New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-02-11

readily be imagined what capital Russia s
numerous agents in India are making to-day of
the Boer successes III South Africa.
STARTED BY q FALSE REPORT
The great Muffin, of little over forty years
ago started by the circulating of an in
sidious and alto. Their groundless report to the
effect that the cartridges served out to the
native troops had been purposely creased with
pigs lard, which if true would have been suf-
ficient, according TO Indian ethics and creeds to
defile the Mahometan soldiers and to destroy
forever that caste of the Hindoo which is dearer
to him than his life 1t requires nothing more
than the starting and propagation of some
equally fantastic story to-day to lead to another
Sepoy mutiny more terrible and san
culinary than the last. This is a danger ever
present in the minds of those who know India
best If the three hundred million natives of
the Deccan submit to English rule it is from
motives of fear, and assuredly not from graft
tude, liking or sympathy. Remove that fear, or
temporarily lull it. and the natives will be just
as ready to rise as they were less than half
century ago, prompted thereto by antpathy of
race and of creed and by that aversion which
| people held in subsection necessarily entertain
for their masters
Every who has lived for any length of
! time in the Orient Will bear me out when l as
sert that il is hopeless for white races ever to
dream of acquiring the affection of Asiatics
What is more, it is equally useless ever to hope
to understand the OrientaIs, and although the
English have been in India for more than two
hundred years, and might reasonably be
pected to have acquired a profound knowledge
of the native mind. yet able to
count four years ago for the mysterious daub-
ing of the mango trees throughout HindOstan
with patches of clay mingled with buff
falo hair. Notwithstanding all the efforts that
were made, it was even found impossible to dis
cover the perpetrators Of this species of plaster
ing, which was effected with astounding secrecy
and rapidity, mango trees extending over an
of many hundreds of square miles being
thus marked in the course of a single night.
A SECRET SIGNAL SUSPECTED.
That it constituted some secret signal and
conveyed some hidden message even the most
erudite students of Indian lore and experienced
veterans OF the Anglo-India administration
were convinced For they remenb ered that the
Mutiny of two score years ago was Immediately
preceded by the equally mysterious distribution
Of little unleavened cakes-chupatties. they
are called among the people Of India. They were
passed around by unknown hands, and to this
day the Government has been unable 10 obtain
any clew to who baked and who disseminated
them. Equally at the authorities as
to the precise message which they intended
to convey although the simultaneous outbreak
Of the Mutiny Immediately afterward in various
parts of India far distant from each other
leads to the belief that they constituted some
kind Of prearranged signal for a great rising.
If / mention this it is with the object of show
ing how prepOsterous it is for white people
ever to dream Of understanding the mysterious
workings Of the Asiatc mind, the influences
by which the latter is sWayed and so long as
this remains TO sealed book il is out of the
question to place any absolute reliance in ORR
entail loyalty, affection regard. This being
the case, il is necessarily a dangerous expert
ment to place any dependence upon what are
known as native troops Differed by white men
for there is no knowing when religion, racial
hatred, membership of some secret society or
thousand and one OF Ter influences unknown
10 US may not lead them to turn their rifles
against their commanders. There is one thing
however that we do know about the Oriental
namely. that he never forgets and seldom for
gives an injury; and among none of the dusky
races is the sentiment of revenge more keeny
developed than among the Malays
DANGER OF A FILIPINO CONTINGENT
1t is doubtful whether in even half dozen
generations hence the Filipinos will have obllt-
GRATED from their memories the suppression Of
the present instruction in the archipelago by
the United States and in this way a native
contingent trained and drilled by American
officers may become at moment OF lnterna-
and n