The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-07-04
TODS AMENDMENT.

Now TodS' mamma was a singularly
charming woman, and every one in Simla
knew Tods. Most men had saved him
from death on occasions. He was beyond
his ayah's control altogether, and perilled
his life daily to find out what would
happen if you pulled Mountain battery
mules tail. He was an utterly fearless
young pagan, about 6 years old, and the
only baby who ever broke the holy calm Of
the supreme legislative council
1t happened this way: Tods' pet kid got
loose and fled up the hill, off the Boileau-
gunge road. T0ds after it, until it burst
into the Viceregal lodge lawn, then at
tached to ''Petcrhoff. The council were
sitting at the time, and the windows were
open because it was warm. The Red Lancer
in the porch told Tods to go away; but
Tods knew the Red Lancer and most Of
the members Of the council personally.
Moreover, he had firm hold Of the kids
collar, and was being dragged all across
the flower beds.
Give my salaam to the long councillor
sahib, and ask him to help me take Mott
backp' gasped Tods. The council heard
the noise through the opeh windows, and,
after an interval was seen the shocking
spectacle of legal member and a lieuten-
ant governor helping, under the direct
patronage of a coT>enander-in-chiaf and a
viceroy, one small and very dirty boy in a
sailors suit and tangle of brown hair, TO
cOerce lively and rebellious kid They
headed it off down the path to the Mall,
and Tods went home in triumph and told
his mamma that all the councillor sahibs
had been helping him to catch Mott.
Whereat his mamma smacked Tods for in
terfering with the administration of the
empire; but TOds met the legal member
the next day, and told him in confidence
that if the legal member ever wanted to
catch goat, he, Tods, would give him all
the help in his power THANK you, Tods,"
said the legal member
Tods was the idol Of some eighty jham-
pants and half as many saises. He saluted
them all as 80 Brother" 1t never entered
his head that any living human being
could disObey his orders; and he was the
buffer between the servants and his NAM
mas wrath. The working of that house
hold turned on Tods, who was adored by
every one from the dhoby to the dog bow.
Even Futteh Khan, the vilainous loafer
knit from Mussoorie, shirked risking
TCds' displeasure for fear his cO-mates
should look down on him.
So TOds had honor in the land from
Boileaugunge to Chota Simla, and ruled
justly according to his lights. Of course
he spoke Urdu, but he had also mastered
many queer side speeches like the chotee
bolee Of the women, and held grave con-
verse with ShopkeeperS and Hill coolies
alike. He was precocious for his age, and
his mixing with natives had taught him
some Of the more bitter truths of life; the
meanness and the sordidnesS of it. He
used, over his bread and milk, to deliver
solemn and serious aphorisms, translated
from the vernacular into the English, that
made his mamma jump and VOW that Tods
must go home next hot weather
Just when TOds was in the bloom of his
power the supreme legislature were hack
ing out bill for the Sub-Montane tracts,
a revision Of the then act, smaller than the
Punjab land bill, but affecting a few hun
dred thousand people none the less. The
legal member had built and bolstered and
embroidered and amended that bill till it
looked beautiful on paper. Then the coun-
Gil began to settle what they called the
minor details" AS if any Englishman
legislating for natives knows enough to
know which are the minor and which are
the major points, from the native point Of
view, of any measured That bill was a tri-
umph of safe guarding the interests Of
the tenant"
One clause provided that land should not
be leased on longer terms than five years
at stretch; because, if the landlord had a
tenant bound down for, say, twenty years,
he would squeeze the very life out OF him
The notion was to keep up stream of in
dependent cultivators in the Sub-Montane
tracts, and ethnologically and politically
the notion was correct. The only draw
back was that it was altogether wrong. 4
natives life in India implies the life of his
son. Wherefore you cannot legislate for
one generation 81 a time. You must con-
slider the next from the native point Of
view. C0roUsly enough, the native now
and then, aud in Northern India more par
ticularly, hates being over protected against
himself. There was a Maya village once
where they lived on dealand buried com
missariat mules. But that is another
story.
For many reasons to be explained later, !
the people concerned objected TO the bill. /
The native member in council knew as
much about Puniabis as he knew about |
tha0 'thebil vas entirely in accord with /
the desires OF that large and important /
class, the cultivators, . and so on. and so
on. The legal members knowledge of ma
lives was limited TO English speaking Dur |
oaris, and his own red chaprassis, the Sub |
Montana traces concerned no one in par
ricular, the deputy commissioners were a /
good deal too driven to make representa- /
s~-,- ~
lealc with small Iandholders ONLY. Never /
-heless, the legal member prayed that il /
might 10 correct, for he was nervously |
conscientious man he did not know that 1
DO man can tell what nasires think unlesz /
-e mixes with theTn with tEe varrtsh off. /
And net always then. But hedid the best /
ne knew. And the measure came up to /
he supreme council for the final touches.
Fhile TO9s PatToled the BUTTa Sinla Bazar
Z bis morning rides, and plaFed with the
monkey belonging 70 DIC-a Null, the bun
LA. AID listened as child listers, to all
he STRAY talk about this new freak Of tbs
Iss Sahib's,
One day there was = dinner party at the
lease Of ToGs' mamma, s=d thc legal !
member came. Tods was in bed, but he
-cpt awake till he heard the bursts Of
aughter from the men ever the coffee. (
Then lie padded CIT in bis ntsle RED fzn-
lei dressing gown and his night ssIir and
COX refuge by the SIDE Of his father. know
ag that he weuid not be sent back- Sec
ne mIseres ST having = taE,ilyr' said
'oas' fSther. giving To3s three prures.
eFne water ~ = giass thai had been used
or clares aad-teIiiRG hSa - SIT still Tojs