Los Angeles herald., 1909-07-11

ing gun. was unknown, and the end OF
n cartridge had to be bitten off and It's
contents rammed down the gun. Ihe
use of these creased cartridges
brought the fat of the COW into the
mouths of the Hindu soldiers. IN Valn
was the mistake corrected, IN VAN olu
the English protest that they meant
no insult to the religion o. the soldiers.
1t was too late.
The mutiny of 1857 affected but q
small part of the whole of British IN
dia. but It changed forever the course
of government in the country. Inc
massacre of British men, women ana
children at Cawnpore by the treacher-
GUS Rama, the siege of LUCKNOW ana
the storming of Delhi are events large
ly celebrated In prose and poetry. The
English punished the rebellious sol
oiers and their allies according to the
ancient law of IAN eye for an eye, q
tooth for a tooth" Within year the
British authority was re-estaDlisned
and the country was comparatively
quiet, but the death knell of the COM
pany had rung.
Shortly before the mutiny Sir Henry
Lawrence had warned the company
that it must give the Indians a greater
share IN the administration of govern
ment or be prepared for serious trouble.
His warnings were unheeded, and ne
lost his life in the storm which he had
predicted. The company could not
have restored tranquility after the re-
volt, and the English government rec
ognized that fact. Then, wiping out
the record of the company, with all OF
it's disgraceful corruption, its ruthless
aVarice and its mercenary character,
Lord Canning, governor general, as
sumed the new title of viceroy and pro-
i TV,A BoA IN
rule of the British crown. Queen Vie
toria's proclamation was read at
great durbar at Allahabad on Novem-
Der l, 1858. in that document the
queen declared the purpose of the Brit
ish to give the Indians larger degree
of self-government. This is promise
which the Indians have not forgotten,
which the present reform scheme is in
tended in a measure, to fulfill and
which must be redeemed in full before
there can be permanent peace In India.
The language of the proclamation was,
"And 1t is our further will that, as far
as may be, our subjects, of whatever
race or creed, be freely and impartial
ly admitted to offices in our service,
the duties of which they may be quail
flied by their education, ability and in
tegrity duly to perform"
Thirty years later at magnificent
durbar held at the ancient capital of
Delhi, Queen Victoria assumed the title
of empress of India. The prince of
Wales, now Edward VII, had made a
tour of the country just before that
event and the loyalty of the native
princes had been attested in a thou
sand ways. Indeed. the native princes
have every reason to be loyal to Eng
land. Under the rule of the company
the English had denied the right of q
native prince to adopt an heir. Thus.
when a native ruler died without leaV-
ing a son, his state was seized by the
company. Immediately after the
crown took control that policy was re-
nounced Now the native states are
protected by British troops, are served
by British railroads and postal sys-
TENS and are polced by British au-
thority. The native princes dispense
justice and deal with petty internal af-
fairs and maintain their courts in
splendor and luxury. Thanks to Eng
land. they have no fears of foreign fos
or internal intrigue. The "pax Brit
tanica" protects them.
Since 1858 the English have been
working steadily for the development
of the resources of the country; they
have kept peace, have prevented dis
cord and have been generally success
full. Famines have devastated the
country, but the English have endeav-
ored to relieve suffering. The plague
has taken terrible toll of souls, but the
government has combated 1t in a fash
ion which no Oriental government
would undertake. Mistakes have been
made, no doubt. The taxation system,
most complicated affair, unquestion-
ably needs reforming.
There Is no doubt that the whole peo-
pie of India have benefited to an enor-
nous degree by the British rule of the
past few decades. Even the corrup-
tion of the old company, a century ago.
was as nothing compared to the cor
ruption of the native rulers. No un-
biased observer can escape the convlc-
ton that the withdrawal or expulsion
of England from India would be the
greatest possible disaster to the In
dams.
But for all that the Indians want to
have a voice in their government The
present reform scheme has been under
consideration for years; 1t is a part of
the policy announced by Queen Vic
toria over fifty years ago, but ii is
being hurried now on account of the
unrest" which perVades all India.
Anarchy will be put down, assassina-
tions will cease, the people will be
pacified and England will remain in
India. But these things will not be
until there has been a fourth great
event in the history of British domin-
ion in India-the grant of the boon Of
local self-government.
Copyright, 1909. by Frederic J. Haskin.)
TomOrrOw-The Empire of India. IX. The
Man with the Hoe.