, as the revenue records do not afford
information sufficiently minute and satisfactory for this purpose, it is re-
solved to call the particular attention of the collectors in Canara, Malabar,
and the Tamil country to this subject, and to desire that they will take an
early opportunity to communicate fully their sentiments for the consideration
of the Board.”
The Collector of the southern division of Arcot very judici-
ously remarks, upon these paragraphs, “I take the liberty of sug-
gesting that every labourer who is now free, shall be declared
eacempt from all possibility of slavery; denouncing penalties
against every person who may attempt to enslave any subject
under our government. Rules calculated to abolish the
general abuse of slavery, to provide for slaves in sickness and
old age, to confine the transfer of slaves to the village of their
nativity, and to interdict all corporeal punishment or imprison-
ment, would prove an alleviation of the miseries inseparable
from bondage. As the continuation, or the revival of slavery,
is dependent upon the assistance owners contribute to the
propagation of slaves, by advancing money for the expenses
of marriages, perhaps a rule might be enacted prohibiting the
enslaving of unborn children, by such a convention between
the owners and their earisting slaves.”f
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, p. 818. See also, pp. 869–871.
f p. 872.
SLAVERY. 365
These extracts shew some of the methods, for the gradual
melioration or abolition of slavery, contemplated by those
whose opinions are given in the Parliamentary Documents.
The Philanthropist, who sighs, oh that all mankind were free
will rejoice to see a few proposals of more immediate measures
for the emancipation of slaves. Upon “the practice of steal-
ing children from their parents, and selling them for slaves,”
it is very justly remarked in a Minute of the Governor General,
in 1774,--"There appears no probable way of remedying this
calamitous evil, but that of striking at the root of it, and
abolishing the right of slavery, excepting such cases to which
the authority of Government cannot reach; such, for example,
as laws in being have allowed, and where slaves have become
a just property by purchase, antecedent to the proposed pro-
hibition. The opinions of the most creditable of the Mussul-
man and Hindoo inhabitants have been taken upon this
subject, and they condemn the authorized usage of selling
slaves, as repugnant to the particular precepts both of the
Koran and Shastar, oppressive to the people, and injurious to
the general welfare of the country.”
The Magistrates of Patna, in 1774, stated to the Governor
General, Warren Hastings, Esq., “Whole families of slaves
were formerly sold together, but we do not find that the custom,
though of old standing, and still in force, is now attended to,
except in the Mofussil, where sometimes the survivor of an
old family, retired on his altermga, cultivates his lands by the
hands of these slaves, who also perform the menial offices of
the house. To a person thus situated, the keeping of slaves
may answer; the grain produced by their labour serving for
their support. It seems that, on the sale of a slave who
separately procures his own subsistence, only one-half of the
price is received by the owner, the other half going to the
parents of the slave. In the city, few people choose these
Kahaar slaves, being indifferent to their business, and equally
expensive with other servants. The female slaves, are of
more use in families, none being without them. It is urged,
that a condition of this kind is consistent with the manners
of a country where women are kept in continual retirement,
and such privacy observed in regard to them as would be
much affected by a frequent change of servants. On the
whole, we do not imagine that alterations, in the usage of
slaves, will be attended with any consequences of moment to
the cultivation or revenue of this province.”f
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, p. 3. f p. 5.
366 SLAVERY.
In 1808 a Committee was appointed, by the Government
of Prince of Wales Island, to report upon the state of slavery,
and the propriety of its abolition. Three of the four European
members expressed themselves as follows:—“After mature
deliberation, the undersigned are of opinion, that the views of
humanity, and of the British Legislature, signified in the late
Acts respecting the abolition of slavery in the British West
India Islands, may be extended and adopted here, consistently
with due attention to the political circumstances of this settle-
ment. And, with all deference, they beg leave to recommend
to the Honourable Board, the immediate and positive eman-
cipation of slaves, in preference to relying on the accomplish-
ment of it by the establishment of an annual taar, which,
while the richer masters would be able to meet it, might have
the effect only, to induce the poorer to insist with rigour and
?nhumanity, on greater eacertions of service from their slaves,
an order to enable them also to pay it. Independent of the
calls of humanity, and of the distinguished example afforded
to the world by the British Legislature, the undersigned must
allow, that these considerations have also had much weight in
inducing them to recommend, the immediate and positive
emancipation of slaves; though they at the same time are
aware of the propriety and necessity of regarding as far as is
consistent with humanity, the property of the owner, and the
prejudice of the natives of higher rank; but these they are
hopeful may be nearly assimilated and combined, by adopting,
as the basis of emancipation, a custom which has been im-
memorially sanctioned and prevalent in the Malay countries,
and on this island since the formation of the settlement, of
mortgaging labour in consideration of a sum advanced, for
which the person or persons become debtor.”
The late Governor Farquhar's plan for “annulling slavery
in the shortest period in which that desirable object can be
effected, without prejudice to individuals, or injury to the
public interests in the settlement,” was as follows:—
“I recommend slavery being abolished at Prince of Wales Island. It is
the greatest of all evils, and the attempt to regulate such an evil is in itself
almost absurd. There was some excuse for using slaves in the West Indies,
on account of the want of people, and Africa offered the readiest supply.
But there is no eaccuse for continuing the practice in India, a country fully
peopled, and where cultivation and commerce can be carried on by free men
But, as slavery has in some degree been sanctioned by the government of
Prince of Wales Island, it would be unjust, without an equivalent to the
proprietors, to declare slaves free. Suppose that a committee were appoint-
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, pp. 440, 441.
SLAVERY. 367
ed, and authorized to affix to each slave on the island, a value at which his
master should be obliged to liberate him, on tender of the amount. Such
as could not procure funds from their relations or friends, equal to the val-
uation, to become debtors, and serve the creditors, as now practised, under
the following simple regulations:—The lender to find the borrower, in lieu
of his services, meat, clothes, and lodging, good and sufficient. If in chas-
tising a borrower for any fault (without the authority of the police) the
lender bring blood, the debt to be cancelled. If the lender cohabit with any
of the female borrowers, the debt to be cancelled. No idleness in the
borrowers is to add to the debt; but, if dissatisfied, the lender may demand
his money. Should the emancipated slave be unable to procure the money,
the master may apply to the police, where the necessary inquiries will be
made, and correction given accordingly. The foregoing regulations would
ameliorate the condition of those now slaves, and in time liberate the whole
from debt, and give us from 4 to 5000 good subjects in place of useless sufferers.
This is an object worthy of government's attention in every point of view.”
“My own ideas are,” says W. E. Phillips, Esq., the successor
of Governor Farquhar in 1807, “that a Committee should place
a value on each slave, as also a value on his annual labour,
after deducting his maintenance; and, that the slave should
continue in bondage till the estimated value of his labour has
reimbursed the master for his original cost. Should the slave
deem himself ill-treated, he may at any time sell the labour
due to that master to one more mild, and who may be dis-
posed to advance that sum to the original master. As the value
of labour here is very high, and that of the slaves the reverse,
I do not think I am sanguine in estimating, that the greater
part of these poor creatures would be free in Two YEARs,
from the date of their valuation.”f f
In these sentiments the Hon. Court of Directors in 1807,
concurred. “As the toleration of slavery cannot be necessary
at Prince of Wales Island, where the population is extensive
and daily increasing, we consider it a subject deserving your
serious notice, and direct that every means be resorted to for
effecting its immediate abolition, provided the public interests
of the settlement are not materially injured; but, even in that
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, pp. 434, 435. t p. 436.
# “This judicious plan was adopted at Singapore by Sir Stamford
Raffles.—“Slavery was abolished within the settlement, with the reserva-
tion of what were called slave debtors, persons who had engaged their ser-
vices in payment of debt duly incurred. These were protected by having
all their civil privileges preserved to them, excepting only the freedom of
service; they were not allowed to be transferred to other masters, without
their own consent; if their creditors died solvent they were discharged
forthwith; if insolvent they were allowed to choose a master, and the value
of their labour was carried to the bankrupt estate; but in no case could they
be thus pledged, or kept for a longer period, in all, five years, nor for a less
sum than twenty dollars yearly.”—Mem. of Sir. S. Raffles. Ori. Qua. Rev.,
April 1830, p. 488,
368 SLAVERY.
case, we conceive an early period may be determined for the
entire emancipation of slavery at your Presidency, from the
date of which it ought by no means to be tolerated.” It is
deeply to be regretted that these humane and judicious
measures were not adopted. If they had been so, slavery
might now have been unknown in this Island.
It may be presumed, that various objections to the eartensive
melioration, and particularly the abolition of slavery, eacist
among the advocates of the slave system in India. It will
now be our object, from the Documents already adverted to,
to notice the principal of these objections, and to obviate them
—not with our own arguments or language, but that of gentle-
men in India, intimately acquainted with the subject upon
which they have written. The official nature of these replies
must add considerably to their value.
One of the most common objections to the discontinuance
of the present system of slavery, in British India, is—the sup-
posed kind treatment of the slaves. The comparatively mild
nature of East Indian slavery, is often used as a reason for its
continuance, and its abolition denounced as an evil. To this
argument for slavery the following extract affords a very ap-
propriate reply.—
“The Madras Board of Revenue proceed to the consideration of that part
of the letter from Government, which desires them to state their opinion
‘whether the practice which actually prevails,’ with respect to the sale of
slaves, “should be permitted to continue as at present, or whether it ought
either to be laid under such restrictions as would render it less objectionable,
or altogether abolished, as productive of evils for which no adequate remedy
can be devised.’ Where “in some respects churmas may be considered in
more comfortable circumstances than any of the lower and poorer classes of
natives.” Where “no want or cruelty is experienced by the slaves.” Where
the ‘abolition of the puller system would be attended with the most serious
consequences.” Where they seem not to consider their situation, nor to
shew any ‘desire to be free and independent.” Where the treatment of
slaves by their masters ‘is the same as that of the other labourers, which is
in general of a mild nature.” Where ‘the slaves are, on the whole, better
treated by their masters than the common class of free labourers.’ Where,
finally, humanity on the part of the masters is encouraged by a sense of
their own interest, and a disposition to personal cruelty is restrained by the
establishment of the courts of justice, it does not appear to the Board that
any immediate interference on the part of the government is particularly
called for, or that any alteration in the existing state of slavery should be
made, except by degrees, and after mature consideration has been given to
the subject. -
“But, because no immediate measures are urgently called for, it does not
follow, that—the most useful, the most laborious, and one of the most numerous
classes of our subjects in these territories, should, from generation to generation,
-------º-º-
* Par. Papers, p. 435.
SLAVERY. 369
continue the hereditary bondsmen of their masters, incapable of inheriting
property of their own, deprived of that stimulus to industry which posses-
sion of property ever inspires; and, because they are fed, clothed, and recon-
ciled to the present condition, it does not follow that the Government should
confirm institutions which doom those who have thus fallen into this condition,
incapable of ever recovering their liberty, or of rising to a level with their
fellow men! Independently of those principles, hostile to any restraint on
liberty, which are inmate in every British Government, and which, as con-
tained in our judicial code, without any express enactment on the subject,
have operated to check abuses of masters towards their slaves; and inde-
pendently also of those feelings, among free men, which naturally prompt
them to extend to every one under their Government the blessings which
freedom confers, it appears to the Board, on the mere calculating principle
of self interest and policy, to be desirable that no one should be deprived of
the means of acquiring property, or of diffusing those benefits among society
which proceed from an increase of capital and wealth.”
A second reason urged for the perpetuation of slavery, and
consequently an objection to its abolition, is the preservation of
children and adults in famine, by selling themselves for support.
On this view of the subject, which it must be confessed is one
of considerable delicacy and importance, several Indian Ma-
gistrates have given their opinion. The Magistrate of Zillah
Tiperah, under the Bengal Presidency, in 1816, writes—
“Report states that, in the Mogul Government, slavery existed
in the district of Sylhet to such a degree, that persons would
sell themselves as slaves to satisfy demands of rent; while others
would, from similar necessity, dispose of their own slaves. Even
at the present day it may be ascertained that some individuals,
in order to supply the immediate wants of nature, voluntarily
submit to a state of slavery, and dispose of their persons for
determinate services, so long as they may be capable of per-
forming them. Documents to this effect are executed in the
customary manner with other written engagements; and the
court may easily obtain them from the Magistrate of Sylhet.
Since necessity alone would compel any person to submit to
a state of slavery, it may, I presume, be inferred, that the
slavery herein noticed originates in the extreme poverty of
the lower orders of society, and to tolerate it, under certain
restrictions, would be preferable to exposing the poorer classes
of the community to the risk of perishing for want, by depriv-
ing them of the only ostensible resource left to enable them
to support existence.”f -
Relative to this state of things, it is judiciously observed,
by W. Leycester, Esq., the Second Judge of Bareilly—“I
know it is argued, that slaves in India are treated kindly;
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, p. 899. t p. 246.
2 B
370 - SLAVERY.
that they are comfortable; that in times of scarcity many
must starve and die, if people who have the means of feeding
them are not allowed to purchase them as slaves. Many, I
believe, are treated kindly; but that all are so, that there is not
a great deal of ill treatment, nobody will, I believe, assert; and
there is not a crime committed among mankind that has not, at
one time or other, produced an incidental good, and it would be
strange indeed if slavery were the only exception. But, it might
be considered an adequate inducement to deeds of charity, to
compensate them by the labours of the object of it, during
one generation, instead of aggravating the sorrows of acci-
dental necessity by slavery through all generations.”
The Second Judge of Moorshedabad in 1814, and the
Magistrate of Tanjore in 1825, recommend that in seasons of
great distress from famine, it should be allowed to sell children
for a limited period. The latter gentleman says—“In seasons
of great scarcity and distress it would perhaps be driving
parents to great extremities, and more abhorrent to human
nature, were any penalty attached to the sale of children by
their own parents, or to the purchase of them direct from
their parents; but the traffic should, in my opinion, be most
strictly prohibited from extending any further, and a person,
purchasing a child from its parents, should on no account
have the power of disposing of it to another.”f
A third objection to the suppression of slavery in India is
the supposed indifference of the slaves to their emancipation.
The Collector of the Southern Division of Canara, in 1801,
in describing the condition of the Daerds, advocates this
sentiment:—
“Slavery has been defined, “an obligation to labour for the benefit of the
master, without the contract or consent of the servant, the master at the
same time having the right to dispose of him by sale, or in any other way
to make him the property of a third person.” The sect of the Daerds who
are bought and sold, and who come nearest to the description of slaves,
differ from them in the following respects: first, their service is conditional;
a master, at the time of purchase, agrees to give them the usual allowance
of rice, cloth, &c.; if he fails, and refuses to do this, the Daerds are no
longer bound to serve him, and can recover the balance of allowance due
to them and their children. If the purchaser agrees to give the established
allowances, the Daerds cannot refuse to enter his service; but if, from any
real cause, they have a dread of their man, the old master will generally,
on being asked, keep them until he can get another purchaser. A master
cannot make a traffic of them; that is, he cannot put them up to public
sale, or transport them, either by sea or land, to any place where there are
not people of their own cast, which is confined to Canara; they can never
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, p. 345. See also pp. 300, 325,484.
t p. 930. See also p. 325.
SLAVERY. 371
be sent out of the province; they can even refuse to be sold out of the man-
ganny in which they are born. This sect of Daerds, and their children, may be
called “eonditional servants for ever.” Those of the Maurey Daerds, who are
attached to estates, have the same privilege as those just mentioned, except
that, in case of their landlord omitting to give them their regular allowance
of rice, &c., they cannot quit his lands; but, on making a complaint, they
can recover their right, with damages. All other descriptions of Daerds are
‘conditional servants on the male side for life;’ and in no case have they, so
long as their master feeds and clothes them according to usage, a right to
leave his service. Slavery is objected to, as being contrary to the funda-
mental principles of morality, because both men and women in that state,
it is said, are tempted to commit and excite others to crimes they would not
do in a free state. Supposing even that the service of the Daerds could be
construed slavery, which in my opinion it cannot, the same objection does
not apply to it, because, with them, it is merely the custom of their cast;
and they are in general more attached to their wives and families, who
live with them, than most other sects. So far, from conceiving there can be
any radical objection to this kind of service, I am of opinion it is productive
of very important political as well as moral good, and especially so, because
it is one of the soundest and most necessary props, to the support and even
existence of that meritorious spirit of industry and agriculture, with which
the natives of Canara are so peculiarly possessed.”
The interest of the slave proprietors, and not that of the
slaves, is the great question in these remarks. But who can
doubt whether slavery be better than freedom The records
of slavery, whether Eastern or Western, afford abundant proof
of the dissatisfaction, the poverty, the misery attendant upon
slavery, and, consequently, the desire of the slave to be free.
The following extract from the Par. Documents may suffice:
—“It is a question,” says M. Elphinstone, Esq., Resident of
Poona, in 1817, “how we are to treat slaves, subjects of his
Highness the Paishwa, who fly from their masters, also subjects
of his Highness, and take refuge in our camps. It is so obvious,
that we cannot open an asylum for fugitive slaves within the
Paishwa's territories, that I have hitherto directed persons in
these circumstances to be refused leave to reside in our camps;
but I shall be happy to be informed what is the proper course
in such cases, and generally what is the law relative to the
traffic in slaves, as far as is applicable to our forces in the
territories of allied princes.”f—That slaves generally are in-
different to freedom—to the acquisition of property—to eleva-
tion in society—will rarely bereceived by those at all acquainted
with that system, which, to use the words of Earl Minto, “must
be viewed as a violation of one of the first principles on which
society is constituted.”:
* Par, Papers on Slavery in India, pp. 550, 551.
† p. 172,
+ p. 332, † p
2 B 2
372 SLAVERY.
Another objection to the abolition of slavery occurs in the
Papers relative to Prince of Wales Island, viz. decreasing
the population.* There might be some appearance of pro-
priety in this remark, as it respected the resort to the Island
of Malays, Mahomedans, Chinese, and other nations who
are favourable to slavery ; but few of the advocates of slavery
can be insensible that this system is inimical to the increase
of population, and that its gains are “the price of blood.”—
“The great advantage to population (says the Judge of Bun-
dlecund in 1808), derived from the emancipation of slaves,
cannot be better illustrated than by quoting an example ad-
duced by Mr. Coxe, in his tour through the northern countries
of Europe. Speaking of the slavery of the Polish peasantry,
he has the following remarkable instance of the benefit accru-
ing from their manumission. A few nobles, of benevolent
hearts, “ and enlightened understandings, ventured upon the
expediency of giving liberty to their vassals. The event has
shewn this project to be no less judicious than humane; no
less friendly to their own interests than to the happiness of
their peasants. For it appears that, in the districts in which
the new arrangement has been introduced, the population of
the villages has been considerably increased, and the revenues
of their estates augmented in a triple proportion.” The first
nobleman who granted freedom to his peasants was Zamoiske,
formerly great Chancellor, who, in 1760, enfranchised six
villages in the palatinate of Moravia. These villages were,
in 1777, visited by the author of The Patriotic Letters. On
inspecting the parish registers of births from 1750 to 1760,
during the last ten years of slavery immediately preceding
their enfranchisement, he found the number of births 434; in
the first ten years of their freedom, from 1760 to 1770, 620;
and from 1770 to the beginning of 1777, 585 births. By these
extracts it appears that, during the first period, there were
only 434 births; second period, 620; third period, 770. If
we suppose an improvement of this sort to take place through-
out the kingdom, how great would be the increase of popula-
tion P’t The argument against slavery arising from its de-
populating tendency, is unanswerable.]
* Par. Papers, p. 440. t p. 301.
# “Upon the authority of Cape Papers of so recent a date as Dec. 1828,
the slave population is found, from recent enumeration, to have been nearly
stationary (in the Cape Colony) from 30 to 35,000, during the last twenty
years; although in that period, the free population of all classes and colours
has almost doubled itself. The deplorable statistics of our West India
Islands, where the slave population, as the registry proves, has actually de-
SLAVERY. 373
An objection to the abolition of slavery peculiar to the Ma-
homedans is made on the ground, that the injunctions of their
Prophet, prohibit any other than slaves attending on their
women, and that therefore they cannot dispense with slaves.
The nature of this objection, and the reply to it, are stated in
the communication of the European members of the Com-
mittee formed at Prince of Wales Island, in 1808, to consider
the propriety of the suppression of slavery in the Island.—“In
support of this opinion (say the Committee), they adduce a
passage in their Koran, which, on reference to Sale's transla-
tion of it,” the Committee find translated thus:—“And speak
unto the believing women, that they restrain their eyes and
preserve their modesty, and discover not their ornaments,
except what necessarily appeareth thereof; and let them
throw their veils over their bosoms, and not shew their orna-
ments unless to their husbands, or their fathers, or their
husbands' fathers, or their sons, or their husbands' sons, or
their brothers, or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or
their women, or the captives which their right hand may
possess, or unto such men as attend them and have no need
of women, or unto children who distinguish not the nakedness
of women; and let them not make a noise with their feet,
that their ornaments which they hide may thereby be dis-
covered.’ The undersigned deem it unnecessary to state to
the Honourable Board the import, in their opinion, of this
passage, or to elucidate it by remarking how much the man-
ners of the Mahomedan society, particularly of the poorer
classes, are in opposition to the doctrine deduced from it.
They beg leave to call the attention of the Honourable Board
to the following passage only of the Koran :-‘And unto such
of your slaves as desire a written instrument allowing them to
redeem themselves on paying a certain sum, write one, if you
know good in them, and give them of the riches of God, which
he hath given you.’t Which certainly not only directly en-
joins the emancipation of slaves, but exactly in the manner
suggested by the undersigned members. They, however, are
far from wishing to recommend the adoption of any measure
which might be generally disagreeable to the Mahomedan com-
munity, whether their objections to it originate in ignorant pre-
judice, or proceed from a regard to interest and convenience;
but they have good reason to believe that the opposition, even
creased 28,000 in six years! leaves us little to be surprised on this score.”—
Eclec. Rev., Jam. 1831, p. 37.
* Vol. ii. p. 192. t Sale's translation, vol. ii. p. 194.
374 . SLAVER.Y.
among the followers of the Mahomedan religion, to the eman-
cipation of slaves, is very partial, and confined almost entirely
to a few of the first rank.” -
The Mahomedans further state on the general principle of
this objection to the emancipation of slaves (to use the language
of the European member of the Committee who, with the
native members of it, dissented from his brethren): “By the
law of their Prophet, a Mussulman may have four wives, if he
can afford to maintain so many, and he is not restricted to any
mumber of concubines. His wives are generally chosen from
among the daughters of free men of equal rank with himself,
but his concubines can only be taken from among his slaves.
Now, say they, if all slaves are emancipated, or made simple
debtors, our concubines will of course have it in their power to
leave us, on paying the sum fixed upon as their value, which
in most instances they will be able to do, from the fruits of their
master's generosity; and, in this infant and confined settle-
ment, Mahomedans will find it difficult to meet with suitable
wives. It is considered by all Mahomedans, but particularly
among the higher class of Malays, a very great disgrace for a
woman, with whom he has once lived, to go with strange men,
or leave his house without his consent, which their emancipa-
tion will enable them to do, even while they are with child
by their master.”t The precept of the Koran enjoins giving
slaves “a written instrument, allowing them to redeem them-
selves on paying a certain sum.” Why oppose the abolition
of slavery with such a precept before them Is it not evidently
from other motives than those of respect to their religion ?
But the principal objection to the abolition of slavery, both
in the East and in the West, is that which arises from the
interest of the slave owners, and of the government. On this
view of the subject it is stated by W. B. Bayley, Esq., Secre-
tary to the Bengal Government in 1817,-‘‘With reference to
the extent to which domestic slavery exists in India, under
the established laws and usages of the Hindoos and Maho-
medans, and to the known habits and feelings of the people
relative to that point, the Vice President in council is of
opinion, that the greatest care should be observed to guard
against the prevalence of an impression, amongst the natives,
that any general or direct interference, in the existing relation
of master and slave, is contemplated by Government. Any
impression of that nature might be expected to excite feelings
of alarm and dissatisfaction; and on this ground it appears
* Par. Papers, p. 443. † p. 444.
SLAVERY. 375
to be of importance that the Government of Bombay should
avoid, as far as may be practicable, the official revival and
discussion of this question, after the deliberate consideration
which it has undergone in communication with the legal
authorities at this Presidency.”
The Collector of Trichinopoly, in 1818, gives his views
upon the difficulty of the question of the abolition of slavery,
in the following terms:—
“I shall submit my opinion, as to the policy, of abolishing this establish-
ment. There is something so revolting and abhorrent to an Englishman, in
the idea of slavery, that the advocates for its continuance in any shape must
ever labour under the disadvantage of pre-judgment. Notwithstanding this, I
shall endeavour to shew that, so far as relates to the revenue of this district (and
I trust my opinion will not be supposed to extend further), the abolition of
the puller system would be attended with the most ruinous consequences.
It has been the custom, to describe the pullers as the lowest order of society,
involved in wretchedness and misery, and reduced to a condition ‘scarcely
superior to that of the cattle which they follow at the plough.” In Mala-
bar, it would also appear, that the human form has even changed its wonted
appearance, and that the slaves are distinguishable by their diminutiveness.
This theme holds out a fine subject for declamation; but, so far as it relates
to this class of people in Trichinopoly, it is highly erroneous, inasmuch as
there is no class of people generally so athletic or tall as the pullers. It may
possibly be urged, that there is something degrading in a government being
concerned, in selling human beings, ‘like so many cattle.’ It would, perhaps,
be better if it could be avoided; but so long as the land continues possessed
by Brahmun meerassidars, who, by the immutable laws of cast, are pre-
vented personally exercising the offices of agriculture, I see no possible
means of collecting the revenue, nor of cultivating the land, without the
establishment of pullers (slaves). Divesting this discussion of national feel-
ing, the most obvious inconvenience and evil which attend it are—that a
man, for the sake of food and the other necessaries of life, is condemned to
perpetual labour. I exclude all unreasonable rigour on the part of the
master, because I have already shewn that the ruling principle of human
conduct, self interest, is conducive, in the present instance, to soften severity.
But whether this obligation to perpetual labour, on the part of the puller, is
not fully requited by a perpetual certainty of maintenance (for which those
who work for hire are often at a loss) may, I think, be fairly doubted. It
is, however, possible, that the advocates of freedom may think with Cicero,
and the third judge in Malabar, ‘Mihi liber esse non videtur, qui non ali-
quando nihil agit.”
“For the sake of argument, I will suppose that, by proclamation of go-
vernment, the establishment is directed to be abolished. In this case, I
apprehend, the direct consequences would be, either an immediate desertion
of the pullers in a body, or that they would remain in statu quo. The first
would be the natural conduct of any class of society having experienced ill
usage from their former masters; and the latter course would be adopted
by the pullers, if they had no reason to complain. If the pullers absconded,
no revenue could be collected; for who is to supply their place? And, in
this case, would Government have any claim on the meerassidars? The
* Par. Papers, p. 335.
376 SLAVERY.
latter would maturally say, you have taken away our means of paying; you
have reduced us to poverty; you have abolished an establishment which has
existed for ages, and have thought proper, at our expense, to emancipate
our slaves, which prescription and our laws made as much our property as
the houses we live in. By the laws of our cast, we are prevented tilling our
. ; and yet you ask us to pay a revenue which alone can be paid from its
TOOill Cé.
prº Should the proclamation have only the effect of leaving things as they
are ; if the pullers remained with their masters, the only benefit resulting
would be, that Government had published a proclamation without any atten-
tion being paid to it. It would be at best a useless, if not a dangerous do-
cument. Hence to emancipate them entirely would be ruinous in its con-
sequences, to the revenue and the puller; for emancipation in India would
confer no rights beyond what the puller at present enjoys. Though nomi-
mally emancipated, he and his children would remain the lowest order of
society; he would either continue at the plough, possibly under less favour-
able circumstances than at present, or seek a livelihood by more daring
means. I have no doubt, as observed by the Board, that “it might be dan-
gerous too suddenly to disturb the long established relations in society, sub-
sisting between those two orders.” -
To these remarks, the report of Mr. Graeme on Malabar, in
1822, furnishes, it is presumed, a very satisfactory reply.—
“The most serious objections I have heard, against any active measure
in favour of the slaves of Malabar, are the violation of the rights of private
property which it would involve, the necessity to which the proprietors would
be subjected of paying more for labour, employed in the cultivation of their
lands, and the difficulty which slaves would have of subsisting, if left to
their own resources.
“It is not requisite to make such an abrupt innovation, upon established
rites and customs, as to declare the slaves to be free forthwith ; but, a pros-
pect should be opened of eventual but gradual emancipation, and proprietors
should be indemnified by the payment of a maximum price, which should pre-
viously be ascertained for each district, and promulgated. To set the exam-
ple, Government might be disposed to sanction the occasional appropriation
of small sums annually to the purchase of slaves, and to accept slaves in
payment of arrears of revenue, which from being too heavy, it might, at all
events be advisable to remit; but, in all these cases, the wishes of the indi-
viduals themselves should be consulted, and they should not be emanci-
pated, unless they feel confident of being able to earn their own livelihood
without assistance. Slaves should also have the power of redeeming them-
selves from servitude, whenever the exertions of their, own industry may
place them in a state of indemnifying their masters for the loss of their
rights of property over them. The magistrate should have the power of
fining or emancipating for ill treatment. It need not be apprehended that
these provisions would bring about an emancipation too rapidly; but the
knowledge of their future operation would, in the mean time, act as a stim-
ulus to the activity of the slaves, and it would insure better treatment on the
part of the proprietors. Slaves, thus cautiously emancipated, would not be
likely to leave their usual places of residence as long as they afforded the
necessary means of subsistence: and that in most cases they would, there
can be little doubt; for there could be nothing to diminish the demand of
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, pp. 893, 894.
SLAVERY. 377
their old masters for their services. They would therefore still be living on
the old estates, but more comfortably and respectably, and probably less
addicted to the petty pilfering of which their masters now accuse them. A
great improvement might be expected to take place in the state of cultiva-
tion in the province; for not only would the old slaves work more cheerfully,
and with more effect, but many proprietors in the southern division, who
from indolence leave every thing to their slaves, would be inclined to betake
themselves to manual labour, when they found that they were obliged to
pay higher for it in others. Upon the principles of these observations, I
have drawn out a Regulation respecting slaves, which I have submitted to
Government through the Board of Revenue. The cautious nature of the
different provisions renders it easy to apply it to Canara as well as Malabar,
without inconvenience; for, though in Canara slavery may be considered
to exist in a milder form, its gradual supercession would be attended with
benefit.* .
“Upon an assurance from themselves, that they would earn a more liberal
subsistence in a free state, I purchased and emancipated at Calicut, under
deeds registered in the Zillah Courts, a woman of about fifty-two years of
age, her son of thirty-one, her daughter twenty-five, with an infant in her
arms, and the husband of her daughter of thirty-five. They are of the
Kalladee cast. They feel, I believe, some degree of awkwardness at not
having some tambran, or patron, to look up to; and their neighbours, who
derived no pleasure from the example of emancipation thus commenced,
endeavoured, and in part succeeded, in instilling into them the idea that
they were purchased, with no other motive than that of being conveyed by
sea to some distance on a good opportunity; but their alarm was not so
great, as to prevent their communicating the report to me on being asked.
They were every day engaged out at work, upon terms which secured them
a comfortable livelihood, so that I have little doubt that their freedom will
promote their comfort and happiness.”f
From these various documents it is evident, that slavery,
though of a milder and consequently less destructive nature
than that of the West Indies, exists to a considerable extent
in British India.
The following extract of a letter to the author, from a West
Indian gentleman in London, in 1829, shews, in a clear and
forcible manner, the difference between the nature of East
and West India slavery;-
“I avail myself of —- 's intended reply to your communication, to
trouble you with some remarks on East Indian slavery. I have myself, with
some considerable attention, gone through the Parliamentary Papers, and
have made the same remarks as yourself, relating to the unsatisfactory in-
telligence respecting Bengal, the sugar district of India. The information
relative to Madras, without being very full, is precise on some very impor-
tant points; such as the division of the produce of the soil between those
bondmen who cultivate and those who possess it;-a feature which makes
all the difference between East and West Indian slavery. I should pre-
mise, that I am myself a West Indian, and recently from the West Indian
* It would be gratifying, by the publication of another volume of Par.
Papers on Slavery in India, to know that this Regulation had been adopted.
f Par. Papers on Slavery in India, p. 923,
378 SLAVERY.
colonies; therefore well acquainted with Colonial slavery. And, being
thus able to judge, I confess I see nothing in the details of East Indian
servitude, that can, in any way, identify it with that of our West India
colonies. *
“But the fact of the existence of Indian slavery will serve the West In-
dians very little—for the controversy is not about slavery, but the system of
slave labour, and its moral and physical evils. , Had the crying injustice of
uncompensated toil, and the cruelties attending the system of coercion
which necessarily grows out of it, not been made a part and parcel of West
Indian slavery, I doubt whether the existence of slavery, as an abstract
question of right and wrong, would have ever deeply interested the people
of England.* I do not see in India, that a case is made out at all anal-
ogous to the monstrous evils attending this institution in our Transatlantic
possessions.
“In regard to subsistence, and reward for their labour, we have this dis-
tinct statement from Mr. Lushington, and other Collectors of Madras, that
the pullers, besides certain gratuities at marriages, funerals, births, and
festivals, have certain yearly emoluments arising out of the cultivated lands.
Thus to each puller and pullee is assigned a cultivation of 150 cullums of
rice. Out of this their annual emolument is each man eight cullums and
a half, and to each woman six and a half. As this for every man and wo-
man gives the relative number of 15 to 150, the emoluments of a man and
woman amount to a perquisite of ten per cent. on their joint labour. Be-
sides these, they have certain fixed stipends for ploughing and sowing; they
reap at five per cent. each; they thrash at five per cent.; and, the fixed
gratuities to be paid at festivals being settled by long prescriptive custom,
considerable addition is made to their income. Mr. Lushington estimates
the emoluments of each cultivator at 19 per cent. on the proceeds of his la-
bour. If a West Indian proprietor were compelled to apportion to each
negro slave, nearly one-fifth of the produce of his estate as the payment of
their labour, and to take, with the remaining four-fifths, all the expenses and
contingencies attending the capital invested, I think we should hear little of
the obstinacy of the planter, in not acceding to laws tending eventually to
abolish the existing relations between the cultivator and proprietor.
“It is difficult to gather from the Parliamentary Papers, what is the staple
cultivation of the Madras Presidency besides rice. From what I can col-
lect in the Oriental Herald, for Sep. 1829, page 546, in some inquiries con-
nected with the landed tenures and agriculture in Madras and Bombay,
cultivation is almost wholly dependent on irrigation, and in Southern India,
rice is the great staple of agriculture. In regard to sugar, it is only neces-
sary to attend minutely to the details respecting its manufacture, in the
Eastern and Western world, to see that, cultivated by whomsoever it may,
it is entirely divested of the evils attendant on the driving system with us in
the West Indian colonies. There are certain Papers laid before Parlia-
ment, entitled the East India. Sugar Papers, which shew this circumstance.
—The facts will be seen in a pamphlet entitled, “East India Sugar, or An
Inquiry,’ &c., Hatchard, 1824. It appears that the Asiatic sugar is grown
in small fields, tilled by the ryot, his family, and dependents; that the canes
are cut, and the juice expressed, by moveable mills, and then boiled in
earthen vessels, in the fields in which the canes are grown. In this state
it forms an unclarified and ungranulated mass, called goor, which is brought
to market and sold to the sugar manufacturer. Beyond this process, the
* See Wilberforce's Appeal, pp. 53, 54.
SLAVERY. 379
cultivator has nothing whatever to do with the commodity. In all this
there can be no driving system, because there is no extensive cultivation;
no extensive capital invested, no working eighteen hours during crop, and .
nó uncompensated labour, to render the profit as great as possible on a large
capital, afloat in elaborating the article of commerce.”
More particular information is requisite on the subject of
slavery in India, relative to the actual number of slaves; ‘the
'relations of master and slave;’ the nature of the employment
of slaves, their provision, increase or decrease, &c.
Though the Par. Papers contain 418 folio pages respecting
slavery in the Bengal Presidency, not a single item appears
which may furnish data on which to ascertain the number of
slaves in this part of India. This must be considered a serious
defect, in this valuable collection of official documents. The
same remark applies to the Presidency of Bombay; and as it
respects Madras, with a few exceptions supplied by the Col-
lectors, but little information can be procured of the actual
number of slaves. The want of laws, to regulate the conduct
of the owners of slaves, appears a very great evil in East In-
dian slavery. What can justify such sentiments as the fol-
lowing, before referred to, “We desire that you will be ex-
tremely cautious in making any regulation for defining the
relations of master and slave. It is our wish to improve the
condition of the latter to the utmost extent, and we fear that,
in defining the power of masters, acts of compulsion might be
legalized, which by custom are not now tolerated, and the
slaves might be placed in a worse condition than before.”*
Is uncertain custom better than law How can the treat-
ment of the slave be known, while there are no written pub-
lished laws to which he can appeal. Is not this procedure
calculated to keep the degraded slave in statu quo 2 From
the Madras papers some idea may be formed of the nature of
the employment of slaves, and the provision allowed them;
but more full information is desirable.
Whether the slave population increases or decreases does
not appear. The destructive influence of slavery in some of
the West Indian Islands is most appalling. “Into Jamaica
alone, since the conquest (in 1665), when there were in it
about 40,000 slaves, not less than 850,000 Africans have
been imported; making a total of 890,000, exclusive of all
the births which have taken place during that period. And
yet, at the present moment, the slave population of the
Island does not exceed 345,000 ! No fewer than 545,000
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, p. 901.
380 SLAVERY.
slaves more than now exist there have been imported into
this single island! It is for Jamaica to account for so great
a waste of life.” It may be presumed, from the compara-
tively mild nature of slavery in the East, that it is not so
prejudicial to the increase, civilization, and happiness of the
human race, as the slavery of the West; but more particular
information is necessary to form a correct judgment of its
real nature and influence. Every friend of humanity must
desire, that the philanthropic and successful advocate in Par-
liament of the abolition of Suttees in the East, and of Slavery
in the West, through whom the successive volumes of Par.
Papers, respecting the Suttee, have been procured, and like-
wise the massive volume of Papers on East India Slavery,
may be enabled to procure that further information, respect-
ing slavery in India, that may ultimately lead to its abolition
in every part of the eastern dominions of Great Britain.
It is the imperious duty of Britain to meliorate, and even-
tually abolish slavery in every part of her dominions. It is
not the author's design to touch the subject of West Indian
slavery—nor is it necessary; so many valuable works having
been published upon that subject. Slavery in the East may
be greatly mitigated by the benign influence of the British
Government; and the Madras Board of Revenue, in 1819,
suggested, “that the further purchase of free persons as slaves
should be declared invalid and illegal, and all children here-
after born slaves should be free; that however any person
might contract, in writing, for a term of years, or for life, such
contract should be binding only upon the individual who
executes it; that slaves should be held competent to possess
property, and to dispose of it, without their masters' inter-
ference: that the purchase of female children, to be educated
as prostitutes, should be prohibited: that owners of slaves
should be bound to provide wholesome food for them, as well
as clothing, and not to neglect them in sickness, age, or infir-
mity: that they should be deprived of the power of corporeal
punishment; that slaves, ill-treated by their masters, should
be allowed to change owners; that a breach of the law should
enfranchise the slave; that slaves should be allowed to pur-
chase their liberty at the price paid for it; and that slaves
attached to lands which may escheat to Government should
be liberated.” In 1824, the Court of Directors desired the
Madras Government to be “extremely cautious in making
* East and West India Sugar (Hatchard), p. 34.
† Asi. Jour, Jan. 1829, p. 30. Par. Papers, p. 900.
SLAVERY. 38]
any regulation for defining the relations of master and slave.”
In Feb. 1826, (says the Asiatic Journal,) “the Governor in
Council of Madras declares, that the views and opinions above
expressed coincide entirely with his own.” This speaks little
for the speedy melioration, we say not abolition, of slavery in
this part of India. Why is Britain so timid, so tardy, in con-
ferring upon her Asiatic subjects the blessings of freedom
It is important that the state of slavery in India should be
more fully and generally known, and the practicability and
utility of its entire suppression pressed upon the attention of
the Legislature.”
The adoption and encouragement of free labour are of great
importance in promoting the abolition of slavery. Its utility
in the cultivation of indigo in India is very apparent. The
first few chests arrived in England in 1787: it is now esti-
mated to employ nearly 500,000 free persons, and the article
has ceased to be cultivated by slaves. “It is not known that
there is any indigo whatever cultivated by slave labour, al-
though, from the nature of things, it may be difficult to ascer-
tain it with certainty; the quantity, however, if any, must be
exceedingly small.”f It is a question of much interest—Is
East India sugar the product of slave labour or not? This
has been asserted by some writers, and positively denied by
others. It is evident, from the Papers on Eastern Slavery,
that the greatest number of slaves is found on the Malabar
coast. No sugars are exported from Malabar, but it is stated,
that sugar is imported for home consumption. In Bengal,
the great sugar province of India, the number of slaves, com-
pared with other parts of Hindostan, appears comparatively
small. The Bengal Board of Trade, in 1792, observe, “In
* The following extract appears interesting:—“Sir Thomas Smith (Sec-
retary to Edward VI.) testifies, that he never knew any villain in gross,
throughout the realm, and the few villains regardant remaining, were such
only as belonged to Bishops, monasteries, or other ecclesiastical corporations,
in the preceding times of Popery. His words are, ‘The holy fathers,
monks and friars, had at their confessions, and specially in their extreme and
deadly sickness, convinced the laity how dangerous a practice it was, for
one Christian man to hold another in bondage: so that temporal men by little
and little, by reason of that horror in their consciences, were glad to manumit
all their villains. But the said holy fathers, with the abbots and priors, did
not in like sort by theirs; for they had a scruple in conscience to empoverish
and despoil the church so much, as to manumit such as were bound to their
churches, or to the manors which the church had gotten; and so kept their
villains still.”—By the statute of Charles II. the tenure in villainage was
virtually abolished, and at that time there was hardly a pure villain (or slave,)
left in the nation.”—Blackstone's Com. vol. ii. p. 96.
t See “A short Review of the Slave Trade,” &c., Birmingham, 1827.
382 SLAVERY.
this country the cultivator is either the immediate proprietor
of the ground or he hires it, as in Europe, of the proprietor;
and uses his discretion in cultivating what he thinks best
adapted to the nature of the soil, or the demand of the mar-
ket. One field produces sugar, the next wheat, rice, or cot-
ton. The Bengal peasantry are freemen, and are, in the usual
course of nature, replaced by their children. The Bengal
peasant is actuated by the ordinary wants and desires of man-
kind. His family assist his labour and soothe his toil, and
the sharp eye of personal interest guides his judgment. In
the West Indies, the whole labour of the ground is performed
by hand, with the spade or hoe. Here the ox and plough,
as in Europe, lessen the labour of man and facilitate the pro-
ductions of the earth.” Slave labour is not an item in the
different estimates given of the price of cultivating sugar.
Mr. Udny, resident at Malda, in 1793, writes, “The expense
of cultivating one bigah (about 1600 square feet) is estimated
at 8ru. 8an, whereof the particulars are, -
- 7°20's (Lºs
Hire of ploughs, oxen, &c. . . . . . . . 1 12

Cooly (labourers) hire . . . . . . . 0 14
Do, weeding eight times . . . . . . . . 4 0
Do. cutting and bringing earth. , 0 8
Do. tying canes four times 1 0
Petty charges . * O 6
8 8.”+
sºmºrºsmºsº
“But we may spare ourselves the trouble, (says the Anti-
Slavery Reporter, for Sep. 1829,) of confuting the elaborate
misstatements of our adversaries on this question. The con-
troversy is fast tending to its termination. The march of
events will scarcely leave room, much longer, either for mis-
representation or misapprehension. The facilities already
given in Bengal, by Lord W. Bentinck, to the investment of
British capital, and the development of British skill in the
cultivation of the soil; the almost certainty that those fiscal
regulations which have hitherto depressed the growth of sugar
in Bengal, and prevented the large increase of its imports into
* “Papers respecting the cultivation and manufacture of sugar in British
India.” 1822, pp. 53, 60, 146. See also pp. 32, 92, &c. -
+ For an ample investigation of this question, see “A Letter to W. W.
Whitmore, Esq. M. P., in reply to the erroneous statements of the late J.
Marryat, Esq. on the subject of slavery in the East Indies.” Hatchard, 1823.
Ori. Herald., Oct. 1829. The Anti-Slavery Reporter, Sep. 1829. East
India Slavery by G. Saintsbury, Tilt, Fleet Street, &c. -
SLAVERY. 383
this country, will soon be repealed; the prospect of an early
removal of the other restrictions, which still fetter the com-
merce of our Eastern possessions; the rapidly increasing po-
pulation and prosperity of Hayti; the official statements of
Mr. Ward, as to the profitable culture of sugar by free labour
in Mexico; and the rapid extension of the manufacture of
beet-root sugar in France (a prelude, as we conceive, to its
introduction into this country, and especially into Ireland); all
these circumstances, combined, afford a promise which can
scarcely fail of seeing a death blow inflicted on the culture of
sugar by slave labour.”
Much encouragement may be derived, as it respects the
abolition of slavery in British India, from the just and hu-
mane sentiments on the subject, frequently eacpressed by the
functionaries of the Indian Government, from the eartent of
our power, and the general abhorrence in which slavery is
held in Britain.
The author, while arranging the contents of the voluminous
Papers on East India Slavery, noticed some of the excellent
sentiments of the authorities in India relative to the nature
and injurious tendency of Slavery; they are as follow:—
“I make no scruple to declare my opinion, that absolute unconditional
slavery, by which one human creature becomes the property of another, like
a horse or an ox, is happily unknown to the law of England; and that no
human law could give it a just sanction.”—Sir W. Jones.
“It is impossible to think without horror of whole generations being born
to slavery.”f—T. C. Metcalfe, Esq., Resident at Delhi.
“The British retain the rights of their birth, and ought also to retain all
the relations connected with the British character—to which, it is equally
abhorrent to be the master of slaves, as to endure slavery.”:—W. Thackery,
Esq., Chief Secretary to Government, Calcutta.
“Slavery is a practice which is always liable to be attended with the
greatest abuse; and which, however mild and unobjectionable it may
sometimes be in its application, must still be viewed, as a violation of one of
the first principles on which society is constituted.”—Lord Minto.
“Slavery under any shape, or if it bears only the name, is so repugnant
to every principle of enlightened administration, and so inconsistent with
your Lordship's benevolent plans, that I fear I should not stand excused in
my defence of such a system, under any modifications or circumstances what-
ever.”—Sir Stamford Raffles.
“Slavery is the greatest of all evils; and the attempt to regulate such an
evil is in itself almost absurd. There is no excuse for continuing the prac-
tice in India, a country fully peopled, and where cultivation and commerce
can be carried on by free men.” T-Governor Farquhar.
“Slavery in its mildest forms is degrading to the minds of Britons.”—
W. E. Phillips, Esq., Governor of Prince of Wales Island.
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, p. 9. f. p. 105. f. p. 147.
§ p. 172. || p. 157. See pp. 303,317. "I p. 434, ºp. 435.
384 SLAVERY.
“Nothing, perhaps, is so revolting as the idea of hereditary slavery. It
might be considered an adequate inducement to deeds of charity to com-
pensate them by the labours of the object of it during one generation, in-
stead of aggravating the sorrows of accidental necessity, by slavery through
all generations.”—W. Leycester, Esq., Judge of Bareilly.
Let such sentiments as these, become general among those
who hold in their hands the destinies of India, and it may be
justly anticipated, that slavery at no very distant period will
be annihilated. † -
The influence of the British Government in India is great,
and may safely and successfully be exerted in abolishing
slavery and every inhuman custom. It was justly remarked,
by the late Bishop Heber, that in India, “our will is our law.”
Let Britain sincerely will the good of India, and what may not
be accomplished The present time is eventful; may it be
improved. To use the language of Mr. Graeme's Report on
Malabar, in 1822,-‘‘It matters not that many worthless
characters are in worse circumstances than the slave; the
question is—whether slaves are as comfortable as they ought
to be, and whether they acquire as much by their own in-
dustry, in servitude, as they would in a free state 2 Their con-
dition is undoubtedly improved considerably under the Com-
pany’s government; for the British law has extended its protec-
tion to them in common with all, againstinjury to their lives or
limbs, or any great severity of ill usage; but British justice
and humanity are not satisfied till they have accomplished,
by rational means, all the good that is capable of being done.
The general tranquillity which prevails through the British
empire in India, seems to present a favourable opportunity
for commencing the work of amelioration, and to withhold it
would be to sanction the perpetuity of slavery.”f
Slavery is justly held in abhorrence in Britain; and, as the
nature and prevalence of this evil in British India are known
and lamented, measures will be proposed and urged upon the
attention of the Legislature for its abolition." This state of
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, p. 345.
f “These different public establishments (the Botanic Gardens at Cal-
cutta) used to be all cultivated by the convicts in chains. In the Botanic
Garden their labour is now supplied by peasants hired by the day or week,
and the exchange is found cheap, as well as otherwise advantageous and
agreeable; the labour of freemen here, as elsewhere, being infinitely cheaper
than that of slaves.” (Heber's Journ., vol. i. p. 43.)
† Par. Papers on Slavery in India, p. 922.
§ “In the British Parliament, Slavery, and the questions relevant to it,
will always be the object of serious discussion. Orators, not less distin-
guished by the brilliancy of their talent, than by the solidity of their virtue,
SLAVERY. 385
society is inimical to human happiness, and opposed to the
improvement and elevation of our species. The author trusts
he may adopt the language of the Judge of Bundlecund,
whose proposed judicious Regulations on the subject of slavery
appear to have been disregarded.—“I have endeavoured to
point out some of the inconveniences of systematic slavery,
and aimed at displaying the future advantages of abolishing
so inhuman an institution. Aware of the great importance,
and convinced of the caution, with which innovation should
be attempted, or the ancient laws, customs, or prejudices of a
people infringed, I presume not even to sketch the mode or
to fia: the period of general emancipation ; and perhaps the
sudden manumission of those now actually in a state of bon-
dage, though abstractly just, might be politically unwise; but,
there can eacist no good reason, either political or humane,
against the British government prohibiting the purchase or
sale of all slaves, legitimate or illegitimate, after a specified
time, and likewise ordaining and declaring that all children,
male and female, born of parents in a state of slavery, shall
from a like date be free.
“Should my humble arguments on the subject draw the
attention of men possessed of more ability, to investigate and
determine the propriety of establishing personal liberty on the
British model, throughout the Company’s provinces, as well
as invested with power to extend relief to the objects of my
regard, so as to promote a mitigation of their miserable situa-
tion, I shall deem myself well rewarded, having no end in
view but the honour of my country, and the happiness of my
fellow creatures.”*
But Britain has a greater boon, than civil liberty, to bestow
upon her enslaved and superstitious subjects in the East:—
& 4 There is yet a liberty, unsung
By poets, and by senators unpraised;
'Tis liberty of heart, derived from heaven—
Bought with His blood, who gave it to mankind.”—
This liberty is revealed in the Gospel.-‘If the Son shall
make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” For what purpose is
India subjected to Britain, by His fiat who “ruleth in the
r —-
seconded from without the walls of the senate, by the writings of men gifted
with the same qualities, will continue to raise their voice in favour of justice
and Christian charity. These accents, repeated by the periodical press, will
at length resound through each hemisphere, and prove the knell of Slavery.”
Ori. Herald, vol. xiv. p. 96. “On Nobility of Skin.”—See also “The
Death-warrent of Negro Slavery,” 1829, p. 23.
* Par. Papers on Slavery in India, p. 303.
2 C
386 SLAVERY.
kingdom of men, and He appointeth over it whomsoever he
will?”—Is it not to make his glory known, and hasten the
period when it shall be sung in heaven—“The kingdoms of
this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his
Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever ?” O Britain, my
beloved country, consider thy high destiny, and labour, by
the messengers of heaven's mercy to man, to make “His way
known upon the earth, his saving health among all nations.”
“Britain! thy voice can bid the dawn ascend;
On thee alone the eyes of Asia bend.
High Arbitress! to thee her hopes are given
Sole pledge of bliss and delegate of heaven.
In thy dread mantle all her fates repose,
Or bright with blessing, or o'ercast with woes;
And future ages shall thy mandate keep,
Smile at thy touch, or at thy bidding weep.
Oh! to thy godlike destiny arise!
Awake and meet the purpose of the skies!
Wide as thy sceptre waves, let India learn
What virtues round the shrine of empire burn.
Let gentle arts awake at thy behest,
And science soothe the Hindoo's mournful breast.
Be thine the task, his drooping eye to cheer
And elevate his hopes beyond the sphere,
To brighter heavens, than proud Sumeeru owns,
Though girt by Indra and his burning thrones.
Then shall he recognise the beams of day,
And fling at once the fourfold chain away;
Through every limb, a sudden life shall start,
And sudden pulses spring around his heart;
Then all their deadened energies shall rise
And vindicate their title to the skies:
Be these thy trophies, Queen of many Isles!
Yes, it shall come! E’en now my eyes behold,
In distant view, the wish’d for age unfold;
Lo, o'er the shadowy days that roll between,
A wandering gleam foretels th’ ascending scene.
Oh! doom'd victorious from thy wounds to rise,
Dejected India, lift thy downcast eyes,
And mark the hour, whose faithful steps to thee,
Through Time's press'd ranks, brings on the jubilee.”
* Grant's Revival of Learming in the East. 1805.
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BOOK WI.
C O L ON I Z AT I O N.
CHAP. I.
Introductory remarks—general outline of Colonization in
India—necessity of Colonization in India, arising from
the state of its agriculture and manufactures, the general
imattention to improvement, and the permicious influence
of cast—the eartent of uncultivated land, and the state of
some of the native tribes—the state of learning, morals, and
Teligion—the paucity of European inhabitants and Chris-
tian ministers—and the slow progress of the civilization
and evangelization of India.
THE Roman who uttered the well-known sentiment, “I
am a man, and feel a concern in every thing that relates to
mankind,” has been commended by succeeding generations.
The author trusts that the motives which have led him to
discuss the subject of this book, are of a philanthropic cha-
racter. The observation of the late Bishop Heber, on the
state of things in the East, demands the serious consideration
of every friend of Britain, and of British India.—“It was
painful to me to think, how few relics, if the English were
now expelled from India, would be left behind, of their reli-
gion, their power, or their civil and military magnificence.
Still little, very little, is done, in comparison with all which
is to do.” How similar to the reproach which Burke thundered
against his countrymen in the East, nearly fifty years ago, and
the cause of which is far from being rolled away;-“Were
we to be driven out of India this day, nothing would remain
to tell that it had been possessed, during the inglorious period
of our dominion, by any better than the ouran-outang or the
tiger!” One of the greatest antidotes to the evils previously
considered in this volume, is Colonization in India. “A
2 C. 2
388 COLONIZATION.
thorough freedom of commercial intercourse, between the
European and Indian dominions of the Crown, and an unre-
stricted settlement of Englishmen in India, are the grand and
essential instruments for improving our Eastern Colonies, and
rendering them useful to the mother country.” It has been
justly observed, “The prospect of benefit to England herself,
by the extended commerce to which the free settlement of
Englishmen in India would give rise, is almost boundless;
and the apathy and indifference of the merchants and manu-
facturers of Great Britain to this matter, to say nothing of
patriots and philanthropists, is to be accounted for, only by a
supposition of their want of information on the subject.” The
system of monopoly by which India has been governed, is
fraught with innumerable evils. “Monopoly,” says the late
Mr. Huskisson, “always produces an indifference to improve-
ment; and the prohibitory system by which it is upheld, is
fertile in inconveniences and crimes.” The author trusts that
the perusal of this book will lead to the views which dictated
the following sentiment;-“To talk of preserving such a sys-
tem is to war with the unconquerable instincts of nature, and the
consenting testimony of experience; the plainest dictates of
justice, and the irrefragable conclusions of political wisdom.
But the days are numbered during which it will be permitted
to cumber the ground; and whoever shall contribute to its
entire subversion, will deserve well of his country, of India,
and of mankind.”
A general outline of Colonization in India, has been
stated in an able work recently published, entitled, “An
Inquiry into the ea pediency of applying the principles of
Colonial Policy to the Government of India,” &c. It is as
follows: —
“Bengal is about the same size as Great Britain, and contains about
30,000,000 of cultivated acres. The revenue collected in Bengal is less
than three millions and a half; in Britain it is more than fifty millions. In
Bengal the value of the gross produce of the land, is little more than £1
per acre, and the expense of cultivation, from the waste of labour, and in-
efficiency of implements, averages three-fourths of the gross produce; in
Britain it is £5 per acre, and the expense of cultivation less than one-third
of the gross produce. . So that though the gross produce of Great Britain
exceeds that of Bengal only five-fold, its met produce exceeds that of the
latter twelve-fold. In Bengal a gross produce of £32,000,000, divided among
the number of persons employed in agriculture, gives £1 7s. for each indi-
vidual; in Britain a gross produce of £150,000,000, averages £37 10s. for
each individual employed in agriculture. . In the West Indies, the yearly
value of the produce exported, exclusive of what is consumed by the inha-
bitants themselves, is £13 18s. 6d. per head, for man, woman, and child,
black and white.
COLONIZATION. 389
“The disproportionate productiveness between the eastern and western
possessions of Great Britain, as evinced in this statement, is so striking, as
to force itself upon the attention, and to compel an inquiry even from the
most phlegmatic, as to the causes which produce it. No one will attribute
this difference to the superior fertility of the west, when compared with that
of the east; so far from this being the case, the contrary is too notorious to
be disputed. To what other cause then can it be owing, unless to the su-
perior cultivation and improved means of agriculture which have been in-
troduced by European colonists into the west; while the inefficient practices,
which have been continued for centuries, and have descended from genera-
tion to generation, each blindly following, with a paramount dread of inno-
vation, in the steps of the preceding one, have succeeded in checking, in the
east, the bounteous gifts which nature has bestowed, and in reducing the
overflowing abundance which the land yearns to pour forth, to a bare and
scanty subsistence for its impoverished inhabitants.-Analogy drawn from
the West Indian settlements, would indicate Colonization as the plan to be
adopted; and this will be found to be the only safe and effectual remedy
for all the evils under which India now labours.
“All legal obstacles being removed [to Colonization in India], the sim-
plest operation that would follow, would be the sale of waste lands, by Govern-
ment, and by private persons, to Europeans, without reservation, or future
imposition of any tax or rent. It would not be easy to reckon the advan-
tages which these transactions would immediately produce. The demand
for labourers would occasion a desirable rise of wages among the poorer
class of the community. The rise would not affect those ryots who are at-
tached to their own hereditary farms or estates; but the benefit being less
extended, would be more sensibly felt; and the improvement in the condi-
tion of labourers, as compared with that of ryots, would facilitate the con-
version of ryots into labourers; a conversion which it would be the principal
object of the proposed measures ultimately to effect, wherever the range of
their influence extended. Each undertaking would also be a school of agri-
culture, a focus whence instruction would be disseminated more effectually
than from the experimental farms projected by Lord Wellesley, without oc-
casioning any expense to Government, but being, on the contrary, the germs
of an infinite augmentation of its resources. The means of transport, by land
and water, would be improved, so as greatly to reduce the expense of convey-
ance to remote markets; while the increase of Europeans, and the diffusion
of a taste for the productions of Europe among the natives, would continu-
ally extend the export trade from Britain, the limitation of which used to
be an argument with the Company against throwing open the trade, and
still is with West India proprietors, against an equalization of duties on the
sugars of both hemispheres.
“When the land, to be purchased by a European, had been already in
a state of cultivation, the operation would be somewhat complex. For after
he had paid its price to the Zemindar, and redeemed the land tax from Go-
vernment (say at sixteen years' purchase), it would still be necessary that he
should purchase the interests which the ryots on his estate held in the por-
tions which they occupied, so that nothing should stand between him and
the use of the soil. The nature of these bargains would vary according to
circumstances, and the compensation in each case would depend on a com-
parative estimate of what the respective parties were about to surrender on
the one hand, and to acquire on the other. Wherever the situation of the
ryot was superior, in point of earnings, to that of a hired labourer, the in-
terest he would have to dispose of would be more tangible and susceptible
390 - COLONIZATION.
of estimation; but even in those innumerable cases where it was worse, he
would yet have to exchange the certainty of a subsistence, however scanty
and wretched, for the fluctuating demand of the market of labour. As the
superfluity of hands was drawn off from the old lands, their services would
be required on the new, and in other operations connected with the prepara-
tion and circulation of an increasing quantity of commodities; and as these
transactions would be contemporaneous, the balance would still be in fa-
vour of the demand for labour, so as to keep the reward allotted to it per-
manently above the former average. During the progress of this change,
there would be a gradual tendency to fix, in the mind of the labourer, a
higher standard of physical comforts than he or his ancestors had been ac-
customed to ; and population would, at last, so adjust itself, as to enable
him to command all the conveniences that philanthropy could wish to see
him enjoy.
“After about forty or fifty thousand European heads of families had es-
tablished themselves as agriculturalists, merchants, and tradesmen, in the
territories subject to the Bengal Presidency, and a like proportion in the
other Presidencies, it would be time to permit the natives to redeem their
land-tax, and the rights of occupancy of their ryots, so as ultimately and
universally to effect a radical change in the Indian system of landed tenure.
An increasing proportion of natives, especially of those born since the tran-
sition was in progress, would then be qualified, by emulating their British
or Creole brethren, to avail themselves of the new advantages opened to
them by a strong and liberal Government; and to cast off the slough of In-
dian habits and prejudices. It would then also be time to make the English
the medium of all public business, and to extend to native Christians eligi-
bility to the highest civil and military offices; at the same time that the
unconverted might be admitted into many from which they are now ex-
cluded. At an early period of the new era, it would be expedient to re-
form the Government, by substituting, for the present Council, at each of the
Presidencies, two legislative bodies, on the model of those of Jamaica, but
from electors and elected, the qualification to be required ought not to be
genealogical, that is, to refer to shades of complexion, but to property and
religion. When circumstances rendered such a change practicable, the
upper house would be composed of peers and prelates. As soon as the ma-
terials for such a fabric existed, its construction would be rendered impera-
tive by a regard for the strength of Government, and the welfare of the
people.”
The necessity for an enlightened and extensive colonization
of Europeans in India, appears from the state of its agricul-
ture and manufactures, the general inattention to improve-
ment, and the permicious influence of cast. -
The Westminster Review justly remarks, “Of the pamphlet
on “Free Trade and Colonization in India, it may, with
truth, be said, that there is scarcely one of its century of
pages, which does not, in itself, contain irrefragable evi-
dence of the positions, which it is the object of the whole to
advocate.” From this pamphlet the author has extracted
* Ori. Herald, vol. ii. pp. 195—204.
COLONIZATION. 391
freely, trusting that the value of the information it contains
will be generally appreciated. “Of all the obstacles to the pro-
gress of the Indian trade, the most injurious is the exclusion
of the industry, example, and capital of Europe. It is in vain
to expect that either the agriculture, the arts, or the commerce
of India, can ever become of the importance of which they
are susceptible, until improved and extended by the unlimited
and unshackled application of British capital and intelligence.
The free settlement of Englishmen then is loudly called for,
as a measure not only of expediency, but of real necessity, if
India is ever to be rendered a valuable acquisition to this
country. The whole productions of Indian industry, that are
abandoned to the exclusive management of the natives, through
the restraints and penalties of the monopoly, are inferior to
the similar productions of every other tropical country; they
are not only inferior to the productions of British colonial in-
dustry, but to those of French, Dutch, and Spanish, even to
those of Portuguese industry; they are, in every case, also
inferior to the corresponding productions of Chinese industry.
To what is this to be ascribed, but to the slovenliness and
ignorance of a semi-barbarous people? The whole is a mere
affair of civilization; and in so far as the Hindoos are infe-
rior to Europeams and to Chinese in real skill and intelligence,
so must be the productions of their agricultural, their manu-
facturing, or their any other kind of useful industry.
“We shall bring before our readers, in a tabular form, a
few of the articles of East Indian produce, in which their
great inferiority to the corresponding productions of other
countries is exemplified. We give the highest quality in each
case, a comparison extremely favourable to East Indian
articles; for it is only, the very best qualities of these that
ever find their way to the markets of Europe, the middling
and lowest kinds being either consumed on the spot, or ex-
ported for the use of less fastidious consumers than those of
Europe. Indigo, the sole production of the Indian soil, which
receives any thing like adequate benefit from European capi-
tal and direction, is also the sole exception to the inferiority
of Indian productions. What has been effected in this, it is
clear enough may be effected in every other commodity, if we
do not wilfully and wantonly make positive laws to prevent
it; which, in reality, is the course we have hitherto pertinaci-
ously pursued. - .
399 COLONIZATION.


s • tº "S
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ARTICLES. ; ; ; J 's § | S. Ś |: ś |#| #; ##|s||5||
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Q s | S E Q P.
S. d.ſ. s. d. S. d. s. d. S. d. s. d. s. s. d. s. d. s. ſs. Is
Sugar... p. cwt. 35 0147 0|...... [40 0|48 038 0|...] ...... [38 0
Cotton ... § lb. 0 5| 0 8| 0 8| 0 8|...... 0 10|...| 0 | 8
Cochineal tº lb. 1 2 ...... [...... [...... ll 0
Rice...... § cwt. 23 0 ...... 37 0
Turmeric ºf cwt. 24 0|...... }...... ...... [......] ...... [...] ...... 138 0
Tobacco... § lb. 0 2 ...... | 0 15|...... || 0 54
Raw Silk... } lb.18 0|...... [...... [...... e e º e º e & © tº e º º ...] ...... [2] 028
Castor Oil ...... 0 18| 0 30
Coffee... }. cwt. 34 0.88 0|...... 42 0|42 0]...... 138
Indigo......... ...] 9. 10 ...... [...... [...... 8 3
Madder .........[30 Ol...... [...... [...... ...... [...... [...]42 0 ...... ...|54|66
“The soil and climate of India must, in no respect, be
charged with the rudeness and imperfection of Indian pro-
ducts. Our own dominions, extending from near the equator
to at least the thirteenth degree of north latitude, and from
the sixty-third to the ninety-sixth of east longitude, embrace
a prodigious diversity of soils and climates, capable of yield-
ing an infinite variety of useful productions, calculated to
enrich the country and to extend its foreign commerce; and
for the improvement or creation of which, an infusion of Eu-
ropean skill, capital, and enterprise, are alone necessary.
“What but the exclusion of European settlement hinders,
in our Indian dominions, the extensive culture of the peculiar
productions of America, and even of China The indige-
mous products of India have been transferred to America,
and there, under the direction of European skill, they far sur-
pass, in goodness and quantity, those of their original coun-
try; witness the sugar-cane, the cotton-plant, coffee, rice,
and even indigo ; until, in its native country, the production
of this last fell into the hands of Europeans. Have the In-
dians retaliated upon the American colonists? Where is our
Indian annatto 3—Where is our Indian cocoa, our Indian
vanilla 3 The hardy plant producing the annatto, (Biara
Orellamma) introduced from America, is to be found as a gar-
den plant throughout India, but the drug obtained from it is
wholly unknown to the Indians as an article of commerce.
The plant producing the cocoa, although cultivated in the
Spanish, and even in the Dutch East Indies, is unknown in
the 13ritish possessions. The cochineal insect, and the plant
it feeds upon, introduced into British India, by an ingenious
COLONIZATION. 393
European, have, in rearing and culture, reverted to the hands
of nature and the care of the Indians, and Mexican cochineal,
consequently, exceeds it in value by full 500 per cent!
“India is in a similar predicamentin regard to China: situ-
ated close to that country, in daily intercourse with it, receiv-
ing yearly into our settlements thousands of emigrants from
thence, having a population of cheap labourers, by character
peculiarly adapted to the tedious manipulation indispensable
to the preparation of tea, an advantage which no other colony
enjoys, or is likely for a long time to enjoy, and possessing
the same soils, climates, and physical aspects as the most
favoured of the tea provinces of that empire, not one pound
of tea has ever been grown in our Indian possessions;–not
one attempt has been made to rear this valuable plant in Bri-
tish India, while such efforts have been frequent in distant
and uncongenial European colonies. Owing to the superior
skill of the Chinese, both as agriculturists and manufacturers,
they are enabled to export a large quantity of sugar, of qual-
ity much superior to that of India, although having to con-
tend against the high rents incident to a country fully peopled,
and where the price of corn is, probably, not less than three-
fold as great as in the average of the Indo-British dominions.
We may add, that such is the unskilfulness of the Indians in
almost every thing approaching to manufacturing industry,
that the whole, or very nearly the whole of the refined sugar,
consumed by Europeans in our East Indian possessions, is
Żmported from China, the natives of the country being all the
while acquainted with the process by which the article is
prepared, yet producing it in so careless and slovenly a man-
ner, as to make it unfit for any table but their own.
“In whatever direction we look, the effects of Indian
imbecility and the baleful consequences of European exclu-
sion are equally conspicuous.* The Indian forests hardly
afford any commodity fit for foreign exportation, because the
Indians know not how to turn them to account; and English-
men are prevented, by express law, from doing so. In 1825, the
United States of America exported no less than 18,479 tons
of pot and pearl ashes, worth £430,038, and England and
her colonies form their principal market; for to these we find,
that she exported no less than 13,322 tons of the whole quantity.
* “The actual extent of the saltpetre manufacture, would admit of a pro-
duction to whatever amount war or commerce required. A small quantity
of flaw is raised on the skirts of almost every field in the Benares District,
for the sake of the oil; its use, as an article of clothing, not being here under.
stood P-Hamilton's Hindostan, vol. i. pp. 241, 303.
394 COLONIZATION.
British India has never exported, or even manufactured,
a grain of either commodity, although much of the country
be still under forest;-the manufacture of these articles would
greatly add to the facility and profit of clearing the lands;–
and much of the forests in question are not far distant from
the British capital, and have the convenient navigation of the
Ganges, and its tributaries to the very port of Calcutta.
“If we look to the mining operations of the Indians, we
shall find (as every one capable of taking a rational view of
man in such a condition of society must expect) conspicuous
examples of carelessness, incapacity, want of capital, and
want of enterprise. The metals, generally, are not very
abundant in the British dominions in India, but iron is plen-
tiful enough, and even the supply of copper, ore is said not to
be deficient. The iron manufactured by native Indians is so
bad, that it is not of half the value of English iron, nor a third
part of that of Swedish iron; in fact, when forged, it loses one
half of its weight in dross. Mineral coal is found in many
parts of the British dominions, and it is a singular proof in a
country, where, for the most part, fuel is remarkably high
priced,—of ignorance, poverty, and want of enterprise, that
no coal mines were ever opened until this was done by private
European speculators. At present, coal mines are wrought
in one part of the country only, and this by a private Euro-
pean adventurer; but from the want of machinery, capital,
and competition, and the inferiority of the coal, as is always
found to be the case in the first stratum, the article is still
dear, and not in adequate quantity; so that we find coals ac-
tually exported to the East India Company's possessions from
Great Britain, in 1827, to the amount of 4,127 tons, besides
a large quantity brought from New South Wales, a country
where British industry is differently regulated.”*
The want of attention to improvement, so manifestin India,
will appear by the following extracts from Hamilton's Hindos-
tan. “The original plan of the chowk, or market-place of the
city of Moorshedabad, appears to have been well contrived; but
the inhabitants having been permitted to encroach upon the
public road, the purposes for which it was originally intended
have been defeated. From the market-place, there runs a
long narrow winding street, composed of mean houses and
huts, which is again intersected by others, still more narrow
and miserable. The sewers of these streets have long been
completely destroyed, and it consequently happens, that after
* Free Trade and Colonization in India, 1829, pp. 16–21.
COLONIZATION. 395
a heavy fall of rain, they are nearly impassable, and remain
so during the greater part of the rainy season, emitting a putrid
effluvia. Another cause of this city's unhealthiness, is the total
want of a free circulation of air, owing to the confused form of
the town, and to the thick, impenetrable, and yearly increas-
ing jumgle, which is intermixed with the dwelling houses, and
which threatens to absorb the whole. If it be not intended,
that this city, like many other eastern capitals, shall die a
natural death, the jungle ought to be extirpated, the streets
widened, and the ponds of stagnant mud filled up : but to
effect these objects, the prompt assistance of Government
must be obtained, as the mere labour of the convicts will
prove inadequate to the task.” - -
“The inhabitants of Dinagepore are in general extremely
indigent, and their farming implements are therefore propor-
tionally simple and miserable. The plough is of a wretched
description, and has neither coulter to cut the soil, nor mould
board to turn it over; only one person attends it, holding the
handle in one hand, and occasionally pulling the tails of the
oxen with the other. A pair of these sacred and unhappy
creatures may be purchased for 6 or 8 rupees; a plough for
ls. 3d., and a yoke for 7d. The breed of oxen here is ex-
tremely degenerate, and not only many of the Mahomedans,
but even the low tribes of Hindoos, use the cow in the plough,
which according to the strict usages of Brahminical nations,
ought to be punished with death. The breed of horses, or
rather ponies, is of the most wretched description, but their
cost is moderate, being only from 4s. 6d. to lls. 6d. each.”t
“The Lahore province, from its commanding situation,
possesses many advantages over the rest of India, and under
a proper form of government, would alone be sufficient to
constitute the basis of a powerful and civilized kingdom. It
is nevertheless in a most miserable state of cultivation, and
one of the most thinly inhabited of India; the total population,
dispersed over a surface of near 70,000 square miles, probably
not exceeding in the aggregate four millions.”f
The Balaghaut ceded Districts. “The soil of these terri-
tories is generally good. The labour and expense of clearing
black land are very great. Having cut down the shrubs and
bushes on 100 acres, the farmer proceeds to plough east and
west for one month, and then north and south for another.
The succeeding month is employed in grubbing up the roots,
* Hamilton's Hind., 1820, vol. i. p. 163. Respecting Patna, see p. 261.
t p. 222. See also pp. 223, 275,296, 348, 469. pp. 476,506, 522.
396 COLONIZATION.
after which, it is harrowed by a ponderous machine for one
month and a half! After the first great harrowing, they
again harrow with two smaller machines and six bullocks, for
a fortnight, and finally with a still smaller, drawn by two bul-
locks. There is much waste land where poverty cramps and
deadens the efforts of the cultivators.”
“The fields in Mysore are very imperfectly cleared, owing
to the extreme imperfection of their instruments, and want of
strength in their cattle. After six or eight ploughings, nu-
merous small bushes remain as erect as before the labourer
commenced, while the plough has not penetrated three inches
deep. In consequence of incessant wars and calamities, prior
to the final conquest in 1799, many districts, formerly well
peopled, do not yet eachibit the vestige of a human being.”f
“Sylhet is the most easterly of the British possessions in
Hindostan, being within 350 miles of the province of Yunan in
China. Although so near to this rich empire, no intercourse
whatever subsists, nor has the intervening country ever been
explored, or even penetrated beyond a few miles from the
frontier. It is hoped the Bengal Government will not much
longer incur the reproach, of leaving so contiguous a country
unexplored.”: .
Of Orissa, the province in which the author resided, it is
stated, “The low lands in Orissa, abound with hogs, deer,
tigers, and jackals; and the high lands are infested with wild
beasts in such numbers, that they are in many places regain-
ing the country. Most of the iron exported from Balasore, is
procured in the district of Kunjeur, which is fertilized by
several streams, but a great proportion of it continues waste,
desolate, and covered with jungle.”$ Is there not a neces-
sity for colonization in India?
A very interesting work has recently been published by a
friend, entitled “Indian Recollections.” The following re-
marks shew the permicious influence of cast, in depressing
the emergies of Hindoos and Mussulman.
“The greatest of all impediments to the improvement of the moral,
social, and religious condition of the Hind00s, is the tenacity with which
the distinctions of casts are holden. These follow them into all their pur-
suits, trades, and avocations. The agriculturists particularly labour under
the greatest disadvantages, from this barrier to all improvement, as the
following statement, made from actual observation, will fully prove. Loss
of cast would follow the introduction of any improvement or alteration in
the shape or construction of their agricultural instruments, which are the
* Ham. Hind., vol. ii. p. 325. † pp. 351, 352. Of Hyderhabad,
see p. 123, and of the Island of Salsette near Bombay, see p. 170.
; Vol. i. p. 191. § Vol. ii. pp. 33, 35.
COLONIZATION. 397
same in appearance now that they were centuries ago. The European often
smiles to behold the Bengalee ploughman going forth to work; a yoke of
kine are driven before him, whilst the plough is carried on his shoulder.
Harness he needs not, as the plough consists of a long pole, through one
end of which a piece of harder wood passes, forming the share and handle,
whilst at the other end another piece, transversely fixed, answers the purpose
of a yoke; this resting upon the necks of the kine, just before the high
hump, precludes the necessity of any harness being used. The form of one
of these ploughs may be pretty accurately conceived, by imagining an anchor
with one end of the arms reversed, that is, pointing downwards, the stock
forming the yoke. With this plough they merely scarify the ground, no
furrows are made; in fact, they describe any line in their ploughing but a
straight one. I have seen twenty ploughs at work in a large field, cross
each other at all points, stirring it up to the depth of five or six inches; and
in this manner the earth is prepared for casting in the seed, without fetching
up a portion of new soil, as is the case with ploughing in England. On
account of cast, the Bengal farmer cannot feed and rear sheep or poultry,
except he be a Mussulman; and Mussulman farmers must not rear pigs,
nor spin the wool of their sheep; this must be done by a low cast of
Hindoos. Cows must not be fattened for slaughter by Hindoos, neither
are they permitted to breed horses; this is all left to the Mussulman farmer,
who, although much less fettered than his Hindoo neighbour, yet even he
lies under many restrictions, which prove a great hinderance to his pros-
perity. However industrious the Hindoo farmer may be, yet he must not
make or mend any implements of agriculture, or build an outhouse or tank
(a pool); the grammy cast must do this. If his fish ponds are full of large
fish, he must not catch any for sale; the mutchewallah must have all the sport
and profit. If his land be full of fine brick earth, he must let the hooman
make the bricks, and buy the quantity he wants from him; then he dares
not use one himself, but, however small the job, must employ a regular
builder. When his trees are laden with cocoa nuts, a particular cast must
gather them; the owner even then must employ another cast to extract the
kernel, which he is not permitted to press into oil; this falls to the lot of
another low cast, and so on with regard to coir and besoms, from the husks
and leaves, every process must be effected by a particular party, a breach of
these regulations entailing loss of cast.
It is the same with regard to the produce of the fields. Cotton must be
sold in its raw state, and those who spin it must not weave it. Sugar,
tobacco, mustard seed, fruit, and vegetables, are all under some restraints,
so that a man cannot do with the produce of his fields what he pleases, nor
make improvements upon the customs of his fathers, under pains and
penalties which, to a Hindoo, are worse than death itself. I knew an in-
stance of a poor farmer losing cast, because he sowed different sorts of
grain from what his ancestors had done. This was considered a scandalous
deviation, and he was expelled from society. When the crops become ripe,
it is often the case that the farmer, not being able to gather them fast
enough, consequently the grain is shed on the ground. A labouring man
in the harvest fields in England, does as much work in the course of a day,
as ten Bengalee husbandmen; their implements are rude, and generally
very inefficient, a small reaping-hook is the only instrument used to cut the
corn, scythes being unknown. The hackerries, or carriages, are the rudest
and most unfit for the purpose that can well be conceived; but in all these
thing, change or improvement is prevented by cast.”
* Statham's Indian Recollections, 1832, pp. 84–88,
398 COLONIZATION.
Colonization in India further appears necessary, from the
eatent of uncultivated land and the state of some of the
anative tribes.
“India, taking it as a whole, is not a densely, but a thinly
peopled country; one hundred and twelve inhabitants to the
square mile, is not such a population as a territory of such
general fertility and extent ought and might maintain. The
fact is, that many parts of India are over-peopled, others very
thinly peopled, and some, indeed, almost destitute of inhabi-
tants. Some fertile tracts in the alluvial plain of the Ganges
contain four hundred, five hundred, and even six hundred
inhabitants to the square mile, while the table lands are
thinly peopled, and the mountains often destitute of inhabitants.
Many of the rich valleys of the great snowy range, for example,
would, for room, temperature, and salubrity, admit of the set-
tlement of European colonies. As the climate is remarkable
for its salubrity, European colonization is here gradually
admissible; we say gradually, because from distance and
expense, there is, obviously, no other means of introducing it.
Even in some of the warmer parts of India, colonization is
not impracticable. The first settlers, in such situations, would
naturally consist of capitalists, and the better orders of me-
chanics, who, from their habits, would suffer little inconvenience
from the climate. Their posterity, even if they descended to
the rank of day labourers, would be acclimated, and, like the
Spaniards of the pure blood, in the torrid plains of America,
suffer no inconvenience from heat; but in this respect be on a
perfect equality with the aboriginal inhabitants. The races of
men, like the species of many animals, are easily acclimated
in regions in which they were not born to dwell, and by
necessary change in habits and manners, are readily accom-
modated to their new situations. The colonial history of
every European nation, in fact, teaches us, that the physical
frame of the European race affords no obstacle to its perma-
ment location in tropical countries.”
The following extracts from Hamilton’s “Description of
Hindostan,” will shew the eartent of uncultivated land in
India, and the consequent room that exists for colonization.
“The land in Jessore (Province of Bengal) is very fertile,
and were it adequately peopled and cultivated, might be made
to produce inexhaustible supplies of rice, for which the soil
and climate are peculiarly suited. Even now, a great pro-
portion of the southern tract, although so near Calcutta,
* Free Trade and Colon, in India, pp. 69, 70.
COLONIZATION. 399
remains in a state of nature, covered with jungle; and only
frequented by salt makers, and river pirates. Since the de-
cennial settlement, cultivation has certainly been considerably
extended and improved, probably to one siarteenth of the
original quantity.” -
“The cultivation and population of the division of Hooghly,
are certainly improving; but, notwithstanding its proacimity
to Calcutta, which presents a constant market for its surplus
produce, it is surprising, how large a portion still remains in
a state of nature;—the asylum of tigers, alligators, and a
great variety of insects, vermin, and reptiles.”t
“In 1802, it was supposed that the cultivation of the Dis-
trict of Nuddea, subsequent to the first year of the decennial
settlement, afterwards rendered permanent, had increased
one eighth, and that the proportion of the uncultivated land
to the cultivated, as it then stood, was as follows:—
Jungle . . . . . . . . . 105,000 bigahs
Ground lying fallow . . . . . 1,959,500
For cultivation . . . . . . . 1,959,500.”f
In the District of Tiperah, “in 1801, the uncultivated land
was estimated by the Collector, to bear the proportion of one
eighth, to the cultivated.”S
“Dacca Jelalpore has been in a progressive state of im-
provement since the famine of 1787, when extensive tracts of
excellent land were utterly depopulated, and still continue
so, overgrown with jungle, and so infested with wild elephants,
that the peasantry find it almost impracticable to prosecute
cultivation, their labours are so rapidly destroyed.”||
“In 1801, it was computed by the Collector, that one fourth
of the whole District of Mymunsingh, remained in a state of
nature.”"|
Of Rungpore, it is stated, “Wheat is a considerable crop,
but except at the capital, and in some of the principal
families, the people, not having the art of converting it into
jtour, boil it like rice! Barley is little cultivated, and maize
almost unknown. The quantity of cotton cultivated is insig-
nificant, although there is much waste land fit for it.”
Dinagepore. “With this enormous population, there is
much waste land, and a general complaint of the scarcity of
workmen. The grand check here to excess of population, is
disease, more from want of a stimulating diet, and comfort-
* Ham. Hind., 1820, vol. i. p. 135. + p. 137.
; pp. 145, 159, 170. § p. 177. | p. 181.
*I pp. 188, 189. Of Sylhet, see p. 192. ** pp. 204, 207.
400 COLONIZATION.
able dwellings and clothing, than any settled malignity of
climate.”%
Cawnpore. “In the neighbourhood of the camp, agricul-
ture has profited by the stimulus of a European market
and high prices. Indian corn, barley, and wheat, are culti-
vated in great abundance; and turnips, cabbages, and Euro-
pean vegetables, are, during the season, in great abundance,
not only in the gardens of the officers, but in the fields be-
longing to native farmers. Cultivation is, however, seen
interrupted by the intervention of extensive wastes, which
might easily be rendered as productive as the rest of the
land.”f - -
Goruckpore. “Instances may be found of many districts
subject to the British Government, in which the cultivated
land bears but a small proportion to the uncultivated, but in
none to so great a magnitude as in Goruckpore.—In 1814, the
Superintendent of the police, reported that the whole tract
north of the capital was waste, and almost uninhabited; and
that in consequence, the existence of the police was merely
nominal, some of the thannahs comprehending 1500 square
miles.”f
“In all the districts through the Balaghut ceded Territories,
which are distinguished as dry grain districts, the whole extent
of land in each village not cultivated, and not occupied by hills,
very thick jungle, or other obstructions, may be considered as
waste, capable of being reclaimed; and in such cases, the
waste must often greatly surpass in extent the quantity of
land under cultivation, during any specific year. But it ap-
pears chimerical, under the acknowledged poverty of the cul-
tivators, and their destitution of capital, to calculate on any
material addition to the land revenue, from high unirrigated,
and very extensive wastes, which are certainly to be found in
every district of India, south of the Krishna river.”$
“In 1806, the southern division of Arcot was in a very miser-
able state, and it still contains immense tracts of waste land,
a considerable proportion of which is of an excellent quality,
and susceptible of immediate cultivation.”| Does not India
admit of colonization ? and would it not be greatly benefited
by it -
'#he state of many of the Native tribes will appear by the
following brief extracts from Hamilton's Hindostan:—
* Ham. Hind., vol. i. pp. 224, 228. Of Purneah, see p. 234; and Sha-
habad, p. 279. f p. 335. # p. 355. See pp. 362, 411,433.
§ Vol. ii. p. 347. | p. 436. See p. 660.
COLONIZATION. 401
“The Kookies are a wild race of people, who live among the
mountains to the north of the Chittagong district, at a greater
distance from the inhabitants of the plain, than another tribe
named the Choomeas; they are consequently but little known
to Europeans, and are seldom seen except when they visit
the markets on the borders of the jungles, to purchase salt,
dried fish, and tobacco. The Kookies are all hunters and
warriors, and separated into a number of distinct tribes, all
independent of each other. They are armed with bows and
arrows, clubs, spears and daws. They choose for the sites of
their villages, the steepest and most inaccessible hills, and
each village generally contains from 500 to 2,000 inhabitants.
This miserable race are of a most vindictive disposition, and
blood must always be shed for blood on the principle of re-
taliation.” -
“The Choomeds are a savage people, inhabiting the first
range of hills to the north and east of the province of Chitta-
gong, and are tributary to the British government.”t
“The frontiers of Bengal bordering on Morung and Bootan,
are infested by colonies of a wandering class of people, named
Keechuks or Geedarmars, who are robbers by birth, and who
seldom rob without adding the crime of murder.”f
“The impervious jungles of Chuta Nagpoor in the district
of Behar conceal many strange tribes, who, even at this late
period of Hindoo predominance, have not become converts to
the Brahminical doctrines, and are consequently classed by
the priests among the abominable. The Khetauri, the Koeri,
and the Dhanggar, are still the principal inhabitants of Chuta
Nagpoor, where it is said the latter, and probably also the
former, do not speak the Hindoo language.”&
“Although the Alvar tract is situated in the centre of Hin-
dostan, and within 25 miles of Delhi, its inhabitants have
always been described as singularly savage and brutal, and
robbers by profession, never to be subdued. In this last ca-
pacity, under the name of Mewaties, they were formerly taken
into the pay of native chiefs, on account of their eapertness
in the art of desolation / for the purpose of more effectually
ravaging any country, which happened to be the seat of war.”||
“In the southern division of Malwa, the savage tribe of
Bheels are found in considerable numbers. These are a jungle
people, and by some supposed to have been the aborigines
* Hamilton's Hind., vol. i. p. 173. † p. 176. Of the Cosseah
mountaineers, see p. 196. - -
# pp. 206, 208, 213, 249. § p. 288. | p. 394,
2 D
402 COLONIZATION.
of central Hindostan, extending west to Guzerat, where they
meet the Coolies, and west to Gundwana, where they come
in contact with the Gonds; but the points of difference which
distinguish these tribes from each other respectively, and col-
lectively, from the lower classes of Hindoos, have never been
accurately ascertained.”
“The three Naads of Coimbatoor are inhabited by three
classes of persons, whose languages, manners, and customs,
are entirely different; viz., the Todevies, the Koties, and the
Bergies. The first two are considered aborigines of the hills.
It is said that all the males of a family have but one wife
among them, but no mention is made in what manner the
surplus females are disposed of.”f
“The most singular part of the Ceylon population, are the
Bedahs or Waddahs, who inhabit the distant recesses of the
forest. Their origin has never been traced, and they appear
to differ so much from the other natives, that they probably
are the true aborigines. They subsist by hunting deer and
other wild animals, and on the fruits which grow spontaneously
around them: but they never cultivate the ground in any
manner. They sleep on trees, or at the foot of them, and
climb up like monkies, when alarmed !—A few of the less
wild, traffic with the Candians; but the untamed race, known
by the name of Rambah Bedahs, are more seldom seen, even
by stealth, than the most timid of the wild animals.”f
The most affecting description of the uncivilized tribes of
India, is that of the Garrows. “The tract at present occu-
pied by the Independent Garrows, cannot be estimated at
more than 130 miles in length, by 30 in breadth. When a
quarrel arises between two of them, the weaker party flies to
a distant hill; but both parties immediately plant a tree
bearing a sour fruit, and make a solemn vow, that they will
avail themselves of the earliest opportunity, of eating their
adversary's head with the juice of its fruit / A generation
frequently passes away without either party being able to
execute the measure in contemplation, in which case the
feud descends as an heir-loom to the children. The party
that eventually succeeds, having cut off the head of the slain
adversary, summons all his friends, and boils the head with
the fruit of the tree, eats of the soup himself, and distributes
the rest among his friends; the tree is then cut down, the
feud being ended. A process somewhat different is followed
* Ham. Hind., vol. i. p. 729. + Vol. ii. pp. 96, 113. Relative to
the Gonds, see vol. ii. pp. 6, 388. # pp. 509, 523, 641.
colon IZATION. - 403
when they succeed in massacring any Bengalee landholder.
On these occasions great numbers of neighbours and relations
are collected round the reeking heads, brought back as tro-
phies; which being filled with liquor and food, the Garrows
dance round them, singing songs of triumph After thus re-
joicing, the heads are buried for the purpose of rotting off the
flesh, and when arrived at a proper state of putrefaction are
dug up, cleansed of their filth, sung and danced round as be-
fore, and then suspended in the houses of the perpetrators of
the massacre. In 1815, the skull of a Hindoo factor, who
during his life had purchased the zemindary of Caloomaloo-
para, was valued at 1000 rupees; that of Indra Talookdar,
agent to Currybarry zemindar, at 500 rupees, and the price
of a common peasant's skull was only 10 or 12 rupees of
deficient weight. To this custom of hoarding skulls, and of
making them the circulating medium. / is to be attributed the
extreme care, with which the Garrows burn to powder the
entire bodies of their people, lest by any accident the cranium
of a Garrow should be passed off, as that of a Bengalee.
With respect to religion, the unconverted Garrows of the hills
believe in the transmigration of souls, as a state of reward
and punishment. Saljung is their supreme god, and his wife
named Manim, but they have no images or temples. In
science they have not advanced so far as to write their own
language; but a few have learned to write Bengalee, and
although so much cotton is produced in their country, it is
only recently they have begun to practice the art of weaving
fit. Such are the people, whom a strange concurrence of cir-
cumstances have brought into contact with the British nation,
where the two extremes of civilization meet.”
It is to be deeply regreted, that so little has been even at-
tempted for the improvement of these various uncivilized
tribes. Conciliatory measures appear adapted to make a
favourable impression upon them.'t The late Bishop Heber's
reference to the Bheels, well deserves attention, both in Bri-
tain and in India. In his tour from Neemuch to Baroda, he
observes, “Thieves and savages as they are, I found that
the officers with whom I conversed thought them, on the
whole, a better race than their conquerors. Their word is
more to be depended on; they are of a more frank and lively
character; their women are far better treated, and enjoy more
influence: and though they shed blood without scruple in
cases of deadly feud, or in the regular way of affray, they are
* Ham. Hind., vol. ii. pp. 756–762. t See vol. i. pp. 444,730, 731.
/ 2 D 2
404 COLONIZATION.
not vindictive or inhospitable under other circumstances, and
several British officers have, with perfect safety, gone hunt-
ing and fishing into their country, without escort or guide;
except what these poor savages themselves cheerfully furnish-
ed, for a little brandy. This is the more touching, since on
this frontier, nothing has been done for them, and they have
been treated with unmingled severity. In the south, where
Sir John Malcolm could carry every thing his own way, he
raised a corps out of their number, which he placed under
the command of their own Chiefs. He also secured them
the peaceable possession of a certain portion of their lands,
which had been depopulated by the Pindaries; obtaining for
them a freedom from taxes for a sufficient number of years, to
make it worth their while to acquire industrious habits. He
proceeded in nearly the same manner, and with full as much
success, as Cleveland did with the Purharees. (Vol. i. 205—
214.) In this part of India, nothing of the kind has been
done; they have, indeed, had facilities held out to them to enter
our local corps, but these are under the same severe discipline,
and exact drill with the regular regiments—which it is idle to
suppose a savage would endure. Though there is waste land
in abundance, no effectual measures have been taken to per-
suade the princes of the country to allow or induce the Bheels
to settle in it, and as these poor people themselves complain
—we punish them for robbing, while we give them no means
of earning their subsistence in an honest way.”
The Editor of the Westminster Review justly remarks,—
“The weakness, effeminacy, and cowardice of some of the
Indian tribes—the immorality, the barbarism of all, have
been frequently brought forward as objections to any system
of European colonization. No protection being given to the
moral and corporeal infirmity of the native, he would meet
with no tender mercies at the hands of the comparatively
strong and virtuous colonists. He would be treated worse
than a West Indian negro. Now, the very reason why colo-
nization is desired is, that the East Indian may be elevated
to a condition somewhat superior to that of his West Indian
black brother. At present, it might be hard to say whether
of the twain is the more to be envied by the other. Coloni-
zation would make the oriental slave a free man—would give
him an immediate market for his spontaneous labour. Let
* Heber's Journal, vol. ii. p. 72. See also pp. 100, 139. For some
recent information of the Bheels, see E. I. Mag., Feb. 1832, p. 156; and of
the Coles, E. I. Mag., Aug. 1832, p. 186.
COLONIZATION. 405
Legislation throw around him her benevolent protection, if she
will—but let him—a British subject—not be denied the be-
nefits which free intercourse with his brethren would confer.
Let the terms of colonization be stipulated by justice and
philanthropy—at all events, let India become something
better than one vast feeding-place, where foreign birds of prey
congregate together to pounce upon the spoil, and having
seized it, to wing themselves far away.
“The many interests involved in the possession of lands in
India have been frequently and loudly urged as an impedi-
ment to the settlement of strangers, and the purchase of estates;
yet, if closely looked at, the difficulty vanishes. Be the free-
hold right where or what it may, to that right a pecuniary
value must attach, and its amount must of course be paid by
the purchaser of the fee-simple, and with the consent of the
seller. The position of the zemindar is in this perfectly an-
alogous to the holder of the tithe of an estate in England—
the interest of the ryot is also a fit subject for calculation
(and that his position would be greatly benefited by his be-
coming a free labourer might easily be demonstrated), and
what is not held by the native, must, we suppose, be deemed
the property of the Company. Now, if the Company con-
sented to sell their share of the whole, contingent on the pur-
chase of portions, much embarrassment would not be the con-
sequence, relative to the portions belonging to lndian pro-
prietors. And surely there are waste lands enough, without
the perplexities of various claimants, and with these, experi-
ments may commence.”
The state of learning, morals, and religion in India, fur-
ther demonstrates the necessity of European colonization.
This part of the subject is placed in a very striking view
by the Editor of “The Friend of India.”—“There is no re-
ligion, which does not exercise a decisive and sensible influ-
ence over the secular habits and temporal welfare of its vo-
taries. Among all systems of faith, in this respect Hindoism
stands foremost. It has carried the rage for regulation, to a
degree of harassing and microscopic minuteness, totally for-
getting, that the wisdom of legislation appears as much in what
it spares, as in what it touches. It has left its followers free
in no one movement; it has attached to every action, how-
ever indifferent, some religious reward or penalty. It presses
on its votaries with the ubiquity and weight of the atmos-
phere. It has imposed greater fetters on national industry
* West. Rev., Oct. 1829, p. 23.
406 CoLoRIZATION.
than any other religion, and were all its injunctions allowed
full operation, the whole business of life would stand still. -
The temporal misery it has produced is, alas ! too visible in
this country, which nature has adorned with her richest gifts;
and could the natives, without the risk of losing cast, and
sinking in public estimation, deliver themselves from the civil
restrictions with which it has bound them, they would dis-
solve them without any hesitation. Hindoism has, for twenty
centuries, been progressively developing its character and
tendencies on a grand theatre, and we have, in the present
state of India, the product of its labours. Let Christianity,
genuine, vital Christianity, obtain, only for two centuries, the
same ascendancy which idolatry has enjoyed in India, and
how completely would the face of the country be changed !
“As Hindoism is incapable of carrying forward a nation in
the career of improvement, so neither is it adapted for a high
state of civilization; they cannot co-exist; but while there is
no species of improvement to which Hindoism is not hostile,
there is none which Christianity does not foster. From a
careful examination, therefore, of the tendency of Hindoism
and Christianity; and a comparison of their effects, incontes-
tibly developed in India and England, it is not presumptuous
to assert, that India stands peculiarly in need of Christianity.
We need Christianity to extinguish the fires of the funeral
pile, into which superstition is annually casting its victims,
and to send back the mother to the relief of her wretched
family.” We need Christianity to annul the prohibition for
widows to marry, to remove the thousands of widows annually
created, out of the reach of danger and disgrace, and to restore
them to the bosom of society;-to teach women to read, to
cultivate their intellectual faculties, to raise them in the scale
of being, and to open to society the benefit of their influence.
Hindoism has practically taught its followers, that the great
bulk of mankind exist only for the Brahmuns, that the whole
duty of man consists in implicit faith in the Vedas, and obe-
dience to the priesthood. It has forbidden the exercise of
reason on the most important interests of society; it has
locked up all knowledge in a language unintelligible to the
great body of the people, and then forbidden them to study
it under pain of eternal damnation. We need Christianity to
break up this system, to dissolve the unnatural distinctions of
the cast, to teach the natives that all men are equal in the
eyes of their Maker, and to introduce a tone of manly free-
* Christianity has conferred this blessing upon British India.-AUTH,
COLONIZATION. 407
dom both in thought and action—to cultivate the language
of the people, and to encourage a spirit of inquiry after truth.
We need Christianity to abolish the long and dreary pilgrim-
ages so inimical to happiness, so destructive to human life,
to subvert the system of religious mendicity,+to suppress the
numberless feasts, and to restore the time which they destroy
to national industry. We require the pure faith and unble-
mished morality of the Gospel in lieu of the adoration of trees,
rivers, and beasts, and the licentious example of the gods.
We need Christianity, to restore to God his just rights, and
to man his legitimate privileges. We need it, finally, and in
the opinion of some this may appear the most urgent want,
to develope the vast resources of this rich country, to remove
every obstacle to its occupying that elevated rank in the scale
of nations, which it is so well able by nature to sustain.”*
The late Bishop Heber describes the nature and influence
of Hindoism, in the correspondence which closes the Narra-
tive of his Journey through the Upper Provinces of India.--
“It is necessary to see idolatry, to be fully sensible of its mis-
chievous effects on the human mind. But of all idolatries of
which I have ever read or heard, the religion of the Hindoos
appears to me the worst; in the degrading notions which it
gives of the Deity;-in the endless round of its burdensome
ceremonies, which occupy the time and distract the thoughts,
without either instructing or interesting its votaries;–in the
filthy acts of uncleanness and cruelty, not only permitted, but
enjoined and inseparably interwoven with these ceremonies;
—in the system of casts, a system which tends, more than
any thing else the devil has invented, to destroy the feelings
of general benevolence, and to make nine tenths of mankind
the hopeless slaves of the remainder;-and, in the total
absence of any popular system of morals, or any single lesson
which the people at large ever hear, to live virtuously and do
good to each other. I do not say, that there are not some
scattered lessons of this kind to be found in their ancient
books; but these books are neither accessible to the people
at large, nor are they permitted to read them; and, in gene-
ral, all the sims that a soodra is taught to fear are killing a
cow, offending a Brahmun, or neglecting one of the many
frivolous rites by which their deities are supposed to be con-
ciliated. Accordingly, though the general sobriety of the
Hindoos affords a very great facility for the maintenance of
* Friend of India, (Quar. Ser.) May 1825, pp. 53–55. See also,
Statham's Indian Recollections, pp. 349—364.
408 COLONIZATION.
public order and decorum, I really have never met with a race
of men whose standard of morality is so low; who feel so
little shame on being detected in a falsehood, or so little in-
terest in the sufferings of a neighbour, not being of their own
cast or family; whose ordinary and familiar conversation is
so licentious; or, in the wilder and more lawless districts, who
shed blood with so little repugnance. .
“Their own religion is indeed a horrible one: far more so
than I had conceived. It gives them no moral precepts; it
encourages them in vice by the style of its ceremonies, and
the character of its deities; and, by the institution of cast, it
hardens their heart against each other to a degree which is
often most revolting. A traveller falls down sick in the streets
of a village; (I am mentioning a fact which happened ten days
ago!) nobody knows of what cast he is, therefore nobody
goes near him lest they should become polluted:—he wastes
to death before the eyes of a whole community, unless the
jackals take courage from his helpless state to finish him a
little sooner; and, perhaps, as happened in the case to which
I allude, the children are allowed to pelt him with stones and
mud. The man of whom I am speaking was found in this
state, and taken away by a passing European; but, if he had
died, his skeleton would probably have lain on the road side
till the vultures carried it away, or the magistrates ordered it
to be thrown into the river! A friend of mine, some months
ago, found a miserable wretch, a groom out of employ, who
had crept, sick of a dysentery, into his court yard. He had
remained there, in a corner on the pavement, two days and
nights. Perhaps twenty servants had been eating their meals
within six yards of him, yet mome had relieved him—none had
so much as carried him into the shelter of one of the out-
houses, nor had any taken the trouble to tell their master!
When reproved for this, their answer was, “He was not our
kinsman.” “Whose business was it?’ ‘How did we know
that the Sahab would like to be troubled ” I do not say
these are every day instances: I hope and believe not. Nor
would I be understood, as denying that alms to religious men-
dicants are given to a great amount in Bengal; or that several
of the wealthy inhabitants, in what they consider good works,
—such as constructing public tanks, making roads to places
of pilgrimage, building pagodas and ghauts, are liberal. I
only mention these instances, because none of those that heard
them, seemed to think them unusual or extraordinary. In a
Christian country, I think they could not have happened;
and they naturally arise from the genius of themational religion,
colon IZATION. 409
which, by the distinction it establishes, makes men worse
than indifferent to each other.”
Lord Teignmouth thus sketches the character of the Hin-
doos.-‘‘If I were to describe the Hindoo character generally,
allowing for individual exceptions, I should define it, a com-
pound of insincerity, servility, and dishonesty. Their master
passion is self-interest, which they pursue through all the
mazes of cunning and duplicity. Their disregard for veracity
is most striking; and the detection of falsehood excites no
other sensation than that of regret, for the failure of the pur-
pose it was intended to answer. Their charity has more of
ostentation than of benevolence. The apathy with which
they see their fellow creatures suffering pain and distress is
also very remarkable. Their boasted tenderness to the brute
creation is a negative quality, extending no further than to
the not depriving animals of life, without any effort to prolong
it or render it comfortable. The most unerring index to the
national character of any people is, to learn their own senti-
ments of each other; and no people shew more reciprocal
distrust, than exists among the individuals of every tribe and
family. In every country where idolatry has obtained a
complete establishment, we not only find a general debase-
ment of the moral principle, and corresponding corruption of
manners, but even licentiousness, and the most shocking
cruelty, deriving a sort of sanction from the Religion itself,
or from the authority of customs and practices founded upon
it.”ft -
The paucity of European inhabitants and Christian Mi-
nisters, in India, is deserving of serious notice in reference
to the subject under consideration. The number of Euro-
peans in India is very inconsiderable. “The English (says
* Heber's Jour, vol. ii. pp. 384, 385, 313, 314. See also, Tytler's Con-
siderations on the state of India, vol. i. pp. 243, 296.
t Considerations on Communicating to the Natives of India the Know-
ledge of Christianity, }. 81, 82, 92. (Hatchard.)—1808.
# “Making roads, digging tanks, and planting trees, among the Hin-
doos, are religious duties, and almost every rich man performs one or another,
or often the whole; but as the inducement is to obtain celestial favour,
public utility, is, on these occasions, little consulted, and the works fre-
quently prove nuisances. The plantation usually consists of trees totally
useless, or of sour resinous mangoes, and soon becomes jungle, the harbour
of wild beasts which devour travellers. The tank declines to a dirty puddle,
which is soon choked up with weeds generating disease; and the road is
wholly useless to passengers, as it does not lead from one market to another,
but commonly from the house of the founder to some temple which he
chooses to frequent, or to some tank, or river, where he performs his ablu-
tions.” Hamilton's Hind, vol. i. p. 99.
410 COLONIZATION.
Heber) in the Upper Provinces are of course thinly scattered,
in proportion to either the multitude of the heathen or the
extent of territory. They are, however, more numerous than
I expected; though there are very few indeed who are not in
the civil or military employ of Government. The Indigo
planters are chiefly confined to Bengal.”* “Colonel and
Mrs. Raper and Dr. Simpson are the only Europeans resident
at Jyepoor.”f Of the want of medical as well as ministerial
characters, the Bishop observes on one occasion when at
Furreedpoor:-‘At present Mr. Warner's house (the Magis-
trate of these districts) was full of ladies, fugitives from Chit-
tagong; but, except his own family and inmates, he had no
society, no Europeans; not even a medical man being within
very many miles.”:S The Author has travelled a hundred
miles in Orissa without seeing a European. This scarcity of
Europeans is impolitic in the Government. “In the course
of this day's march,” says the late Bishop Heber, when near
Shahjehanpore; “a circumstance occurred, which proves, I
think, how much the people of this country look up to the
English for help and counsel in all emergencies. I was going
along a jungly piece of road, when I saw a little cluster of
travellers, of the lower class, surrounding somebody on the
ground. As soon as they saw me, they immediately ran up,
saying that one of their friends was sick, and they begged me
to look at him and give him medicine. What struck me was,
the immediate impulse which led these men to suppose, on
seeing a European riding along the road, that he was likely to
help and advise them. Surely, if this opinion is general, it
must be one of the best holds we have on our Indian empire.”||
The following extracts from the late Bishop Heber's Jour-
mal, place this subject in a painfully interesting light. Of
Barrackpore, where the Governor General has his country
seat, and where there are very large cantonments, the Bishop
says, “I went by water early enough in the morning to
preach to the congregation, which, for want of a Church,
assembles in the great hall of the Government house.”'ſ
When he was at Dacca, in July 1824, he observed, “I
met a lady to-day who had been several years at Nusserabad,
- * Jour, vol. ii. p. 370. + Vol. i. p. 11. : p. 162.
§ “Abdullah, a servant of the Bishop, when on their voyage to Dacca,
sent to an Indigo establishment near them, to know if any bread or leaven
was attainable: the answer was, that the Sahabs had nothing of the kind,
and never got any thing better than the unleavened bread of the country.”
Vol. i. p. 121. | pp. 536, 466. Hamilton's Hind, vol. i. p. 261.
. "I Jour., vol. ii. p. 47.
COLONIZATION. 4ll
in Rajpootana, and during seven years of her stay in India
had never seen a clergyman, or had an opportunity of going
to church. This, however, was a less tedious excommunica-
tion than had been the lot of a very good and religious man,
resident at Tºperah, or somewhere in that neighbourhood,
who was, for nineteen years the only Christian within seventy
miles, and at least three hundred from any place of worship !!
Occasionally he has gone to receive the sacrament at Chitta-
gong, about as far from his residence as York from London'
These are sad stories, and in the case of Nusserabad I hope
not beyond the reach of a remedy.”
At Patna, “The service was performed in a large and con-
venient room, the court of appeal, and a handsome service
of communion plate was produced, preserved from the time
that the Company's Chaplain, now removed to Dinapore,
was stationed at Patna.f. A very earnest and general wish
was expressed, that Government would still allow them a
Chaplain. This, with the present establishment and the
great demands on it, is, I fear, never likely to be granted.
It would be a great advantage and convenience to the place,
and attended with little expense, if an allowance were made
to the Chaplain at Dinapore, for a lodging and palanquin
hire, and he were enjoined to visit Patna once a month.
Some measure of the kind, with regard to this, and many
other stations, almost similarly situated, I hope myself to
Suggest to Government, as soon as I am better informed in
the necessary details of the plans.”f
Of Dinapore, the account is very humiliating. “Every
thing, in fact,” says the Bishop, “is on a liberal scale, except
what belongs to the church, and the spiritual interests of the
inhabitants and neighbourhood. The former I found merely
a small and inconvenient room in the barracks, which seemed
as if it had been designed for an hospital ward; the reading-
desk, surplice, books, &c., were all meaner and more shabby
than are to be seen in the poorest village chapel in England
or Wales. There were no punkahs, no wall shades, or other
means for lighting up the church; no glass in the windows,
no font, and, till a paltry deal stand was brought for my use
out of an adjoining warehouse, no communion table | Bishop
Middleton objected to administer confirmation in any places
but churches regularly built, furnished, and consecrated; but
though I do not think that in India we need be so particular,
* Jour., vol. i. p. 146. † The population of Patna is estimated
at 300,000.-AUTH. # Jour., vol. i. p. 242.
412 COLONIZATION.
I heartily wished, in the present case, to see things more as
they should be, and as I had been accustomed to see them.
Nor in more essential points, was there much to console me
for this neglect of external decencies. I had only fourteen
candidates for confirmation, some of them so young that I
almost doubted the propriety of admitting them; and there
were perhaps a dozen persons beside in the church.
“Of the European regiment, though it was ‘in orders,”
that the men should attend church every Sunday, very few
ever came, and seldom any officer but the adjutant; and the
neighbouring planters seemed utterly without religion of any
kind,-never applying to the clergyman except for marriage,
burial, and baptizing of their children. The present room
barely affords accommodation for half the soldiers who might
be expected to attend, without leaving any for the officers'
families or the neighbouring planters. These, therefore,
though room is generally to be had, have an excuse to offer
to their consciences for not attending; and it is really true,
for women and children of the upper classes to sit jostling
with soldiers in a small room, without punkahs, with a drive
of perhaps three or four miles before and after service, is not
a prospect of making a man very fond of bringing his family
to attend divine service. A spacious, airy church, would
greatly remove these difficulties. Government did, I under-
stand, promise one some time back: but the military officers,
to whom the preparation of the estimate and plan were left,
took no trouble in the business | What I saw and heard,
both at and after church, made me low and sad; to which, per-
haps, the heat of the day greatly contributed.”
At Ghazepoor “some difficulties were felt about a proper
place for divine service next day; the place (an old riding-
house) which had been used as a church before the station
lost its Chaplaim, being in so ruinous a state, that the Quarter
Master had reported it sometime since to Government, as
unsafe for any persons to assemble in. A Mr. Watson, a
tradesman in the place, however, offered his long room,
(generally used for auctions, and sometimes for assemblies,)
which, as the European regiment is absent, and the probable
congregation less numerous than it otherwise would have
been, answered the purpose extremely well, being large, airy,
and furnished with seats and punkahs.”t
At Chunar, in Sep. 1824, the Bishop writes:—“This
morning I had the agreeable surprise to find Messrs. Macleod
* Jour, vol. i. pp. 244—247. + p. 261.
COLONIZATION. 413
and Frazer, had come from Benares during the night. We
went to church together, where I also found Mr. Morris. I
had consequently four clergymen with me, besides the Cate-
chists Bowley and Adlington: a more numerous body than
could, thirty years ago, have been mustered in the whole Pre-
sidency of Fort William /* .
Of the efficiency of the Clergy, the Bishop wrote to J.
Thornton, Esq., May 1825:—“I am now speaking of the
means of religious improvement afforded to a young man in
India, and I am very thankful to be able to say, that though
we are still most lamentably short of hands, for one and
thirty Chaplains is a very bare complement, and it will sel-
dom happen, that more than one-half of those will be resident
and effective at the same time; still, if a young man can get
the opportunity of hearing a sermon in Bengal, the chance
is, that he will hear what will do him good l’’t]
It will probably be asked by some, But have not the Mis-
sionaries, sent to India by various Societies, supplied in a
great degree the spiritual necessities of India Alas! “the
harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few.” In some
parts of Hindostan there is “a famine of hearing the word of
the Lord.” From Calcutta to Madras is 1050 miles, and with
the exception of a Clergyman and a Missionary at Vizagapa-
tam, there are only the Author's few colleagues in Orissa, in
the whole route. From Cuttack to Bombay is about 1000
miles, and there is only a Chaplain or two in the Mahratta
states to be found in the whole journey. Multitudes of the
subjects of Britain in India have not heard the name of
Christ. Would such a state of things as this which has been
described, have existed, if colonization had been promoted
in India for half a century
The slow progress of the Civilization and Evangelization
of India might naturally be expected from such a state of
things. The want of Europeans in India is very sensibly
felt in the civil administration of the country. The paucity
of European Magistrates, and the well known character of
the Darogahs, account for the present state of society in the
country. The following statements from Hamilton's Hin-
* Jour., vol. i. p. 310. - + Vol. ii. p. 400.
# “There are many stations at which detachments of soldiers are fixed,
which a Chaplain only visits alternate months, or sometimes four Sundays
in a year. Indeed it has been only within the last two years, by the great
exertions of Archdeacon Barnes in Bombay, and by my own influence with
the Supreme Government, that even this kind of occasional and itinerant
service has been provided for. Feb. 1826.” (Jour, vol. ii. p. 432.)
414 COLONIZATION.
dostan are painfully confirmatory of these remarks. “The
jail is always the most prominent edifice in a Bengal district.”
“The Boglipore district, though not so populous as some
others, is of such extent, that it is difficult for the Magistrate
to exercise an efficient control, some of the tannahs, or
police stations, being 100 miles from head-quarters.”t
“In 1815, the Magistrate of Allahabad, had forty-seven
police stations under his control; some situated seventy or
eighty miles from head-quarters.”f -
The character of the Darogahs and their minions in office,
clothed with a little ‘brief authority,” is known to all who
have resided in India. “In many instances a Darogah of
police, with his myrmidons on scanty allowance, prove the
scourge of the division over which he presides. A Darogah
is allowed only twenty-five rupees per mensem, out of which
he is to provide himself and family with food and raiment
suitable to the apparent respectability of his office, and pay
the expense of a dozen journeys during the month into the
interior of his jurisdiction. His establishment is only ten
men, to preserve the peace of 400 square miles of country,
and of these, the west country Burkendawzes appear to have
no other object in view, than to get rich as fast as they can
by lending money at usurious interest; a pernicious practice,
to which they are all greatly addicted.”$ -
The character of the natives of Travancore, as given by
two successive Residents, is too applicable to the Hindoos
generally. One of the Residents remarked:—“He never
knew a people so destitute of truth and honesty, or so aban-
doned to vice and corruption, and that this is exactly the
opinion they entertain of themselves; while the other asserts,
that in no part of the world are men to be found to whose
habits and affections the practice of vice, through all its de-
basing, loathsome, and hideous gradations, seems so familiar.”||
What has been done for the improvement of the people of
India? The advocates of the India Government fail not to
eulogize its efforts, in the support of Colleges and Schools for
the diffusion of general education. But what is the amount
of these exertions? Would not an Anglo-Indian population
increase it a hundred fold? “What,” says a modern writer
on India, “ in fact, after all, are the means hitherto applied to
the worthy objects which all these institutions have in view
* Vol. i. p. 199. t p. 250. of Moorshedabad and Benares,
see pp. 162,306. t p. 323. See also, pp. 402, 434, 436.
§ Vol. i. p. 206. - | Wol. ii. p. 315.
COLONIZATION. 415
Let them be regarded as operating within the narrow circle
of the capital and its vicinity, and, though still small, they are
something; but spread them, in imagination, over the vast
population of India, and, estimating them at the highest rate
of two lacs of rupees per annum, we shall have less than one
farthing per head per annum to earpend on the education of
the Hindoos.”* These are somewhat sweeping charges; but
they are confirmed by the recent evidence before the Lords'
Committee of C. Lushington, Esq., late Secretary to the
Bengal Government. “Strong as is the interest felt by the
Government in the object of educating the natives of India,
#10,000 is the only portion of a territorial revenue of about
#22,000,000 at present devoted to that object; except some
inconsiderable additions; occasionally a few score pounds
a month are given to other institutions for native education.”ff
The general character of the British Government in India,
in neglecting the interests of Religion, (how much more in
supporting idolatry, and making it a source of emolument?)
is very reprehensible. Bishop Heber remarks, respecting his
journey through the Independent States of Western India:—
“My Bengalee servants say, they never heard of such a
journey as mine before, and that “neither mountains nor any
thing else stand in my way.” This is all absurd enough at
the present moment; but the recollection of where I am, and
the circumstances of convenience and safety under which I
have traversed, and if it please God, am about to traverse,
regions which are laid down as terra incognita in Arrow-
smith's map of 1816, ought to make, and I hope does make,
a strong impression on my mind of thankfulness to that great
God, whose providence has opened to the British nation so
wide, and so untried, a field of usefulness; and of anxiety,
lest we should any of us, in our station, fall short of those
duties which this vast increase of power and dominion im-
poses on us. I am often ready to break into lamentations that,
where so much is to be done in my own peculiar profession, the
means at my disposal enable me to accomplish so little.”S
A modern writer in India, very justly reprobates the conduct
of the British people in its parsimonious and injurious neglect

* Ori. Herald, vol. vii. p. 488.
+ º,India Mag., May 1832, p. 453. See FreeTrade and Colonization,
&c., p. 78. -
f See “The History, Design, and Present State of the Religious, Benevo-
lent, and Charitable Institutions founded by the British in Calcutta and its
Vicinity, by C. Lushington, Esq., 1825.” Published in Calcutta.
§ Jour., vol. i. p. 595.
4] 6 COLONIZATION.
of the interests of Christianity among its own European
subjects. “Observe the wretched little settlements of the
Dutch and Portuguese, of every nation, save that one to whom
unbounded dominion has been assigned in Asia; is there any
one of them unprovided with the neat, though humble chapel;
its modest spire; the little turret where chimes the bell, to
summon “two or three together,” whose requests are to be
granted At Anjeugo, Cochin, Goa, have the miserable
remnant of nations, once powerful as ourselves, permitted the
House of God to fall to the ground, though their own roofs
are in ruins? We are accustomed to be very loud in our
abuse of the intolerance and bigotry of these nations, but we
should be glad to know which is most respectable, a sincere
though mistaken zeal for the doctrines of Christianity, or an
wtter contempt and indifference for them 3 * ; -
The indifference of the British Government in India to the
interests of learning, morality, and religion, appears in the
want of Schools, Colleges, Churches, and Ministers of Reli-
gion. A few brief extracts from Hamilton's Hindostan will
demonstrate it. There are no regular schools or seminaries
in the District of Bahar in which the Hindoo or Mahome-
dan law is taught; students in these branches of knowledge
being instructed by private tutors. It was remarked by the
Magistrate in 1801, that no new religious buildings of any
sect were constructing, while the old ones were going rapidly
to decay.”f - -
“The District of Shahabad contains no brick nor mud pri-
vate forts, nor are there any schools or seminaries within its
limits where the Hindoo or Mahomedan laws are taught.”f
“In every District, subordinate to the British authority
throughout Hindostan, the state of the police is the most im-
portant feature of its history, and its jail the most imposing
edifice.”$ Colonization would give imposing edifices of a
different, and a far more reputable and beneficial character.
“In the District of Juanpore, in 1801, there were no private
schools or seminaries for teaching the Hindoo and Mahomedan
law; such had existed, but the lands and funds destined for
their maintenance had long been sequestered.”||
“Besides the Catholic churches, there are at Cochin a great
population of Protestants, the remains of the Dutch colo-
nists. Among all the Europeans settled in India, the Dutch
have the merit of having greatly promoted the dissemination
* ori. Herald, vol. vii. p. 135, t Vol. ii. p. 262. f pp. 280, 283.
§ p. 298. Of Mirzapore, see p. 310. | p. 314.
COLONIZATION. 417
of Christianity, wherever they gained a settlement. In their
time, Clergymen presided over Districts, and made annual
visitations, but all religious and scholastic Institutions have
been neglected, since the transfer of the country to the
British ſ”%
“The Mahomedans have become numerous in the Nepaul
dominions, and are increasing; as they are zealous in pur-
chasing girls, and propagating their sect, Christianity has not
been equally successful. In 1802, the church at Catmandoo
(the capital) was reduced to an Italian padre, and a native
Portuguese.”t
The state of the descendants of Europeans, when thus neg-
lected in India, may be better conceived than expressed. The
following fact speaks volumes:—“There are a few families of
native Portuguese scattered over the Rungpore District, but
at Goalpara, there are as many as twenty. Here they are
termed choldars, which seems to be a corruption of soldier.
None of them can either read or write; only two or three
know a few words of Portuguese, and they have entirely
adopted the native dress. The only European customs they
retain, are, that the women courtesy, and the men shew, by
the motion of the hand as they pass, that they would take off
their hats if they had one ! The men retain some portion of
European activity, and are much feared by the Natives; who
employ them as messengers in making a demand, such as the
payment of a debt, to the compliance with which, they think
a little fear may contribute. The females gain a subsistence
chiefly by sewing and distilling liquors, of which last article,
the men consume as much as they can afford, and retail the
remainder. Concerning the Christian religion, they appear
to know little or nothing, nor have they any priest. Some-
times they go to Bowal, near Dacca, in order to procure a
priest to marry them; but in general this is too expensive, and
they content themselves with the public acknowledgment of
their marriages.”]. How long will it be, ere Britain is aroused
to fulfil her high destiny in India, by promoting as far as
her influence extends, and her ample means command, the
general diffusion of the blessings of civilization and Christi-
anity, where the people are, to use the significant language
of Scripture—“sitting in darkness, and in the region and sha-
dow of death P” -
* Ham. Hind., vol. ii. p. 307. + p. 671.
- # Vol. i. p. 212.
2 E
41 S. C () I.ONIZATION.
CHAP. II.
The utility of colonization in India, apparent in the improve-
ment of its produce—the increase of British trade and
commerce with India, and the Eastern world—the perma-
nance of the British power in Hindostan—increase of the
civilization, and consequent happiness of its inhabitants—
and the accelerated progress of Christianity, with all its
valuable institutions—confirmation of the statements.
One of the first advantages, which strikes the intelligent
mind, of an enlightened colonization in India is, its adaptation
to promote the improvement of the produce of the country.
“It will be necessary to give a detailed account of some of
the staple articles of the Indian commerce, in order to illus-
trate the advantages derived from European industry, the
mischiefs which arise out of its exclusion, and the long train
of evils which originate in restrictions and monopolies. We
shall select the articles of indigo, cotton, sugar, tobacco, cof-
fee, and pepper, as the most prominent eavamples.
“Indigo is the article which suffers the least from the per-
nicious interference of the monopoly, and nearly the only one
which receives any considerable benefit from the direct appli-
cation of European skill and capital. Europeans began the
culture and manufacture of indigo about forty-five years ago.
What was manufactured by the natives of India, prior to that
time, was trash unfit for the European market, then almost
wholly supplied by South America, which furnished England
alone with about 1,200,000 lbs. weight. There are at present
in Bengal 309 manufactories of indigo for exportation, of
which thirty-seven only are conducted by natives, and these
in imitation of the European process. The Indians, however,
cannot even imitate us to any advantage with so many examples
before them, and in full possession of all the land, to the com-
plete exclusion of their competitors; for the indigo thus pre-
pared is full 15 per cent. lower in value than that manufactured
by Europeans; and as to indigo made by the old native
process, it is still wholly unfit for the foreign market: and
even when re-manufactured by Europeans, which is sometimes
done, it is still, from the deterioration it has undergone in their
hands, a very inferior commodity. The average yearly quantity
of indigo produced for some time back in the British dominions
in India, has ranged from eight millions five hundred thousand
COLONIZATION. 419
to nine millions of pounds weight, worth from £2,700,000 to
4:3,300,000.* Here is a property worth, on an average,
£3,000,000 per annum, created solely by the skill, capital,
and enterprise of British-born subjects living in India, on mere
sufferance. In 1786, the import of Bengal indigo into this
country was 245,000 lbs. On the average of the four years
ending with 1827, it amounted yearly to 6,054,799 lbs. an in-
crease of nearly five and twenty-fold. Before Europeans
undertook the manufacture of Indian indigo, it was, as already
stated, so bad as to be unsaleable in any foreign market. On
an average, it is now about 12% per cent. better than South
American indigo. In short, about four-fifths of the consump-
tion of Europe, Asia, and America, is now supplied with good
Indian indigo, a commodity which, five and forty years ago,
had no existence. The benefit which some of the most im-
portant manufactures of Great Britain derive directly from
this improvement on the part of their countrymen in India, is
too obvious to be insisted upon. On the average of the four
years ending with 1828, the total yearly consumption of Great
Britain was 2,421,879 lbs. of which one-eleventh part only
was South American, the whole of the rest being East Indian.
The benefit generally conferred by the manufacture of Indian
indigo on the manufactures and commerce of this country,
amounts to this, that it is the principal, and nearly the only,
means to be depended upon, which the monopoly-principle
leaves open to enable India, to pay for the manufactures of
this country, and that it does so, to the yearly value of three
millions sterling. , sº
“All that can be said in respect to indigo is, that it suffers less
than other articles from the injurious effects of the monopoly-
principle. To say, however, that it does not suffer, would be
most untrue. The prohibition to hold lands, or to take se-
* “The following is the process of making indigo. When the plant is
brought in, it is placed in a large vat filled with water, where it is left to
steep, until the colouring matter is extracted, which is soon done, when it
begins to ferment. The time of its steeping varies according to the heat of
the weather. Great skill and judgment are necessary to know when to let
off the water into the vat below. This liquor being fully impregnated with
the colouring matter, is then beaten by the natives with large oars, until it
appears almost like curds and whey. It requires great experience to know
when it is beaten enough, to let the particles of colour sink to the bottom of
the vat. When it has thus been beaten, it is left to settle; and when this
is accomplished, the water is drawn off, and the sediment is carefully taken
out and spread into cakes, which are cut into squares and dried. When
completely dry, these cakes are packed in chests and sent to market,”—
Statham's Indian Recollections, 1832, p. 439.
2 E 2
420 COLONIZATION.
curity on lands,--a tax equal to half the gross produce of the
land imposed upon those who hold it;—the precarious and
dependent footing of Europeans living beyond the protection
of the King's Courts; the imperfect administration of justice
in the interior;-and the hostile leaning of the Government
and its agents towards all the private enterprises of British
subjects, are most serious obstacles to this branch of industry.
One would, indeed, have thought, without knowing the results,
that they must have proved insuperable impediments to a
branch of industry, which is the only one, that Europeans have
been enabled to prosecute with success in India upon a large
scale. But the vigour and elasticity of British enterprise are
capable of conquering many difficulties, and this is a proud
example of it.
“The following facts respecting the cotton trade will place
the principle, which it is our object to illustrate, in a very clear
point of view. In the year 1814, or the last of the East India.
Company's close monopoly, the quantity of cotton wool im-
ported from India into Great Britain was 2,850,318 lbs. ; in
1818 it rose to 67,456,411 lbs., but afterwards fell off greatly
from this amount, and on the average of the five years ending
with 1827 it was only 18,821,217 lbs. The cause of this is
obvious enough. The rude produce, of unassisted native in-
dustry, is wholly incapable of competing with the improved
produce of European industry, in the different colonies of
America and elsewhere. The best East India cotton, which
is that brought to this country, (for the coarsest is consumed
on the spot, and the middling sort sent to China,) is inferior
Žn value to the worst that is brought from any other country.
It is, in short, nearly in the condition in which Indian indigo
was before it was manufactured by Europeans. The East India
cotton in the London market is inferior to the best West
India cotton by threepence per pound. It is equal to half the
value of Berbice cottom. The best cotton of the Spanish
main is full 50 per cent. superior to it. Pernambuco and
modern Egyptian cotton* are at least 60 per cent. better,
* “The reader is not to imagine that the Turks, or the Arabs, or the Copts
of Egypt, acquired all at once the art of growing fine cotton, on the mere
fiat of the Pacha. A Frenchman, of the name of Jumel, introduced a new
species, or, at least, variety, of the plant, and instructed Mahomed Ali, his
officers and slaves in general, in the European mode of cultivation and pre-
paration. As appears from the examination of their mummies, the Egyp-
tians seem to have been cultivating cotton to very little purpose, as far as
quality is concerned, for about four thousand years! Monsieur Jumel did
more for the improvement of this branch of husbandry in a few months, than
the primitive civilization of the East, when left to itself, had been able to
COLONIZATION 421
while it must not be forgotten, that the old Levant cotton is
just what it was before, a coarse commodity, fit for no pur-
pose but that of making candlewicks, to which it is well
known to be appropriated. Bourbon, Manilla, and Sea
Island cottons are superior in a still greater ratio. To what
is such an inferiority owing, but to this, that the skill of Euro-
peans is directed to the culture and preparation of all these
varieties, while the East India cotton is left to the rude
and slovenly industry of the native inhabitants 2 In fact, no
attempt whatever has been made to improve the cotton of
India. It is grown and prepared just as it was three hun-
dred years ago, and in all likelihood, three thousand. The
soil and climate of India must not be blamed for this. They
are equal in capability to those of any other portion of the
tropical world, and superior to the greater number.
“The consumption of cotton in Great Britain, for the last ten
years, has been nearly doubled, and in 1828 it amounted to
732,152 bags. Let us see to what extent the British domi-
nions in India, adding to them those of tributaries, with a
suitable soil and climate, with 134,000,000 of inhabitants,
and with 1,280,000 square miles of territory, have contributed,
under the management of the East India Company, to the
promotion of the greatest and most important of all our manu-
factures. On the average of the years 1827 and 1828, the
annual consumption of Great Britain was 197,544,880 lbs. ;
of which the United States of America furnished 151,834,800
lbs.; Brazil, 17,754,880 lbs. ; Egypt, 6,957,600 lbs.; the West
Indies, 9,010,560 lbs. ; and the East Indies, 11,987,040 lbs.
The deductions to be made from this statement are sufficiently
conclusive, but they are, at the same time, humiliating. We
depend upon a rival commercial nation, and a nation which
aims at becoming a manufacturing one, in spite of nature and
circumstances, for nearly seventy-seven parts in the hundred,
of the raw material of our great staple manufacture. The
colony of a nation not only less civilized than our own, but
emanating from one of the least civilized in Europe, furnishes
us, from territories in the southern hemisphere, corresponding
in latitude and climate, with much of the British dominions
in the northern hemisphere, with nine parts in the hundred
of our consumption. Egypt, where the growth of exportable
cotton commenced only seven years ago, furnishes us with
effect in forty ages. So much for a people, who, in manners, customs, and
civilization, are said to bear the nearest resemblance, of all others, to the
Hindoos!” -
422 COLONIZATION.
four parts in the hundred of all we consume; and the do-
minions of the East India Company, where British sovereign-
ty has been established for sixty-four years, contributes only
the pittance of seven parts in the hundred to the material of
our staple manufacture. This is, however, very far from de-
picting the whole amount of the mischief done by the exclu-
sion of European improvement from the soil of India, even in
this limited view of the evil. The United States of America
not only furnish us with above twelve times the quantity that
the territories of the East India Company do, but that quan-
tity being full fifty per cent. more valuable, the true amount
contributed is in reality eighteen-fold as great. Brazil not
only furnishes us with above forty-eight per cent. more in
quantity than India does, but the quality of what she supplies
being seventy-five per cent. better, she necessarily supplies
160 per cent. more in value. But what is still more mortify-
ing than all this, Mahomet Ali, the Pacha of Egypt, in as
much as the average of his cotton is above eighty per cent.
better than the average of Indian cotton, contributes more
towards the support of our great staple manufacture, than the
Hon. East India Company by five per cent. It appears by
the American accounts, that, in the official year ending Sep.
30th, 1827, the United States exported to Great Britain and
Ireland 212,707,481 lbs. of cotton wool, which would have
afforded employment to about 118,170 tons of shipping. By
the same accounts it appears, that of the tonnage which clear-
ed out from the United States, from Great Britain and Ire-
land in that year, 218,519 tons were American, 99,114 only,
British. If the exportation of cotton wool was in a due pro-
portion to that of other articles of merchandise, (and there is
no reason for supposing that it was not,) it would necessarily
have afforded employment to 81,297 tons of American ship-
ping, but only to 36,873 tons of English shipping. On the
other hand, were our Indian possessions capable of supplying
us with the cotton which we must now receive from the
United States, the British tonnage employed, instead of being
36,873 tons, would, of course, amount to 118,170 tons, or
there would be additional employment for British shipping to
the extent of 81,297 tons. To what extent does the Indian
cotton afford employment to British shipping To the ex-
tent of 8,900 tons, as nearly as we can estimate it. If such
statements as these,_statements which no ingenuity or arti-
Jice can gainsay, do not open the eyes of the merchants, the
"manufacturers, the shipowners, and the landholders of the
United Kingdom ; in short, of all who are interested in the
COLONIZATION. 423
honour, power, and prosperity of their country, to the flagrant
evils inflicted by the system of eacclusion, we know not what
“The quantity of sugar imported into Great Britain from
the East Indies, in 1814, was only 4,904,368 lbs. ; in 1826 it
rose to 38,399,536 lbs.” No less than 20,859,440 lbs., or more
than one-half of this last amount was the produce of the is-
land of Mauritius; that is to say, the imports into this country
from a small island with an area of 372,528 acres, one-eleventh
part of which only is under any culture, and one-fifteenth
only under the culture of the sugar-cane;—the imports from
an island with a somewhat precarious climate, and a fertility
of soil not very distinguished;—the imports from an island,
that at the utmost contains a population of no more than
ninety-five thousand inhabitants; and, finally, the imports
from an island, of which the British nation had possessed the
sovereignty but twelve short years, are greater in the grand
staple of the tropical world, not only than those of all British
India, of which we have possessed the sovereignty five times
as long, with its area of 600,000 square miles, its population
of eighty-three millions, its fertile soil and its genial climate,
but larger than those of the whole Eastern world put together,
(the said small island excepted,) embracing a population of
certainly not less than 300,000,000 of people! In the first
year of the free-trade system, the importation of sugar from
India rose to 13,923,616 lbs., or owing to the mere impetus
given by the cheap freights and abundant capital of the Eng-
lish trader, they were augmented at once by nearly 65 per cent.
The Indian sugars, however, could neither be imported good
enough, nor cheap enough, for the consumption of Europe,
and for some time the importations were little better than .
stationary. In due time, however, the manufacture of sugar
commenced in the Mauritius, and within four years from the
time that the system of free trade came into operation, there
were imported from that island into Great Britain 5,678,888lbs.;
this was in 1819. In the following year there were imported
from the same place 14,524,755; and in 1823, 27,400,887,-
an augmentation of 382 per cent. in four years.
“The inequality of duty between Mauritius and other East
India sugars is not the cause that the trade in the one article
has been stationary, and in the other advancing with an ex-
traordinary rapidity of increase. A new soil, as yet unex-
hausted by bad husbandry, the introduction of European ma-
chinery, and the superintendence of European resident pro-
prietors, are the true causes. During the last eight years
424 COLONIZATION.
there have been sent to the islands of Bourbon and Mauritius,
but chiefly to the latter, by a single iron founder, no less than
two hundred sugar mills, the greater number of them with
steam-engines attached. To the territories of the East India
Company not one has been sent. There, under the present
system, no such improvements are introduced. The existing
system is, in fact, based upon the exclusion of European
skill and capital, which is equivalent to the exclusion of all
effectual skill and capital, from the improvement of the soil
and its productions. Consequently, the sugar-cane conti-
nues to be grown in continental India by the same rude hus-
bandry, and to be manufactured by the same miserable pro-
cess as, in all probability, it was three thousand years back.
“A short description of the Indian modes of growth and
manufacture will, at once, shew the reader that it is hopeless
to expect from them either a good or a cheap product. The
grower is a miserable peasant, without skill and without capi-
tal, paying, as a tax, to the East India Company, from fifty
to sixty, and even seventy per cent. of the gross produce of
the soil;-who neither manures his ground, understands how
to relieve it by a rotation of crops, or makes any attempt
whatever to improve the variety of the plant.* The sugar-
mill consists of two small rollers, from four to six inches in
diameter, turned in opposition to each other by two men, or
by a wretched bullock. The boiling utensils are four small
coarse earthen pots, of about the value of two-pence. The
grinding, boiling, and distilling houses are one and the same,
and consist of four stakes driven into the ground, with a mat
over them for a roof! The first manufacturer carries the pro-
cess no further than expissating the juice, the result being an
ugly brown mass, containing both the sugar and molasses.
This unsightly product is carried to another description of
manufacturer, fifteen, twenty, or even a hundred miles off,
who re-dissolves it, and, with the assistance of alkalis to neu-
tralize the acid which has been generated through the tedious
and paltry process of his predecessor, gets, after all, no more
* “Thirty years ago, the cane of Otaheite was introduced into the West
Indies, and from its vast superiority over the old varieties cultivated, both
as to quantity and quality of produce, it soon superseded all others; indeed
it may be said to have produced a revolution in the value of the land. This
great improvement has been introduced into Java, into the Philippine Is:
jands, and universally adopted in the Mauritius. Not so in that portion of
the Indies, under the special protection of the Honourable the East India
Company, where, down to the present day, it is as little known as the tree of
I(nowledge.”—Moseley's Treatise on Sugar,
colonization. 425
than twenty-five per cent. of sugar, and this ill granulated,
and deficient in saccharine matter. What chance can such
barbarous child's play as this have, even in the fairest and
most open competition, with the ingenuity, the judicious eco-
nomy, the enterprise, the skill, the capital, the machinery,
and, what is not less potent than all these, the commercial
probity of the European colonist?
“The sugar-cane is known to be an indigenous product of
India, and in fact it is, more or less, a product of agriculture
in every considerable country of the vast regions compre-
hended under that name, from the eighth degree of south, to
the thirtieth degree of north latitude, and from Persia to
China, both inclusive. Of all this wide extent, there is no
portion more suitable to its growth, than our own possessions.
This, indeed, is a point so long admitted, that it would be
useless to insist upon it. To produce sugar in abundance,
and to produce it of the best quality, all that is requisite is
to remove the idle and permicious restraints on the settlement
of Europeans. The effect of this must be the immediate ap-
plication of European capital, skill, and machinery, to the
production of the most important of all tropical commodities;
and one, without a free culture and free commerce in which,
half our expectations of extended commerce with the East
must end in disappointment.
“Indian tobacco is a still more deplorable example of the
slovenliness of Indian husbandry, than even cotton or sugar.
This commodity has been so long and so generally cultivated,
and used throughout Hindostan, that, although unquestion-
ably a native of America only, some speculators have imagin-
ed the probability of its being also indigenous to India.
Notwithstanding this long culture and long use, however, the
tobacco of India, owing to the sheer ignorance and negligence
of the native grower, is the very worst in the world, and
nearly unfit for any foreign market; altogether so, indeed, for
the market of Europe.* We have in vain looked for the
article of Indian tobacco in the prices current of Antwerp,
Rotterdam, Amsterdam, and Hamburgh. Even in the London
prices current we can discover it but occasionally. In fact,
only a trifling quantity, scarcely worth naming, has now and
then been imported for trial, in the urgency and difficulty of
- * “Trifling quantities of tobacco are sent to the Peguans and Malays,
people less civilized than the Hindoos themselves. Such are the total
exports in this great staple, by one hundred and thirty-four millions of
people!”
426 COLONIZATION.
finding remittances. The following is its condition:—The
mere husbandry from the first is conducted in the most slo-
venly manner. In gathering, the footstalks are left appended
to the leaves, with a due proportion of earth and sand. The
bales are packed in a careless manner, and, consequently, the
article is incapable of withstanding the effects of a long voy-
age. In short, the commodity reaches Europe in an unmar-
ketable state, wholly unfit for competition with what has been
grown, prepared, and brought to market by a more intelligent
and skilful industry. The very lowest quality of American
tobacco is worth in the London market 20 per cent. more than
the best Indian tobacco. The average of all American tobac-
coes is above 150 per cent. better. The very finest tobacco
of the United States is 650 per cent. more valuable, than the
finest Indian tobacco brought to the London market. The
reader is not to imagine that soil or climate has any thing to
do with this inferiority. Tobacco is one of the most hardy
and most universal of plants, having a geographical range of
at least fifty degrees of latitude on each side of the equator.”
Skill, industry, and capital alone are wanted to perfect it in
India. . . . .
“With respect to the suitableness of India for the growth
of tobacco, it deserves notice, that the finest sorts already
grown there, are produced in latitudes exactly corresponding
with those of the countries which we have just quoted, as
yielding the commodity in the greatest perfection. In one or
two districts, indeed, even native industry has succeeded in
producing some fine parcels. It is from these that the cele-
brated snuff of Masulipatam is manufactured; but the reader
must not imagine that this is the product of native ingenuity.
The natives were first instructed in the art of preparing it by
the French, and those who are curious in tracing inventions,
will find it to this day invariably packed in bottles of French
manufacture. .
“Of coffee, as the growth of British India, we have very
little to say, because, in reality, the production of this article
is too trifling to give room for details. Small quantities of
coffee have been produced, for some years back, by European
speculators in the southern parts of India, but it will scarcely
be credited, and yet it is strictly true, that the coffee plant,
introduced a century ago in every genuine colonial possession
* See the result of some recent improvements in the cultivation of tobacco
and cotton, at Cuttack in Orissa,—E. I. Mag., Oct. 1832, p. 393.
COLONIZATION. 427
of European nations, whether in Asia or in America,” should
only have been introduced into Bengal in the year 1823; and
this, too, although its native country be within the limits of
the East India Company's monopoly, and although the Com-
pany’s territory be nearer to, and has had all along a far more
extensive intercourse with, Arabia than any of the parties
which have elsewhere cultivated the plant so early and so
successfully. A few enterprising and intelligent Europeans,
encouraged too by the promise of permission to hold lands on
lease, (for this purpose only,) commenced the cultivation in
the year 1823—and small quantities of coffee of excellent
quality have been already produced. There is no article of
colonial produce, which illustrates in a more forcible manner,
the beneficial effects of European care and superintendence,
than coffee. In fact, the success, with which it is grown and
brought to market, affords no mean test of the civilization of
the nation or party producing it. Its geographical limits
embrace at least thirty degrees on each side of the equator.
It is a hardy plant easily acclimated; nor is it remarkably
fastidious, even in point of localities, preferring only moun-
tainous tracks unfit for the growth of grain, the sugar-cane,
cotton, and other staples.
“While the exclusion of European capital and industry in
India has hindered the culture of coffee in that country, it is
instructive to learn what the capital and industry of an infe-
rior people has been able to accomplish in Brazil, a country,
as we have already said, which, of all others, bears, in soil
and climate, the nearest resemblance to our Eastern posses-
sions. In the year 1820 the quantity of coffee produced in
Brazil amounted only to 14,900,000 lbs. ; in 1822 it was
24,300,000 lbs. ; in 1824, 36,700,000 lbs. ; in 1826, 41,600,000
lbs. ; and in 1827, 57,900,000 lbs. Here is an increase, in
seven years, of 43,000,000 lbs. The culture of coffee has been
prosecuted in the territories of the East India Company, for
a longer period than the one now stated; but the produce,
instead of having increased, as in this case, by 288 per cent. is so
trifling, in amount, that the commodity is not known, even by
name, in the market of Europe. This is a fair example of the
* “In 1718 the Dutch began to cultivate coffee in Surinam; in 1721 the
French began to cultivate it at Cayenne; in 1727 at Martinico; and in
1728 the English began to cultivate it in Jamaica.” See A treatise concern-
ing the property and effects of coffee, by Benjamin Mosely, M. D. “In the
year 1752, or seventy-seven years ago, the export of coffee from Jamaica
was estimated at 60,000 lbs, weight, which is a great deal more than all
British India at present exports of its own growth.”—Ibid.
428 COLONIZATION.
effects of colonization, under very unfavourable auspices, and
of the consequences of restraints and exclusions, under as
favourable ones as can easily be imagined; for, in the first case,
we have Portuguese colonists, with slaves for labourers, and
in the last English capitalists, and a population of freemen to
cultivate the soil.
“The only portions, of the Continental dominions of the
IEast India Company, where pepper is grown, is the coast of
Malabar; and from thence Europe was, at one period, sup-
plied with the largest portion of its consumption. That part
of India (to judge from etymological evidence) is the parent
country of the plant, from whence, however, it has spread to
other parts of India, being, at the same time, still confined to
the Eastern world. The total produce of pepper for expor-
tation has been estimated at 42,812,500 lbs., of which Mala-
bar produces only 2,412,500 lbs., or little more than one-
seventeenth part. In 1812 the produce of pepper in Malabarwas
3,238,540 lbs. In 1826 it fell to 2,412,500 lbs. The cause of
this decrease in the cultivation is but too obvious: a heavy
export duty was at first levied upon the commodity, and then
a land-tax still heavier, in the absurd and vexatious form of a
tax on each plant. The discussion of the East India Com-
pany’s servants, respecting the mode of levying duties on this
article, is exceedingly curious. One officer proposed an
export duty of twenty-seven per cent, without considering,
that, the Act of Parliament of 1813 did not authorize the
local government to impose new duties of customs, without
certain inconvenient references to England. Another, more
knowing, proposed to evade the law by substituting a land-tax
equal to one-fourth of the gross produce, which, in fact, as in
that thinly-peopled country, where lands fitted for the growth
of the pepper vine eacist in an abundance too great to be oc-
cupied, and where, consequently, no rent can exist, was
virtually a kind of excise upon capital. The land-tax, for
reasons evident enough, was preferred. In the meanwhile,
the culture of pepper was carried on in Sumatra, Siam, and
other barbarous countries free from land-tax, free from rent,
and free, for the most part, from export duties; nay, what is
more remarkable still, it was carried on under circumstances
equally favourable, in one of the Company's own Eastern pos-
sessions. It was not in nature, that the inhabitants of Mala-
bar should have been able to carry on the culture of pepper
with such competition, and, consequently the pepper gardens
fell into decay, or were abandoned. It is now understood,
that the tax has been withdrawn, but in all probability after
COLONIZATION. 429
the irretrievable ruin of the pepper trade. It is scarcely
necessary to say, that the chief remedy for the evils which we
have pointed out in the foregoing pages is European settle-
ment, or, more explicitly, the introduction of European ex-
ample—of European skill—of European enterprise, and of
European capital.” - . . *
A second advantage of Colonization would be, the increase
of British trade and commerce with India and the Eastern
world.
“A rapid view of the staple articles of export to India,
and of the staple productions of that country, will exhibit, in a
clear and incontrovertible manner, the evil effects of the
existing system. We begin with the articles of earport. The
most valuable and important export of this country to India
consists of cotton manufactures. This branch is nearly alto-
gether in the hands of the private trader, and so it advances
from year to year. In the year 1814, the East India Com-
pany exported manufactured cottons to the value of £16,252.
This was all that the Company effected for the grand staple
manufacture of the kingdom. In the same year the free
trader exported to the value of £74,673. The total number
of yards of cotton cloth exported to India in 1814, was
818,208, and of cotton twist 8 lbs. In 1827 the value of cotton
manufactures exported to India was £1,923,487, of which
the East India Company exported only £21,550 1s. 11d.
worth. The total number of yards of cotton cloth exported
was 42,919,222, and of cotton twist, 3,063,968 lbs. Of the
first, the share of the East India Company was 630,639 yards,
and of the second, 412 lbs. In thirteen years the East India.
Company’s trade in cotton manufactures had advanced very
little more than 32 per cent. ; that of the free trade had ad-
vanced in the same time by 3,832 per cent. The export
of cotton manufactures to India constitutes little less than
eleven parts in the hundred, of our exports to all parts of
the world, in this grand staple of our industry.t This is
undeniably a great and valuable branch of the national com-
merce, but that it has not obtained its acme may easily be
proved. It has hardly reached the Chinese empire, a country
of rude manufacturing industry, in comparison with Great
Britain, and a country in which the raw material is so dear
* Free Trade and Colonization in India, pp. 21–40.
f “The cotton produced in this district (Dacca) is mostly sent to England
raw, and the manufactures of England are preferred by the people of
Dacca themselves for cheapness.” Heber's Jour., vol. i. p. 141. AUTH,
430 COLONIZATION.
as to be yearly imported in great quantity. Hindostan alone
contains 134 millions of people, for whom the supply of 1827
will afford little more than three-tenths of a yard per head;
but to this must be added the population of India beyond the
Ganges, of the Indian Islands, of Persia, and of Arabia,
amounting in all, probably, to not less than 50 millions. For
this aggregate population of 184 millions, 42,919,222 yards
would afford little more than two-tenths of a yard for the
consumption of each individual. If we add, 150 millions for
the population of China, the supply will not amount, for each
individual, to much more than one-tenth of a yard / .
“The East India Company have always dealt in woollens,
and, to the infinite detriment of the fair trader, they still per-
severe in doing so. The woollen trade, therefore, to India,
not to mention that the free trader is wholly excluded from
China, the great market for that commodity, affords a very
different result from the cotton trade. In 1814 the total
value of woollens exported to India, including China, was
#21,084,435, of which the East India Company exported
421,064,222, and the free trader only £20,213. In 1827 the
total exports of woollens to India and China amounted in
value only to £817,159, or had fallen off by 23 per cent.
The East India Company exported of this amount to India
£126,320, and to China £413,412, or in all, £539,732, and
the free trader to India only £277,427. The export of the
free trader had advanced, therefore, on the limited field of
India, by above 1,272 per cent., and that of the East India
Company had declined by 49 per cent., or, in other words,
fallen to nearly one-half of what it had been thirteen years
before. The Company, notwithstanding these unsuccessful
and humiliating results, perseveres, with unaccountable te-
nacity, in maintaining its monopoly of the woollen trade to
China: it even forbids the officers of its own ships from being
concerned in this favourite branch of trade; and in India,
while the exportation of every other article to China (Turkey
opium excepted) is free, it has enacted a law, expressly for-
bidding all British subjects from supplying the Chinese with
this great staple of British industry ! The incapacity of the
Company to supply the Chinese market has conferred a very
useful privilege on the commercial rivals of this country. The
Russians supply the Chinese from the north, and the Dutch
and Americans from the south. The British trader has the
satisfaction of seeing the ships of the latter nation, legally
clear out from the ports of the United Kingdom with cargoes
of woollens and other British manufactures, while no British
COLONIZATION. 431
ship can presume to engage in such a commerce, and while
the law declares even a participation in the adventure, on the
part of the British merchant, to be a misdemeanour. We put
it to the common sense and common interests, of the wool
growers and woollen manufacturers, whether the free trade,
which, in fourteen years, raised the cotton exports to India
from £90,925 in 1814, to £2,059,374 in 1828, does not afford
them a fairer prospect of extending the consumption of wool-
lens, than the patronage of the East India Company, ac-
cording to the faithful statement which we have just rendered
of its history
“The India Company had long been in the habit of send-
ing metals, as well as woollens, to India and China; and in-
deed, their exports to those countries were nearly altogether
confined to those two articles. On the average of the eleven
years, from 1781 to 1791, they exported to the yearly value
of £141,985; the export of the last year named amounting
only to £108,560, and being less by full £55,318 than that of
the first. They exported to China in the same period, to the
yearly value of £48,827, so that their total average exports
were £190,812. In 1814, the first year of the free trade, the
total quantity of metals exported to India was 14,334 tons,
and the total value #494,970. Of this the East India Com-
pany exported 9,8133 tons, value #374,583, and the free
trader only 4,520% tons, value #120,387. In 1827, the total
quantity exported rose to 34,093 tons, and the value to
£768,985. Of this quantity the East India Company ex-
ported only 8,512 tons, and the free trader 25,580 tons. This
subject, however, requires explanation. The metals exported
in 1814 consisted only of iron, steel, copper, tin, and lead :—
the free trader has now added brass, quicksilver, and spelter.
The East India Company deals only in iron, copper, and
lead, relinquishing the three last-named metals to the free
trader, and the benefits of this relinquishment are remarkable.
The total quantity of iron exported in 1814 was 11,108 tons,
of which the East India Company exported 7,085 tons, and
the free trader 4,023 tons. The quantity of iron exported in
1827 was 19,261 tons, an increase only of 73 per cent. Of
this the East India Company exported 5,423 tons, and the
free trader 13,838 tons. In the first period the exports of the
East India Company exceeded those of the free trader by full
seventy-six per cent. In the last they fell short of them by
sixty per cent. . . . . . . . .
“In 1814 the total quantity of copper exported to India and
China was 1,881 tons, valued at £242,239. Of this the East
432 COLONIZATION.
India Company exported 1,505 tons, and the free trader only
376 tons. In 1827 the quantity exported was 2,613 tons, an
increase of thirty-eight per cent. ; the East India Company
now exported only 168 tons, or about a ninth part of what
they had exported thirteen years before. The free trader ex-
ported 2,445 tons, or between six and seven-fold more than
he had done in the commencement of his trade. The quan-
tity of copper furnished to China by the East India Company
out of the 2,613 tons above mentioned, (but in which, how-
ever, is included brass and manufactures of the two metals,)
was 23 tons 14 cwts. . . . -
“In 1814 the total quantity of lead exported to India and
China was 726 tons, valued at £19,393; the East India
Company exporting 605 tons, and the private trader 121 tons.
In 1827 the exports amounted to 4,488 tons, of which the
East India Company exported 2,546 tons, a large portion of
which, however, appears to consist of military stores. The
free trader exported only 1,942 tons, which, however, is an
advance of more than 1,500 per cent. upon his first attempt.
Of the exports of the East India Company, 1,660 tons, valued
at £33,359, were for the market of China. Deducting this,
therefore, from the whole amount of the Company’s exports,
there will remain for India only 886 tons, which is exceeded
by the free trade by nearly 120 per cent.
“The consumption of spelter, or zinc, in India has always
been large. About £50,000 worth of this commodity, under
the name of tutemague, used to be imported from China,
whence it was smuggled,—the exportation of it from that
country, as, indeed, of all other metals, being contraband.
In 214 years, the East India Company had not discovered
that tutenague and spelter were one and the same metal, under
different names. The free trader soon discovered it, and
spelter now forms one of the most valuable and important
of our exports to India. In the five years ending with 1827,
spelter was exported from this country to India, to the amount
of 32,553 tons, (being at the rate of upwards of 6,000 tons
per annum,) and to the value of £685,532. This branch of
trade may, indeed, be considered as one of entirely new crea-
tion, for India is the only market which Great Britain has for
the commodity. The Indians are now supplied with the ar-
ticle, at about one-fourth of its cost when it was supplied by
China, and probably to the extent of treble the quantity.
“To the metels now enumerated, we may add tin, steel,
wrought and unwrought brass, pewter wares, and tin plates,
plated ware, jewelry, machinery, small arms, and cannon.

COLONIZATION. - 433
These, which are all the produce of British industry, were
exported in 1827, to the declared value of £766,375, or, ex-
cluding military stores exported by the East India Company,
and which must, of necessity, be exported by any British
Government exercising the sovereignty of India, to the value
of £536,590. The exportation even of these minor articles
then exceeds by 40 per cent, the whole boon conferred by
the Legislature upon British manufactures and industry, when
the East India Company, bound hand and foot, came under
obligations to export British produce annually, to the pitiful
amount of £380,837. Other articles might easily be added.
Glass and earthenware, for example, heretofore confined,
under the monopoly, to the European consumer, have now,
by their cheapness, beauty, and suitableness, begun to reach
the natives of the East from China to Arabia. The first
of these articles is by far the most considerable in amount;
and we find that, on the average of the five years ending with
1827, the total annual value of it sent to India was £118,299.
To these proofs, that India is an extensive market for the
consumption of European productions—to this overwhelming
mass of evidence, in support of what was once called ‘nothing
but a sanguine theory,” and a “ deplorable delusion,’ we do
not know that the advocates of monopoly have ventured to
say any thing, beyond throwing out a hint now and then, that
the private merchant is carrying on ‘a losing trade.” It is
a strange losing trade, that for fourteen years has gone on in-
creasing year after year, and which at the end of the period,
is nearly 40 per cent. more than at the beginning of it.”
A third advantage of European colonization would be—
the permanence of the British power in Hindostan.—
“One would expect,” says our author last quoted, “from
the assertions of the advocates of restrictions, that such rela-
tions, as subsist between the people of India and ourselves,
had no parallel in the history of the world. There are, how-
ever, many cases exactly similar in every essential point, and
we shall advert to a few of them. The Mahomedans of
Persia and Tartary kept these same Hindoos in subjection
for seven centuries. They were rude, they were intolerant,
they persecuted for conscience' sake. They were, at first at
least, necessarily ignorant of the language, manners, and habits
of the aboriginal inhabitants; and when they became ac-
quainted with them, it was only to treat them with derision
or contempt. They altered the whole laws of the kingdom;

* Free Trade and Colonization, &c. pp. 6—15.
2 F
434 COLONIZATION.
they imposed Mahomedan institutions, and a Mahomedan
language. Yet, with all this, ºthere were few insurrections
against their authority; and, in the long period of seven cen-
turies, not one successful case of rebellion. One race of Ma-
homedans, and one dinasty succeeded to another race and
another dynasty, in the dominion of India. The patient and
docile Hindoos quietly looked on, and paid their homage and
their taxes to each successive conqueror. In a word, they
submitted to braver and more civilized races than themselves,
which was in the natural order of things. The Mahomedans
were not prohibited from occupying the soil: they, in fact,
became possessed of extensive estates in land throughout the
country; but the Hindoos were not, in consequence, dispos-
sessed. The Moslems constitute, at present, through emigra-
tion or conversion, full one-seventh part of the whole popula-
tion; that is, they amount to perhaps fifteen millions of settlers.
Still the Hindoos hold, after so many centuries of rude domi-
nion, by far the larger portion of the land, to the moment when
we ourselves became possessed of the sovereignty of the coun-
try. This is rather a strong case. It may be rationally asked,
Will one of the most civilized and humane of the nationis of
Europe, in a civilized age, act a worse, or a weaker part than
the semi-barbarians of Persia and Tartary, in a very barbarous
one - - - *
“One of the most remarkable examples of dominion, main-
tained by foreign conquerors for a succession of ages without
revolt, rebellion, or expulsion of the conquerors, there being
neither prohibition to the conquerors to own land, or colonize
in any other manner whatsoever, is that exercised by the
present race of Tartars over the vast empire of China, con-
taining double the area, and nearly twice the population of
our East Indian dominions. If the circumstances of this
dominion be considered, it will be found a much more
wonderful event, than even the establishment of our own ex-
traordinary empire. A mere tribe of shepherds, having
nothing but their good swords to rely upon, effected the
conquest of the greatest and most civilized empire in the
East, in a far shorter time than was taken in the formation of
our Eastern dominion, and they have kept peaceable pos-
session for 168 years. They govern that empire apparently
without any extraordinary difficulty, and with as few insur-
rections as can well be expected in an over-peopled country,
liable from that circumstance to dearths and famines, and
consequently to the anarchy and disorder which arise out of
them. They go a little farther than we do; maintaining the
COLONIZATION. 435
military power, they surrender the civil into the hands of the
native inhabitants; we are not quite so generous; we seize
the whole military and civil power, to the entire exclusion of
the conquered. We take the most effectual means to exclude
capital from the country, as well as to withhold from the Hin-
doos the example of morals, industry, arts, and science; and
we end by pronouncing such a form of administration the
most acceptable, popular, and appropriate which human
wisdom could devise for the government of eighty or ninety
millions of people, fifteen thousand miles distant from the
power that essentially rules them. What figure would the
conquerors of China have made in maintaining their domi-
nions, had they contented themselves with the expedient of
sending an army of some forty thousand men, with a few
civil functionaries from the wilds of Tartary, to the rigid ex-
clusion of the settlement and colonization of the rest of their
countrymen The Chinese, united and intelligent far beyond
the inhabitants of Hindostan, would not have endured the
silly experiment for a moment; and fortunately for the Man-
chou Tartars, they had no East India Company to persuade
them into such a blunder.
“The illustration afforded by the history of Turkish and
Russian conquest and dominionis, perhaps, more in point than
any others, and we shall briefly refer to them. The history
of Turkish conquest is shortly, but with sufficient accuracy,
as follows:—A tribe of shepherds from Tartary wrests its
Asiatic dominions from the remnant of the Roman Empire,
—passes the Hellespont, overwhelms the most civilized state
of the fifteenth century, and keeps possession of the finest
portions of Europe for three hundred and seventy-six years,
the conquerors, even when fully settled and colonized, not ex-
ceeding in number one-fifth part of the conquered inhabitants;
many of the latter being scarcely less warlike than themselves;
—being for the most part opposed to them in religion, man-
ners, and interests; and being, moreover, excited to, or abetted
in, rebellion for at least a century back by a powerful and
warlike neighbour. To what are we to ascribe this perma-
nency in the Turkish dominion, under auspices apparently so
unpropitious * No doubt in a great measure, to the same
causes which give stability to our own dominion in India,
and which promise, under almost any probable circumstances,
however blundering and unskilful our management, to give it
a long duration, namely,–the diversity of languages, manners,
religions, and interests of the conquered; their ignorance
of, and indifference to, political freedom, and the facility
2 F 2
436 COLONIZATION.
consequent upon all this, of employing them as tools for secur-
ing each other's submission. About a dozen nations, speaking
as many languages, form the aggregate of the Turkish popu-
lation. Among twenty-four millions of people, the conquerors
scarcely form, throughout, above one-fifth part; yet this
fraction has been sufficient, taking the average of Turkish
conquests, to have maintained a dominion of four centuries’
duration. It is needless to add, that the making and main-
taining of the Turkish conquests have depended solely on the
principle of settlement and colonization. Two millions of
Turks, possessing as governors no good quality, save personal
courage, have, when settled in Europe, proved adequate to a
long maintenance of authority over eight millions of Christians,
and others: but surely nine hundred or a thousand Turks, the
proportion of the English to their Indian subjects, never could
have effected such a purpose. The extravagant and unpro-
fitable experiment, which the skill of the English on the one
side, and the superior docility of the Hindoos on the other,
has rendered practicable in our case, would, in reference to
the blundering barbarism of the Turks, and the superior
energy and intelligence of their subjects, be too ridiculous to
imagine. -
“The history of Russian conquests is still more to our pur-
pose. The Russians proceed on principles diametrically op-
posite to those we have adopted in our Indian administration,
and it is obvious to common sense, that they owe their suc-
cess and their security to doing so. The nations subject to
the Russian dominion amount to about seventeen millions of
people, spread over an area said to be equal to a ninth part
of the habitable globe, and that part too, one abounding in
extraordinary difficulties of communication. Russia, like
Great Britain and Turkey, owes, no doubt, much of the facility
with which she maintains her dominion, to the diversity of
tribes, religions, languages, customs, and modes of civilization
almost infinite, which prevail among the people subject to
her authority. Among these there are about siarty distinct
nations, with as many languages; and as to forms of religion,
we have the Christian and Mahomedan, with all their sects;
we have Jews, Hindoos, Worshippers of fire, and followers of
the Grand Lama. The aggregate of energy, of the warlike
spirit, and of the rude spirit of independence, is, however, far
greater in the conquered subjects of Russia, than in the
Indian population subject to Great Britain. If to this, again,
we add the inferior resources of Russia, in comparison to
England, or, what is the same thing, her inferior civilization;
COLONIZATION. 437
and if we take also into account the greater distance of her
resources, or what is equivalent to this, her inferior means of
speedy communication with her distant conquests, we shall
be convinced, at once, that the task which Russia has to per-
form, in maintaining her dominion, is a far more difficult and
gigantic one, than ours in maintaining our Indian.
“With respett to colonization, every one knows that it is
the policy of Russia, not only not to discourage it, but to give
it the most positive encouragement. The Russian Govern-
ment having no preserve of patronage to hedge in, -no terri-
torial resources to throw away, affects no unfounded jealousy
of Russian subjects. On the contrary, it has recourse to
colonization as the cheapest, safest, and most efficacious
means of maintaining its authority in its distant possessions.
This course it has systematically pursued for full three cen-
turies, and with a safety, success, and advantage which are
sufficiently known. Russians are found as colonists from
Wologda and Woronesch to Kamschatka and to Chinese Tar-
tary. But the liberality of Russia is far from being confined
to native Russians, or to Russian subjects. The Russian
Government may be said to invite all the world to settle in
its dominions, and to have no more apprehension of strangers
than of its own subjects. Among colonists of the latter des-
cription are to be found Servians, Albanians, Wallachians,
Moldavians, Poles, Germans, French, and even English and
Hindoos / The Germans alone amount to nearly half a million.
Has the misconduct of these colonists driven the conquered
inhabitants into rebellion ?—have they polluted the simple
manners of the natives; or have they proved idle and useless
intruders where they have settled Quite the contrary;-
they have raised flourishing cities in the heart of Siberia; ex-
plored mines of the useful and precious metals in the same
country; cleared, cultivated, and peopled the desert banks of
the Wolga, and, by the introduction of the silk-worm, the
vine, and the olive, given a new character, and a new aspect
to the Crimea. -
“Our own country affords remarkable examples of a peace-
ful submission to foreign conquerors, and of the benefits de-
rived from the amalgamation of conquerors with conquered.
The Romans (the relative states of society in the world being
considered) were, when they conquered Britain, substantially
as distant from it as we are now from India; yet they subju-
gated a people more brave, more untractable, more untameable
than the Hindoos—occupying a country less accessible to
438 COLONIZATION.
invasion and conquest; and, imposing upon them their lan-
guage, laws, and institutions, held them in peaceful subjection
for between three and four centuries. There was no prohibi-
tion to Roman subjects to settle, to colonize, or, in a word, to
improve the natives by their capital, their industry, or their
example. The stability of the Roman dominion appears to
have been confirmed by a policy the very reverse of this.
Hume, speaking of Agricola, the ablest and the wisest of the
conquerors of Britain, eulogizes him in the following strain,
for doing that which a company of merchants would have
us believe must ruin us:—‘He introduced law and civility
among the Britons, taught them to desire and raise all the
conveniences of life, reconciled them to the Roman language
and manners, instructed them in letters and science, and em-
ployed every expedient to render those chains which he had
forged both easy and agreeable to them. The inhabitants
having experienced how unequal their own force was to resist
that of the Romans, acquiesced in the dominion of their
masters, and were gradually incorporated in that mighty em-
pire.”—The Romans were succeeded by the Saarons, a rude
and ferocious people, who were equally successful in main-
taining their authority. The Saxons were succeeded by the
Danes, and these by the Normans. The Ancient Britons
never regained their independence. In fact, where shall we
find in the page of history, one example of a rude people per-
manently conquered by a brave and a more civilized race
than themselves, regaining their liberty and independence,
and expelling their conquerors Another race of foreign
conquerors may supplant us in India; but we have nothing
whatever to fear from its native inhabitants. The people of
the East are, and have been in all ages, more passive and
pusillanimous than the people of the West. The dark-
coloured races are more passive than any of the fairer races of
men. The Roman dominion over the more manly and free
nations of the West scarcely lasted sia, hundred years; over
the timid and subservient nations of the East it lasted one
thousand years longer:—such a prospect as this ought to
satisfy our thirst for oriental dominion.
“From the confidence with which the arguments against
European settlement, as respects India, have been urged, we
might be almost tempted to believe that all experience was
on the side of the advocates of restriction; and that the East
India Company was deterred, by some awful precedent, from
following the example of other people. Colonization has,
COLONIZATION. 439
however, been pursued, even in India, not only with safety,
but with advantage, and that an advantage, too, invariably
proportioned to the extent to which it has been carried. The
colonists, in such cases, have not only produced no danger to
the mother country, but, in every emergency, proved its best
support. The name of Portugal, from the feebleness of that
power in Europe, would hardly have been known in India in
the present day, had she not acted, from the very first, on the
principle of colonization and settlement. The consequence
of her having done so, however, is, that the Portuguese name
and language, and even Portuguese influence, are at present
more generally and widely diffused throughout the East, than
those of any other European nation. The free settlement of
Europeans has been acted upon in the Philippine Islands for
about four centuries, among a far less hospitable race than
the Hindoos. It is not enough to say, in this case, that the
practice has been safe only ; the Spanish dominion could
neither have been established nor maintained without it; the
European settlers not only preserve the country from insurrec-
tion, but protect it from foreign aggression. It is their union
and amalgamation with the natives of the country, that have
saved the dominions of the Philippines to Spain, even in her
present state of colonial weakness. -
“In the larger portion of the great island of Java, Euro-
pean settlement has been tolerated for about two centuries,
and Dutch colonists hold great and extensive landed posses-
sions. This is just the part of the island where there has
mever been an insurrection. On the other hand, insurrections
and formidable rebellions have been frequent in those portions
of the country where European colonization has been forbid-
den by law : nay, more, it is a matter of motoriety, that the
arbitrary ea pulsion of European settlers, holding leases of
land, from which the native proprietors were deriving signal
advantage in that interdicted portion, was one great cause of
the present ruinous war in the island /
“The same principle has been acted on in Ceylon, with its
Hindoo, its Mahomedan, and its Cingalese population. When
we received the government from the Dutch, eight out of the
twelve members of the council of government were colonial
landholders, men born in the country. No sooner did the
administration fall into the hands of the East India Company,
than the danger of colonization was again conjured up, and
the usual prohibition duly enacted. His Majesty's Govern-
ment, in humble imitation, continued it for a short period,
but, seemingly ashamed of such a piece of folly, took off this
440 COLONIZATION,
prohibition in 1810, and still more completely in 1812. Some
years after this a formidable insurrection took place in the
Candian provinces, where there were no European colonists;
if there had, most probably there would have been no insur-
rection, or, at all events, that insurrection would not have
come upon the Government as it did, surprised, and unpre-
pared.” The impression of these facts, gathered from the
history of so many nations must be irresistible, in favour of
British colonization in the East.
The civilization, and consequent happiness of the in-
habitants of India, would be greatly promoted by colonization.
The British Government in the East, has doubtless been a
great blessing to its numerous subjects; but that happiness
has been increased, in proportion to the humanity and liber-
ality by which it has been administered. Its approximation
to the principles of an enlightened people has been attended
with great benefit. The increase of Europeans in India
would be accompanied by a greater portion of moral power,
the infusion of which, in the institutions of the people and the
general proceedings of their rulers, would promote the welfare
of all classes of society. The following fact may afford a
pleasing specimen. The permanent settlement of Lord
Cornwallis, was a very beneficial regulation. “The measure
which introduced this change in the tenure of land has been,
in its general effect, an infinite blessing to the country, by
the creation of a permanent interest in improvement, and the
security which it affords to possession. Before its estab-
lishment the most fertile provinces on the banks of the Ganges,
were subject, under our Government, to almost periodical
famine, which swept away millions of men, and villages by
thousands; reducing, in the language of Lord Cornwallis, “a
third of the Company’s territories to the condition of a wil-
derness, inhabited only by wild beasts.”f Since its operation
began, these villages have been rebuilt, and these wilder-
nesses have been covered with beautiful harvest.” -
To the sentiments of the late Bishop Heber considerable
deference will be given. He observed, “Lord Cornwallis's
famous settlement of Zemindary rents in Bengal, is often
severely censured here, as not sufficiently protecting the
ryots, and depriving the Government of all advantage from
* Free Trade and Colonization, pp. 42—49, 76, 77.
+ “The first year of his (Mr. Carter's) administration, (1770) was dis-
tinguished by one of those dreadful famines which so often affect the
Provinces of India; a calamity by which more than a third of the inhabitants
of Bengal were computed to have been destroyed.” Mill's Hist, vol. iii. p.431.
\
COLONIZATION. 441
the improvements of the territory. They who reason thus,
have apparently forgotten, that without such settlements
those improvements would never have taken place. Almost
every Zemindary which is brought to the hammer, (and they
are pretty numerous !) is divided, and subdivided, each suc-
cessive sale, among smaller Proprietors; and that the progress
is manifestly going on to a minute division of the soil among
the actual cultivators, and subject to no other burdens than a
fixed and very moderate quit rent, a state of things by no
means undesirable in a nation, and which only needs to be
corrected in its possible excess, by a law of primogeniture,
and by encouraging, instead of forbidding, the purchase of
lands by the English. On the desirableness of this last
measure, as the most probable means of improving the country,
and attaching the peasantry to our Government, I find in
Calcutta little difference of opinion. All the restriction
which seems necessary, is, that the Collectors of the Com-
pany's taxes shall not be allowed to purchase within the
limits of their districts: and if the same law were extended
to their Hindoo and Mussulman deputies, a considerable
source of oppression which now exists, would be dried up,
or greatly mitigated.” - -
“The revenues of the Indian Government (says the West-
minster Review) would ultimately, and, to some extent, im-
mediately, be benefited by the settlement of Europeans.
They would pay for these estates—redeem the land tax—
advance public improvements—become instruments and val-
uable agents on a thousand occasions—they would purify
the public morals—elevate the line of civilization, and, in a
word, become central sources whence the stream of improve-
ment would be poured forth. They, too, would form a nu-
cleus of defence againstforeign invasion infinitely morevaluable
and economical than any standing army. The story of the
long endurance of the Roman sway has been often told.
They amalgamated with those whom they conquered, and
elevated their descendants to the same immunities themselves
enjoyed. It became, after one generation had passed away,
a pride and a privilege to be a member of a Roman colony.”f
The utility of Europeans in India, will appear by the fol-
lowing statements from Hamilton, who will be considered an
impartial person.-" The most valuable products of the Dis-
trict of Moorshedabad are silk and indigo; but the works,
erected by the Europeans for the manufacture of the latter, are
* Heber's Jour, vol. ii. p. 309. West. Rev., Oct. 1829, pp. 23, 24.
442 COLONIZATION.
viewed by the zemindars with great jealousy, (although
manifestly tending to increase the produce of their lands,) on
account of the protection, which the factories afford to the
under tenants against the exactions of their landlords.” . . .
“By the exertions of Mr. Smith, (a merchant who settled here
in 1810,) the town of Nauthpore was greatly improved, the
streets widened and straightened, the communications cleared,
and much jungle cut down. Mr. S. also induced workmen
in brick to come from Nepaul, where they are more skilled in
building, as living almost entirely in brick houses, and several
of the natives were persuaded to erect brick-dwellings.”t
The reader will, doubtless, notice the influence of a single
merchant. . . . . . . . . . . . . -
“Mirzapore is at present one of the greatestimland trading
towns, and has long been, and still continues, the mart for
all the cotton of Agra . and the Mahratta countries. The in-
habitants are more remarkable for their active industry, than
in any part of the Company’s dominions out of the three
capitals, to which they have been greatly stimulated by the
energy and enterprise of the British indigo planters and
merchants settled near them.”f
“The town of Banda, which a few years ago was a village,
is now become a large and populous place; its prosperity
having been greatly accelerated by the gunge, or mart, and
other works erected by Mr. Richardson, while Magistrate of
the District.”$ . .
Let Europeans be allowed freely to settle in India, and what
would be the pleasing result? Education would be extended;
—schools and colleges would be established;—places of public
worship would be erected, and the generalwelfare of the original
inhabitants promoted;—knowledge would be diffused, and the
press, in connexion with the labours of Missionaries and the
regular Ministers of the Gospel, would make a powerful im-
pression. What is the result of a contrary policy — -
“Wide o'er the regions of the Orient world, :
Her murderous sway dark Superstition holds;
And the far Occident still sees unfurl’d
Slavery's black banner float in ample folds.
“The burning altar smokes, and wrapp'd in flame
The widow dies, a living victim bound:
While Juggernaut’s grim car rolls on the same,
Wheeling o'er human necks its impious round.
* Ham. Hind., vol. i. pp. 161, 177. + p. 238.
; p. 311. § p. 325. Of Delhi, see p, 421, and vol. ii. p. 327.
COLONIZATION. 448
“Reeking with blood the East lights up her pyres,
Where idol gods through frantic crowds are borne;
And in the West are kindling other fires,
'Mid chains and groans, and mingling hate and scorn.
“To cheer the gloom of these benighted skies,
The Press, its radiance o'er the darkness flings;
The Herald of that Sun which soon will rise,
With freedom, peace, and healing on its wings!”*
The accelerated progress of Christianity in India, with all
the valuable institutions which it fosters, may be confidently
anticipated from an enlightened colonization.
“The great majority of British sojourners in India are in
the Bengal provinces, and a vast number of these within the
comparatively narrow limits of the town of Calcutta; the
whole number of such sojourners does not exceed three thou-
sand persons, of which we compute that about two-thirds are
inhabitants of Calcutta; the remaining third, dispersed and
powerless, being scattered over the nearly 600,000 square
miles beyond its limits. It is, therefore, in the European
towns alone, and especially in Calcutta, that there exists any
thing like an efficient cause for change and improvement;
and, considering the smallness of the means, change and im-
provement have, since the era of the free trade, been great
and remarkable. One striking example may be given. The
native inhabitants of Calcutta having been admitted to sit as
petty jurymen in criminal cases, an official list of qualified
persons was duly published. The qualification, in respect to
education, was, such a knowledge of the English language as
should enable the party to follow the judge in his charge;
and in point of property, an estate of the value of £500 ster-
ling, or the payment of a house rent of £5 per annum. Per-
sons possessing an estate of the value of £20,000 were
exempted from serving on common juries. The lists, admitted
to be imperfect, shewed eighty-four qualified Indians, of whom
no less than fifty-seven were men possessing an estate of
3620,000 or upwards. . , -
“The number of schools instituted at Calcutta and its vici-
nity, for the instruction of natives in English education, during
the last few years, is extraordinary. In the City, there are
twenty private religious, or benevolent institutions engaged,
directly or indirectly, in the promotion of European education.
In some of these, natives of the highest rank and greatest
* Ori. Herald, Jan. 1824.
444 COLONIZATION.
wealth have associated themselves with Europeans. Five
years ago, there were, in Calcutta or its neighbourhood, forty-
three private schools, for the instruction of the Indians in
English. As to disinclination to European learning, this is
wholly out of the question. On the contrary, both the in-
terests and the practical good sense of the natives lead them
to give it a decided preference, notwithstanding some foolish
attempts made to restrain them, by diverting their principal
attention to the barren field of their own languages, literature,
and philosophy | Even the Hindoo religion seems to be
giving way before the light of reason; and it is well it should,
for, independent of its spiritual consequences, the influence
which this degrading superstition exercises over civil society,
is pernicious and demoralizing, far beyond that of any other
known form of worship. -
“English laws and institutions, at least such as are suitable
and rational, are equally popular with the Hindoos, notwith-
standing the pains taken at one period to convince the English
public to the contrary, and to make them believe that they
were unalterably attached to their own. What but this at-
tachment has peopled the towns of Calcutta, Madras, and
Bombay What but this partiality makes a real property in
Calcutta worth twenty years' purchase, when in the provinces
it is not worth five What but this makes a Hindoo con-
tented with an interest of five or six per cent. for his money
in the capital, when he might receive in the provinces twenty
or twenty-four The Indians, in short, are thoroughly im-
bued with a just sense of the advantages of being considered
British subjects, and of living under the protection of English
law. When the natives, living within the pale of the English
law, contrast their own prosperity and security with the po-
verty, disorder, and anarchy of the provinces, how should
they feel otherwise
“Some eminent persons have expressed an opinion, that the
Hindoos stood in no need of improvement, or at all events
that they were not likely to be bettered by any intercourse
with us. This wanton hypothesis is fortunately nearly obsolete.
If it be right, that a mischievous, degrading, and often a blood-
thirsty superstition should be supplanted by rational religion,
—that knowledge should supersede ignorance,—that feeble-
mess and sloth should give way to energy and industry, that
poverty should be exchanged for wealth, then the Hindoos
stand in need of improvement, and it is our duty not to refuse
it to them. -
COLONIZATION. 445
“If the account given of the predilection of the Hindoos and
other Indians, for our language, literature, useful institutions,
and knowledge, be just, (and we have full reliance upon its
being so,) every Indian, who acquires an English education,
becomes, of necessity, a convert to what may be called our
political opinions, and consequently an additional support to
our dominion. Should the natives abandon their own super-
stitions, (the matter is already in progress,) and adopt our re-
ligious opinions, this will be an additional tie. Their con-
version, whether civil or religious, must necessarily be gra-
dual, and will be the safer and more efficient for being so;
but every convert, of either description, will be an additional
stay to the support of our dominion. Every conquest of this
description, which we make upon the province of ignorance
and dissatisfaction, will be a fresh accession to our own
strength. The result, hitherto at least, has been exactly what
we are describing it. Those among the natives who under-
stand our language and manners, and whom experience has
taught to appreciate our institutions, are invariably found to
be the most faithful of our subjects; indeed, perhaps the only
portion of our Indian subjects at all attached to our rule, the
only portion, in truth, who have any good reason for it.”
The late Marquis of Hastings, whose enlightened attach-
ment to the cause of education in India is well known, ex-
pressed himself in the following language, to one of the
addresses presented on his resigning the Government of India,
Jan. 1823.−"I do indeed join with you sincerely, in reckon-
ing upon a permanent and advantageous change, in the con-
dition of a vast portion of the Indian people. Security and
leisure will afford opportunities for the active influence of the
moral instruction which we labour to disseminate; and moral
instruction cannot be diffused without promoting the happi-
ness of society. Were this anticipated, merely in a moderate
circle, there would be comfortable reflection in having con-
tributed even, in a minor degree, to such consequences; but
when one looks to the immense population to which it is
hoped this powerful agency will apply, there is a triumph in
having co-operated in a purpose worthy of our country, though
my share in the effort may not have gone beyond the giving
£mpulse to the able instruments around me.” Let Britain
pursue the work of civilizing and evangelizing India, and it
will raise, to adopt the language of one of the addresses to
his Lordship;-“A moral monument to the British character,
* Free Trade and Colonization, &c., pp. 83–87.
446 CoLoRIZATION.
in every way superior to the palaces, the tombs, and the
mosques of native emperors, which are now in ruins.”
The natural and beneficial influence of Christianity in pro-
moting the happiness of a people, is very justly stated by the
“Friend of India.”—“It was not the intention of Christianity
to prescribe a general code of civil and municipal law for all
mankind; this would, in itself, have been impossible; for
men, in different stages of civilization, require different, and,
sometimes, directly opposite laws; the progress and the de-
cay of nations, require a diversity of legislation. Christianity
aimed at a nobler object. It struck at the root of human
misery, and pointed its weapons against the principle rather
than the development of evil; against that fatal principle,
which adapts itself to all the various states of society. Hu-
man misery, whether among civilized or barbarous nations,
has its foundation in the heart, in the degeneracy of the moral
principle; political causes, though concurring to the same
unhappy result, are but of a secondary order. Divine Revela-
tion therefore, ascends to the primary cause, and labours to
eradicate the principle of moral evil, and to implant in its
stead, just sentiments respecting our duty both towards God and
our fellow creatures. Let these just moral sentiments take
root in the heart, and civil and political improvements will
necessarily follow. Wherever the benign influence of Chris-
tianity is felt, society advances with rapid strides to the
attainment of whatever confers dignity and happiness on
man; and it is only because its influences are unfelt or neu-
tralized, that so much misery remains on the earth. To rea-
son from its perversion rather than from its tendency, is
against every rule of logic; to lay to its charge the miseries
which have grown out of the subversion of its principles, is to
deviate widely from truth. We are fairly borne out in assert-
ing, that it is the matural tendency of Christianity to produce
such happy effects on the temporal prospects of man, and
that every obstacle to its progress, in any country, is equally
an obstacle to its national prosperity.”
Confirmation of the above statements is scarcely necessary,
but the sentiments of a few public characters may be read
with interest.
“We might benefit both ourselves and India, by an en-
lightened system of colonizing portions of that fertile country;
and the arts of Britain would yield a manifold return to us, if
restored to their original climes of the East. The Roman me-
* Friend of India, May 1825, pp. 48, 49, 52.
COLONIZATION. 447
thod of a chain of colonies, over the remote provinces of Endia,
would both tend to secure the country and would spread a
taste for our arts and manufactures.” (Douglass.)
“If Europeans of character and capital were allowed to
settle in the country, with the permission of the Indian Board,
the Court of Directors, or the Local Government, it would
greatly improve the sources of the country, and also the con-
dition of the native inhabitants, by shewing them superior
methods of cultivation, and the proper mode of treating their
labourers and dependents.”f (Ram Mohun Roy.)
“With a view to encourage the residence of British subjects
in my dominions, for the better civilization of my people, and
the introduction of various arts, and sciences, I hereby
assure them of my special protection. They shall have
free liberty to dwell therein; to build ships, and houses,
and cultivate lands; to carry on lawful trade and traffic;
to come and go at their own will and pleasure, with-
out let and hinderance of any kind, and without payment
of any duty or taa: than before mentioned.” (Radama, King
of Madagascar.) . . . . . . . .
“Of all the interests which have ever been submitted to the
consideration of men, those of India are the most extensive.
The good or the evil which an administration may do, has
never been presented in proportions sufficiently colossal.
If the English public once begin to think about them, they
will soon be interested: they will no longer be able to
exclude from their thoughts the consideration of all the good
which they may do, and all the evil which they may
avoid. But that apathy with which the human mind always
considers things that are far distant, must first be conquered.
“In effect, the English will see unfolded to them such de-
tails of injustice, such traits of rapacity, of despotism, of cor-
ruption, as will shock them, still more from the stigma this
will affix to the English name. They will deem themselves
responsible before God and man for the fate of a hundred
millions of subjects, which they have acquired by means
stained with many crimes, and to whom they have given the
most absurd government that can be imagined. Then will
the whole community unite their voices in the general cla-
mour; every one will reproach himself for his former silence
and apathy; every one will second, with all his power, the
general efforts to prepare, from that time, the abolition of the
Company at the expiration of the Charter. Who would not
* Douglass’ Prospečts of Britain. + E. I. Mag., March 1832.
448 COLONIZATION.
blush, in short, to have confided the government of a country
so important to the human race, to a company of merchants?
to have considered the fate of human beings as a commercial
speculation ? to have consented that the happiness or the
misery of thousands of individuals, the progress of civiliza-
tion or barbarism, true religion or polytheism, of moral edu-
cation or ignorance, should melt away into half-pence and
farthings, to the account of profit and loss, in the books of
an anonymous society to have, in fact, constituted a divided
sovereignty, cut up into scrip receipts or bonds, which are
bought and sold daily, according to the state of the market;
so that the sovereign of yesterday, is a stranger to India to-
day, and may become sovereign again to-morrow, only because
he has taken advantage of the variation of half per cent, to
sell out or re-purchase a certain portion of India stock.”—
(Sismond.) - - -
“If it were possible,” says Mr. Mill, “for the English Go-
vernment to learn wisdom by experience,—which governments
rarely do, it might here, at last, see with regret, some of the
effects of that illiberal, cowardly, and short-sighted policy,
under which it has taken the most solicitous precautions to
prevent the settlement of Englishmen in India; trembling, for-
sooth, lest Englishmen, if allowed to settle in India, should
detest and cast off its yoke The most experienced persons
in the Government of India describe, what to them appears
the difficulty, almost or altogether insuperable, of affording
protection either to person or property, in that country, with-
out the assistance of persons of the requisite moral and intel-
lectual qualifications, rooted in the country, and distributed
over it in every part. They unite in declaring that there is
no class in India, who possess these qualifications; that the
powers necessary for an efficient police cannot be entrusted
to the zemindars, without ensuring all the evils of a gross
and barbarous despotism. And they speak with admiration
of the assistance rendered to government, by the gentlemen
distributed in every part of England. Is it possible to avoid
seeing, and seeing, not acknowledge, the inestimable service
which might have been derived, in this great exigency, from
a body of English gentlemen; who, if they had been encour-
aged to settle, as owners of land, and as manufacturers and
merchants, would at this time have been distributed in great
numbers, in India. Not only would they have possessed
the requisite moral and intellectual qualifications—things of
* Ori. Herald, vol. x. pp. 419–423.
COLONIZATION. 449
inestimable value; they would have possessed other advantages
also of the highest importance.” (Mill, Historian of British
India.) • * -
“The present system of licensing individuals who proceed
to reside in India, can be conveniently and advantageously
relaxed. In the absence of all restrictions upon individuals,
there certainly would not be any formidable efflux of needy ad-
venturers; they could not get to India if they would. India
does not afford a possible means of subsistence to either the
mere agricultural peasant or the lowest description of artisan.
The agricultural peasant could not compete for three months
with the Indian cultivator, for many reasons. It would be
advantageous, to encourage the resort to India, of individuals
possessing more or less capital. No benefit arises from the
prohibition of Europeans to possess, or occupy, lands in the
interior, and they should be permitted to possess lands, pro-
vided the Natives are guarded against their oppression,
by making the European possessors of land, in the interior,
amenable to the Company’s Courts; the less the supreme
Court is allowed to interfere the better. It would be the
direct interest of any European, embarking capital in manu-
facturing or commercial speculation in India, to cultivate the
good opinion and to secure the co-operation of the Natives;
common good policy would cause him to do so. This being
the interest of the European, and if the protection afforded to
the Natives by the courts of justice is improved, no danger
would result from an unrestrained admission of Europeans
into the interior; and there would not be the slightest objec-
tion to their being allowed to go thither. The class of
persons who would go out to India would have some small
degree of capital, and would generally be people of re-
spectability, who would have a knowledge of their own
interests.” (C. Lushington, Esq.)
“The settlement of Europeans would be advantageous to
India; the revenue would be benefited by taxes on the articles
he consumes; the general wealth of the country would be in-
creased by improvements in its productions; his example
would introduce among many of the Natives some European
habits, which are habits of greater comfort and expense than
native habits. Increased production, commerce, and consump-
tion, will render the taxes more productive; and every im-
provement in agriculture must add to the rent of the land,
the main source of revenue to the state; irrigation would
* E. I. Mag., June 1832, p. 562.
2 G
450 COLONIZATION.
render much land highly productive, that is now comparatively
unproductive; and, since the rent of all waste land, not
specially assigned, belongs to the Government, there would
be an accession of revenue in all cases in which such land
might be brought under tillage. Intercourse with Europeans
leads to the use of wine and spirits; and the servants of Euro-
peans are better clothed and housed than others. At Calcutta,
there is a very marked tendency among the Natives to indulge
in English luxuries; they have well-furnished houses, watches,
carriages, and wines. European capitalists would improve
the cultivation, manufactures, and commerce of India, es-
pecially in sugar, indigo, cotton, and tobacco. Instead of
danger, there would be additional security from any number
of Europeans likely to visit India; they would be very useful
agents of police, and centres of information. They would
have great influence over these connected with them; they
would be bound to England by a common feeling; for they
never can become sufficiently strong to be independent of
England.” (Holt Mackenzie, Esq., late Secretary to the
Bengal Government.) - - -
“The real source of our strength, next to our military
power and skill, being the unity of purpose and justice of
principle which have distinguished our Government, the
security of our dominion cannot fail to be increased by every
measure tending to remove needless distinctions, and to com-
bine all classes in the administration of the laws.”t (The
Right Hon. C. Grant, President of the Board of Control.)
“A more general residence of Europeans would certainly
be attended with great advantages, if they carried capital or
skill with them to India; but, I think that any unrestricted
residence of Europeans in India, would be productive of more
harm than good.” (Hon. M. Elphinstone.)
“In every point of view, colonization is the only remedy,
the ‘one thing needful,” for the salvation of Hindostan;
whether we look to augmenting the efficiency of the civil
Government, and enabling it to fulfil the duties to which it is
now confessedly inadequate, without an addition to its ex-
penditure, which the revenue of the country could never
support; or the defence of the country against foreign inva-
sion, without rendering it onerous, out of all proportion, to the
mother country; or, lastly, to the improvement and well being
of the subject millions committed to our sway, and the eventual
* E. I. Mag., April 1832, p. 342. † E. I. Mag., August 1832.
# Asi. Jour., Nov. 1831, p. 270.
COLONIZATION. 45]
establishment of Christianity over some of the fairest portions
of the habitable globe.” (The Author of Reflections on the
present state of British India.) - -
Lord Grenville, in a speech during the Parliamentary dis-
cussions, at the renewal of the Indian Charter, in 1813, has
the following beautiful and philosophical passage:—“To
what extent this trade [of India] may then be carried, pre-
Sumptuous indeed would be the man who shall now venture
to pronounce. On what evidence, what conjecture, would he
found his judgment? What present knowledge, what past
experience of India could possibly decide that question?
“No commerce, Trebatius, or Quintus Cicero, returning from
a campaign in Britain, would probably have informed the
Roman senate, “no commerce can ever be carried on with
that uncivilized, uncultivated island, divided absolutely from
the whole world by tempestuous and unnavigable seas,
and inhabited only by naked and houseless barbarians.”
“No commerce, some sage counsellor of Henry or Elizabeth
might, with equal authority, have assured those monarchs,
“can ever be opened with the dreary wilds of North America,
a land covered with impenetrable forests, the shelter only of
some wandering tribes of the rudest and most ferocious
savages.” Yet of these predictions the folly might be palliat-
ed by the inexperience. In the defect of better knowledge,
such conjectures might even pass for wisdom. But what shall
we say to those who deny the possibility, not of opening new
sources for the commerce of mankind, but of enlarging its
present channels? Who tell us, that the trade we now carry
on with India must, in all future times, be limited to its
actual amount? Strange and unprecedented necessity' which
has thus set bounds to human industry and enterprise, arrest-
ed the progress of commercial intercourse, and by some blasting
and malignant influence, blighted the natural increase of
social improvement. With full and confident assurance, may
we repel these idle apprehensions. By commerce, commerce
will increase, and industry by industry. So it has ever hap-
pened, and the great Creator of the world has not exempted
India from this common law of our nature. The supply first
following, the demand will soon extend it. By new facilities,
new wants and new desires will be produced. And neither
climate, nor religion, nor long-established habits, no, nor even
poverty itself, the greatest of all present obstacles, will ulti-
mately refuse the benefits of such an intercourse to the native
* Oriental Herald, April 1829, pp. 114–123.
*
2 G 2
452 - COLONIZATION.
population of that empire. They will derive from the exten-
sion of commerce, as every other people has uniformly derived
from it, new comforts and new conveniences of life, new in-
citements to industry and new enjoyments, in just reward of
increased activity and enterprise.”
“What then,” says Lord Teignmouth, in his reply to Major
Scott Waring, “is our obvious policy —to implant in the
minds of the Natives principles, that if they reason at all,
they may reason to some beneficial consequence;—such as
will connect attachment with allegiance, and give them an
interest in the prosperity of our European Government; in
other words, the principles of the Christian Religion. Major
Scott Waring asks, if it can be supposed possible, “that thirty
thousand British subjects could retain an empire containing
fifty millions of people, if the Christian Religion was universal
in India?’ The question will not at this time be deemed to
require a solution; and on his principles the case will never
occur. But it is more pertinent to ask, whether the British
dominion in India, would not acquire additional solidity, by
the accession of a body of Natives united to us by the bond
of a common faith? The Major foresees no danger in the
operation of bigotry, superstition, and prejudice, which, whilst
they exist in their present force, must oppose a bar to the
cordial union between the Natives of India, and their Euro-
pean Rulers. I see the subject in a different light, and with-
out wishing to circumscribe the limits of that toleration which
has been hitherto adopted, feel the necessity of introducing
a principle of counteraction and melioration, by implanting
amongst them the doctrines of Christianity.”f -
The Author cannot better close this chapter, than by the
following glowing paragraph from “ Chenevia on National
Character:”—- -
“It is by the empires which Britain has created, by the degree of civili-
zation which she has diffused, and the tracts of earth over which she has
spread it, that she must be judged by posterity. The only rule for appre-
ciating nations is to compare original means with the ends attained; and in
what nation did the latter ever shew such an excess above the former as in
Britain P The Greeks had greater natural advantages, but used them not
so wisely. The Romans did for themselves as much as a people could do ;
but the rest of mankind felt rather their ambition than their benevolence.
Among modern states, not one could be named that has disseminated so
much good, and so little evil, as England. Spain and Portugal discovered
new seas and lands: England discovered and enlightened them. Germany
* West. Rev., Oct. 1830, p. 15. º
f Considerations on communicating to the Natives of India the knowledge
of Christianity. 1808, p. 89. 38:
COLONIZATION. 453
has not been in a situation favourable to maritime adventures. France,
with extensive coasts, and all the power and knowledge which could make
her great by sea, has indeed completed voyages of circumnavigation; but
she has planted few colonies, and can appeal to no deserts, once umpeopled,
to prove that the men who now inhabit them are her offspring. The public
monuments of England can bear no comparison with the stupendous
edifices which the Romans erected in their conquests. They are surpassed
by those of ancient Greece, of modern Italy, and of nations much inferior
in the arts of embellishment. Upon the useful establishments which make
her present superiority, and so far surpass the conceptions of all other nations,
time can more easily lay its pitiless hand, than upon hewn stone and brass.
The roads, six times as numerous, and incomparably more practicable than
in any other country, must leave less traces behind them than the ancient
causeway; and, overgrown with grass, their thin beds of loose pebbles may
be turned up by the ploughshare. Their present perfection may make their
obliteration more easy. The canals which now are thronged with traffic;
which in their ordinary course are so modest, though so magnificent when any
obstacle is to be overcome; may more easily burst their dikes, or be filled
up with mud, than those whose boast was architecture, not trade. The
subterraneous works of the greatest city of the world, the dwelling of more
than a million and a half of men, may lie underground forgotten, and leave
no towering arch to strike the eye, like the Appian or the Claudian aque-
ducts. Envy, too, may pen the history of England, and rival nations gratify
their enmity by detraction. Spain may tell how the Catholics have been
persecuted, and the library of the inquisition record the condemnations of
the men who were punished for conspiring against the sister-in-law of King
Philip. France may charge her civil wars with perfidy; her revolution
with cruelty; her policy with intrigue. All nations may lend her their own
vices. The United States, indeed, will call her ancient annals theirs, and
glory in having had such princes as Edward and Henry ; but will they be
thus candid on her future story? They must; their own existence will
testify against whatever malice they may yet retain. When they behold
themselves, and think how they were founded; when they read their own
laws and constitution, and reflect from whom they held them, and the
spirit which enacted them; when they see, in other regions, other nations
happier and freer than natural circumstances would have made them, and
find the languages of all to be derived from one source—from the idiom
which Shakspeare, Bacon, and Newton spoke; they will be forced to say,
“Had England not been great and generous, these things could not have been.’
When the greatest of republics shall allow that Britain was the freest of
kingdoms, all will own, that no mation of the world was ever so prolific a
parent of mighty empires.”
* Vol. ii. pp. 575—578. Eclec. Rev., April 1832, p. 337.
454 COLONIZATION.
CHAP. III.
*
Answers to objections to colonization in India, arising from
the number and character of its population—the supposi-
tion that the Natives would be deprived of their property
by the settlers—apprehended injurious tendency to the
present measures adopted for the improvement of India
—probable character of the emigrants—and its tendency
to promote the independence of India—concluding re-
narks, on the relation of Britain to India, China, and
the Eastern world.
One of the first objections, to the colonization of Europeans
in India, is—that the number and character of its population
are opposed to it.
Colonization and settlement, in the abstract, are two very
different things.-‘The colonization of India may appearim-
practicable; but, although there may be no room for coloni-
nization, there is ample room for settlement, in a country offer-
tile soil, far more thinly peopled, than any part of Europe, and a
country, too, without capital, knowledge, morals, or enterprise.
Mere day-labourers, of course, there is, generally speaking, no
room for; but there is ample room for skilful mechanics, for
agricultural, commercial, and even manufacturing capitalists.
The free settlement of all these classes, under equal and suitable
laws, will prove the only means of civilizing and humanizing
the inhabitants of India. Our countrymen, living amongst
them, will instruct them in arts, in science, and in morals; the
wealth and resources of the country will be improved; the
Hindoos will rise in the scale of civilization, for they have
sufficiently evinced that they possess both the capacity and
inclination to do so. We leave it, to the abettors of restric-
tion, to point out what evils are likely to spring from such
changes.
“In the teeth of all history, and of all experience, the
Hindoos, the most docile of mankind, and for a people so un-
civilized, surprisingly addicted to commerce, have been repre-
sented by the advocates of restriction as a mass of inflammable
materials, capable of being ignited by simple commercial
contact with the most commercial nation in the universe.
Metaphor has been resorted to, to colour the alleged preca-
riousness of our tenure of Indian dominion from such an in-
tercourse. Sometimes a sword is held dangling over our
COLONIZATION. 455
heads; sometimes we are sitting on a barrel of gunpowder,
an English merchant the incendiary to light it! But of all
others, the most favourite figure of speech, upon such occasions,
consists in representing all Hindostan as suspended by a
pack-thread, which “the touch of chance,” or the indiscretion
of a free trader, might break, sending our dominion, of course,
to perdition. One strong and indisputable fact will settle this
question at once in the mind of every man of sense. We
hold our Indian empire by the power of the sword. Saving
the honour, firmness, probity, and intelligence of the national
character, our civil institutions are valueless, and our adminis-
tration of justice avowedly imperfect and insufficient. They,
in fact, afford very little support to the army. That army is
the smallest in the world, in proportion to the population of
the country; and it is inconceivably small, if we consider that
it is not a national army, maintaining subordination to national
laws, but that it is the instrument of maintaining authority
over a vast and distant conquest. The whole Indian army,
regulars and militia, does not, in round numbers, exceed
800,000 men; and this, let it be recollected, is a perpetual war
establishment. It is sufficient to maintain º tranquillity,
and to protect us from foreign invasion; nay, it is sufficient
to enable us to commit aggressions upon our neighbours, and
to make external conquests.
“No assertion is more frequent with the advocates of re-
striction, than that the Hindoos are a people unchangeable
in their manners and opinions, and having a strong repug-
nance to all that is foreign;–to every thing like change,
necessarily including every thing like improvement. The
late Sir Thos. Munro, a most distinguished public officer, ex-
pressed this opinion in an unqualified manner, in his evidence
at the bar of the House of Commons, in 1813. Nothing can
be more natural, than that such notions should be entertained
by a few solitary Europeans, living amongst millions of Hin-
doos, or of any other people whatever. All advance in civili-
zation is slow, and nearly imperceptible; and no wonder that
an isolated observer, however great his natural acuteness,
seeing the Hindoos subjected to no material cause of change,
should be ready to pronounce their manners and character
immutable. A few scattered Englishmen, living in Russia,
in the commencement of the reign of Peter the Great, would
have pronounced the Muscovites as unchangeable as the
Hindoos are now pronounced to be ; and, if they did not
reason from analogy, but took it into their heads that Musco-
vites differed morally, if not physically, from all the rest of
456 coloniz ATION.
mankind, they would have been utterly incapable of forming
any rational conception of the vast progress which the Rus-
sians have made within the last century. Such observers
would have pronounced, without hesitation, that a Russian
would for ever continue to tremble at the sight of a Swede;
that Russians of rank would, to the latest time, prefer quass and
votkatoburgundy and champaign, cabbage and grease to French
cookery; that a Russian nobleman would as soon have parted
with his beard, as a Persian; and that his head, to the latest
posterity, must continue as ‘populous,” as Gibbon represents
that of the Emperor Julian. Sir Thomas Munro's observa-
tions applied to about thirteen millions and a half of Indians,
among whom there were, exclusive of civil and military ser-
wants, certainly not a hundred free settlers. As long as we
take the utmost pains to exclude all causes of change and
improvement, no doubt there will be neither change nor im-
provement. Admit these causes, and the Hindoos will be
found as improveable as other races. The changes, and even
improvements which the Mahomedans effected, are alone
sufficient proof that the Hindoos are neither unalterable nor
unimproveable. Everywhere they improved the government,
the laws, the arts, and even the literature of the country.
We are compelled at length, however reluctantly, to abandon
our extravagant and fanciful notions of ancient Hindoo civili-
zation, and to come to the rational conclusion, that the Hin-
doos were always inferior to their conquerors, of whatever
denomination: these conquerors effected all, in improving
them, that was within the scope of their ability; but still, as
they were not a very powerful, or a very civilized people
themselves, they are far indeed from having effected what is
in our power to accomplish.” -
It must be evident to those who are acquainted with the
state of India, that this objection is founded in error, and that
the settlement of Europeans of good morals, property, and
talent, is practicable, desirable, and eminently calculated to
promote the real welfare of the various nations and tribes that
people Hindostan. -
A second objection is, that the Natives would be deprived
of their property by allowing colonization in India.
“Our modern colonists have, in general, displaced the
aboriginal population, and taken entire possession of the soil.
In India this would be impracticable; the population is too
thick to be removed, and the colonists must be content to
* Free Trade and Colonization, &c., pp. 68, 71, 72, 81–83.
COLONIZATION. 457
occupy a portion of the land, leaving the largest share in
the possession of the Natives.”
“When a people colonizes in a country, occupied by an-
other less advanced in arts and improvements, they make
room for themselves, not by displacing the indigenous inhabi-
tants, but by the creation of new resources; by applying more
skill and labour to the cultivation of the soil, and to every
other means of sustenance and convenience Analogy would
induce us to expect the same results from the same causes,
whether operating in the East or in the West. And if
we proceed to examine the result of continued communi-
cation, so far as it has been practicable under the system
hitherto adopted, we shall find that we have not been
deceived in adopting this as our criterion. Wherever the
European inhabitants are more thickly congregated, as at the
three seats of Government; wherever individuals have habi-
tuated themselves to much intercourse with the Natives, and
having survived the originalities of family and friendship, and
contracted new ones, have ceased to contemplate Britain as
the vista of their earthly pilgrimage; in short, wherever there
is an approximation to that state of things which colonization
would exhibit, there we find the Europeans animated with
the most kindly feelings towards the Natives; most ably and
actively co-operating for their improvement, and reaping the
most ample returns of confidence and attachment. Thus, at
Calcutta, there are Bible Societies, School Societies, and a
School Book Society; and in the principal School Society
and School Book Society, we see Europeans and Natives
acting together as members of the same Committees, and
joint secretaries giving to each other the right hand of fellow-
ship.”t
“The pretence that our colonizing in India would be an
encroachment, and an intrusion, seems a very idle one; if
colonization makes the Natives happier and better, it matters
little by what name it is called. Enjoyment may be an in-
truder, though a very welcome one, and the encroachment of
good upon evil deserves no reprobation. “But we shall sup-
plant the Natives, has been urged. Is the colonist, then, a
conqueror Not he—he comes with his purse to purchase
the lands on which he settles, to unite his interests perma-
nently with the interests of the country; his gains are to
fructify there; the prosperity of the colony is his prosperity;
* Friend of India, May 1825, p. 37.
† Ori. Herald, vol. ii. pp. 195-–205.
458, COLONIZATION.
he takes nothing but that for which he gives an equivalent,
and his very success depends on his giving to the community
more knowledge, activity, and wealth, than it possessed be-
fore. And it is undoubted, that the districts (Tirhoot and
Purneah) which are the most thickly peopled with Euro-
peans, are the most industrious and the most prosperous in
India.”* -
“Except when the laws are bad, or badly administered,
and a country consequently reduced to a state of anarchy, the
strong cannot dispossess the weak. If the laws be tolerably
administered in India, Englishmen cannot possess themselves
of the lands of the Hindoos, except by giving a valuable con-
sideration for them. Unquestionably the Hindoos will not
part with them, except for such consideration, for they are a
parsimonious people, and in all affairs of property a careful
and acute people. If an Englishman gives a just equivalent
for the real property of a Hindoo, it is not necessary to say,
that this is an accommodation and an advantage to the Hin-
doo, and not a matter of injustice or of oppression. The Hin-
doo proprietor may have more land than capital; he may be
involved in pecuniary difficulty like the proprietors of other
countries. By selling a portion of his estate, he may not only
improve the remainder, but relieve himself from his difficulties.
To deny him access, therefore, to the best market for his land,
is not only no protection, but a positive injury, as well to
himself as to the whole society to which he belongs. *
“What would the landed gentlemen of England say of a
law, which prohibited the wealthy capitalists of London,
Liverpool, Glasgow, and Bristol, from becoming purcha-
sers of the estates, which they were anxious to dispose of
Would they deem such a law a protection to their property;
or rather would they not reprobate it as an act of deliberate
spoliation ? What would be thought of a law, made for the
protection of the Irish, which prohibited English capital from
being invested in the soil of Ireland, and made it a misde-
meanour, for an Englishman to be found in that country with-
out a licence from a Secretary of State The same general
principles which are applicable to Ireland, are equally appli-
cable to India. There may be trifling differences in the
modes of their application, but these will be found trivial and
unimportant. Human nature is pretty much the same in all
ages and climates. What is fundamentally true of it under a
fair complexion, is equally so under a brown or a black one.
* West. Rev., Oct. 1829, p. 22.
COLONIZATION. 459
It cannot be transmuted to serve the interested purposes of
patronage or party.” -
It would appear, from the letter of a correspondent of the
Sumbud Cowmoodee, that the majority of zemindars in the
mofussil of India (the country) are friendly to the measure of
European colonization. We extract part of a conversation
on this subject, between an opponent of the measure and a
zemindar. Op.–“We suppose then you will not sign the pe-
tition [against solº are you not aware of the evils
that will arise from the coming of the Europeans?” Zem.—
“We do not anticipate any evil whatever from it; on the con-
trary, the landlords will receive more rent; more labourers
will be required, and they will receive higher wages; the land
will be improved, and we shall see other improvements.
When there is a deficiency of rain, the cultivation will be car-
ried on, raising water by machinery. Knowledge will be pro-
moted in the country villages; now the people are afraid when-
ever they see the Sahebs, but then they will be familiar with
them: the poor, receiving higher wages, there will be a greater
diminution of robbery in the country. If all this good is to
be expected, why should we pray for its prevention ?”t
A third objection to colonization is, its apprehended in-
jurious tendency to the present measures adopted for the
improvement of India.
The late Bishop Heber, in his route near Buxar, very
pleasantly remarks,—“We brought to by a grass field,
divided into butts, by rows of the tall and beautiful cotton
grass. I never saw, I think, finer land. The banks of the
river are all a light, marly loam, like garden mould, dry,
sound, and friable, without any intermixture of stones or cold
clay, and with very little sand. Abdullah, who is a warm pa-
triot, so far as his admiration of the climate, soil, and pro-
ductions of Hindostan goes, and who is much pleased to
observe the interest I take in these matters, said, “Ah, my
Lord, why not get leave to buy land in this good place, and
good climate; my Lady and children have always good
health here, settle it on young Lady, native of country, and
call it Harrietpore.’ I laughed, and told him the reason of
the law which hinders the English from buying land in India;
he owned it was a very good law, to prevent the English Col-
lectors and Magistrates from being tempted to extort lands,
as the Mussulmans had done, from the people by false accusa-
* Free Trade and Colonization, &c., pp. 54, 55.
t E. I. Mag., Feb. 1832, p. 194.
460 * COLONIZATION.
tions; and added,—it was wonderful how the English Par-
liament took notice of every body and every thing.”
This objection is met, in a very sensible manner, by a
Hindoo writer in the India Gazette, of April 1830.
“Our author proceeds to shew the evil effects of ‘colonization,’ against
which he raises two objections; first, that in case any dispute happen be-
tween the Government and the natives, those Englishmen who may settle
here, would side with the former because they are of the same complexion
and religion; secondly, that if these Englishmen be treated in a manner
which they may not like, they will endeavour to bring the natives over to
their party, and raise factions against the Government. In answer to the
first, we will ask the writer to point out a case, in which all Englishmen
would join the Government against Hindoos ? Will there be mone to com-
miserate the deplorable condition of the natives? This is indeed thinking
too ill of human nature. How is it possible, that those Englishmen who
will come here with a view of profit, will rise against the natives, when it is
their interest to live peaceably with them? We are of opinion, that such a
case as our author imagines, is utterly impossible; we cannot believe that
all Englishmen would join the Government against Hindoos. What was
done when the “Stamp Act” was about to be established? Did not the
English as well as the Hindoos oppose such a measure? And why, we
would ask, but because it was prejudicial to the welfare of both nations?
So that, after all, it comes to this, that according as the Government may
have recourse to good or bad measures, will the English and the natives
side with or against it? - -
“The second objection is as groundless as the first. He says, “that he is
afraid the English and the natives will combine to oppose the measures of
Government.” But we reply, nothing indeed can be more natural and
desirable than this, when the Government becomes oppressive and tyrannical.
The object of every Government is to protect and not to tyrannize over its
subjects. If then, the British Government in India become so bad, as to
have recourse to any steps that will be eventually productive of pain to the
greater number, we believe it will be our duty to oppose them, rather than
to let them tyrannize unchecked. So that the very objection of our author
proves that “colonization’ is beneficial to the welfare of the Hindoos. For
if they keep up a close correspondence with the Englishmen who may settle
here, the Government will be cautious before it contemplates or enforces
any tyrannical measure. -
“That colonization will be productive of ‘greater good to the greater
number,’ is a position which we hold to be sacredly true. No one will deny,
that since the coming of the British to this country, the inhabitants have
improved in knowledge and increased in civilization. What was the state
of India a few years ago? Veneration for the idols (or gods, as they call
them) was the sole occupation in which they were employed. A soodra
dared not eat his dinner, nor drink water, before he had fed a brahmun;
who, perhaps, he knew was guilty of the most horrible crimes. But setting
aside these absurdities, the face of India, as well as the inhabitants, has
undergone a great change within a few years, and the improvement that is
now very rapidly going on, induces us to prognosticate many important
circumstances. We may be allowed, perhaps, to pierce the dim shades of
futurity, and gladden our heart with the hope that India will one day be
* Heber's Jour., vol. ii. p. 260.
COLONIZATION. 461
among the first of empires in civilization and happiness. If the attempts of
a few liberal Englishmen, who are at present living in this country, have so
much contributed to improve the condition of the natives, how vast will be
the advancement, when they will be more freely allowed to come and settle
here! We have been sorry to hear one objection started against coloniza-
tion, that the fate of the original inhabitants of America should be a
warning to us. To this we reply, that the case between the Hindoos and
Americans is quite different. The latter were nearly a set of barbarians
when Europe sent colonies to their country; whilst the former are advancing
in civilization. If the Hindoos suffer by colonization, the fault is to be
ascribed, not to their stars, but to themselves, to their indolence and inat-
tention.”* - . . .
The probable general character of the emigrants is felt
by some as a serious objection to colonization in India.
This fear appears to arise from an incorrect view of the sub-
ject. The Editor of The Friend of India, in an article upon
colonization, very justly observes, “India appears to admit
only such a modified colonial system, as shall secure the em-
ployment of European intellect and vigour in directing Asiatic
labour. This would be far more consonant with the dignity
of the European character, and with our superior civilization,
than any constant personal labour at the plough or the anvil.
It would more directly meet the wants of the country, and
promote the happiness of the native population and the in-
crease of the resources and prosperity of the country, without
degrading the character of the emigrants. The advantage of
this European energy would be more particularly felt in the
agriculture of the country, through the introduction of bene-
ficial reforms and the general infusion of energy into the whole
system. India might thus participate in the agricultural im-
provements which we have been so long maturing in England,
and the stream of improvement, gradually spreading over the
country through a thousand channels, might dispense fertility,
without contracting any impurity from the soil over which it
passed, or occasioning damage by any sudden and violent
change. The admission of Europeans to purchase land, and
form settlements in the country, would perhaps realize every
expectation relative to the benefits of colonization. Govern-
ment have recently relaxed the exclusive system, by admitting
Europeans to hold lands, to the extent of a thousand bigahs,
for the cultivation of coffee. May the experiment pave the
way for European capital and energy to flow upon the coun-
try in a quiet and gentle stream, and multiply the points of
mutual interest and attachment between Europe and India.”4.
* Asi. Journal, Nov. 1830, p. 245.
+ Friend of India, May 1825, pp. 39, 41, 47.
462 COLONIZATION.
The present system in India is evidently founded in error.
“The project of bestowing peculiar patronage on the weak
and disfranchised classes of society is one, from which arbitrary
Governments have often endeavoured to draw to themselves a
little popularity. The East India Company, like others
of the same family, has repeatedly come forward as the
champion of the Hindoos. Having themselves already
loaded these Hindoos with taxes, and disfranchised them,
they manfully step forward to protect them against imagi-
nary danger from others. We have one notable example on
record of the consequences of such patronage, the protection
which Spain afforded to the American Indians, against its
own European subjects or their descendants. The case is so
much in point that it deserves to be adverted to. By the
code of laws made for the protection of the native Americans,
they were pronounced to be of pure blood; their chiefs had
the privileges of Spanish nobles; the natives who lived in
separate villages were restrained from wandering from them,
with the most patriarchal tenderness for their safety; they
were governed exclusively by officers of their own tribes;
above all, neither Spaniards nor persons of the mixed races,
were allowed to settle among them,--to buy, or in any man-
ner to encroach upon their lands. To prevent their simplicity
from being abused, the Indians were prohibited from disposing
of their real property, even amongst themselves, without the
intervention of a magistrate; they could neither contract nor
conclude bargains for a greater sum than the value of three
Spanish dollars. Every species of oppression to which they
were exposed was minutely guarded against by law, and a
suitable remedy provided for it. In a word, they were placed
under the protection of all the constituted authorities of the
Spanish Government, who were bound to defend them from
injustice and secure them from wrong. Such were the elabo-
rate pains taken by the Government of Spain for the protec-
tion of its Indian subjects. The consequences are too well
known. The Indians, not only deprived of all national inde-
pendence, but reduced to a state of pupilage, by the affected
securities bestowed upon them, lost all energy of character,
even that little which belonged to them under their native
Government; while the mixed races, and creoles, who not
only had no patronage or peculiar securities, but, on the
contrary, were subjected to innumerable disabilities, have, in
spite of all the efforts and oppression of Spain, acquired a
force of character, the results of which are sufficiently known.”
* Free Trade and Colonization, pp. 99, 100.
COLONIZATION. 463
“The colonists of India (says the Westminster Review)
should be persons of capital, knowledge, and activity. To
such, the numerous resources which the cheapness of labour
—the productiveness of the soil—the high rate of interest—
the low state of civilization—the indolence of the few, and
the ignorance of the many, would, in different ways, afford
encouragement and profit. There is scarcely, any one de-
partment of agriculture or manufacture, which would not be
invigorated by the application of wealth and active intelli-
gence. Even the means of communication, one of the most
important objects for the ereation and dissemination of pros-
perity, are inconceivably imperfect.* Every implement of
husbandry is of the rudest construction, every mechanical
contrivance, evidence of the infancy of art. All that has been
done for the prosperity of India of late, may pretty distinctly
be traced to the presence of Europeans—notwithstanding all
the impediments to their settlement, all the clogs on their in-
dustry, the insecurity of their tenures, the jealousy of their
influence, and the openly avowed hostility of the rulers of In-
dia, to any thing which bears the appearance of “Coloniza-
tion.” The presence of English settlers in different parts of
India, would in itself be a protection of the highest value to
the Natives in their neighbourhood, who are now exposed
to the extortions of eollectors, the injustice of magistrates,
the violence of military authorities, or the petty tyranny of
the servants of the police.”t
The candid reader must be convinced, that, “In reality,
from the very nature of things, the free adventurers to India
would of necessity be composed of the most respectable emi-
grants that ever quitted one shore for another. The length
of the voyage—the state of society in India—the character of
the climate, would inevitably preclude the resort of such
emigrants as were not possessed, of what India stands so
egregiously in need of—capital—talent—integrity, and en-
terprise.”: -
But the most serious objection, in the view of many per-
sons, to the settlement of Europeans in India, is, that coloni-
* “Universal poverty,” says Mr. Colebrooke, “prevents such undertakings
from motives of public spirit, and nothing is applied to such works from
the revenues of the state. Remains of stupendous causeways, ruins of
bridges and magnificent stairs on the banks of rivers, not replaced by
similar undertakings of a modern date, suggest melancholy reflections on
the decline of the country.”
- t West. Rev., Oct. 1829, pp. 24, 25.
; Free Trade and Colonization, &c., p. 64.
464 COLONIZATION.
zation would ultimately promote the independence of India,
after the ea'ample of America. The futility of this objection
is easily shewn. -
“Anglo-America and India stand as it were in complete
contrast and opposition to each other, in reference to the
question of colonization. America, when colonized, was des-
titute of inhabitants, or very nearly so, and at the moment of
emancipation, the wages of day labour were perhaps not less
than £70 a year. The British territories in India are peopled
throughout, to the extent of one hundred and twelve inhabi-
tants to a square mile, and the wages of common labour are
not above £3 per annum. America, when ripe for indepen-
dence, was peopled by one race of free men, having the same
institutions, manners, religion, language, and interests; in
India there are at least thirty tribes or nations, speaking as
many distinct languages. There are several forms of religion;
and these again are broken down into sects and casts, the
followers of which are full of antipathies towards each other.
The Indian nations, in short, unknown to each other, destitute
even of a general medium of communication, have no com-
mon interests, and, therefore, no common feeling of national
independence. The notion of their conspiring or combining
to rid themselves of the dominion of strangers is purely chi-
merical. Who, in fact, in this vast heterogeneous mass are
to be deemed the strangers ? The Mahrattas are as much
strangers to the people of Bengal, or to those of the Carnatic,
as we are; and, without doubt, would be much more unwel-
come ones. The Seiks are strangers to the Mahrattas, and
either would submit to the other's barbarous rule far more
unwillingly than to ours. About fifteen millions of Mahome-
dans, differing from each other in nation, in sect, and often in
language, are opposed to a Hindoo population of eighty mil-
lions—may, opposed among themselves to each other. Where
are the materials for unanimity of purpose, conspiracy, or
combination, in this most discordant mass of human beings 2.
“The Americans, when ripe for independence, were a
free, bold, energetic, and highly-civilized people. The In-
dians know not what freedom is: they are, for the most part,
a timid, often an effeminate, and, as a nation, a feeble race of
semi-barbarians. In every circumstance, in short, in which
it can be possible to institute a comparison, the Indians and
Anglo-Americans are the very antipodes of each other. The
states of society in the two countries are, without exaggera-
tion, more dissimilar than in China and Lapland. We and
others conquered the Hindoos, because they were feeble and
COLONIZATION, 465
disunited. They are now, and they always have been, readily
retained in subjection, for the same reason that they were
easily conquered. . . . . . . .
“With the fullest and freest liberty to settle, the European
colonists in India will still constitute a prodigious minority.
To imagine their revolt, therefore, is nothing less than ridicu-
lous. Their security for centuries—as long as they continue
a distinct race—as long as their faces remain white, and they
speak the English language—must depend upon the mother
country. Instead of endangering our dominion, therefore, they
will become its natural, and, through their knowledge and in-
fluence, its best, its cheapest, and its firmest supports. The
very charge of danger alleged against their free settlement
may, with infinite truth and justice, be urged against the sys-
tem of restricting it. The Hindoos, instead of being a people
difficult of management, are, in reality, of all the conquered
people that ever existed, the most easy. Had they been
otherwise, the barbarians of Persia and Tartary could not
have held them in easy subjection for seven centuries; nor
could the commercial and exclusive Government of the East
India Company have lasted for a single day. The adminis-
tration of the East India Company is, in itself, a proof with
how little government—with how imperfect a government—
the Hindoos may be kept in subjection. The administration
of India, as it is now constituted, disclaims all support deriv-
led from the influence or public opinion of Englishmen. It
creates in its own hands enormous and pernicious monopolies;
it refuses to grant, or is incapable of bestowing, an ade-
quate administration of justice; it denies to the people a share
in their own Government; it places all power in the hands of
, a small party, or faction, of its own countrymen; it rules the
country by an army, chiefly levied from a disfranchised and
insulted population; and, finally, the spirit and tendency of
its constitution is, to leave to the precarious guardianship of
about thirty thousand Europeans, the sovereignty or dominion
over an empire of one hundred millions of people. This is a
real trial of the docility of the Hindoos; such a trial of men's
temper and forbearance as was never made before in any age
or climate; a scheme, the object of which must appear, to
any rational and impartial observer, as little better, than an
eaperiment to ascertain the eatent of the danger and jeopardy
to which a people, in the wantonness of selfishness and error,
may hazard a vast and costly acquisition.”*
-º-º-º:
* Free Trade and Colonization in India, pp. 67,68, 70, 71.
- 2 H
466 COLONIZATION.
But the independence of India, when she can govern her-
self, is not to be deprecated; and it is grateful, to behold the
enlarged and disinterested sentiments expressed upon this
subject, by those who are well acquainted with the state and
relations of British India. The following extracts appear
peculiarly interesting.— . . -
The Author of the pamphlet on “Free Trade and Coloni-
zation in India,” whose knowledge of the East was probably
derived from actual residence, justly observes;–“The only
suitable and efficient means of improving our conquered sub-
jects, the only means by which one people ever conferred
lasting and solid improvement upon another, is a free and
unshackled intercourse between the two parties. Will the
stability of our dominion be impaired by the improvement of
the Hindoos ? Poor and ignorant nations are always the
most liable to delusion, and the most subject to insurrection;
wealthy and intelligent ones the least so. In proportion,
therefore, as the Hindoos become instructed, and are rescued
from their present poverty, they will be the more easy of
management. This, of course, supposes the introduction of
laws and institutions suitable to, and keeping pace with,
their advancement in civilization. They cannot always be
governed as mere helots; nor would a nation of helots be
worth governing: they must be gradually admitted to a share
in their own administration. If this principle be prudently
and liberally acted upon, we may maintain our Indian domi-
nion for many centuries. Sooner or later, be our adminis-
tration good or bad, and soonest unquestionably in the latter
case, we must lose it; for a relation which separates the
governors from the governed, by a navigation of 15,000 miles,
cannot be a very natural or a very useful connection to either
party. In the meanwhile, such of the Hindoos as have par-
taken of European education, are not ambitious, -they are a
frugal, and rather a mercenary people, with very little dispo-
sition to engage in polities.” -
“Considered as a measure of policy, a Christian popula-
tion, holding a decent rank in the motly throng of tribes and
casts, would tend to consolidate the strength of the state, and
add to the probable duration of the empire. With a view to
the creation of so important a link in the chain, combined
with other reasons, a gradual extension of the colonizing sys-
tem has been recommended by Mr. Colebrooke. A coloni-
zation of the nature alluded to, far from being likely to termi-
* Free Trade and Colonization, p. 86.
COLONIZATION. 467
nate in the separation of the colony, would rather serve to
perpetuate the union, by the addition of a tribe whose interest
and doctrines must attach them to their European superiors.
With habits more analogous to those of Europe; the Creole
Christians would certainly be better customers for its produc-
tions than the other sects. For the furtherance of such an
object, all that is necessary is, to allow the natural course of
events to take effect, without either encouragement or restraint;
and to permit Europeans, and their legitimate progeny, to
settle in India and acquire landed property. At present it is
only the illegitimate offspring that is privileged, while the
legitimate descendant is prohibited from obtaining a property
in the soil of his birth. Colonization, in the moral sense of
the term, is never likely to take place in Hindostan, as no in-
ducement exists to attract the common labourer or artisan.
The voluntary resort would be confined to merchants, traders,
and factors; to navigators, and seamen of a superior class;
to master planters, and overseers of plantations; and to the
civil and military servants of the Government: but the influx
of emigrants would never be in such numbers as to interfere
with the ordinary employments of the native population. In
process of time, however, when ages have passed away, should
the increase of a Christian Creole population terminate in
separation; which, however, is more likely to happen from
other causes, the event when it arrives will be advantageous
to both parties, and its approach ought to be hailed as
common benefit.”* -
“The consequence of our teaching the Natives the value
and extent of their power, will lead to their asserting their
independence, to the subversion of our rule; but this consum-
mation is not likely to occur, till the light of knowledge has
spread widely beyond the risk of extinction, bringing with it
the secure establishment of Christianity: then the change of
dominion, it is hoped, will be effected without convulsion.
We shall retire gracefully; gratitude will succeed to resistance;
and instead of being execrated as reckless tyrants, our memory
will be revered as belonging to enlightened benefactors.”f
(C. Lushington, Esq., Sec. to the Bengal Government.)
The late Sir Thomas Munro, Governor of Madras, antici-
pated the civilization and consequent independence of India,
—not with regret but with satisfaction.—“We should look
* Hamilton's Hindostan, vol. i. Intro. p. 29.
f East India Mag., May 1832, p. 455.
2 H 2
468 COLONIZATION,
upon India not as a temporary possession, but as one which
is to be maintained permanently, until the Natives shall, in
some future age, have abandoned most of their superstitions
and prejudices, and become sufficiently enlightened to frame
a regular Government for themselves, and to conduct and pre-
serve it. Whenever such a time shall arrive, it will probably
be best for both countries, that the British control over India
should be gradually withdrawn. That the desirable change
here contemplated may in some after age be effected in India,
there is no cause to despair. Such a change was at one
time in Britain itself, at least as hopeless as it is here. When
we reflect how much the character of nations has always been
influenced by that of their Governments, and that some, once
the most cultivated, have sunk into barbarism, while others,
formerly the rudest, have attained the highest point of civili-
zation,--we shall see no reason to doubt that, if we pursue
steadily the proper measures, we shall in time so far improve
the character of our Indian subjects, as to enable them to
govern and protect themselves.” - -
We may anticipate the most pleasing and valuable results
from an enlightened and liberal Government of India. The
history of all nations confirms these expectations; may this
consummation, so devoutly to be wished, be speedily realized.
“The progress of nations, in valuable improvement and effectual civiliza-
tion, has never been brought about in any age or climate, except through an
intercourse with strangers;–operating most beneficially through commerce,
emigration, and peaceable settlement, but also operating beneficially,
even through conquest itself. Primitive civilization has been confined to a
very few spots of the globe. Wherever it has existed, it will be found,
when abandoned to its own efforts, immature and insipid. It is the forest
fruit tree transferred to the orchard, but of which, while denied the benefit
of grafting, no care can improve the fruit. . We have only to refer for proof
to the civilization of the Hindoos themselves, especially where there has
been the least of admixture with strangers;–to the civilization of ancient
Egypt, of Assyria, of Arabia, before the time of Mahomed, -of ancient
Persia, of China, and of Peru and Mexico, before the Spanish invasion.
In all these countries despotism was established,—the people were slaves,
society made a certain progress, and then it stood still for ages, apparently
incapable of moving onwards. Wherever civilization has struck a vigorous
root, and produced wholesome and mature fruit, it will invariably be found
to have been brought about by an admixture with strangers, in short, by
the ingraftment of exotic improvement on the rude stock of domestic ac-
quisition. The Greeks were barbarians, until their intercourse with Italians,
with Egyptians, with Persians, and even with Indians. The Romans were
a rude people until their collision with strangers; they chiefly owed their
civilization to their admixture with the Greeks. The Western nations of
* Asi, Jour, Nov. 1830, p. 237. See E. I. Mag., Sep. 1832, p. 221.
COLONIZATION. 469
ancient Europe owed almost every thing to their subjugation by Rome, and
the planting among them of Roman colonies. The nations in the imme-
diate neighbourhood of China have, at one time or another, been conquered
by that people; who settled among them, communicated to them their lan-
guage, laws, arts, and customs. In proportion as Chinese conquest and
Chinese intermixture have taken place, will these nations be found improved;
and it is a conclusive fact, that the few tribes excluded from this advantage,
continue to the present day in a savage state. The nations bordering upon
Hindostan are civilized, or otherwise, just in proportion to the degree in
which they have intermixed with the Hindoos, or been isolated from them.
The Hindoos themselves, again, have been improved by an admixture with
Tartars, Persians, and Arabs, as is sufficiently attested by the disappearance
of human sacrifices, and other atrocities, of the existence of which, and in
times not very remote, their own writings, if good for nothing else, afford
sufficient evidence. The Arabs, left for ages to themselves before the time
of Mahomed, continued in a stationary condition, but made a sudden start
in civilization as soon as they went abroad, and came into collision with
strangers. The intermixture of these Arabs with Persians and Tartars,
through conquests made upon the latter, improved the Persians and Tartars.
In the great Eastern Archipelago, the Hindoos and the Arabs, each in their
turn, have improved the inhabitants. That improvement has just been in
proportion to the commerce held with these strangers, and where that com-
merce has not taken place at all, the Islanders are either cowering savages,
or ferocious cannibals.”
“Our own country is an example not less instructive. What would the
inhabitants of the British Isles themselves have been at this day, had the Ro-
mans forborne to invade our country, had they left our ancestors in undis-
puted possession of their freedom, their painted skins, and their human sacri-
fices P. Has civilization not advanced amongst us with every new admixture
with strangers, whether Roman, Saxon, Danish, or Norman? and this, too,
although the intermixture was accompanied on all these occasions by
violence, the very occupants of the soil being often expelled from their pos-
sessions. In later times, and in a different form, we have derived abundant
advantages from the settlement of foreigners amongst us: we are under
serious obligations, on this head, to Jews, Flemings, and Lombards. But
surely all this is too obvious to be insisted upon. The only wonder is, how
any man of sense should have thought of making the Hindoos, in their
relation to us, the sole exception to a principle which has always embraced,
and still continues to embrace, all the rest of mankind. Are the English
and the Hindoos, the only two people to which society, in the course of
thirty ages, has given birth, who are wholly unfit to be intrusted to a social
intercourse with each other P’ſ
The position and influence of the British empire in Hin-
dostan, present a most interesting and imposing character to
the politician, the philanthropist, and the Christian. Its situa-
tion is commanding. Who can view its relation to Burmah,
Siam, Tibet, Tartary, China, Persia, Arabia, and Egypt, with-
out being deeply impressed with its importance to Britain, both
* See Friend of India, May 1825, on Colonization in India.
t Free Trade and Colonization in India, pp. 58, 59, 91–93.
470 COLONIZATION.
politically and morally The civilization and evangelization
of Hindostan, afford vantage ground for every beneficent
project connected with the Eastern world. What an outlet
to the manufactures of this kingdom, if properly improved, is
presented in the East! Why is China hermetically sealed
against British commerce, except as conducted by a handful
of British subjects? The impolicy and injustice of this sys-
tem become daily more and more apparent, and the remarks
of the Westminster Review, on “The East India and China
Trade,” are not less just, than pungent and facetious.-
“The representatives of the people have weighty duties; and
a full consciousness of this must have been present, to enable
the Members to have proceeded thus far as befitted the gravity
of a Select Committee, without bursting into laughter at the -
solemn absurdities of the most absurd nation under the sun,
—always excepting the nation that copies them. Nothing but
official dignity could have carried men through the exami-
nation of such an enormous farce. A Government in China
that restrains foreign trade, in order that it may collect a
revenue of £650,000, and sell the patronage of a single port
to the highest bidder; and a Government in England that
does the same. Tea prohibited from being carried in the
vessels that could carry it cheapest, in order that it may be
carried in some other that shall be dearer. A Hong with pig-
tails, in Canton; and another without, in Leadenhall Street.
“Outside merchants and shopmen’ allowed to trade with
foreigners, but not in certain articles, as tea, &c. which must
be reserved for the Hong. Hongs, after all, ‘in a deplorable
condition.” Hongs never smuggle, because Smuggling is “to
their injury.’ Governments in both countries, much moved
by ‘moral principle.” Concluding question, this; whether,
if the Chinese should be found some morning to have sent
the Hong to sea upon empty tea-chests, and to have conveyed
their moral Government, canal-wise to the other side of the
GreatWall, they would not have done the most sensible thing
recorded in their history "* - - -
The adoption of an enlightened and extensive colonization
of Europeans in British India, and the opening of the whole
of the Eastern world to British enterprise and commerce, ap-
pear fraught with the most important and valuable effects,
not only to the East, but also to the West. Is there not in
the East four or five hundred millions of people, who are
* See West. Rev., No. xxvii. Jan. 1831.
COLONIZATION. 471
ready to purchase, or barter their own produce or our manu-
factures Would not the intercourse, the actual residence,
and especially the philanthropic and Christian labours of
Europeans, be attended with beneficial results, in elevating
the Eastern nations in the scale of civilization ?—Surely a
brighter day has dawned in the East. May “the sun of righte-
ousness arise with healing in his beams.”
The Author knows not better how to close this book, than
in the eloquent language of a late eminent Missionary in India.
“It must have been to accomplish some very important moral
change in the Eastern world, that so vast an empire as is
comprised in British India, containing nearly One Hundred
Millions of people, should have been placed under the do-
minion of one of the smallest portions of the civilized world,
and that at the other extremity of the globe. This opinion,
which is entertained by every enlightened philanthropist, is
greatly strengthened, when we consider the long-degraded
state of India, and of the immense and immensely populous
regions around it; the moral enterprise of the age in which
these countries have been given to us; and that Great Britain
is the only country upon earth, from which the intellectual and
moral improvement of India could have been expected. All
these combined circumstances surely carry us to the persua-
sion, that Divine Providence has, at this period of the world,
some great good to confer on the East; and that, after so
many long and dark ages, each succeeding one becoming
darker than the past, the day-spring from on high is destined
again to visit these regions, containing the birth-place of
humanity, filled with all that is magnificent and immense in
creation, made sacred by the presence of patriarchs, prophets,
and the Messiah Himself, as well as the theatre of the most
remarkable revolutions that have ever been exhibited on earth.
“At different periods it seemed doubtful whether Portugal,
or Holland, or France, should obtain the ascendancy in the
East. But on them it was not conferred. A day of trial
was given to these powers, but they were found unworthy of
the great trust, and incapable of accomplishing the good in-
tended for India: they were therefore rejected. For a con-
siderable period the power of Britain in India appeared very
precarious; and, amidst such an uncertainty, but little op-
portunity for improvement was afforded. Latterly, however,
our power has been so consolidated, in the decided preference
of our sway in the minds of the governed, and in the complete
dependance of every remaining power in India, that the im-
472 - COLONIZATION.
provement of the intellectual condition of the Natives, as the
means of uniting them to us from principle, has become the
soundest policy, and a point of such paramount necessity and
importance, that almost every one, at all conversant with the
state of our Indian empire, is become a convert to this opinion.
“When it is considered, that the intellectual condition of
our Indian population is far lower than that of our ancestors
at the period of the conquest; that there is not a single school
or book in India by which the mind can be enlightened;
that all the countries around Hindostan are enveloped in the
same darkness; that the great mass of society in every
country have emerged out of darkness by a progress so slow,
as to be almost imperceptible; and that the population, to be
raised into thinking and active beings in India, amounts to
nearly one hundred millions,—all idea of the danger to the
parent state, from attempting to improve the mental condition
of society there, must be very extravagant. Many centuries
must pass away, before India shall be in the condition of our
American subjects at the commencement of their revolution;
and after all these centuries shall have rolled over our country,
if her power, and splendour, and foreign possessions shall be
retained so long, and she should, five or six hundred years
hence, lose India, she will derive a greater glory from having
elevated into a mental and moral existence all these millions,
than she could derive from adding all China and Tartary to
her Eastern possessions: and India, thus enlightened and
civilized, would, even in an independent state, contribute
more to the real prosperity of Britain as a commercial people,
by consuming her manufactures to a vast extent, than she
does at present, or ever will do, remaining uncivilized.
“But let Hindostan receive that higher civilization she
needs, that cultivation of which she is so capable, let Euro-
pean literature be transfused into all her languages, and the
ocean, from the ports of Britain to India, will be covered with
our merchant vessels; and, from the centre of India moral
culture and science will be extended all over Asia, to the
Burman empire and Siam, to China, with all her millions,”
* The following remarks upon the claims of China, appear deserving of
the most serious attention.—“It has often excited my surprise, that the
attention of our religious, and especially our Missionary Societies, has not
been more directed to China, and to our present extraordinary state of ex-
clusion from civil and religious intercourse with that interesting portion of
the globe. In point of population, it contains one-sixth, and, indeed, little
short of one-fifth of the entire mass of human beings, who now cover the
COLONIZATION. 473
to Persia, and even to Arabia; and the whole Eastern hemis-
phere will be gilded with the rays of that Luminary, whose
beams are the alone source of all the life and moral beautyfound
in our world. And when we consider that so many millions .
of the population of India are our fellow-subjects, what a
stimulus to seek their good! What an imperative, what a
paramount duty! Is it not manifest, that in the mental and
moral improvement of this vast empire, Great Britain has a
surface of the globe; and in this respect, therefore, it presents stronger
claims on the concentrated efforts of Christian enterprise than any other
country under the sun. Up to the present moment, (if I am not much mis-
taken,) no British Christian has ever invaded its boundaries in the character
of a Missionary of the Cross 1 Missionaries of other connections have
long bestowed upon it their most marked and persevering exertions; and a
succession of those of the Romish and Greek churches, the former for two
centuries, and the latter for a shorter period, have maintained a permanent
footing, and made a considerable number of converts. What was wanting,
however, to give permanency to their efforts, we now possess—viz. the
written word of God, in which the people may read, in their own tongue,
his wonderful works to the children of men.
“What are the chief impediments to enlarged efforts for the evangelization
of China? The jealousy this singular people entertain of all intercourse
with foreigners is well known; but this is an obstacle which Portuguese,
French, Italians, and, I believe Spaniards, under the Church of Rome;
and Russians, under the guidance of their own hierarchy, and with the aid
of their late enlightened emperor especially, have successively overcome;
and I know no other obstacle, except what is of our own creation. The
greatest is, unquestionably, the want of a becoming sense of the importance
of the work; that cold insensibility, which can witness so many millions of
our fellow-creatures perishing in ignorance of the only way of salvation,
without making one effort to avert a fate so painfully affecting. But there
is one other difficulty, to which I am anxious to call the attention of your
readers. Suppose a number of zealous, devoted men of God, panting for
the conversion of the Heathem, were desirous of conveying to this people the
knowledge of a crucified Saviour, how would they proceed P. It is an
affecting thought; but, if I am not labouring under a very erroneous im-
pression, they would be driven to the necessity of applying to a foreign
power for aid in the fulfilment of their benevolent design, in consequence
of our laws, virtually, if not in their very letter, shutting out all British sub-
jects from every such enterprise !
“What I would recommend, therefore, is, that our Missionary Societies
and their supporters generally, should petition both Houses of Parliament,
now that they have entered upon an inquiry into the regulations which may
be expedient to adopt for the future intercourse of British subjects with
India and China, (an inquiry which Mr. Peel justly designated, as one of the
most important that ever came before Parliament,) praying that, whatever
commercial regulations may be adopted, no steps may be taken which shall
in any way prevent Christians of every demomination, from directing their
benevolent attention to the introduction of Christianity into the latter
empire.”—Bap. Mag., April 1830, p. 162.
47.4 COLONIZATION.
work of benevolence before her which, in national glory, will
eclipse all her other achievements, as much as the meridian
sun exceeds in splendour the morning star. Know, then, the
country of the Howards and the Wilberforces, thy high des-
tiny l—Never were such miseries to be removed—never was
such a mighty good put within the power of one nation—the
Taising a population of siarty millions to 'a rational and
happy eacistence, and through them, the illumination and
civilization of all Asia /*
-º-º:
* Ward's View of the Hindoos, vol. iii. preface, pp. 17, 18, 51—54.
- º
A. Aſ
ſº ºff
ºf . . /7 *
º 30 * * & 6 { (º
ºf £º
ſº
. . .
* = &º.


APPENDIX.
H U M A N E H IN T S
FOR THE
MELIORATION OF THE STATE OF SOCIETY IN
BRITISH INDIA.
On the connection that exists between Britain and India,
and the consequent duty of the former, to promote the welfare
of the superstitious and degraded inhabitants of the East,
Lord Teignmouth very justly observes, “Were the same
superstitions, or the same barbarous and licentious rites,
which are now exhibited on the banks of the Ganges, to be
practised on the banks of the Thames, or even in the remotest
part of the British Islands, they would excite the strongest
possible feelings of horror, and stimulate our efforts to substi-
tute a purer and more benign system in the place of Hindoism,
—this compound of cruelty and crime. But surely, to the
eye of reason, the distance of that part of our dominions, in
which this system prevails, makes no real difference. It is
equally a portion of our Empire; subject to our rule, and
contributing largely to our prosperity. May we not still fur-
ther consider the Natives of Hindostanin the relation of tenants,
to whom we are bound by the obligations and duties of land-
lords? If these circumstances are attentively weighed, they
will exhibit a most extraordinary phenomenon. The most en-
lightened, improved, and (may we not say?) religious nation
upon earth, standing for many years in the closest of all so-
cial relations to a people bowed down under a degrading su-
perstition—might it not be very naturally supposed, by those
who, in the varying fortunes of nations, acknowledged the
hand of a superintending providence, that it had been the de-
sign of heaven, in bringing these vast countries under the
dominions of a nation enjoying the purest of all systems of
religion,--that their benighted and depraved inhabitants might
thus receive the light of Christian truth, and the blessings of a
476 HUMANE HINTS.
sound morality ? They who might hesitate to accede to this,
would readily acknowledge, that it is at least our duty to en-
deavour, in every way, to promote the well-being and hap-
piness of our Oriental fellow-subjects.”
“As far as cruelty (cruelty of any kind) is tolerated in a
state, its pretensions to civilization may be questioned, and
its views must be considered proportionably contracted.” The
Quarterly Review for Jan. 1828, justly observes, “Supersti-
tion, ignorance, and delusion must be dispelled; new rights
and new duties must be inculcated; motives, charities, affec-
tions, hitherto unknown, must be imparted: mountains must
be removed, a moral reformation must be wrought in the cha-
racter of the people of India.” “Must new rights and new
duties be inculcated ;-motives, charities, and affections,
hitherto unknown,” be imparted to the inhabitants of India?
Where can they be originated so well as in the mother
country, and then assisted and matured by the humane and
pious in every part of India Philanthropic exertions to im-
prove the state of society, would greatly facilitate the progress
of Christianity, and enable Britain, with greater ease, to dis-
charge the debt she owes to the eastern part of her empire.
The Reports of the Royal Humane Society, instituted in Lon-
don, 1774, are highly interesting, and display the humanity
and magnanimity of the Christian character. The cities of
Calcutta and Madras are enrolled among the number of
Foreign Humane Societies; but what are these two institutions
for the whole of Hindostan What influence can they exert
for the elevation of the native character A Humane So-
ciety, embracing various philanthropic objects, at every prin-
cipal station, would be highly beneficial. British India
needs the efforts of such Societies, to raise the tone of sym-
pathetic and heroic feeling in the preservation of human
life. In India “dying men are no more regarded than dying
weeds.” What a perfect contrast is formed by the apathy
and cruelty of the Hindoos—as seen in suffering a boat full of
people to drown, without trying to assist them, in their Pil-
grimages, Ghaut Murders, Infanticides,t &c.—and the noble
efforts of Britons for the rescue of their fellow creatures from
a premature grave.
The following miscellaneous articles, it is hoped, are cal-
culated to promote the welfare of British India, It is a Syrian
* Considerations on communicating to the Natives of India, the know-
ledge of Christianity. (Hatchard) pp. 92, 93.
f See Statham's Indian Recollections, for numerous facts of this character,
Hiſ MANE, HINTS, 477
proverb, “A glance is enough for the intelligent.” The in-
stitution of the Royal Humane Society is attributed to Dr.
Hawes, of whom it is stated;—“To the persevering efforts of
this gentleman, and especially to his disinterested early efforts,
the English nation is indebted for the formation of a Society
which, whether we reflect on its purposes, or success, does
honour to our country, and exhibits, most impressively, the
power of a single mind to accomplish objects of the most
benign character and extensive utility.” May the perusal of
these pages stimulate some humane and energetic minds to
commiserate the miseries of India, and, in connection with
the general diffusion of Christianity, promote among its in-
habitants the adoption of those various philanthropic measures,
for the alleviation of human misery and the preservation of
life, which confer so many blessings upon the British Isles.
(1.) Attention to promote the salubrity of the Presidencies,
and of the Cities and Towns in India, is very important.
Of the insalubrity of Calcutta, a correspondent in the Colum-
bian Press Gazette, in 1825, writes;– -
... “It is very lamentable, to notice the great supineness which prevails in
Calcutta with regard to any attempt to improve its healthiness, or even to
inquire into the causes of the dreadful mortality which, year after year,
visits the poor natives of this city; especially, when we view examples of the
most praiseworthy energy in every other part of the world, and in every
other town in the Company's possessions. At Madras we lately saw orders
issued for cutting down the hedges, which it was agreed prevented the pro-
per ventilation of the place. At Bombay the improvements in new roads,
and proper attention to cleanliness, have made the Island, which was before
much below Calcutta in salubrity, full five per cent. superior to it. In
every large town in our provinces, the alterations taking place are most ju-
dicious and very extensive, under the superintendence of local Committees,
composed of all the Civil Officers, with the assistance of the resident Engi-
neers and Executive Officers; the whole of the town duties of the respective
ſº. being appropriated, I believe, to these purposes alone. In Calcutta we
ave the Lottery Committee making a gradual progress in improving the
centre of the town; but in all the vast extent of the suburbs, with a popula-
tion thrice that of Calcutta, we see no measure whatever adopted either to
drain the stagnant tanks, to remove filth, to cut down weeds and jungle, to
make roads, or to preserve them. While the suburbs remain in their pre-
sent close and pestiferous state, it is impossible, but we shall always have
to record the same scenes of misery, the same daily deaths of hundreds, both
in and out of Calcutta, with which the papers have, for the last two months,
been so plentifully, and, alas! so vainly filled. Why is nothing done to
prevent this periodical destruction * Why are the Natives allowed to die by
thousands, without any attempts to remove the causes of this devastation * The
answer to these questions is obvious enough, but I may not venture to give it.”
* “The attention of the Medical and Physical Society of Calcutta has
been directed to an Essay on Public Health in India, by Dr. Ranken, ap-
plying especially to the choice of situations for the establishment of Civil
478 HUMANE HINTS.
It appears, that attention is increasingly excited to this
subject. “The roads in the eastern suburbs of Calcutta are
undergoing a thorough repair; some of them are to be
widened, and other improvements are to be effected, which
will be conducive both to the comfort and health of the
inhabitants; in particular, all the superfluous vegetation
is to be removed. A canal from the northward to Chitpore,
by that adjoining the Salt Water Lake, and terminating at
Entally, is commenced; and a still more important improve-
ment, with a view to diminish the causes of malaria, is in
contemplation, namely, to drain the Salt Water Lake.”
(2.) A suggestion in the India Gazette, in 1825, for the
erection of Porticos at the Ghauts in Calcutta, appears
worthy of notice. - . . -
“You would permit the Hindoos to be carried to the side of the river to
die, ‘provided they were kept there under shelter, and not exposed without
covering to the scorching of a noon-day sun, or the drenching of a tropical
shower.” Unfortunately there is no shelter at any of the Ghauts, which
appears a great oversight on the part of the Lottery Committee. There
should be a handsome portico, or double colonade, erected at each Ghaut,
along the strand. Every person who has had to embark or land at either of
the Ghauts during the heat of noon-day, and to wait for a boat or carriage,
must know how desirable such a shelter would be: and how much more so
would it be, to those whose occupation keeps them for hours or days in at-
tendance at the river's side, and to the unfortunate creatures forced down
thither, by a lamentable superstition, in the extremity of sickness! The
only Ghaut that is so covered in, that I recollect, is at Cossipore; the work,
not of the Government, but of a rich native gentleman, who also made, at
his expense, the road from the Ghaut to Dum Dum, which has so greatly
improved that part of the suburbs.” “The Lottery Committee,” says the Edi-
tor, “are necessarily limited in their pseful labours to the improvement of the
city, and it is not at the Ghauts of Calcutta that these cruelties [of exposing
the sick] are practised. We agree with our Correspondent on the impor-
tance and necessity of the improvement he suggests; which, while it would
adorn the view of the city from the river, would be invaluable in point of
utility, and greatly add to the convenience of the inhabitants, and of all
persons resorting to the capital of British India.” .
(3.) The necessity of some humane efforts in India, on be-
half of Sailors of the various countries employed by Britain,
appears from the following simple appeal, extracted from a
Calcutta Paper, Sep. 1825.

Stations and Military Cantonments. The greater part of the diseases that
prevail in India, are ascribed by Dr. R. not so much to the extreme heat or
atmospherical vicissitudes, as to the presence of noxious impregnations in
the air, exhaled during the decay of vegetable and animal matter. In
proportion as these abound, situations will be unhealthy, and salubrity of
site will be found exemption from their influence.”—Asi. Jour., Aug. 1827.
Heber's Jour, vol. i. p. 582. Ham. Hind, vol. i. p. 49. r
* Ori. Herald, Sep. 1829.
HUMANE HINTS. 479
“There is no situation, in the whole round of human sufferings, which ap-
pears so dreadful to encounter, nor so awful to contemplate, as that of a
shipwrecked sailor; nor is there any humane person who would not stretch
out his hand, at the risk of his own life, to rescue him from the grasp of
death. Falconer has indeed given us an able description of their situation
and sufferings; but who can paint the feelings of the mind when the perils
and troubles at sea are past;-We arrive at the entrance of our destined
haven, with hearts elated with joy at the prospect of meeting our wives, our
children, and our friends. All, in a moment, is blasted:—for the approach
to this port (Calcutta) is dangerous beyond all the toils of our voyage. On
the coast of Bengal there is no assistance, in any part, to render us relief. No
LIFE BoATs; no enterprising men to venture their lives for us, and no chance
of escaping death. If we should reach the shore the mouths of ravenous
tigers are open to receive us. How dreadful to every feeling mind must be
the situation of every sailor wrecked upon this coast; and of late we have
had examples sufficient to call the attention of Government to the lamenta-
ble truth—that no life boats—no light houses—nor any means of saving the
shipwrecked sailor, exist on this coast. Looking to the coast of our own
country; the coast of America, and almost all the coasts of the civilized
world, we find them more or less provided with the means of saving from
death the shipwrecked mariner. I would fain hope to see something of this
kind on this coast; such as life boats stationed at Saugur; one on Light-
house Point, another at Point Palmira, with some beacon to attract atten-
tion. Their establishment would encourage the efforts of a sailor's perse-
verence. There is no danger insurmountable in the mind of a British tar;
who is the bulwark of our country, the maintenance of our rights by sea,
the slave of our trade and commerce, and deserving the fostering hand of
every Government, and the consideration of every mercantile body. I am,
Sir, A BIT of A SAILoR.” The Editor of the John Bull remarks,—“We
have heard that it has been determined to station boats permanently at Ed-
monstone's Island, with a view to afford assistance to vessels that, like the
Lotus, are so unfortunate as to suffer shipwreck on the sands, at the mouth
of the Hooghly. We shall be glad to find that this measure has been really
determined on. Such boats as those spoken of might have saved the whole
crew of the Lotus, and probably not a little of the stores, besides affording
shelter and sustenance until the men could be taken off.”
How far the deficiency, here complained of, is now sup-
plied, for the relief of our valued seamen, the Author is not
informed; but it is presumed, the insertion of this short article
may awaken attention to their claims on British humanity.
(4.) The following letter, on the great difficulty of obtaining
suitable medicine in seasons of great sickness, written in Cal-
cutta, and published in the Bengal Hurkaru, Sep. 1825, de-
mands the attention of the humane bothin India and Britain.—
“This dreadful scourge of the human race, the cholera morbus, seems to
continue with little if any abatement. There are, I believe, few families
who have not suffered, and are not daily suffering, the loss of one or more
of their domestics; for, notwithstanding the prevailing sympathy, few, com-
paratively speaking, possess the means of affording relief. I am one of this
class, and I know a great many others thus situated; they would most wil-
lingly contribute all in their power, by strict attention in administering
medicines, did they possess or could they purchase them; but there are
480 HUMAN E HINTS.
many, like myself, who cannot afford to do so. I know of no public or pri-
vate Dispensary that will, in a direct way, gratuitously supply them. I have
been informed that a direct application from a private person (as the master
of a family), to the Hon. Company's Dispensary, cannot be complied with,
being against the rules. The signature of a medical man is necessary; to
obtain which a favour must be craved, obligation incurred, or compensation
made. I do not mean to insinuate any thing unfavourable against an insti-
tution which confers its benefits with the most liberal hand; or anything preju-
dicial to an honourable and humane profession, every individual member of
which, probably, if applied to, would give the requisite signature or recipe;
and many, probably, the medicine itself, without remuneration. But pri-
vate practitioners are frequently, for hours together, from home; and I hope
I may be excused, in these times of dreadful visitation, where delay is death t
for urging the expediency of a more direct and ready access to the Dispen-
sary, which it is conceived should be somewhere available. º
“I am informed that native doctors are in attendance at the several than-
nahs, but from what cause I know not—whether for want of proper atten-
tion in these officers, or their too general failure in the cure; and perhaps,
a consequent despair in the sufferers and their friends,--I believe applica-
tions are seldom made in these quarters. I almost daily hear of dozens
cured by individuals who afford a proper supply of medicines; and who,
with a tender feeling of humanity, far above all praise; assiduously watch
the progress of the disorder, and carefully attend the suffering patient. My
object, in calling public attention to this state of things, is, to obtain a more
direct access to medicine, to be offered to those who have the desire patiently
to attend to administering it, for the preservation of their suffering fellow
creatures. Should you think proper to suppress my letter, submitting
something of your own for the attainment of an object so desirable, the sav-
ing of human life, what more can be desired by—HumanITAs.” a"
(5.) The establishment of a Dispensary at each civil and
military station in India, and at the principal Towns in the
tributary and allied states, supported by subscription and
the assistance of Government, would be highly beneficial. The
late Rev. W. Ward observes, respecting the Hindoos, “The
imperfections of their medical system, and the ignorance and
rapacity of the quacks who bear the character of physicians,
greatly add to the general misery. It would be an act of phi-
lanthropy to improve the medical knowledge of the Hindoos;
and this might easily be done by instituting a college at Cal-
cutta for the instruction of the medical class; and by dissemi-
nating, in the native languages, European ideas on the nature
of diseases and their remedies; shewing, at the same time,
the absurdities in the Hindoo practice.” The establishment
of such institutions, in different parts of the country, would be
attended with the most beneficial results. The Marquis of
Hastings gave some attention to this subject, and established
a native medical school in Calcutta. The late Dr. Breton,
the Superintendent, published translations of several tracts
* View of the Hindoos, vol. iii. p. 282.
HUMAN E HINTS. 481
on medical subjects, in the Bengalee and Hindostanee lan-
guages. They amounted to fifteen in number.” The general
circulation of these works, and the adoption of this medical
system in the country, are highly deserving the attention
of the philanthropic and liberal, both in Britain and India,
and especially of a Government desirous of the melioration
of the state of the Hindoos and Mussulman.
(6.) The following letters, on the treatment of Cholera
Morbus, were addressed to the Editor of the India Gazette;
and, if known generally in India, especially among the Natives
in their different dialects, would be beneficial.
“During my residence at the Isle of Bourbon, I observed the good effects
of distilled or strong vinegar, on the natives afflicted with the cholera, when
rubbed in all parts of the body, and more particularly on the parts where
the circulation of the blood appeared suspended. Immediately after the vine-
gar is applied, the patient is to be rubbed with flannel, as it is of the utmost
importance that he should be kept warm. In the hospital at Batavia, the
patients were put into warm baths, of a high degree of temperature, and
frequently bled until the spasms ceased, and then mercurial preparations,
&c., were administered, according to the violence of the disease or constitu-
tion of the individual; by which means numbers were saved.
“But if it be useful to administer remedies to the sick, it is not less ne-
cessary to ascertain the causes of the disease, and to warn those who expose
themselves to their fatal effects. The attacks of cholera in India generally
occur during the change of seasons, but more particularly in the rainy sea-
son, when the evaporation of the waters on the surface of the ground, occa-
sions a considerable degree of damp. The sudden change of temperature
is one of the causes of the sickness. During these variable seasons the body
should be preserved in a uniform state of heat; a free perspiration being
kept up without producing a profusion of sweat, as the debilitating causes
(independent of the insalubrity of the air) are already sufficiently great. To
prevent other weakening causes, violent exercise should be avoided, particu-
larly at night, as it is attended with serious consequences. Long walks at
might, exposed to the rays of the moon, are more pernicious than those taken
during dark mights, although the beauty of moonlight tempts many people
to walk. Perhaps the excesses committed by the Bengalees, during the
night of the late festival, have caused so great a mortality among them, as
their customary food is very simple and not alecholic. The following should
be avoided:—Exposure to the dew at night, which falls in great quantity
when there are no clouds to intercept the radiation of the sky. Excess of
exercise. Excess of eating and drinking, &c. Some persons of strong
constitutions can commit excesses in all seasons, and even bear the per-
nicious influence without sustaining any bad effects; but delicate or sickly
persons, and particularly those not seasoned to the climate of hot countries,
should avoid any thing that may cause an alteration in the state of their
health. Woollen clothes should be worn; gin and brandy in water are re-
commended' by skilful physicians, but great quantities are to be avoided.
Any acid substances, fruit, &c., which may occasion weakness, must be
, avoided, and in these seasons stimulants and tonics must be taken.

t Asi. Jour, Feb. 1826, p. 223
2 I
482 HUMAN E HINTS.
“If, in awakening the attention of some people to their own preservation,
I succeed in preventing sickness, I shall have attained the object of pub-
lishing this advice,
“Calcutta, Sep. 16th, 1825. B. BourET.”
The following letter was addressed to the Editor, with the
hope that its publication might cast light on the treatment of
cholera in peculiar cases;–
“The wife of my Khansama, a woman of about twenty years of age, was
attacked with cholera morbus, with all the usual symptoms, but more vomit-
ing than purging. About half an hour after the commencement, her hus-
band applied for medicine. I gave her the cholera mixture, sold by Messrs.
Bathgate and Co., Calcutta. This was rejected three times successively, in
the course of about three quarters of an hour; a cataplasm of pounded
chillies, warmed, was applied to the stomach, and the feet and hands, which
were cold, were rubbed with cloths. Finding the cholera mixture would
not remain in the stomach, I tried laudanum and aether, but these too were
twice rejected: the patient sinking very fast with strong spasms, and being
nearly senseless. I almost began to despair of her life; but, having heard
that calomel had frequently been found .#. ân desperate cases, I gave her
eight grains of it with the usual quantity of laudanum and aether (thirty
drops of each); this remained on the stomach a short time, and vomiting
again took place. A large worm of the common Teres or round sort, about
the size of a small quill, and eight or nine inches long, was thrown up, and
in a short time another. I then gave her two grains more, which in a short
time brought off two more. The woman then rapidly recovered, and is now
perfectly well. She was a Mousalmanee; I saw her twice, and my writers
and a Christian servant saw her also. The symptoms were exactly those of
violent cholera, of which I have seen many hundred cases; but the pulse
was stronger than is usual in that disorder.
“Neemtullah, Sep. 1825. H. P.”
The Asiatic Journal for January 1828, contains the follow-
ing method for treating the cholera;-
“I was attacked with cholera, and given over, having had the last symp-
toms, of a general cramp over the whole body, with sinking of the eyes,
when I was cured by a powerful medicine, prescribed by Mr. Gay, an able
medical practitioner, though only a sub-assistant surgeon. A number of
people have been cured by taking that medicine.
“We have been furnished with the prescription for the abové medicine,
with a request that it may appear in this journal; it is as follows:–
Anticholera Drops, No. 1.
Take of Daffy's Elixir (with a larger proportion of Senna) 2 oz.
Aromatic Spirits of Ammonia . . * * tº . 2}oz.
Oil of Cloves (made an Essence of with Alcohol) . . 0#oz.
Oil of Juniper * & e ſº * * 6 drops.
Oil of Peppermint . tº t g © . . . 8 drops.
Oil of Cajuput . * * ſº & * . . 10 drops.
Sweet Spirits of Nitre . º {º tº e º . 3 drams.
Camphor Mixture te g tº º wº º . 10 drams.
Make a mixture and take 1 oz. or two table spoons full.
HUMANE HINTS. 483
No. II.
“The same, leaving out the camphor mixture, and adding half an ounce
of the compound tincture of camphor.
“Should repeated doses of this mixture not check the watery motions,
ten drops of laudanum may then be added to each dose, increasing it five
drops each time, till it composes the bowels; an hour or two after which,
if the patient be not very much exhausted, six grains of calomel, with a
scruple or fifteen grains of rhubarb, ought to be administered in a little
ginger tea, and the latter to be made use of pretty freely after the bowels
have been opened by the medicine.
“Should the cholera commence with evident acidity at the stomach, the
cure ought to be commenced with eight grains of calomel and a drachm of
prepared chalk, with a little ginger powder; after which, mixture No. [.
should be persevered in till the stomach is composed.
“Mr. Gay attributes the success he has experienced, from the use of the
Anticholera Drops, to ‘their powerful action on the digestive and urinary
organs, which, by some mysterious cause, become so greatly affected as to
encourage (it is believed) the congestion of the blood; which, being reduced
into a congee-water-like fluid, is evacuated in large quantities, and necessa-
rily produces that prostration of strength and restlessness, which are ever
attendant on cholera. The symptoms in this formidable disease strongly
point out the necessity of stimulants to keep up the circulation of the blood,
which the Anticholera Drops are admirably calculated to effect, particularly
when assisted by stimulating frictions of eajuput oil, or (which is better
when spasms come on) a mixture of cajuput oil, aether, and laudanum, in
equal parts.” He recommends the patient's thirst to be quenched with small,
but repeated, doses of strong ginger tea, prepared with toast and water.”
Perhaps the following information, derived from various
sources, may prove interesting.—
“The plan for the treatment of cholera pursued with most success, (says
Dr. Graham,) consists in bleeding from the arm, to the extent of sixteen or
twenty-four ounces, and immediately afterwards administering calomel with
opium in very free doses, of from fifteen to twentygrains of the former in a dose,
with one or two grains of opium, which is to be repeated, if necessary, every
two or three hours, till the urgency of the symptoms subside. To these
should be added a most liberal use of the most diffusible stimuli, as the
sweet spirit of mitre, carbonate of ammonia, hot arrack and water, &c. The
hot bath is proper, and stimulating embrocations to the abdomen and limbs.”
Dr. Anslie's treatment was by anti-acids, and he generally gave prefer-
ence to the subcarbonate of magnesia, in a full dose; seldom less than two
drachms and a half, or three drachms dissolved in water. By this means
he saved many hundred lives in India, and since his return to England it
has been ordered with equal success.
A happy blunder—“By mistake, twenty grains of calomel, six minims
(equal to 120 drops) of laudanum, were given at an interval of less than
half an hour. The patient was inclined to sleep; nothing more was done;
and in two hours and a half he was as well as ever he was in his life.”
“Dr. Kennedy, of the Bombay establishment, has published at Calcutta,
a Tract on the epidemic cholera, Dr. Kennedy's plan consists of bleeding,
with reference to the state of the patient; promoting the vomiting in the
early stages by simple emetics or warm water, and when more advanced,
* Oriental Herald, vol. xii. p. 529.
2 I 2
484 HUMAN E HINTS.
...; castor oil with laudanum; giving camphor and opium to
allay spasmodic action after the vomiting has ceased; and finally exhibiting
exciting but not intoxicating or acrid stimulants, as cordials to support the
sinking strength of the patient. These measures were extensively useful.”
“Mr. S. Hope, Surgeon of his Majesty's Hospital ship Canada, states the
following mode of cure for the cholera morbus, which he has employed for
more than thirty years with uniform success.” He thus describes the com-
plaint. “The disease is induced by causes too well known, and shews
itself at first by violent pains from the stricture of the gall duct, and is after-
wards kept up by the irritability of the bowels, brought on by the excoria-
tion of the internal coat, from the acrid or scalding mature of the bile when
first expelled the gall bag. This irritation keeps up the disease till nature
recovers or sinks. I never use calomel, because I have a more certain, safe,
and speedy remedy, that produces an almost instantaneous relief. Calomel
relieves by inducing a more copious secretion of mucus to defend the mem-
brane from excessive irritation, where it succeeds; whilst the remedy I re-
commend affords a tone of firmness to the membrane, a smoothness of sur-
face that defends it from the action of the bile, and removes excessive irri-
tation. By this means the disease goes off as soon as the gall bladder is
emptied of its excessive irritative contents, which is very soon accomplished,
as from three to five or six doses complete the cure.” The following proof
is adduced.—
“I was surgeon of the Dolphin in the year 1825, from July 17th to 26th,
I had 264 cases of cholera; from which, with the exception of sixteen being
under treatment for three days, four patients demanding attention four days,
and three for five days (except one who had been previously ill), every pa-
tient was restored within the space of fifty hours. I persuaded the chief mate
to take a dose of the remedy before the healthy part of the ship's company, to
induce them to follow his example; they all complied, and to the best of
my recollection, not one of them had occasion to trouble me from illness.
The remedy I gave was one drachm of nitrous acid (not nitric), one ounce of
peppermint water or camphor mixture, and forty drops of tincture of opium.
A fourth part every three or four hours in a cup-full of gruel. The belly
should be covered with a succession of hot cloths dry; bottles of hot water
to the feet if they can be obtained; constant and small sippings of finely
strained gruel, or sago, or tapioca;-no spirit, no wine, no fermented liquors
till quite restored.”f t
In Orissa the usual remedy for this complaint was pills, each containing
six or seven grains of calomel and one grain of opium. One pill was some-
times sufficient, at other times a second, third, or fourth, at intervals of
half an hour, were requisite to arrest the progress of the disease; an appe-
rient was afterwards recommended. Dr. Ayre, of Hull, has adopted the
mode of treatment used in Orissa. He says, “I have had seventy-six cases,
of which sixty have been returned cured; five of them are under treatment
(four of them out of danger), and ten of them have died. The exclusive
object sought for in the system pursued, has been to restore the secretion of
the liver; and the means employed have been no less exclusive, and have
wholly consisted of calomel and laudanum, given in small quantities, and
frequently repeated. The dose of calomel was one or two grains, and of
laudanum one or two drops, given every five, ten, or fifteen minutes, accord-
ing to the urgency of the symptoms and duration of treatment. The calomel
was given alone, as soon as seventy or eighty drops of the laudanum had
\
* Asi. Journ., Dec. 1827, p. 757. + Asi. Jour., June 1831.
HUMANE HINTS. 485
been taken, or the purging and cramps were abated. The calomel was
continued uninterruptedly, until a substantial abatement of the disease was
produced, and the only limit set to its use was in giving it at progressively
wider intervals. In several late cases I have trusted to grain doses, with a
drop of laudanum given with each, and renewed every five minutes for two
or three hours, and then every ten minutes, until a decided impression was
made upon the complaint, when they were repeated every twenty minutes,
and afterwards every hour, until at length they were discontinued. The
average duration of the disease, in those who recovered under this treatment,
has not been more than four or five days; for, by the prompt and very
liberal use of calomel in small and frequent doses, (and it is indispensable
to their efficacy that they be small,) the secretion of the liver becomes early
restored, and that inflammatory reaction in the hepatic circle is prevented,
which would otherwise ensue as a consequence of its congested state.
Hence, in many instances, I have found the most rapid recoveries to occur
in patients in whom the disease was most intense.”
(7.) As India is much infested with serpents, the following
account of the virtues of the Guaco plant, and the propriety
of its cultivation in the East,-appears deserving the atten-
tion of all who are interested in the welfare of its inhabitants.
The cultivation of this plant in India by liberal individuals,
or by Humane Societies, appears important. The following
account is extracted from “The Colonial Journal,” March,
1817.t
“It is an observation made by Pliny, (Nat. Hist. lib. 7.) that nature has,
in one sense, been more liberal to brutes than to man, by providing the for-
mer with natural clothing, and gifting them with sufficient sagacity to know
and defend themselves against their enemies; whereas man is destined to
seek the same advantages by dint of labour and reflection. The fact cer-
tainly does exist, nor can it be proved by any instance more remarkable
than the one that forms the subject of this article. Among the most valua-
ble discoveries made in the tropical regions, in favour of suffering humanity,
we may certainly rank that of the preservative and cure for the bites of
venomous serpents; a virtue subsisting in the Bejuco del Guaco, a species of
bind-weed. The secret is understood to have been long known to some of
the Indians in the tropical parts of South America; but, ever mindful of the
injustice and cruelty of their conquest, this, as well as the knowledge of
many other important facts, preserved by tradition, they have uniformly re-
fused to communicate to their intruders; even the Missionaries sent among
them, in whom they placed the greatest reliance, and held in profound ve-
neration, were unable to wrest the secret from them. The virtues of the
plant in question were, however, recently discovered, almost in an accidental
manner, as will be seen by the following details.
“The Negroes in the province of Choco, dependent on the kingdom of
Santa Fe, where the first who observed a bird, called the Guaco, pursue
and fight with serpents; and, on closer examination, they discovered that
these were the common food of this creature. This bird must not be con-
* Lancet, June 2nd, and July 14th, 1832, pp. 271, 458. Evan. Mag.,
April 1828. t
t See Philosophical Mag., vol. xii. Methodist Mag., 1818, pp. 41–47,
India Gazette, June 1825. Weekly Messenger, June 1825. See also Asi.
Jour., Jan. 1826, p. 55.
486 HUMAN E HINTS.
founded with the one belonging to the species of herons, mentioned by
Buffon, in the last volume of the Natural History of birds, which he calls
Guaco or Souaco, the name commonly given to it on the shores of Boulogne.
The American Guaco might rather enter in the class of carnivorous birds,
under the head of hawks, as Catesby calls the Serpent-hawk, (eapervier
serpent,) from that reptile's being its food and object of destruction; and
may deserve the name in the same manner as does the sparrow-hawk, &c.
The negroes perceived that the Guaco, when wounded in its severe battles,
always recurred to a certain plant, and never appeared to receive material
injury. When unable to kill its enemy, they also noticed that it availed
itself of the leaves of the same plant to lay him asleep, and he then became
an easy prey. Pushing their discoveries and experiments, they eventually
ascertained that this plant, to which they afterwards gave the name of Guaco,
in reference to the bird which had taught them its virtues, not only, in all
cases, cured the poisonous bites of the above reptiles, but also operated as a
preservative against their destructive powers, when taken with a degree of
frequency. .
“Mutis, the celebrated botanist of Santa Fe, previously to the above dis-
covery being properly known, had been astonished at the facility with which
the negroes, inhabiting the borders of the river Magdalena, caught serpents,
and carried them about in their hands and bosoms, without any dread of
fatal effects; and, ever active in that spirit of research for which he was so
much distinguished, the following experiments were made in his presence,
and that of several other botanists:—
“A negro was obtained, well versed in the above dangerous trials, who
brought with him a venomous serpent, known to the Spaniards by the name
of Taya, in consequence of the white spots it has on its back, something re-
sembling the letter X. The negro handled the serpent in every way he
was desired, and gave it several blows, without its appearing roused or at-
tempting to bite him. It was at first imagined that the serpent was not of
the most venomous kind, or that the negro had extracted its teeth: but, on
causing it to open its mouth, the rows of sharp teeth were found in perfect
order, and ample assurances were given that it was of the most deadly
species known in the provinces of Santa Fe. No further doubt was enter-
tained of the efficacy of the preservative, and one of the Gentlemen resolved
to undergo the same ea periment the negro had just performed.
“For this purpose, the negro pressed the juice of a handful of the leaves
of the guaco-plant into a glass, and caused the person to drink two table
spoonfuls, after which he inoculated some of the juice into the skin. He
made eight small incisions; one in each foot; one in each of the fleshy part of
the hands; again between the forefinger and thumb; and, lastly, on each
side of the breast. On the appearance of blood, some of the juice was
poured on, and well rubbed with the pounded leaves of the plant; which
operation being fully performed, the person, if bitten, is considered as per-
fectly cured, and, besides, prepared to handle any serpent of the worst kind
at pleasure. Various experiments were then tried, both by Mutis and his
companions, and all proved the evident powers of the juice. Several ques-
tions were also proposed to the negro, respecting other plants; but he
assured the bye-standers that he knew of no other as equally efficacious,
and that this plant was always eaten by the guaco, or serpent-hawk, when
worsted by the serpents it attacked in the search of food; moreover declar-
ing that he had frequently witnessed the circumstance, and always noticed
that the bird uniformly recurred to the same remedy. A.
“The guaco-plantis found indigenous in the jounod of Maraquita,
as well as in the hot and temperate parts of the vice-royalty of Santa Fe;
and it thrives singularly well on the margins of rivulets and damp places.
HUMANE HINTS. 487
The plant has been called guaco, a name that was found preserved by tra-
dition among the negroes, from whom the communication was received;
but its genus is not yet determined in botany. Its root is fibrous and ex-
tends in every direction. It is a species of creeper or bind-weed, and its
climbing and adhering shoot is round when young, but angular when old,
and set with opposite leaves. These are green intermixed with purple,
smooth below, rough above, and somewhat hairy. The flower rises like a
crest, is yellow, flosculous, and four petals are seen in each calix. In the
inside of the tassel of the flower, which is dented, are five stamina, united
to the apices. These, which are cylindrically shaped, surround the style,
and contain long and bristly seeds.
“Although, as a preservative, it was at first supposed unnecessary to
inoculate with the juice of the guaco-plant, under an impression that its
effects on serpents arose out of the disagreeable smell the plant emits, it was
nevertheless found that the mode usually practised by the negroes possessed
some peculiar advantages; and that as the virus of the small pox, introduced
by the smallest orifice into the system, affects the whole mass of the blood,
this also might have some strong communicative properties, which rendered
the inoculation more safe and efficacious. The juice operates as a powerful
anodyne, and creates in the patient a copious perspiration. When the cure
has been performed, the native empirics nevertheless say that it is advisable
to continue the dose five or six times during the successive month, lest any
of the venom should be left lurking j The repetition of the process
tends constantly to maintain in the humours of the body the strong effect of
the herb, which operates as a shield against future poison, even though at
the time of being bitten the plant should not be at hand to rub the wound
and renew the dose. They further add, that the curative virtues of the
plant subside if the same precaution is not used at the next increase of the
moon, when it becomes necessary to be inoculated by the hands of the em-
piric. This, however, is held out for no other than interested views, as the
curing of serpents’ bites among the negroes is still a kind of trade; and distin-
guished botanists and physicians have had ample proof, that the antidote is
permanently efficacious. By way of experiment, serpents have been han-
dled long after the monthly period of inoculation had passed; though it is
strongly recommended, in cases of trial, that the person should prepare him-
self half an hour before the serpent is taken into the hand, by a dose of the
fresh juice, and previous rubbing his hands with the leaf, a practice that has
been frequently followed with success.
“The experiments made on this subject have not clearly pointed out,
whether it is the effluvia of the plant which acts on the reptile by creating
a kind of disgust, or whether an agreeable sensation is communicated, that
lulls it, and makes it forget its natural malignity. It has, however, been
noticed, that, on spittle impregnated with the juice, being cast on the head
of the serpent, it appears to become drowsy, notwithstanding it was before
in an irritated and restless state; whereas, when handled by the person who
has been previously prepared, it is uneasy and evinces a wish to escape. A
considerable quantity of the juice being poured on two serpents, it was ob-
served, that the sensation of stupor was not very durable; for, after a lapse
of a short period, they recovered their accustomed vigour, and were as active
as before they had been sprinkled.
“The guaco-plant is now applied, as a cure for the bite of all kinds of
serpents, by the Spanish physicians in the tropical provinces of South
America. In those of the Venezuela and Caracas, its use is become so ge-
neral that it has been planted and reared on all the large estates; and every
morning, when the labourers go out to work in the fields, a small calabash
of the juice is carried with them, in case a misfortune happens to any of
488 H U MAN E HINTS.
the people. This example is worth following in the West India Islands,
where the plant may be easily obtained; and with this view the present de-
tails are given, chiefly taken from what has been written on the subject by
eminent persons of the faculty in Lima and Santa Fe. -
“The guaco-plant, although not in use for more than twenty-five years,
has been found to possess sovereign virtues, and to counteract the poison of
all the Snakes and serpents peculiar to the Spanish main; and experiments
to this effect have been made on the taya; the coral, or coral-snake, so called
from its red colour; the cascabal, or rattle-snake; and a green one found
near the city of Giron.* Indeed, no greater proof of the powerful effects
of the plant in question can be brought forward than the case of the rattle-
snake. The bite of the latter is both violent and grievous, nevertheless this
remedy has proved efficacious to persons in the agony of death. It is pro-
per to remark, that, to proceed safely in the cure of persons bitten with ser-
pents, the fresh leaf of the plant is necessary, and its juice by itself, or mixed
with a small portion of warm water, is to be given to the patient in any
period of the disease, and without any previous preparation. The chewed
or bruised leaves are applied to the wound and the parts affected; and, if
the swelling has not gained the farthest extreme of the limb, the plant ought
to be bound round the part to which the poison has not reached, in order that
its progress may be stopped. The dose must be repeated several times, and the
patient may then throw aside his dread, and resume his customary occupations.
“This plant has been found so efficacious as a remedy, in the tropical re-
gions of the New World; the various experiments made on both man and
dogs, in the way of preventives, have been so completely successful, that,
besides the West Indies, it might be of the greatest service in Europe, where
the plant also deserves the notice of the rational philanthropist, and the ex-
periments of the public schools of medicine. Its virtues, once established,
would render the plant an object of trade, and from this an essential relief
might be derived to the ills of the human frame. The inhabitants of North
America annually export a considerable quantity of Snake-root; and it is to be
hoped that those of the Southern Continent will, ere long, be enabled to turn
their attention to the number of herbs and gums with which their forests
abound, and that then the guaco-plant may be reckoned in their list of ex-
ports. If brought to this distance, perhaps, the best method of conveying it
would be, by extracting the juice, bottling it carefully, and packing it in a
state of good preservation. This article might be abundantly supplied from
Santa Fe, as well as many other parts of the main continent, and by a fur-
ther chemical analysis, it undoubtedly would be found to possess other
qualities hitherto unknown. Even experiments already made have proved,
that it is an excellent vermifuge, and the peculiar bitterness of the plant
strongly corroborates the fact. It is also a stomachic and tonic. -
“A species of creeper, or bind-weed, of partly a similar kind, is said, by
Father Gamilla to exist in Guayaquil; but its exact affinity with the guaco-
* Vallemont, in his Dictionaire Raisonne of Natural History, (verb ser-
pents,) observes, that in Martinique a species of serpent is found, and there
called the coule-sang, owing to the blood gushing from every part of the per-
son bitten. It is a small species of serpent inclining to the viper; the eyes
glaring, the skin transparent, and spotted with white and black. The body
is thin, and the tail very small. As the effect of the poison of this reptile is
different from that of any other serpent, which rather tends to coagulate the
blood, possibly the guaco-plant might not be more successful than alkalies,
which, in this case, have been tried with less effect than acids; but, per-
haps, this is the only instance that can be mentioned as an exception.
HTUMANE HINTS. , 489
plant has not hitherto been traced. There is also another, mentioned by
Mr. Jaquin, in his History of American plants, possessing properties not
unlike those of the guaco-plant, though different in genus and classification.
This he describes under the name of aristolochia anguicida, stipulis cordatis,
which answers to the description of the one called carate, in South America,
of which the flower is denominated in Carthagena for de alcatraz, or peli-
can-flower, from its resemblance to the bill of, the pelican; ; and its virtues,
though by no means equal to those of the guaco-plant, have an affinity.
“Besides serpents, it is well known that there are several other animals
whose poison is more or less active and deadly, against which the antidote in
question might be rendered extremely valuable. Among the most terrible is
that of the blood and froth of a certain species of lizard, found in the island
of Java, and used by the Natives to poison their arrows. In order to obtain
it they suspend the lizard by the tail, and irritate it till it emits from the
mouth a yellow viscous matter, which is received, in an earthen cup, and
fermented in the sun. Afterwards their arrows are, steeped in it, and the
wounds they inflict are of a deadly mature. In these cases, the guaco-plant
would undoubtedly answer the end, desired, and certainly it is on that ac-
count, highly deserving the attention of the physicians attached to the British
armies in the East Indies, where the soldiers are alike earposed to the ills of war
and reptiles of the woods. This specific is now well known, and easily
found on almost all the margins of rivulets, and in damp places; and it can
also be readily transplanted, or propagated by means of seed.”
Cure for snake bites.—“Strong diffusible stimulants prove the most effec-
tual antidotes; and it is probable that they all actin virtue of that stimulant
quality alone. Ammonia, hartshorn, eau-de-luce, or whatever its form or
name, has proved eminently successful, solely as a stimulant, not (according
to the old idea) as a corrector of poisonous acidity. But this valuable me-
dicine has disadvantages; it varies exceedingly in strength, according to age,
preparation, &c. I believe its use to have been attended with fatal conse-
quences, and which finally determined me to try the strongest narcotics—of
these the most convenient is laudanum and ardent spirits (brandy I have
constantly used)—and they have answered my warmest expectations.
Without a single auxiliary, besides external heat, they have cured at least
nine cases within the last six months. My patients were nearly all sepoys of
the Goruckpore light-infantry, on duty with the different guards; and, as
the poor fellows were generally bitten at night, some minutes necessarily
elapsed before I could see them. I have had opportunities of watching
the effects of the remedies in all stages of the symptoms, even to spasms
of the back, total insensibility, and cessation of every pulse but that of the
heart; and in every instance I have to attribute the cure to these two re-
medies, given internally, and rubbed on the throat and chest. Only one
man died, and he was pulseless, and of course incapable of swallowing am-
monia, ather, &c. - -
“The natives in India hardly ever use the simple but effectual precaution
of tying the limb with cord above the wound. Several of the towns-people
have this year died of snake-bites. It is obvious that the doses given must
depend on the age, sex, and apparent constitution of the patient, and on
the degree in which the venom has acted. None of my patients had less
than 100 drops of laudanum and two glasses of brandy, given in two or
three doses, with a little peppermint, sugar, and water, (warm, if it could be
had,) and many of them had double that quantity. Except one man, every
one of the patients was at his duty next day, a circumstance which power-
fully corroborates the idea of a direct sedative action, and consequent ex-
penditure of the vital principle; for what sepoy could otherwise bear un-
harmed that quantity of stimulent? It is proper to keep the patient walk-
490 |HUMAN E HINTS.
ing about, if he can use his limb; and the ligature should not be removed
till the medicine has unequivocally shewn its action by the returning pulse
and heat, which, in my experience, has always happened in less than an
hour. I have used no applications to the wound, as they are apt to dege-
nerate into troublesome ulcers when irritated by caustics, &c.”*
The following account is from the India Gazette, and the circumstances
occurred in 1810.-4: Morza Jannee told Col. Palmer that he had brought the
root he had formerly mentioned, as that which the Munghoore (Ichneumon)
runs to when bitten by a snake, and his hurkarus were in attendance to ex-
hibit its powers. These men were accordingly called in, and they produced
some root in fibres, about the thickness and colour of the largest end of
common kus-kus. They had no serpents, but had supplied themselves with
a number of scorpions, with which experiments were made to the satisfac-
tion of all present, that, while in contact or connection with the root, the
scorpion was helpless and innoxious. A lively scorpion, having a piece of
the fibre on its back, presently became torpid, The people, having a
piece of the root on the palm of the hand, readily handled the scorpions,
and allowed them to lie on their fingers. All this speaks as to prevention, not
to cure; yet as the natives dared not to touch the scorpions without this
root, and as the Munghoore, when bitten by a snake, instantly ran to it, a
presumption may be drawn from analogy.”f
(8.) A Humane Society to attend to the sick at the Ghauts,
or landing places of the Ganges, &c., as suggested in a Cal-
cutta Paper, would be very beneficial.
“As you are ready to give a place in your pages, to the remarks of your
Correspondents that are of general utility, I trust the following, upon a
subject which has much engaged my attention, will meet with a ready in-
sertion.—Having understood that many people were brought to the Ghauts
in this town, in the early stages of the attacks of cholera, and there suffered
to die without proper attention, a friend of mine stationed a person at the
principal Ghaut (with direction to pay some attention to another belonging
to the village of C–, where the cholera has greatly raged):—by the
timely application of suitable medicine, in one day, eight out of twelve, who
were brought to the Ghauts, were restored to their families. The detail of
other days was encouraging. With these circumstances before me, I could
not forbear to call the attention of a humane public in general, and the
Government in particular, to the importance of stationing persons with medi-
cines, at the principal Ghauts of the towns and villages where the cholera at
any time prevails. By this expedient many may be rescued from premature
death, and the benevolent spirit of Christianity will appear in influencing
the authorities and humane individuals to promote the welfare of the people,
when exposed to one of Heaven's most dreadful scourges! Would it not
be practicable and highly desirable, to establish a humane society for the
relief of the sick in different places, and thus regular, permanent, and suit-
able means would be in existence, to meet the ills of life arising from
sickness, with all its train of sorrows? Hoping some of your correspondents
will take up the subject, I subscribe myself, PHILANTHRoPos.
S—, Sep. 1825.
The engraving, p. 475, represents the exposure and relief
of the sick on the banks of the Ganges. Messrs. Yates and
* Asi, Jour, Oct. 1824. † Asi. Jour., Jan. 1826, p. 64.
HUMAN E HINTS. 491
Pearce relate the following facts in an account of an excur-
sion on the river.

“On Sabbath morning, at breakfast time, we reached a small village,
where we went ashore. Here, under a large tree, we found a poor woman,
about fifty years old, brought to die by the side of Gunga. She complained
of no pain, but seemed labouring under great weakness. Having unhappily
no medicine, we gave her a little brandy and water, and dispatched her
relations into the village to make her some gruel. At this time was brought
to the same spot an interesting young woman, about twenty years old; and
on the other side we found lying on the ground, deserted by her friends, a
third, about twenty-five. All these could speak without difficulty, were free
from pain, and would probably in a short time have perfectly recovered if pro-
perly attended : but yet we fear are doomed to perish, through the neglect
and superstitious cruelty of their relatives. We got a promise of nutritious
food for them all from their friends, and, having no medicine with us, after
giving the two latter likewise a little brandy and water (which they would
take as medicine), left them with a heavy heart. Well may it be said, that
‘the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.’”
The Friend of India, for Sep. 1825, contains a letter, by
the Author, upon the subject of Humane Societies in India,
which he should rejoice to hear were extensively established,
and assisted by contributions from this country.—
“I should be happy, through the medium of your pages, to present to
the Christian public, the following interesting paragraph from an American
periodical, entitled The Friend of Peace, for April, 1825, and a few remarks
relative to the establishment of humane societies in India. “The Royal
Humane Society was formed in London in 1774. By its Annual Report,
in 1821, it appears that this institution had been instrumental in restoring
to society, 5,020 persons in the metropolis and its vicinity; and that within
forty-seven years, it had rewarded 20,320 persons for their exertions in saving
the lives of men exposed to untimely death. To a philanthropic mind it
must be a pleasing thought, that 5,020 persons have been rescued from
sudden death by one Humane Society in the course of forty-seven years.
There are other Humane Societies besides this in England. What their
success has been we know not; but we may suppose, that the persons saved
by them in this period, added to 5,020, will make the aggregate 15,000.
This is a goodly number to be saved by a few societies; and the promoters
of these institutions are entitled to great respect as saviours of their species.”
“‘The liberal deviseth liberal things, and by liberal things shall he stand.”
Is there not great necessity for similar benevolent exertions in such a
country as India? Are there not many at the Presidencies, and the
various stations throughout the country, disposed to promote humane exer-
tions for the recovery of the sick in cholera, epidemics, &c.?—to rescue
from premature death those who are exposed to die on the banks of the
Ganges, or who find a watery grave through the apathy of their countrymen?
To the honour of Britain and of Christianity, an affirmative to these inquiries
may be given. Permit me to suggest the establishment in Calcutta, and at
different stations, of -A Humane Society, to promote attention to the recovery
of the sick, and to those brought to die on the banks of the Ganges, to re-
ward the preservation of people eaſposed to drowning, or the resuscitation of
those apparently drowned;—and any humane and efficient eacertions for the
benefit of individuals eaſposed to death. The object of such an institution
immediately commends itself; and it would not lack funds to carry it into
492 HUMAN E HINTS.
effect. The means of accomplishing it appear specific and simple;—pro-
viding a stock of suitable medicines;–supporting a few Native doctors or
Indo, British to administer it in the streets, lanes, ghauts, &c.; and award-
ing a premium, for every well-authenticated instance of the preservation of
human life. The officers of such a society would be few. Medical gentle-
men would be eminently qualified to direct and aid its operations." A few
humane individuals might, with little trouble, direct the truly charitable
donations of many into a useful and highly commendable channel.
“Within the last few weeks, at Serampore, of the number of sick
brought to some Ghauts, a great many have been restored and sent to their
families, by the timely application of cholera medicine. . How much such
exertions tend to promote the happiness of all ranks of Society, and endear
iman to man! At the Annual Meeting of the Royal Humane Society, in
London, some who have been restored to life in the past year, through the
exertions of the Society, are presented for the gratification of its friends.
Might not such a scene soon be presented before the friends of humanity
in Calcutta and other places? Such exertions must have an important
bearing upon the interests of the infant cause of Christianity in India. To
give life to the dead (as in the case of resuscitation)—to raise from affliction
the dying and miserable sons and daughters of adversity—and to have,
annually, numbers bearing their testimony to the kindness of Christians,
must have a most beneficial tendency in society.”
The Editor, in his remarks upon the above, says, “It is a
happy circumstance, that the most effectual remedies for the
cholera (the great scourge of India) are both simple and
cheap. We have had the gratification, of saving a consider-
able number of lives this season, by the following easy pre-
scription:—Drop into a wine glass thirty or forty drops of
laudanum, add one-third of a glass of brandy, an equal quan-
tity of water, and four or five drops of essence of peppermint,
—Repeat this dose every half-hour till the vomiting and purg-
ing cease. If the stomach cannot bear the sudden addition
of so much liquid, the patient should slowly sip it from a tea-
spoon. The following prescription is from high medical au-
thority, and has been very successful:—Take laudanum
twenty drops, diluted sulphuric acid (in which there are ten
N ſº & tº
parts of water to one of acid) ten drops, oil of peppermint
three drops, and mix them with a little water.” Commercial
houses have much in their power; and we believe that, in
many cases, their factories, so extensively scattered over the
* The following treatment of Typhus Fever has been very successful:—
“Take the root of the herb butter bur washed clean and sliced thin, two
ounces; pour upon it one quart of boiling water, in an earthen vessel, and
stop it close; let it stand till cold; then pour the clear liquor off, and to a bot-
tle of it add a quarter of a pint of mountain wine, and a little sugar. Take
one quarter of a pint every four hours; and let the patient’s feet be put in
warm water. It operates by perspiration, and care must be taken not to get
cold. When the patient is brought into a strong perspiration discontinue
the medicine.”
HUMANIE HINTS. j 493
country, are known as refuges for the sick and the needy.
Judicious grants from Government of medical stores, or the
sale of them at cost price, would much facilitate the work of
benevolence. If such can be had, according to existing regu-
lations, it would be well to make it more generally known;–
if not, we would pray for a new regulation on the subject.”
After giving a just tribute, to “the humane attention to the
sick, extensively displayed in British India, by public autho-
rities and private individuals,” it is acknowledged,—“We
confess, we are not at all sanguine in the expectation of it (the
letter) giving rise to any public measure; but we do trust,
that it will induce many private individuals, to do more than
they yet have done in relieving the sick and forsaken.” It
* The following extraordinary cure of Hydrophobia appears worthy of
extensive circulation. “We observe,” says the Scots Times, “that in this dis-
ease there is a constant thirst and great dryness of the skin; the pulse is
quick and hard; the whole system appears to have undergone a violent
change, and nothing distresses the patient so much as the pain and diffi-
culty of deglutition. Under these circumstances, were the patient to be
placed in a warm or vapour bath, and kept there till perspiration takes
place, were the most suitable diaphoretics had recourse to, and the skin kept
in a state of perspiration for some time, reasoning from analogy, we might
be able to subdue the thirst and febrile actions, and perhaps by the exhalent
arteries throw off the disease from the fluids.” The Dublin Morning Post
contains the following illustration of this idea:-“In my early days,” says
the narrator, “there lived, in the neighbourhood where I was brought up, a
man who had the misfortune to be bitten by a rabid dog—some time after-
wards the man grew unwell, and almost immediately manifested all the
horrible symptoms of hydrophobia, which increased to such an alarmin
degree, that his friends had come to the resolution of adopting the dreadful
alternative of putting an end to his existence by suffocation; , and for this
purpose four men spread a bed on the floor and forced the unfortunate man
down upon it, covering him with another bed, upon which they stretched
themselves, to prevent him getting breath, while his wife and a few rela-
tions were in another apartment awaiting the awful event. The struggles
and groans of the unfortunate victim were for some time adequate to make
human nature shudder; during which time his wife's feelings may be ima-
gined, but cannot be described. After a little time the noise in the fatal
apartment ceased, when she rushed in with frantic despair, and with almost
supernatural strength forced the men from off her husband's body, declaring,
that ‘let the consequence be what it would, she would let the Almighty take
the manner of her husband's death into his own hand.’ When she removed
the bed that lay upon him, he lay almost lifeless; and so ardent had been
his struggle, that the sweat had oozed from every pore in his skin, and in
such a quantity, that it formed a small dam on the floor. After he was ex-
posed to the air a short time, he revived and sat up, telling the bystanders
that his madness had entirely left him; and it was so in reality, for he
lived long and happy with his wife, who had been so instrumental in saving
his life, and had by her a large family after his recovery. He died at last
a natural death.”—The World, April 21, 1830.
494 HUMANE HINTS.
appears, therefore, that, if India enjoy the numerous blessings
conferred by active Humane Societies, seconding and direct-
ing the benevolent efforts of the Government, a stimulus
must be given from the philanthropic in Great Britain.
(9.) It has long appeared, to the Author, very desirable that
there should be established, British India Humane Societies,
or Humane Funds for British India, attached to the various
Missionary Societies. The following letter was addressed to
the Editor of a Periodical in London. When shall the
miseries of our fellow subjects in India obtain that attention
they merit from our hands? " *
“While a resident in India, and an eye-witness of the state of its in-
habitants, I have often been reminded of the well-known sentiment of Dr.
Thomas, the colleague of Dr. Carey:-‘Don’t send men to India destitute
of feeling, for they will do no good: don’t send men of feeling, for they
will soon die!” One cause of this singular dilemma, of the humane and
F. in India, is the frequent scenes of misery and death that they witness.
or the moral miseries of the people, the missionary has an antidote, in
the diffusion of the knowledge of the Gospel, which ‘giveth life to him that
hath it;’ but from their natural miseries, he must often turn away, and steel
‘the tender visitings of nature.’ A ‘British India Humane Society” estab-
lished in London, with auxiliaries in Britain and India, might raise funds
that would enable benevolent gentlemen, the medical profession, and mis-
sionaries of different societies in India, to supply perishing myriads with
medicine, food, &c., who, for want of these, pine in all the wretchedness to
which Hindoo and Mussulman apathy doom the aged, the sick, and the
dying. Should the establishment of such a general society be thought
impracticable, something could be done—by each mission to India having a
humane fund, the proceeds of which would gladden the heart of the
missionary, and cause the blessing of those who were ready to perish to
come upon their kind benefactors. -
The necessity of such a fund must strike every feeling mind. A missionary
at the temple of Juggernaut, wrote in June 1825, “We have relieved
many a child of misery by administering medicine to the sick, clothing to
the naked, food to the hungry, and money to the destitute; but what we
have been able to do falls short indeed of the wants of the miserable. Many
a heart-rending scene, we have been called to witness, where we could afford
no relief;-many poor creatures we have dismissed with partial assistance,
under a full persuasion, they would soon want again and die: and many
a scene of death have we endured; and turned away with a heavy
overflowing heart from many a dying fellow creature, without God, and
without hope, the victims of a wretched superstition.” The distribution,
here referred to, was from funds humanely supplied by the Government, to
relieve the miseries of the pilgrims to Juggernaut at the Car Festival. A
representation was made by one of the missionaries in Orissa, which was
very promptly regarded;—but the supply arrived too late, and but little
could be done for the miserable multitudes. It is evident, that it must be
highly desirable for missionaries to be furnished with means to alleviate the
miseries they witness, that, both temporally and spiritually, like their com-
passionate Lord, they may “go about doing good.”
“The manner of applying the proceeds of this fund is easily conceived.
Resources are wanted for ‘entertaining strangers,’ clothing the naked, food
HUMANE HINTS. 495

for the famished pilgrim; medicine, (especially when the cholera morbus
prevails in the district or country) relief for the beggars, (aged, lame, blind,
leprous, &c.) who look up to a Padree Sahab with confidence, and may, be
regularly assembled to obtain a little support and instruction; and, it may
be added, the occasional employment of a native Christian, a poor Portu-
guese, or a Native doctor—to visit the sick, and carry medicine where the .
cholera or any other disease is known to prevail. Can a missionary do all
these without assistance from his benevolent friends in Britain f and can
they be neglected, or but partially regarded, without a poignancy of regret,
alike injurious to body and mind, to character and usefulness?—A few in-
cidents may confirm these statements. The Rev. C. Lacey of Cuttack,
speaking of relieving the pilgrims of Juggernaut, says, “A great majority of
the sick that I relieved on our first stage were females, almost without ex-
ception, deserted by their friends, who had left them not a pice (a half-
penny) and no good cloth, and sometimes none; and many of them hundreds
of miles from their home. I was frequently obliged to clothe the helpless
female with my own hands. The bystanders, when this was the case, would
generally say,+How holy is this!” On another occasion he writes, ‘The
cholera morbus is raging in the country. I have sent the Pundit with me-
dicine, and to day he returned with the following account. At Janocotto
gave to two persons, both recovered; at Mutagogapore, to three persons who
recovered; at Dowanpatna to four, two recovered and two died, &c. The
Pundit said they inquired who had sent him, and, being told the Padree
Sahab, they pronounced many blessings, and called it holy work. O may
it prove to the furtherance of the Gospel, and may they be led to the physi-
cian of souls and live!”
“The utility of a humane fund is evident. The wise man says, “Every
man is a friend to him that giveth gifts.” . In India, where a missionary has
so much to oppose his progress, how desirable it is to have the benevolent
character of that great man of the East, Job;—“When the earheard, then it
blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me; because I
delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to
help him. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me;
and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.—I was eyes to the blind,
and feet was I to the lame. I was a father to the poor; and the cause which
I knew not was searched out.” Job xxix. 11–16. What a pattern this, for
the amiable religion of Christ! what a contrast to Heathenism and Is-
lamism ' and how certain, under the blessing of its divine Author, to bless
the suffering and benighted sons and daughters of the East !
“Humane efforts in India are attended with encouraging results. The
writer once found a young Bengalee female pilgrim left to die, but by
suitable medicine, lodging, and food, had the pleasure to see her restored
to health. A native servant recovered from a violent attack of cholera, by
some pills, (part of them given to him for the relief of others,) returned with the
grateful language—‘Hasahab amba au junma pielu !”—“O Sir, I have got
another birth.” The Rev. Mr. R. , a missionary at Calcutta, in a letter
to a friend in Sep. 1825, states that, “not one had died out of sixty, to whom
he had administered medicine” for the cholera, except one individual, who
* This medicine was, “eighty drops of laudanum, a wine glass of brandy,
and two table spoonfuls of castor oil, mixed and given if possible at once;
if not, one desert spoonful after another, until all is taken. This is the
dose for a man; for women, girls, and boys, sixty drops of laudanum, the
brandy and oil the same quantities as before. Should this be ineffectual,
496 HUMANE HINTS.
had previously received some native medicine very prejudicial to her.” An-
other missionary, in the vicinity of that city, said to the writer, “You saw
that poor woman waiting on Mrs. T-; she was taken down to the Ganges
to die, but was restored by some medicine that we administered.” Where the
attention of the Government is directed to the melioration of the miseries of
the natives, much good is done. In Orissa, a few years since, 3000 cholera
pills were sent from Cuttack, for the relief of the salt manufacturers then
suffering by the cholera, and several hundred lives were saved. A writer
in the Friend of India (Sep. 1825) states, “We know that, when the cho-
lera first began its ravages, one gentleman obtained from Government forty
or fifty native doctors to supply his district, and medical stores to what ex-
tent he chose; and the gratifying result was, that medicine was administered
to upwards of 20,000 persons, of whom more than 17,000 recovered 1–It must
be evident, that the Government in India cannot do all that humanity re-
quires, and hence the necessity of the humane exertions in Britain here ad-
vocated. A missionary, speaking of a school examination says, “At our
last examination, all the boys who could read the Scriptures, read and re-
peated the whole of Watts's Catechism in Oorea, and were rewarded with
cloths; and the next class with a few pice, from a donation by a friend in
England. These cloths not only rewarded and encouraged the children, but
will prove a real blessing to them, as they are most of them very poor and
the season is cold. If any friend could be induced to contribute a little to
be spent in such rewards, he would render most effectual help to our Mission,
and bestow a great blessing upon many poor indigent children and parents.”
Surely this appeal to British humanity and liberality will not be in vain.*
To state but one more circumstance: a colleague observes, “When endea-
vouring to do something for the sick, those around will exclaim, Ha durma
Aubitar ! Sutya Aubitar! &c., &c.—O holy incarnation, true incarnation 1
Some would fain worship us, and bowed their foreheads to the very dirt; of
course we objected to this, and taught them to look to God and give him all
the praise. Some observed, This would occasion our religion to be talked
about far and wide. It certainly has given us favour in the sight of the
people, and they often manifested an expression of it.’ Let Britain pity
and alleviate the spiritual and temporal woes of India, and she will be in-
structed and animated to promote the diffusion of the knowledge of Christ,
and the exemplification of every humane and Christian trait that adorns the
human character.” y
Idolatry is cruel as the grave; but Christian benevolence
imparts, as it is said of Solomon, “largeness of heart, even
as the sand that is on the sea shore.”
“Friend, parent, neighbour, first it will embrace,
Our country next, and next the human race.”
, ,
give a second dose of forty drops of laudanum, a wine glass of brandy, but
no oil. In case of this failing, a wine glass of drogue a mere may be effec-
tual. This medicine may be administered in almost all stages of the
disease. After the vomiting ceases give warm rice water, and after that
boiled sago or soogee (flour). The patient should be kept on a dry place
and warm.”. (Asi, Journ, March 1826, p. 386)
* Two ladies, sisters, at St. Ives (Hunts), were so affected in reading the
report of the General Baptist Missionary Society, for 1826, that they sent
310 for the relief of the Pilgrims to Juggernaut. º f
HUMANE HINTS. 497
The importance of the humane efforts here recommended,
viewed in connection with the preservation of the British
power in India, may be shewn by the following extract from
the speech of Lord Erskine on Cruelty to Animals, in the
house of Peers, May, 1809.-‘The times in which we live, my
Lords, have read us an awful lesson upon the importance of
preserving the moral sympathies. We have seen that the
highest state of refinement and cultivation will not secure
them: even in struggles for human rights and privileges,
sincere and laudable as they may occasionally have been,_
all human rights and privileges have been trampled upon, by
barbarities more shocking than those of the most barbarous
nations: because they have not merely extinguished natural
unconnected life, but have destroyed the social happiness and
independence of mankind; raising up tyrants to oppress them
all in the end, by beginning with the oppression of each other.
All this has arisen, from neglecting the cultivation of the moral
sense, the best security of states, and the greatest consolation
of the world. The cruelties which we daily deplore, in
children and in youth, arise from defect in education; and
that defect in education, from the very defect in the law which
I ask your Lordships to remedy. From the moral sense of
the parent reanimated, or rather, in this branch, created by
the law, the next generation will feel, in the first dawn of
their ideas, the august relation they stand in to the lower
world, and the trust which their station in the universe im-
poses on them; and it will not be left to a future Sterne to
remind us—when we put aside even a harmless insect—that
the world is large enough for both. This extension of benevo-
lence to objects beneath us, become habitual by a sense of
duty inculcated by law, will reflect back upon our sympathies:
so that I may venture to say, firmly, to your Lordships, that
the Bill I propose to you, if it shall receive the sanction of
Parliament, will not only be an honour to the country, but
an era in the history of the world.”
(10) The necessity and importance of societies to promote
the abolition of human sacrifices in India appear deserving
of consideration. By them, information upon the mature and
extent of every species of human sacrifice, may be extensively
circulated in the united kingdom and in India, petitions to
Parliament promoted, and the subject pressed upon public
attention till these evils are no more. The following regula-
tions of the Coventry Society were adopted at the first general
meeting of the Committee, Dec. 1828 –
I. Its designation shall be “The Society for Promoting the Abolition of
Human Sacrifices in India.”
2 K
498 HUMAN E HINTS.

II. Its object is to circulate information respecting the nature and extent
of human sacrifices in India, by the burning of Hindoo widows, Infanticide,
River murders, Pilgrimages, &c.; to awaken general attention to the subject;
and to promote the speedy abolition of these horrible practices.
III. The means by which this important object . be promoted are—
procuring information upon the above subjects, circulating it among per-
sons of influence in this country and in India, and originating petitions to
Parliament from every part of Great Britain and Ireland.
IV. Every person subscribing not less than 5s. a year shall be considered
a member of the Society.
W. Every member shall, on application, be entitled to half the amount of
his subscription in the publications of this Society, and the privilege of pur-
chasing at prime cost for gratuitous circulation.
VI. The publigations adopted by the Society at its formation are—“The
Suttees' Cry to Britain,”—“Pilgrim Taa’ in India,”—“Ghaut Murders,
or an Appeal to British Humanity and Justice, relative to the ºff. of
the Sick on the Banks of the Ganges; to which are added, Humane Hints for
the Melioration of Society in British India,”— and “Claims of British
India, or an Appeal to the Society of Friends for their co-operation in pro-
moting Christianity in India.”* A Pamphlet on the Present State of In-
fanticide is intended to be published. The Society would be happy to
promote the circulation of what has been published on the Suttee by Dr.
Johns, J. Poynder and R. Jackson, Esqrs., and the Rev. T. Grimshawe.
VII. The Society, anticipating the establishment of similar Institutions
in various parts of the country, proposes to supply them with its publica-
tions at prime cost, or Societies may reprint them.
VIII. The business of the Society shall be managed by a Committee, of
which the Treasurer and Secretary are members ear-officio.
IX. From January to June, inclusive, the Committee shall meet monthly,
on the first Monday of the month, at eleven o’clock in the morning; and
the remainder of the year, every two months, on the same day of the month:
and the Secretary shall be empowered to call a special meeting when
necessary.
X. An Annual Report shall be presented at the close of the year, stating
the proceedings of this and similar Institutions, and the progress made
towards the attainment of the object of their establishment,
The following Petition to both Houses of Parliament, was
appended to the third Report of the Society, (March, 1832)
and may form a specimen for adoption by the friends of India,
in various parts of the United Kingdom.
To the Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland in Parliament assembled.
“The humble Petition of the Inhabitants of the City of Coventry,
“Sheweth, That while your petitioners learn, with the greatest satisfac-
tion, that effective measures have been taken to abolish the unnatural prac-
tice of burning and burying alive Hindoo widows, in British India, they
regret the continuance of female Infanticide in Western Hindostan, and in
some parts of the Bengal Presidency; the exposure of the aged and sick on
the banks of the Ganges; that Pilgrimages to certain temples in India are
made sources of revenue to the Hon. East India Company’s Government;
-
* In addition to these, “The Suttees' Cry abridged,” and “The Appeal of
the Society,” are presented to subscribers.
HUMAN E HINTS. 499
and that by laws and usages now existing in India, converts to Christianity
lose the right of inheriting hereditary property.
“That it further appears to your petitioners, that as the Suttee has been
abolished, as an infraction of the inviolable principles of justice and hu-
manity, in unison with the sentiments of the great majority of the most in-
telligent of the Hindoos, both ancient and modern, the other evils in India
here adverted to, are also conceived to be contrary to those principles; and
that the extent to which they prevail imperiously calls for the attention of a
humane and Christian Government.
“That according to the statements of the philanthropic Colonel Walker,
contained in the Parliamentary Papers on Infanticide, 3,000 female infants
annually perish, the victims of this unnatural practice; and recent informa-
tion shews, from ‘the disproportionate number of females still existing, it is
evident that, although this practice may be somewhat subdued, it is still
ar from being relinquished.”
“That hundreds of infirm and sick persons are every year exposed upon
the banks of the Ganges, and mo inquisition is made for their blood.
“That at the temple of Juggernaut, and at Gya, Allahabad, and Tripetty,
near Madras, the British authorities receive considerable sums of money,
the gain of connection with idolatry; that at Juggernaut a premium is
actually received by the pundahs, who collect the pilgrims, by which the
celebrity and sanguinary nature of idolatry are greatly increased; and that
by the state of Hindoo law, affecting the hereditary property of converts to
Christianity, the civilization and evangelization of British India are greatly
retarded.
“That your petitioners, deeply impressed with the state of their fellow-
subjects in British India and China, earnestly implore your Honourable
House to adopt such measures as may speedily abolish the murder of infants;
the Exposure of the sick and infirm under the semblance of religion; the
pernicious connection of Britain with idolatry; and the revision of those
laws which prevent Hindoo Christians from fully enjoying their civil and
religious rights; and thus remove the stigma which attaches to our national
character, by tacitly sanctioning and perpetuating these evils; and that
whatever regulations it may be expedient to adopt at the present period, for
the future intercourse of British subjects with China, no steps may be taken,
which shall in any way prevent Christians of every denomination from di-
recting their benevolent attention to the introduction of Christianity into
that idolatrous empire. *
“And your petitioners shall ever pray.”
The efforts of the philanthropic and Christian public in
this country and India, under the blessing of God, may do
much for the welfare of Hindostan. A British India Hu-
mane Society in London, aided by Societies in other parts of
this country, would stimulate our philanthropic countrymen
in the East to labour for the civilization and evangelization
of India. Can it be doubted, whether there be a necessity
for such Institutions? In what country under heaven is there
so much misery as in India ; View the poor widow still
hurried to the funeral pile—the murdered infant—the sick
exposed by the Ganges—the myriads of miserable pilgrims
—the degraded slave—the shipwrecked mariner—numbers
drowning in the rivers in stormy weather, without any
500 HUMAN E HINTS;
assistance being afforded—multitudes dying in epidemics for
want of medicine and attendance; and, to crown the whole;
the distress frequently so great, as to defy individual exertion
to alleviate it, and hence occasioning an apathy, inhuman and
unchristian, even in the European character. A Humane
Society in Calcutta, and other cities and towns, aided by
funds and correspondence from Britain, would do much to
remove these miseries—rescue numbers from a premature
death—do honour to humanity and to the British people—
and commend Christianity to the acceptance of the Heathen
and the Mahomedan. And as she approaches them let mercy
attend the steps of her messengers. Humane exertions, either
by the Legislature, individuals, or Humane Societies, must
be beneficial. It is written, “Mercy shall be built up for
ever.” Let these pages be attentively perused, and it is hoped
the humane and liberal spirit of Britain, will devise “liberal
things” for the temporal and spiritual welfare of India. O
Britain, my country! hear the glowing language of your
poets; and sedulously promote the work of the melioration
and eyangelization of India.
“Pursue thy glorious eourse. Be this thy art,
Not to corrupt, but meliorate the heart;
Where'er mankind in Gentile darkness lie,
Instruction's blessed radiance to supply;
sºr O'er the oppress'd, soft mercy's dews to shed,
And crush with ruin the oppressor's head.
O haste your tardy coming days of gold 3
Long by prophetic minstrelsy foretold!
Where yon bright purple streaks the orient skies,
Rise Science, Freedom, Peace, Religion, rise!
'Till, from Tanjore to farthest Samarcand,
In one wide lustre bask the glowing land:
And (Brahma from his guilty greatness hurl’d,
With Mecca's lord,) Messiah rule the world!”

“Then, while transported Asia kneels around,
With ancient arts, and long lost glories crown'd :
Some happier bard, on Ganges' margin laid,
Where . bamboos weave their fretted shade,
Shall to the strings a loftier tone impart,
And pour in rapturous verse his flowing heart,
Stamp'd in immortal light on future days,
Through all the strain his country's joys shall blaze;
The Sanscrit song be warm'd with heav'nly fires,
And themes divine awake from Indian lyres!”
* Wrangham and Grant on the restoration of Learning in the East, 1805.
Winks, Printer, Leicester.
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