National Republican., 1885-06-20

copital, was given up TO n four days pillage
by the gaunt Afghan, Persian, and Turco-
man soldiers Of the conquoror.
More than 100, 600 pcoplc-ucarly the whole
male population Of the cty-wcrc massa-
cred The public buildings, temples, and
private houses were rl1ed OF every valu
able The women and children were carried
into slavery. This was the sort OF destiny
the weak and eifeminate populations of
India had TO expect periodically until the
English came. The English appeared as
conquerors, IL is true. But instead OF mas
sacre their conquest meant protection; In
stead Of pillngc II meant Just laws, firmly
administered: instead of an eruption Of Wild
horsemen from the desert like q tornado,
vanishing as II came and and leaving ruin
and dcsolation IN It's train, the English
conquest of India has been like the showers
Of spring. There Is n book ON this subject
written by an eminent native sch1lar--a
Parsee Of Bombay-which Is, by odds, the
hest and ablest work OF its Kind eNtant.
The author says, naively onoughi
The English levy taxes II Is true but they do
rot ravngc our cities. They govern the coun-
Try II ~ true, and they are aliens, hut thcy do
not permit other aliens as Of old e. invade
mnidCns Il Is true but they do not murder our.
selves rayibh our wives or sell our litllO ones
into slavery II they are invaders theirs Is n
mild invasion. If they are CDnquerlrs II Is
only because the destiny Of India Is to be con.
quercd. In short since II seems that the fate
of poor India Is prcOrdained to be to sultor and
be The prey OF evils, the English have hecn on
the whole % bcncfiCent nillictlon. Al all events
the thin red line tipped with glistening steel
that they have drawn around our frontiers has
proved imprCgnablc to more rapaoiOus con-
qucrors; and has notified the world In tones
not TO be misunderstood that poor India at Inst
rests secure, and sleeps TRANQUILITY IN the slavery
Oi n muster who, Whatever his iuults, Is strong
enough TO defend her against amy worse or
more cruel one.
This, allowing something for Oriental
hyperhole, is n fair summary of En4slaud's
character as conqueror and OF British
methods as predatory power.
Such being the character Of England's
usefulness, the only question remaining to
be solved is this By what line Of policy or
under what auspices OF administration can
British power be made most practically use
ful TO the general cause Of civilization
The experience Of two centuries uuques-
tionably demonstrates that the answer to
this question is in favor of Conservative as
cendancy. II has been uniformly observed
that every attempt like those which have
consistently characterized the career of
Gladstone, to ride to power upon the
pharisaism and prctense OF so-oalled
"refOrm"-with large R-has re-
suited In detrimcnt to the prestige Of
England MS Il universal power and therefore
10 the destruction pro idHfD Of her useful
ness as an agent Of modern civilization.
The six years of Conservative rule under
Disraeli--ls74 to 1SsO-rcpalred the dam
ages and corrected the decay which Glad
stones first five years Of cant and dema-
gogy from 1860 to 1874 had brought about.
Perhaps few years OF Conservative policy
in the immediate future may lift England
again out Of the slough OF contempt in
which Gladstone's last five years Of
humbug and biundcr have left her.
1t is not worth while to quibbe about
minor causes or apparent causes The
Gladstone government may have been voted
down in the commons by an accidental
combination due to trivial circumstances.
But II so the end must be Judged without
regard to the means. The real underlying
cause Of the collapse Of the Gladstone min
istry Is the fact that II failed to apprehend
the spirit OF its time and did not represent
the practical genius Of the British PEOPLE.
One thing is certain; Whenever Gladstonlsm
arrives NJ permanent ascendaucyin in England
1t will be time for the Gibbon Of the British
empire to begin collecting material for his
history of her Decline and Fall
For my own part beg to add that take
this view OF the case, not because ats
English, you know" or from any snobblsh
impulse, but simply because these things
seem to me to be the common-sense logic of
events. If lived in England | should be
Conservative, for the same reason that am
n Democrat in the United States and that Is
simply because, in my judgment, each of
those two political schools embodies in the
long run the best and safest expression of
the genius of its respective nation, and
guarantees most surely the outworklng of
manifest dcstiny-the practical develop
ment OF the greatest good 10 the greatest
number. A. C.. BUELL..