Polynesian., 1857-02-07
Prsxrc., Of tse EnxIi,, in I.d,,.

The 10Th OF June was the centenary of the
massacre of the Black Hole, 1t was on the Goth
of June, E56, that Sura 1i-DowIah, after tri-
umphant entry into Clcutta, permitted {" that
great crime, memorable for its singular atrocity,
memorable for the tremendous retribution by which
it was followed"
From that day forward, so unbroken has been
the course of British conquest, so Cnee asing the
growth OF British power, that its, events have
passed not only from recollection; but almost from
belief The Imagination refuses to re ize the pic
ture of governor of Fort William sinking to his
boat, and every European in Calcutta trembling
for his life at the advance Of a Nuwah of Moosh-
ebabad, at the head of rabbe of Bengalees.
There is no hope of dominion, however wide, no
dream of progress, however visionary, which is
not justified by the history Of this one hundred
years. If we were even now to predict that in
1856 an AnglO-SIxOn goverROr-gsneral in China
would hold levees at Pekin, that Cambodia would
be a commissionership, and Japan province val-
ued chiefly for its fertility and its revenue, we
should be accused, most justly, Of impractical
speculation. Yet that dream would be less mar
vellous than the accomplished fact. There is a
native lady yet fighting lawsuits in Calcutta,
whose husband must have watched, perhaps shared
in, the triumph of SuFa-oOd- Dowlah. All that
We have accomplished-the subiugatiOn of an en-
pire larger and more populous than that of Rome
the organization of government for an eighth of
of those two lives. 1t has been accomplished. too
by force which has never yet been equal to one
clear tenth of the population of n presidency
town.
There is nothing in all history to compare with
the achievement. Russia rules wider territory,
but half fell to her by accident; and three
hundred years have elapsed since Ivan |. freed his
country from the Tartars, and himself from the
aristOcracy. The Romans conquered races rs
brave, and countries perhaps as E.r advanced in
civilization, but they spent seven hundred years in
the execution Of the task. Alexander subdued
territories as broad IN tar less time but his work
was upheld only by the Vigsr Of his single mind,
and persisted with himself. The Spanish empire
in America, is the only enc wAieh can for a mo-
ment bear comparison with that of the English in
India; and the whole population of those vast ter
ritories would not be missed from an In Han cen
sus.
+ In these days of political efeminacy, when the
conquest of an African island is too Gigantic :"
an undertaking for Great Britain, and che press
screams because one more Mussulman kinglet is
pushed out of the path, it is well occasionally to
recall the great deeds have already performed.
Bat It is not to indulge in any feeling of natural
pride that we wish to recall this anniversary. 1t
may serve q better purpose in encouraging as t.
the vast task which yet remains to be accomplish
ed. The century of conquest may be considered
complete Is the century Of civilization to COM
menee for, as yet, fully as We recognise the
achievement already performed, we admit that we
have Funded nothing-established no one instltu-
ton which would endure if the external pressure
were withdrawn We have conquered the bodies
of this great population but their minds are still
too much exempt from our authority. The rhym-
ed sentences of S6dI have still greater influence
In India than all the philosophy Of the West.
We have placed India under one government,
but its component kingdoms are still without the
slightest cohesion, or desire to cohere The prov
inces of Rome called their severance-frUm the en-
pire the greatest of ctlsmities. We have ere
ated an army more powerful and better disciplined
than the army of the Mogul, but our system still
depends wholly on ourselves. The military sys-
tenn of Alexander endured for centuries after his
DEATH We have passed laws wiser than those OF
lIonoo but we have Implanted no theory OF sound
legislation. Rome perished, but daily life in En-
rope is still regulated by the precepts Of Justinia
We baye founded colleges by the dozen, but the
peopIe-these one hundred and fifty millions OF
whom we talk so much-are.a AS baFbarous as their
forefathers; three hundred years of savage rule
had not driven out the human education from the
Municipalities of Gaul. We have created a judi
diciary free at least from corruption, but the ma
tive idea of Justice remains unchanged. We have
restrained the enOrmities of HiBdooism, but we
have given the people no new faith to replace The
old. We have fostered or permitted gigantic
trade, and there is not sound principle Of com
merce yet rooted in the native mind. The task
remainiur 20 be accomplished seems to the deepest
thinkers almost hopeless, 1t is so if wetear; so
the conquest of India would also have been to
EDWARDS But if we bring 30 1t the energy and
the courage, the ir1Hness and the contempt for the
impossible which we have brought to our military
task, the historian Of the next century may yet
chronicle results as magnificent and infinitely more
enduring-Friend ef IDdia.
p.pkR1E ILLUSTRATED. We know (says