The Sun.
London, England, 1864-09-22 00:00:00

buying and selling human kind has existed for
very long time in Cooch Behar. It is usual among
four classes of persons—viz., fathers and mothers
vho sell their daughters • husbands who sell their
wives ; priests and their disciples who sell the sleveBP
male and female, whom they have acquired; and
other persons who sell their relatives when fallen
into pecuniary distress. This manner of getting ria,
of poor relations is, it seems, very prevalent, and
when a man quarrels with his wife one of his
favourite threats is to sell her to the Bhooteas, who,
it seems, are eager purchasers, and have agents on
the border ready to negotiate any number of trans'
actions of the kind. That the practice is carried on
purely for profit is evident from the fact that Rio'
dons sell their children to Mahomedans and Mello!
medans to Hindoos, without any scruples as to rell;
gion, and as frequently as not for the purpose 01,
prostitution. The evil, Col. Haughton tells us, is
long standing, but probably attained its height
during the period of misrule of the Rajah Narinder,
from 1800 to 1839, His son, Seebinder Narsior
suffered for his father's conduct, and became a better
man. His education had taught him to look with
disgust at the practice, and the colonel has no doubt
that but for the imbecile state to which he was lately
reduced by debauchery he would have put a stop to
it. The cause of his order not being carried into
A
execution is believed to have been the outcry raised
ley the Raeees and females of the palace, who warn
apprehensive that they would be unable to obtaio:
voluntary service. In the appendix to the report
there are some curious illustrations of the workil
of the system. The manner in which poor men get
"sold up," in a literal sense of the term, is very Wel/
as follows :—There are various dues and exactions'',
under different forms, which are levied upon the'
cultivators of the soil, amounting in general t°
three times the sum which they are bound by
their agreements to pay for the use of their
land, A ryot, say, has £2 per annum to Pay
for rent, and hopes by his labour to mob.;
the produce of his land bring in another L 2 for the
support of his wife and family. All would go well,
probably, but there comes in a claim of L 6 I°,
taxes levied by the native government. This he
cannot hope to meet by labour; so "he sells hi'
children, and probably prostitutes his wife by dis.,
posing of her in mortgage"—we quote the official.
language in which these horrors are describe;
Even then the oppressor may not be satisfied; on'
having having lost wife, family, and everything h 0
possessed, the unhappy victim saves himself if 11
can by flying the country. One of the appeadee
documents is the petition of a public woman to th°
commissioner for the recovery of a girl, whom she
had purchased when very young, " instructed," 69
she significantly informs us, and brought up to Pr °,‘,
stitution, which girl had been detained by a Ent
to whom she had lot her out at so much a moato'
She describes the transaction in the plainest pas;
Bible language, treating it as a regular matter
business. It is this aspect of the system, indeed'
which is most repulsive; and it must, as Colette'
Haughton remarks, have a demoralising effect upon
the whole people; parents being tempted to dors;
gard the dunes they owe to their children, ena,
other relatives impelled to look with a covetous e 1"
upon widows and orphans whom the ordinary ins
stincts of savages would lead them to pity and svirt
port. This miserable state of things does not exisr
exactly under British rule, but most certainly der
British protection and administration. Coloo,e;
Haughton is, however, taking decisive steps „
bring it to an end, though he does not hope to Pe'„
form the task entirely at once. He has on his ofil
responsibility refused to recognise the legality !:
sales, and has suggested a series of rules for tir,
suppression of the traffic which we can scaroel,/
doubt will be confirmed by Government. It ID%
be expected, moreover, that the revelation,
which have been made, and followed up ,l))
the action of authority, will lead to the n'two
closure of similar practices which are known
exist more or less in most parts of India, not et:
cepting British territory. Slavery is an old 01804
of the country, and though there is a great deal ",0
uncertainty as to its extent, there is every reasooio
suppose that it is far from having died out. IPis
sale of female children is scarcely a marvel iO4
land where a girl is an incumbranco to the In;
and the power of the law is necessary to save lid
from being put out of the world altogether;
we believe there is no part of India where a pars
be he European or native, who wanted to make olio
a purchase, could not be accommodated. Even re
Calcutta it is probable that sales of young girls f',,o
frequently effected; and it is believed by those virf,
have excellent means of judging that there are meal
men in that city who have slaves in then
zenanas. That the practice has not before be...,0
formally exposed is due to the old /aisserfil..“ci,
policy, which it may be hoped has come to an ev,`,6
The European and native communities, since '..."61
very early days when our countrymen adcptcd loots
customs—a great deal too much, have become olos
and moac c0Lai.G.,15.-.1,....1 IL only under the prase 1.
healthy system, which has given the country ioteo
ligible laws and really opened it up to the Westeie,
world, that we are beginning to know the 1)01)4,
In a further state of development, one of these des
we shall probably see an end to slavery.