The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1888-10-06
THE WONDER OF THE WORLD
A Country TeeminS with Wealth and
Population.

For eighty years at least writers have
endeavored to bring home to Englishmen
the vastness of India, but so far as can be
perceived have failed. The Briton 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 Wis
tula and with 3C,000,0OO more people,
fuller of ancient nations, of great cities, of
varieties of civilization, of armies, nobili-
ties, priesthoods, organizations for every
conceivable purpose from the spreading of
great religion down to systematic murder.
There are twice as many Bengalese as
there are Frenchmen; the Hindostanees
properly so called, outnumber the whites
in the United States; the Mahrattas would
fill Spain, the people of the Punjab with
Scinde are double the population of Turkey,
and l have named but four of the more
salient divisions, says writer in the
FortnigLtly ReUieio.
Everything is on the same bewildering
scale. The fighting peoples of India,
whose males are as big as ourselves, as
brave as ourselves, and more regardless of
death than ourselves, number at least 120,-
900, 600, equal to Gibbons calculation of
the population of the Roman empire.
There are 100000 trained brow sol
diers in native service, of whom we
hear perhaps once in ten years, and at
least 100000 men who think their
proper profession is arms, who would
live by arms if they could, and of whom
we in England never hear word. If the
Russian conscription were applied in India,
we should, without counting reserve or
landwehr, or any force not summoned in
time of peace, have 2,500,OO0 soldiers ac-
tually in barracks, with 100000 recruits
coming up every year-a force with which
not only Asia, but the world, might be sub
dued There are tens of millions of pros
porous peasants whose hoardings make of
India the groud absorbent of the precious
metals; tens of millions of peasants besides
whose poverty fellahs, or Sicilians, or Con-
naught men are rich; millions of artisans,
ranging from the men who build palaces to
the men who, nearly naked and almost
without tools, do the humblest work of the
potter.
Every occupation which exists in Europe
exists also in India. The industry of the
vast continent never ceases, for India,
with all her teeming multitudes, with a
population in places packed beyond Euro
pean precedent, imports nothing either to
eat or drink, and but for the Europeans,
would import nothing whatever. She is
sufficient to herself for everything save
silver. Amid these varid masses, these
250,000,0 0,000whose mere descriptions would
fill volumes, the tide of life flows as vigor-
ously as in Europe.
There is as much labor, as much con-
tention, as much ambition, as much
crime, as much variety Of careers, hopes,
fears and hatreds. 1t is still possible
to moneyless Indian to become vizier
of a 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 monastery richer than Glastonbury
ever was, owner of an estate that covers a
county, head of firm whose transactions
may vie with those of the Barings or Blei-
chroders. One man, Jute Pershad by
name, fed and transported the army which
conquered the Puniab.