The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1909-07-12


events stand out clearly In the
long and complex record Of the Brit
ish dominion. In India. The first was
the granting Of a royal charter to
THE Governor and Company Of Mer-
chants Of London Trading into the
East Indies" That. was done by Queen
Elizabeth on the last day Of the year
1900, seven years before the first per-
manent English settlement was made
in North America. The second was the
Battle of Piassey, fought on June %.
1857, by Robert Give. The third was
the proclamation by Queen Victoria on
November ], 1858, assuming the con-
troll Of affairs In India for the Crown,
and ending the rule Of the Company
which was the direct result Of the dis
astrous mutiny In the native army
which broke out the year before.
From the time the first charter was
granted until tbs Battle OF Plassey.
the English Company confined itself
to trade. interfering In government
only by intrigue and bribery In the In
terests Of money-getting. There had
been wars with the French and bat
ties with natives. but At every stage
the English Company had carefully
preserved the semblance of complete
submission TO the constituted govern
inent OF the section or province In
which they operated.
The war With France which started
In Europe and spread to North Ameri-
ca and India was fought with great
historical significance, It lost Can
ada to the French and attached It to
the English dominion, It brought
George Washington into popularity as
a military man in the British colonies
Of America. In India II brought about
he tHko -. L. xuvHl rfx
native chiefs espoused either the Brit
ish or the French cause, and gave
Give the opportunity to crush the
power Of the Nawab who ruled over
Calcutta, and who was responsible for
driving the English from Calcutta. 1t
was this Nawab who locked 148 men
In the guard house Of the English fort
one night, and the next morning there
were but twenty-three of them alive.
History acquits the indian prince of
design IN the preparation Of that hor-
ror. He did not know that English
men would SURROGATE where Indians
Calcutta" was the foundation OF the
British Empire ih India.
After the Battle Of Plassey. the Eng
fish Company assumed the powers OF
eovereigns over a portion OF what ~
now Bengal, including the city OF CAL
cutta. A pretender backed by the
British was raised to the Nawab's
throne. and the government was NOM
inally subject to the phantom Emperor
Of Delhi. from which It obtained
grants of power until the Anal over
throw Of the Mogul dynasty In 1857.
There were other wars with the
French. who were finally driven out
of india, being permitted to retain
only the seaport of Pondicherry and a
few unimportant small towns, over
which they still preside. The Portu-
gese were locked up at Goa. the Dutch
and Danish were driven away from
the continent, and English supremacy
was not threatened from European
powers by sea after the era of Ma
poleon. The Russian advance into
Central Asia became q source Of alarm
In 1887. and English soldiers In india
ever since have seen In Nightmares
the hideous spectre OF "Adam-Zad, the
Man Who Walks Like Bear" The
war between Russia and japan stopped
FOR the time the fear Of a Russian In.
vasion, but II did not stop the Brit
ish preparations to meet u. And II
gave rise to an Asiatic sense of power
which has given the British even more
trouble than the fear OF the Russians.
The men who ruled the East India
Company progressed from trading to
thieving, from thieving TO universal
corruption, from universal corruption
to utter moral blindness. The work
of conquest was carried forward with
out mercy or excuse. AT length the
Company arrived at a stage when
IL was complete master of all India.
holding the so-calied independent
states to strict accountability. The
Company had been reformed by Par.
iiament, held its charter only at the
VIII of the home government ana had
almost entirely submerged IT'S COM
mercial character In It's political &C.
tivities. 1t maintained an army ana
navy paid for from the revenues OF
tne provinces which II governed and
from the purses Of the independent
states as well. 1t had crushed the
Sikhs. the last remaining considerable
miIitary power among the natives
Inc government of the native State
or Oudh refused to submit TO the Eng
ilsh Wilt was a corrupt government
ana the English were insisting unon
proper reforms-and was annexed by
the Company. The rulers OF the other
native states trembled The Crimean
war had Just been fought. ana the
Indians heard and believed that Eng
lands power had been ecMpsed and
NN"Ao NVuiu surely destroy the
British prestige. At that particular
time new rife was introduced In the
army. The new ammunition was in
the form OF creased cartridges. The
colossal error Of greasing them with
taliow had been made. The COW is
sacred to the Hindus. and most of the
sepoy army was made up OF high caste
Hindus. The Moslems were aroused
by the report that hogs fat had been
used, and the hog Is an unclean ami
NAL. In those days, Of course, the
breech- loading gun was unknown. and
the end OF cartridge had to be BIT
ten on and its contents rammed down
the gun. The use OF these CREASED
cartridges brought the fat Of the cow
into the mouths of the Hindu soldiers.
In vain was the mistake corrected, in
vain did the English protest that they
meant no insult to the religion OF the
soldiers. 1t was too late.
The mutiny Of 1887 affected but a
small part of the whole of British In
dia. but It changed forever the course
Of government in the country. The
massacre OF British men. women and
children at Cawnpore by the treacher-
Gus Rama, the seige Of Lucknow and
the storming OF Delhi. are events
largely celebrated in prose and poetry
The English punished the rebeIlious
soldiers and their allies according to
the ancient law of IAN eve for An eye.
n tooth for tooth" Within a year
the British authority was re-establisfI-
ed and the country was compa rative-
~ quiet. but the death-kneli Of the