New-York tribune., 1907-07-13
BRITISH RULE IN INDIA.
Its Alien Character-Impoucrisb-
ment by English Exploitation.
TO the Editor Of The Tribune.

India which throw light upon the present situation
These are things which ought to be known to
Americans II ought not, for instance, 10 be pos
sIole Tor an American journal as did one Of your
contemporaries editOrialIy the 18th ult infer
entlalIy 70 attribute ingrautude 10 the people OF
the PuujaO because among them. notwithstanding
that their arid deserts have been made habitable
and arabic by the irrigation works. erected by the
government, active hostility has asserted itself"
FIRST as TO the dIstinctvely alien character OF
the British rule. For more than one hundred and
Atty years the Hndus have urged their claim and
-7''~ ~ oS taeu 70 Responsible positions IN lhe
government OF their country IN 1888 Parliament
enacted: That no native Of the said territories
British Inda), any natural born subject of his
majesty resident therein, shall by reason OF his
religion. place Of birth, descent any OF them,
be disabled from holding any place, Office or en-
ployment under the said company 1.-THE East India
sequently transferred the crown. Queen Eicto-
ria's proclamation OF 1858 declared: we hold our
selves bound to the natives Of Indian territories
by the same obligations OF duty which bind 10
all our other subjects, and these obligations. by
and conscienuOusy fulfil. And it IS our further
VIII that. so far as may be. our subjects. of what
ever race or creed be freely and inpartaIly ad-
mted TO Offices in our service the duties Of which
they may be qualified by their education. ability
and integrity, duly to discharge"
The manner in which this enactment and this
solemn pledge nave been performed was stated by
Lord Iytton, Tlceroy of India, in minute referred
10 IN dispatch TO his government Of May ,. 1873
minute not intended for the public eye, but which
has since come to iIght-as follows: NO sooner
the act [Of 1881 passed than the government
fuIdIment of it. We had 10 choose between
prohibiting and cheating them and we have chosen
the least straightforward course ali are So
many subterfugcs for stultifying the act and max
ing IL dead letter. I do not hesitate 70
say that both the government of England and OF
India appear to me up 70 the present time unable
10 satisfactorily the charge Of having taken
every means in their power of breaking the
heart the words OF promise they had uttered TO the
The expenditure for salaries and expenses of
civil departments" of the Indian government was.
IN 1853. in round figures $4,000 OF this sum
10000 Indians received $360o0oo. average annual
salary Of $2e; 5000 Eurasians received g $4,000 an
average annual salary Of sio5. and 5000 Europeans
received $26665C50.- an average annual salary Of
s 800.
The reflections suggested by Lord I.ytton's state
Dent and these figures may be expressed In the
words of Sir John MalGpIm. uttered more than
the history of India nor indeed by that Of any
other nation in the world IN reckoning upon the
possibility Of preserving an empire Of such magni-
tude by system which excludes. as ours does the
natives from every station Of high rank and honor
able ambition The moral evil does not
stand alone. II carries with It its Nemesis, tho
seeds of the destruction Of the empire itself"
Next to the impoy ishment Of india by Brit
ish exploitation on this point It Will be quite
z,-a5-;,-. -
Indian civilians. Frederick John Shore, after
seventeen years in the government Of Bengal. sai1
in 1887: But the halcyon days Of India over;
she has been drained Of a large proportion OF the
wealth she possessed. and her energies have
been cramped by the sordid system OF misrule 70
which the interest Of millions has been sacrificed
for the benefit OF the few. The grinding ex-
tortions OF the English government have effected
the impoverishment OF the country and people TO
al extent almost unparalleled.
The fundamental principle Of the English has
been 10 make the whole Indian nation subservisnt
every possible way the interest and benefit OF
themselves They have been taxed TO tho
limit every successive province, as it has
fallen into possession. has been made the field
Of greater eXaction; and Il has always been our
boast how greatly have raised the revenue
above that which the native rulers were able 70
eNtort The Indian has been excluded from every
honor. dignity or Office which the lowest English
man could be prevailed upon 70 accept The
summary IS that the British government has been
practically OF the most extCTtonate and OPP
presssve that have existed IN India-one under
which injustice has been and may be committed
both by the government and big individuals pro-
vded the latter be rich 10 almost unlimited eX-
tent and under which redress from injury Is al
unattaiuab.e, tho consequence IS that We are
abhorred by the people. who would hail with 10y
and instantly Join the standard OF any power whom
tasy tsi thought strong enough t" occasion our 00"
Donald smeaton was formerly a member Of the
V!ceroy's Council. and is now member OF Par
lament from Scotland In 1904 he delivered ad-
dresses in Edinburgh and elsewhere IN Scotland in
which, while enuneratins the abuses suffered by
India from the mlssovernment-the !nso4ent mis-
govern rnent-under which India IS at the present
moment grOanlng," he gave utterance 10 the Io!-
lowing scathlng words:
Durbar held in Delhi by the present Niceroy,
Lord CurZon. N January 1913. at immense cost 70
pied extravaganza while from 5000 10 5000 people
were dying weekly from the plague. This OUTRAGE
on the Indian people was htely de!lpuAceu II
scathing terms by the whole native press and oy
the National Congress OF five thousand representa-
tives from all parts OF india. The enormous
expenditures incurred by the chiefs OF the hal:Fe
states in this rneretrc!ous show seriously crippled
their resources and brought one !oya. prince 70
bankruptcy. -,
There IS one other dire calamity to which India
E. exposed and that is war. or, rather. ! should
saw rnitarisTn. The military fever IS an ever pres
cnt danger: hardly year passes without some
military expedition 70 whet the lmpeTa-ist npp9-
ute and flesh the sword. Meanwhile India pays
the bills and the monstrOus spectacle is witnessed
OF taxation wruug from the poorest people IN the
world 10 pay for wars waged for no other purpose
than 10 crafty the iInperialst craze.
"Aud is this not an indeli0le blot upon the Brit
tsh name7 You Will admit, l think, tHat tneTe
must be something rotten in our government or
India when seven eighths Of the population are SO
destitute that when q scarcity comes they instantly
collapse for sheer want Of money 10 puy tooo.
They have not enough money TO more thah AeeP
body and soul together IN oFolhafy t-tiios' 'I4S
email margin which would permit Of little saving
is swallowed up by the taxes which they have 10
paw in order to maintain an extTavasanty costly
t,o,,ernuent Sad say. but II has to be
sa,d and II ought to proclaimed from the house
tons Great Britain the present time betrayng
the trust committed to her IN india She Is crusA-
ing the people IN India and stlIAS In7lt pEo'0s'S
,,,ll onIv add en- excerpt from The Lahore
Tribune" Of July g. 1901. illustrate the individual
anrIica+ion Of the imperial scheme 70 Indian sub
4ects The case does not seem exceptional. judging
from other reports before me; one baiHodar
Kohl was informed last year that he would nave
m nav Rs Is GO sO income tax. He was thunder
struck; the amount was absolutely beyona mo
aLiI,+I, +o raise Hs informed the authorities ao-
cordlngly, but the only result OF his appeal was
that a fine Of RS. 7 ($2 SO was imposed upon MN
for DELAYING TO pay tax. He was unable 10
INV so his dwelling was searched But
nothing worth taking away was found In II Next
hfs ahop was ransacked and everything found In II
attached and sold The sum OF about RS. t6o
car+s, US realized by the sale. Then the house
Of the man attached ana put up at auction.
- ftocd tho sum Of RS. 65 ($22). out of this the
rreAd dues RS