"If a Council is given to Bengal then a demand will be made by the large non-official community of Calcutta and Bengal to be represented by at least one highly paid outsider; and the Bengalees, too, will probably make a similar request. It is difficult to see how either can be refused. It will not be difficult to find an Englishman of high character and ability, and a Native might be appointed so soon as one in every way qualified could be found. The custom of appointing merchants only to honorary positions in the Legislative Councils cannot be said to be useful either to Government or to the public. Such men are overworked in their own business, which they cannot afford to leave. No non-missionary remains in India an hour longer than he can help. But pay and honour a man of this class like an ordinary Civilian, and very good members will be secured. There are no less than 150,000 pure Englishmen in India. Of these, 58,000 are soldiers and officers, and 3,500 covenanted officials of different orders, civil, ecclesiastical, and medical. This leaves 89,000 English gentlemen, who are settlers and merchants of different kinds, and the great majority of these are in Calcutta and Bengal. Are these 89,000 to be in no way represented anywhere, either in India or England? This question will be put very loudly, I doubt not, if a New Executive Council is to be created." Let us examine his figures a little. His sum total of 150,000 Englishmen in India is considerably overstated, as I shall show, but we will accept it provisionally. After deducting the soldiers and officials, he says there remain "89,000 English gentlemen." Verily, the colour-blindness of a West Indian Creole among Negroes is clear vision compared with that of a Calcutta Cockney among Hindoos. Observe the quiet assumption, that every "pure Englishman" in India must be 66 a gentleman". It never even struck him that there might be a few "ladies" to keep the "gentlemen" company. If he had thought of that, he might have writtenwith much more verbal and a little more numerical accuracy"persons"; for among those counted as Europeans in 1861, there were nearly 20,000 women, a large deduction from his "gentlemen" to begin with. It might also have struck him, if he had not been in such a hurry, that there would be a few "young gentlemen", sometimes profanely called "boys", among them. Even with these modifications, his estimate would be far above the truth; for where did the Calcutta Correspondent get the round number of 150,000 with which he started? The last census of the Europeans in India was taken, I believe, in 1861. The sum total then was 125,945. There were probably more Englishmen. in India then, for the simple reason that there were more soldiers. In 1861 there were altogether 84,083, officers and men of all branches of the Army, and if we deduct these from the total, there remain 41,862; from which we must again subtract 19,306 women, which leaves a remainder of 22,556. From these again we must take the Covenanted civil, ecclesiastical and medical servants at the Correspondent's own figure of 3,500, and there remain 19,056. But from these again we must deduct the Uncovenanted servants of Government, who cannot be reckoned at much less than 1,500 more, which will reduce the number of independent Europeans to about 17,500; from which a further deduction of children under age, and of foreigners, would have to be made before we arrived at the true net result of Englishmen in India not in the service of Government. These may be finally set down at about 12,000 of all classes, instead of the absurdly exaggerated estimate of "89,000 English gentlemen", proposed by the Calcutta Correspondent of The Times. These "89,000 English gentlemen", he says, "are settlers and merchants of different kinds." Reduce the number to 12,000, and even then none of them are "settlers", and not one-tenth of them are either "gentlemen" or "merchants". It is obvious that among the non-official Englishmen in India, a very small proportion can belong to the class, who, by virtue of their education, manners, and profession, are usually called "gentlemen". The great bulk of them are shopkeepers, artisans, small clerks and commercial assistants, railway engineers and drivers, sailors, pensioners from the army, and others of even humbler grades, with not a few of vagabond character. By the Correspondent's own description there are no "settlers" among them, for he says: "No non-missionary remains in India an hour longer than he can help", -a sufficient answer to the preposterous demand of representation in the Government of Bengal put forward on behalf of these irresponsible visitors to India, the best of whom have no permanent stake in the country, and no object but that of making money and taking it away as soon as possible. (B.) EXTRACT FROM EARL CANNING'S LAST PRIVATE COMMISSIONER OF MYSORE, DATED NOV. 24TH, 1860. "I have no doubt that the policy of disruption and separation was the right one fifty years ago, when the Rohillas and Mahrattas possessed armies and artillery which they could increase at pleasure with 343 out our consent, and, indeed, without our knowledge. But now it is quite different. These Chiefs can scarcely cast a gun,-they certainly could not equip it unknown to us. since 1857 more than ever. They feel their dependence on us, vidually, if we treat them rightly; whilst they have individually an We have nothing to fear from them indiinfluence which is invaluable to us as Supreme Rulers in India, if we will but turn it to account. To do this we must put them into a position to become useful instruments of civil government, and to take a pride in it. It is not a hopeless task, as some pretend. If it were, Sindia would not, in May last, when I was returning to Calcutta, have taken his place in the mail-cart, to meet me in the Trunk Road, for no other purpose than to show me the results of his own revision of his revenue-assessments, made in compliance with exhortations given to him six months before at Agra. Unluckily he missed me. Maharajah Maun Sing, the Oude malcontent, and but rebel, who Nor would wisely became loyal just in time, have told me last week with pride, that since he had been a Magistrate he had judged ovaris of six hundred cases, in only two of which his judgment ut, m appeal, been reversed; speaking, too, with warmth of the niness and trouble bestowed upon him by the Chief Commissioner. viu had taken him into his camp for a fortnight to teach him the farms and spirit of our magisterial administration. "In one way or another-in every war. Hure must teach these men unmistakably, that, whether the tenets of Yates or abjects, no change in the Supreme Power in a vil begin to them, either as regards property, religion, socal position. ir national prejudices; and that the largest possible staff maltention and authority which they can have under any Prom: P.wen her shall have under ours. If, as is very probable, the dara Zambean war is not distant, the need to us of such a coron a ser nimia will soon make itself felt. To hold our India Enn ta hent dimensions, through a war with France and LT KIT by some other means than the few English Regimers via n sich a case, would be spared to us. India as with the Varem Pay nces in * with fenty able to Be Take them bef and "It is the same with our own old from Native States. We have governed fie such a fashion that the Lieutenant in find Native gentlemen of such postun influential Magistrates; and in te neem sam more it would be pretty nearly the same with the Fumal holders, instead of being conclanet ant el set in sur side, nas veen e nituence of the landbroken up and diluted til sal West; and we present the entrancam semuete of a Goverment [augear in the Soilwhich has no root in its so governing & monte; mainy agentimi and one in which the value of t hereditary tenures, are as sturen and ke jine, and the reageer by ignoring the landlord. unsound state of things longer till soald fortunately, when the brea- tas enemies in the field but sner as tht it tow tow to prur ve de the Correspondent's own figure of 3,500, and there remain 19,056. But from these again we must deduct the Uncovenanted servants of Government, who cannot be reckoned at much less than 1,500 more, which will reduce the number of independent Europeans to about 17,500; from which a further deduction of children under age, and of foreigners, would have to be made before we arrived at the true net result of Englishmen in India not in the service of Government. These may be finally set down at about 12,000 of all classes, instead of the absurdly exaggerated estimate of "89,000 English gentlemen", proposed by the Calcutta Correspondent of The Times. These "89,000 English gentlemen", he says, "are settlers and merchants of different kinds." Reduce the number to 12,000, and even then none of them are "settlers", and not one-tenth of them are either "gentlemen" or "merchants". It is obvious that among the non-official Englishmen in India, a very small proportion can belong to the class, who, by virtue of their education, manners, and profession, are usually called "gentlemen". The great bulk of them are shopkeepers, artisans, small clerks and commercial assistants, railway engineers and drivers, sailors, pensioners from the army, and others of even humbler grades, with not a few of vagabond character. By the Correspondent's own description there are no "settlers" among them, for he says: "No non-missionary remains in India an hour longer than he can help", —a sufficient answer to the preposterous demand of representation in the Government of Bengal put forward on behalf of these irresponsible visitors to India, the best of whom have no permanent stake in the country, and no object but that of making money and taking it away as soon as possible. (B.) EXTRACT FROM EARL CANNING'S LAST PRIVATE COMMISSIONER OF MYSORE, DATED NOV. 24TH, 1860. "I have no doubt that the policy of disruption and separation was the right one fifty years ago, when the Rohillas and Mahrattas possessed armies and artillery which they could increase at pleasure with out our consent, and, indeed, without our knowledge. But now it is quite different. These Chiefs can scarcely cast a gun,-they certainly could not equip it unknown to us. They feel their dependence on us, since 1857 more than ever. We have nothing to fear from them individually, if we treat them rightly; whilst they have individually an influence which is invaluable to us as Supreme Rulers in India, if we will but turn it to account. To do this we must put them into a position to become useful instruments of civil government, and to take a pride in it. It is not a hopeless task, as some pretend. If it were, Sindia would not, in May last, when I was returning to Calcutta, have taken his place in the mail-cart, to meet me in the Trunk Road, for no other purpose than to show me the results of his own revision of his revenue-assessments, made in compliance with exhortations given to him six months before at Agra. Unluckily he missed me. Nor would Maharajah Maun Sing, the Oude malcontent, and all but rebel, who wisely became loyal just in time, have told me last week with pride, that since he had been a Magistrate he had judged upwards of six hundred cases, in only two of which his judgment had, on appeal, been reversed; speaking, too, with warmth of the kindness and trouble bestowed upon him by the Chief Commissioner, who had taken him into his camp for a fortnight to teach him the forms and spirit of our magisterial administration. "In one way or another-in every way, in short-we must teach these men unmistakably, that, whether they be Chiefs of States or subjects, no change in the Supreme Power in India will be a gain to them, either as regards property, religion, social position, or national prejudices; and that the largest possible share of consideration and authority which they can have under any Paramount Power, they shall have under ours. If, as is very probable, the day of a European war is not distant, the need to us of such a conviction in their minds will soon make itself felt. To hold our Indian Empire in its present dimensions, through a war with France and Russia, we must hold it by some other means than the few English Regiments which, in such a case, would be spared to us. "It is the same with our own old dominions in India as with the Native States. We have governed the North-Western Provinces in such a fashion that the Lieutenant-Governor is with difficulty able to find Native gentlemen of such position as to make them useful and influential Magistrates; and in ten or fifteen years more it would be pretty nearly the same with the Punjaub. The influence of the landholders, instead of being conciliated and enlisted on our side, has been broken up and diluted till it has all but disappeared in the NorthWest; and we present the extraordinary spectacle of a Government which has no root in its soil, governing a country mainly agricultural, and one in which the value of landed possessions, and the respect for hereditary tenures, are as strongly felt as in any country in the world, by ignoring the landlord. We have kept a smooth surface upon this unsound state of things longer than could have been expected; and fortunately, when the break-up came, three years ago, we had no enemies in the field but such as did not know how to profit by our dis |