The Progress., 1894-05-12

INTERESTING COMMENTS BY AN o.
SERVING TRAVELLER.

The Past and future OF ii Great country
and Remarkable rcople-Made Poor ~
.,,,, s,olt,tjon of Foreigners - English
Language Coming Into General Use
We haze travelled more than 600
miles in India, have seen Its grandest
scenery, its largest and most interest
Two cities, its most fertile and some Of
i+y desert regions. We have found III
Delhi. Agra, Benares, Ambm and All
ri212,~I the best examples Of Hlndoo.
and Nohammedan architecture. Of
co,,rse there is much we have not SEEN
The Dravidical temples Of the south Of
lydia remarkable for their size and
elaborate decorations, best illustrated at
Tauiore and Madura, we can only Judge
NV small specimens seen at Madras and
Pondichcr1v. The wonderful cave tenn
nlos at Ellora, Ajunta and many other
places we have got fair conception Of
from that of Elephanta. One could
sncnd years exploring India WlthouteX-
hansting its layers Of civilization. We
have endeavored to intclllgentIy study,
hv observation and reading Ell route,
the ethnology, sociology and theology
of the country. We have missed no 0p-
norturitv to talk with British officials
and educated natives. We have looked
into thc work of the missionaries and
come to the conclusion that they are DO
ING a great deal Of good, though not eX-
actly in the way it is popularity under
stood at home. | think may say that
onr travels in India have materially
hroadpnpd 0ur views Of Asiatlc history.
Especially have we been impressed with
thp spectaclc Of on empire Of 24O, OOO,-
GOO neoDle Of different races and rell-
gions, governed by handful OF Euro
means and in the main well governed,
with large measure Of liberty as per
feet protection of life and property as is
nrovided in the most civilized countries
of Europe and increasing means OF cd
ucatiOn. The universities and colleges
scattered over India are turning out an
nually thousands Of educated natives,
II is q curious fact that the Indian VINO
speaEs English speaks it without accent
and rather better than the average OF
English or Americans Nearly all OF the
schools above the primary grade teacn
English. and in the majority OF them 1t
is the medium of education More than
, half of the native newspapers and perl
odicals, which are numerous and well
conducted. are printed in English.
, I do not think it q wild prediction
y that English will be essentially the Ian
guage of India hundred years hence.
# is curious to contemplate what Will
=" be the political result Of the education
of the Indian people. Will they be con-
q tent especially those of the Aryan race
~ capable of high development, with the
~ shadow of government which is some
- times driven to its wits ends with It's
y own domestic problems, in a group OF
:. little islands 5, 600 miles away? For the
:, present | can scarcely conceive OF q
- greater calamity for India than the fail
- ure of Great Britain to mold and govern
;; the country. 1t would be the signal Tor
:, anarchy, which would entail the destruc-
". ton of the people and seriously obstruct
10 the onward march Of human progress
- India is a poor country. Its fabulous
wealth has been carried off by conquer
- ors or gathered into colossal FORUM
~ by the few rich. The great body OF the
w people are miserably poor They barely
20 keep body and soul together and do not
-. store I'D any vital force to resist disease.
70 The failure Of one crop entails wide
IA snread distress. The failure Of two IL
W. succession means famine for millions
"a The government is doing something u
Nv improve the conditions. In the last nv
"a years canals have been built, increasing
~ the area under irrigation about 20 pc
- cent. How much advantage the tlller 0
in tie soil gets from these improvements
ro+ do not know The government costs TO
o o,r much, aud tho people are taxed to tn
.,:. limit Of endurance The British lndi
civil service is called the best III tn
world. 1t is undoubtedly the most e1
pensive. Il costs eli, 100000 800
Inv. 600, 0OO) a year. The civil servar
ons serves in various capacities, from
cto. clerk to q lieutenant governor, for Z
his years, four Of which are given for hoi
,rso DAYS, and retires with a minimum PEI
,,,ro sion of IL, 600 per annum. The cost OF a
hid this comes out Of the Indian people, al
am. their superstitions and customs rob the
CON of part Of what is left
oao There are grave problems IN Ind