New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-08-26
A FIGUREHEAD IN INDIA.
LORD AMHERST AS OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
LORD AMHERST. And the British Advance i East,
ward 10 Rurmah BY Anne Thsckeray Rltchie
and Richardson Evans Pp 22o. Macmillan &

II one were to review the Governor-G eneralship
OF Lord Amherst with respect to events that pre-
coded and those that followed. one would ma
that his administration furnished very snort
chapter In the history Of modern India. The nrst
war with Burmah the capture OF the tradition-
ally impregnable fortress OF Bhartpur. the asita-
ton about the suffice and me beginnings OF the
present canal and irrigation system belong 10
his time but hardly to him In any other sense
than as contemporary events. In the an
nails OF empires and Kingdoms and even IN the
history Of republic like the United States there
are intervals when the head Of the Government
seems little more than hgurehead. and that was
the relation Of Lord Amherst to the British
movement in India II any proof were needed
the book In hand would furnish IT. 1t gives the
measure of the man by citing single sentence
from Lord Amherst's diary relating to visit
which he made on his first diplomatic tour. to
Napoleon at ST. Helena. The imprisoned dictator
was not TO be caught mapping. He had made
some inouirie. about the young noblcman whom
he expected 10 see and. Lord Amherst wrote.
"He began by showing me tina; he had acnuain-
ed himself. even infinitely. with what related
TO myself: asked me why bore the name Of Pitt.
and II had not had a demae with the Queen
whom he called Intriguante" Lord Chatham
was an intimate friend OF the family and was
one Of the godfathcrs Of william Pitt Amherst,
who after he reached the peerage earned by his
uncle Jefcry Amherst. in America succeeded
Hastings In India H. wos prope' sn -ugl ihu IN,
heir Of the Amherst title should be named after
so s,anch a friend. but II Ia curious that this
fact should have been linked In Napoleon's
memory with the gallantries Of the Queen. and
still more strange that Lord Amherst should have
preserved the juxtaposition In the rather frigid
atmosphere Of his diary. The visit to Napoleon
was made on the return from Lord Amhersts
frut,css-onc might almost call It whimsical
mission to China Lord Amhersts failure In this
affair Is extenuatei by his bographers with q
reference to the troubles OF Lord Mccartney.
But the fact is that Mccartney In spite Of his
ignorance Of Oriental diplomacy. scored success
In simply breaking through the innermost de-
fences of Chinese excusVeness. He entered
Picking and he followed tho Emperor to his resi-
dcnce in Tartary and actually paid him series
Of visits That his exit from the Empire was
shabby performance IL to be attributed rather T.
his ignorance-shared ~ the time by the entire
Occident-,han to any defect in his preparations
He convinced the Chinese that they had TO deal
with somebody who nigh. be fooled the as lime.
but hardly on n second occasion Lord Amherst
dominated Entirely by the commercial spirit In
England. accomplished nothing. He saved HIM
..,. by a hatr's-brcadth from the humiliation u
Tho .Kotow" and was sent back 10 the coast IN
= manner that NAV have gra,ined his taste FOR
the ricturc.qu- bu. loft n memory ~ the ar
fronts he had received which could never be
eNacei.
II wa. his fate. also to be second choire. ard
FAR In the rear \, hat for the Govcrnor-G"ncral-
ship - india when Hastings retired In 1928. ali
eyes we're turned toward George Canning NO
cha pter in the volume 4 what might have
becn's would be more ailuring than that which
would deal with the possibilities ~ English rule
IN India had George Canning continued the work
% Lord Hastings lie would certainly have felt
with possibly painful disiinctness the difference
between the system Of government in ana by
House ~ Commons moved by fcrvcnt speech
and government under conditions where elo-
quence can only expend Itself in the preparation
of glowing minutes" But n place was made Tor
Canning In the Cabinet: and Lord Amherst
mainly because ~ the rebuffs he had received IN
China. was selected over the head Of Lord VIII
lam Bentnck. who was left to later time to get
his revenge for certain ill-u-age which he had re-
ceved the Governor Of Madras. Ii happened
tina, Lord Amhers,'s term OF of'ice-to use a con-
vcn.cnt American phrasc-coincded with some
extraordinary movements In Indian politics. II
he had been at the South Pole the expedition
against Burmah would have had 10 be carried on.
That II was successful was more due TO the
preliminary deliberations In Calcutta than II was
to the obstructive tactics IN Leadenhall-st Lord
Amherst could not have chosen other men than
he did choose for the enterprise. The whole his
tory OF English advancement In India had the
conquest OF Burmah a corollary. and tho cir
cumstances were such that the frs; steps tow
ard what was completed a few years ago had
10 be made In 1928 Mrs. Richie has extracted
from the Journal kept by Lady Amherst some
paragraphs that reflect wildly the feeling Of the
times IN India. What amuses one at this distance
OF time is the bitter attack which was made on
Lord Amherst at home for a war which he could
not havA prevented ~ he had been Vishnu him
self No could he prevent It's costing an
extremely large fraction OF the Government reW
enuc.
Another feature Of his administration was that
In his time the English In India began to see "A
little way into the strange complication Of races
and usages which were characteristic In India.
Hitherto the plan had been the simple one Of
adapting India so far as possible to the ideas OF
the conquerors. But now II began TO be seen that
the true way was to adapt English methods to
the preconce ptons OF races who were Incapable
Of comprehendng the Western way OF doing
things The days Of the spectators. the nabobs
OF the kind that made "Ossan" Macpherson n
millionaire were almost n thing OF the past. The
work In India had created the men to carry II
on in a better way than It had been done before.
The times were coming when the literatures, the
laws the customs and the religions OF Hindostan
were TO be studied with care unknown hitherto.
But In the days OF Lord Amherst the improve
ment was only beginning. The English rulers
began 20 find that even In what seemed the COM
paratively simple matter OF ownership they had
made blunders which enabled designing clerks
and under officials to lay their hands on vast
tracts Of property. 1t was 80 In other matters.
The whole problem began TO come into view. In
order to create an Indian empire 1t was felt that