The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1888-09-13
4 Tho vAsTNEss or INDIA.
a Porulous Nation With Groat Gities
aiid q Magniflcsnt Futuro.


For eighty years at least writer's have
endeayored to bring home to the out;
side world knowledge Of the yastness
Of India, but co far as can DO perceived
have failed: The average man reads
what they say, learns up their figures,
tries to understand their descriptions,
but fails, for all his labor to realize
what India is-a continent large as
Europe west OF the Vistula, and will
80, 600, 900 more people, fuller Of ancient
nations, of great cities, Of varieties Of
civilization, Of agsnies, nobilities, PRIEST
hoods, organizations of every conceiv-
able purpose from the. spreading Of
great religions down to systematic muir
der. There are twice as many Benz
galese as there are i'rencilmen; the
Hindostanees, properly so called, out
number the whites in the United
States; the Mahrattas would fill Spain,
the people of the Punjab wi Ii Scinde
are double the population Of Turkey,
and I have named but four Of the more
salient divisions.
Everything is on the same bewilder-
Ing scale. The fighting people Of India,
whose males are as big rs ourselves,
as brave as ourselves, and more regard
less Of death than ourselves, number at
least 100, 900, 900, equal to Gibbons cal
culation Of the population Of the Roman
empire. There are 100000 trained
brown soldiers in native service, Of
whom we hear perhaps once in ten
years, ana at least 1000, 900 men who
think their proper profession Is arms,
who would live by arms If they could,
and of whom we in England never hear
a word. Ifthe Prussian CONSUMPTION
Were applied in India, we should, with
out counting reserves or land wehr or
any force not summoned in time Of
peace, have 5,500,000 soldiers actually
in barracks, with 800, 900 recruits COM
Ing up every year--a force with which
not only Asia, but the world may he
subdued. There are tens of millions of
prosperous peasants whose hoardings
make of India tho grand absorbent of
the precious metals, tens of millions OF
peasants beside whose poverty fellalis
or Sicilians or Connaught mon are rich;
millions OF artisans, ranging from the
mon who build palaces to the men who,
nearly naked aln1ost Syi Iln'ait 81 t9els. ts.ls
do tile Ssy SfiS
Every occupation which exists in
Europe exists also in. India. The in
dustry Of the vast continent never
ceases for india With q nnnu1,tion a.,
places packed beyond European preced-
ent, imports nothing either to eat or
drink, and but for tho Europeans would
import nothing whatever. She is suf-
ficient to herself for everything save sill
yer. Amid these varied masses, these
250, 900, 600, whose varied descriptions
would fill volumes, the tide Of life flows
as vigorously as In Europe. There Is as
much labor, as much contention, as
much ambition. as much crime, as
much variety of careers, hopes, fears
and hatreds. 1t is still possible to a
moneyless Indian to become yizler Of
dynasty older than history, or finance
minister Of ~ new prince whose personal
fortune in hard cash is double that of
the late Emperor William, or abbot of a
monastery richer than Glastonbury
ever was, owner of an estate that covers
county, head OF q firm whose transac-
tions may vic with those of the Barings
or Bleichroders. One man, Jute Per-
shad by name, fed and transported the
army which conquered the Panjab.