HENRY DEROZIO ,

THE

EURASIAN

POET,TEACHER,

AND JOURNAL IST.

Wz

'

t/z Afipefla’z

'

ces.

THOMAS EDWA RDS .

Qtalmtta

LW. NEWMAN Co. , L D . , 4. DAL HOUS IE SQ UARE .

MEMOIR OF DEROZ IO

DED ICATED TO MY WIFE .

PR E F A C E .

SHORTLY after my arrival i n Ind ia,I had som e

thoughts of writ ing a h isto ry of the Euras ian com

m un ity. I found , however, on c loser study of the

subject,that , as a comm un ity, Euras ians can scarcely

be said to have a histo ry. They have founded no

empire,bu i lt no c ities

, o rigi nated no i ndustry,devel

oped no po l icy, no r have they created either a

phi losophy, or a rel ig ion , or a schoo l of thought in

l iterature,science

,o r art . Who l e sections of thei r

lower ranks have in the past d isappeared ent irelyamong nat ive races, and their higher ranks are beingabso rbed among pure Europeans . N evertheless there

’

\is a sense in which they have a histo ry, and that

h isto ry‘

is a reco rd of exclus ion and repress ion,

from the year 1786, when the general letter of

the Court of Directo rs ( 17th March) prohibited the

wards o f the Upper Orphan S choo l , who se mo thers

were nat ives and whose fathers were Britons,

i i PREFACE.

from being sent to England fo r educat ion,to the

Viceroyal ty of Lo rd R ipon,when the Fo rest S choo l o f

Dehra and the Roo rkee Eng ineering Co l lege were

clo sed against the sons o f Engl ishmen dom ic i led i n

I nd ia . Euras ians are the descendants o f nat ive

mothers by European fathers , o f every nat ional ity, and ,

as a comm un ity,they have cast i n their lo t , s ince the

days of A lbuquerque w i th the race to which thei r

fathers belonged . The Dutch,Po rtuguese , French , and

Engl ish , who each in turn fought fo r the m astery o f

Ind ia,left behind them descendants whose h isto ry as

commun it ies in no way d i ffers from that of thei r

fathers . There have been,however, m en of som e m ark

am ong them ,who se nam es are no t as

"

wel l known as

they deserve to be , and I set about co l lect ing m aterials

fo r a series of biographies, which would i n som e fashion

picture the m en and their surround ings . The i nd i

viduals wi th whom I m ain ly concerned myself were

D ero z io , Sk inner, of the I rregulars , Kidd , the ship

bui lder,and R icketts , the contempo rary o f D e ro z io

and the founder of what is now the Doveton Co l lege .

This M em o i r of D ero z io is the first o f the series, and ,

so far’

as I am concerned , i t is l ikely to be the last .

The Engl ish read ing publ ic of Ind ia who buy bo oks

is a very sm al l publ ic , and i t is very doubtful i f anybook publ ished i n Ind ia by a private person ever

d id m o re than pay the printing charges o f course,I

except what are cal led “ text -books, which are

PREFACE .

prepared fo r University exam inat ions and cramm ing

purposes,and books used i n Government offices . I

have l ittle hope that my M emo i r w i l l sel l in numbers

sufficient to pay even for the cost of advert isem ents

which I inserted i n several n ewspapers,ask ing for

i n fo rmat ion and papers , &c . ,and Offering a fa i r pri ce

for a copy of D ero z io’

s cri t ique on Kant,let alone the

four years’ labour I have had i n co l lecting materials.

I shal l be del ighted to real ise that I am m istaken .

I n search of materials for this sho rt M emo i r of

D ero z io and for a co l lect ion of his poetry, I have

ransacked every l ibrary i n Calcutta to which I could

get access— departm ental, publ ic , and private . I

shal l be happy to hear from any one who can g ive

me any new facts about D ero z io, o r who wi l l

po in t out any untrue o r unfai r statement in my

M emo i r. I have to acknowledge, w ith many thanks,the very k i nd manner in which I have been aided in

th is bit o f wo rk by the Reverend Krishna M ohun

Bannerjea, LL. D .,one of the few surviving friends of

D eroz io,the H on

’

ble Peary Mohun Mookerj ea, ofOoterpara, who very k i nd ly placed the un ique l ibraryof that town at my d isposal , M r . Hen ry A nd rews, a

contempo rary ofD ero z io, the late PearyChand M i tter,

and the officials of the Home Department o f the

iv PREFACE .

Government of Ind ia, who very k ind ly al lowed me

to exam i ne their l ibrary and their fi les .

The first rough d raft o f this M em o i r appeared at

intervals in the Ca lcutta R eview . This rough d raft

has been co rrected , re - casted , and i n parts re -written .

THOMAS EDWARDS .

C O N T E N T S .

CHA PTER I .

SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLMASTERS .

Birth and paren tage , 2 ; Visit to Bhaugulpo re, 4 ; M r. D rummond ,5—7 Deroz io

’

s boy companions, 8 C lose of schoo l career, 9 .

CHAPTER I I .

DAVID D RUMMOND , SCHOOLMASTER AND INTERLOPER .

Drummond’s arrival in India, I I ; The Phreno logica l Society , 12 ;

A rgumen ts against Phrenology, 1 3— 14 Fai ling heal th , I 5 D rummond’s poetry , I 6 Independence, 1 7 ; The VVeekéy Exam iner , 18Religious opinions, 19 D rummond ’s death , 20 ; H is grave , 2 1 .

CHA PTER I I I .

BHAUGU L PORE .

L ife at Bhaugulpore, 23— 26 First contributions to L i terature, 27Connection wi th the Press, 28; Success, 29 .

CHAPTER IV.

THE H INDOO COLLEGE .

The A cademic Association , 3 1 Religious and Phi losophica l Opinions,32 The charge ofA theism and Immorality , 33 Paine

’

s“Age of

Reason ,

”

34 The true story , 35 ; The effects ofD eroz io’

s teaching,36 Ram Mohun Roy’s appeal , 37 D r. Bryce ’s effor ts fo r

improved education , 38 Ram M ohun Roy and the H indooS chool , 39 D eroz io

’

s Critique on Kan t, 40 The immediate resul tsof the teaching of the H indoo Co l lege, 4 1 .

CONTENTS .HO

F‘

.

CHAPTER V .

CHRI STIAN EFFORT IN IND IA .

Francis Xavier, 43

—44 Wi lson ’

s visit to Goa, 45 D r. Dufi’s nar

row theology, 46 Christ ianity and Hindooism, 47 Essentia ls ofChristianity , 48 ; D ivisions in Christianity , 49 B rahmoism , 50 ;

Christianity and other religions, 5 1 The vivifying ideas of

Religion , 52 Growth of Christian dogma, 53 Non -essen tials of

R eligion , 54 ; W i lson and Duff, 55 ; Duff’

s mission , 56 ; The

disappearance of C onverts, 57 ; Indian Society in 1830, 58

D uff’

s method , 60—61 ; Why does i t not succeed ? 62 ; Thefai lures ofWi lson and Duff, 63 The message of peace , 64 .

CHAPTER VI .

“ SUBVERTER OF ALL RELIGIOUS PRINC IPLES .

Curricu lum of the H indoo C ol lege , 66 ; Deroz io at work , 67 The

resu l t of Deroz io ’s teaching, 68 The Orders of the M anagers, 69

Prohibition of the Managers, 70 ; Public opinion against theM anagers, 7 1 Tbe I ndia Gaz ette on the orders, 72 Ram Gomu lSen , 73 ; M eeting of the M anagers, 74 The Managers in Council ,75 ; The resul t , 76 ; D ero z io

’s letter to M r. Wilson , 77— 78

D eroz io’

s let ter to the Managers, 78 Wi lson ’

s letter to Deroz io,80— 81 D eroz io

’

s vindication , 82— 89.

CHAPTER VI I .

D UFF AND THE PUPI LS OF DERo z 10 .

D eroz io’

s influence, 9 1 T’

lze E nqu irer , 92 The E nqu irer on Duff,

93—94 First converts, 95 The Rising body of Natives, ” 96Emma Roberts, 97.

CHAPTER VI I I .

TH E EURASIAN MOVEMENTS OF 1829-

30.

The policy ofSuppression, 1 00— 103 ; M issionary and Governmen teducation , 104 ; Preparation of the Petition , 105 ; Rickettsappoin ted Agen t , 1 06 ; Ricketts sai ls for England , 107 Britainin 1829 , Ricketts at work, 109—1 10.

CONTENTS .

CHAPTER IX.

THE TOWN HALL MEET ING, MARCH 9TH ,183 1 .

D eroz io’

s Speech , 1 1 2 ; The condition of Eurasians , 1 13 ; D eroz io’s

eulogy of R icket ts, 1 14 ; Supports the motion for a secondPetition , 1 1 5— 1 16 ; Lord Ashley sympathises with us,

”1 1 7

Firm and respectful remonstrance, 1 18 The apathy of Eurasians, 1 19—120 .

CHAPTER X.

THE PUPIL -FR IENDS OF DEROZIO.

Krishna M ohun B anerj ea,122 ; Baptism , 1 23 ; The teaching of

D eroz io , 1 24 Mohesh Chunder Ghose , 1 25 Ram Gopa l Ghose ,1 26— 1 29 ; Gobin , Russick , and M itra, 1 30 ; Huru ChunderGhose , Radanauth S ickdar, 1 3 1 ; Duckinarunjun Mookerjee ,1 32—140.

CHAPTER XI .

PUBL IC MAN AND JOURNALIST.

The E ast I ndian , 142 The Second Peti tion , 143— 144 Deroz io’

s

Speech , 145— 146 The East Indians’ Second Petition , 147— 1 52 ;The E as t I ndian and the 705 7. B u l l , 1 53 D ero z io and C aptai nMacnaghten , 1 54 ; Deroz io

’

s letter'

to the I ndia Ga z ette, 1 55 —1 56 ;Journalist , 1 57 ; D estruction of fi les, 1 58 ; Influence in publicmovemen ts, 1 59— 160 .

CHAPTER XI I .TH E LAST DAYS .

Schoo l examination, 162 Last public words, 163 ; The fulfi lmen tof the prophecy, 1 64 ; Last verses, 1 65 ; Cho lera, 166 ; D eath ,167 A theistic and Immora l Poet , ” 1 68 ; The S tory of the C onfession, 169- 1 70 ; The Spiri t of his Life , 1 7 1 The Lesson of hisLife

, 1 72— 1 73 The tribute of the Governmen t Gaz etz‘e, 1 75- 1 76The tribute of the S umac/tar D nrpan , 1 77— 178 The mother andsister, 1 79 The E ast I ndian

, 180 ; The meeting to erect aM emorial , 181— 182 ; The last of D eroz io

’

s mother and sister,1 83 ; The end of the M emorial , 184 The man as he looked

, 185The papers ofD eroz io, 186 The fulfilment of his work

, 187— 189 .

111 CONTENTS .

CHAPTER X I I I .

THE POETRY OF DEROZIO.

The sty l e of his Poetry , 1 92 ; The popu lar and fashionable model,

1 93 ; The Fakeer of Jungheera, 194 Hymn to the Sun , 1 96— 197The Legend of the Shushan , 198 ; D eroz io

’

s notes, 1 99—20 1

Sympathy between Nature and Human Nature , 203 ; The Parting of the Lovers, 204 ; The close of the poem ,

207 Changes inIndian society , 208 ; The Enchan tress of the C ave , 209— 2 1 0 ; The

Song of the Enchan tress, 2 1 1—2 1 3 ; Notes to the Enchantress ,2 14 ; Sonnets, 2 16— 2 17 On the Abolition of Satti, 2 18—2 19The minor pieces, 220— 22 1 .

APPENDIX A .

THE PETITION OF 1830 .

The Petition of 1830, 223—230 D ebate in the House of Lords on thePetition of l oth M arch 1 830 , 230 ; Correspondence betweenR icketts and Lord C arlisl e , 232

— 234 ; D ebate in the House of

C ommons, 234—245 Ricketts’ evidence before the Select C omm ittee of the House of Lords, 245— 250 ; Ricketts’ evidence inthe House ofCommons, 250— 254.

A PPEND IX B .

EURASIANS AND POOR EUROPEANS I N IND IA .

The rise of the community, 255— 257 The pol icy of exclusion , 257Paren tage of Ricketts, 258 The policy of repress ion , 259 ; The

Doveton Co l lege , 260—261 Eurasians and Natives may be educated together in the same Col lege C lasses, 261—262 Importanceofa thorough training to Eurasians, 263 ; The C al cu tta and MadrasA ssociations, 204 The Law of Life , 264— 265 ; Is there to beno mission to Eurasians and poor Europeans 266 LordCanning

’

s M inute, 267 Lord L ytton’

s M inu te, 267 A rchdeacon Baly

’

s Report , 268 H il l Schools, 269 E lementary Schools,27 1 Technica l Schools, 271— 272 ; H il l Farms, 273 EurasianRegiments, 273 ; Util ising of the Lawrence A sy lum and otherH il l Schools, 274 ; Training Ships, 274 The true policy of

Eurasians and poor Europeans, 275—276.

CHAPTER I .

SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL MASTERS .

N the o ld European burying ground of Cal cutta,

on the south s ide of Park S treet, am id obel isks,

pyram ids, pil lars and tombs o f various fo rm s,al l

fast fal l ing to pieces, and from many of which the

inscriptions penned by lov ing and grateful hands ,have been obl iterated , wh ile the very nam e and m e

mo ry of those “who s leep below have long passed

into fo rgetfulness, there is a nameless grave at the

western extrem i ty, next to the monum en t of Maj o r

M al ing on the south . Here was laid i n the fi rst

flush of manhood , 54 years ago , al l that was m o rtal

of one of the highest gifted and most accom pl ished o f

Euras ians, HENRY LOUIS VIVIAN D EROZIO,poet

,

phi losopher and free - thinker .

S i nce that day a new generat ion of m en has

arisen , to whom , though belongi ng to thei r own com

mun ity, such m en as D eroz io,R icketts

,Kyd , Sk i n ner,

Kirkpatrick,Wal e Byrne, M ontague, Po te, Theobald ,

Dickens, and o thers, are nam es and l i tt le m o re. I t

seem s to us, that i f the memory of thei r worth and

usefulness is to be rescued from that obl ivion which

the rapid course of t im e is fast accompl ishing, someattempt, however imperfect, Should be made to place

on reco rd something of their l ife and wo rk,befo re

the last of those who knew them as they walked

the earth and played.

their part i n l ife,have d ied out

and made i t impossible to recover facts and i nc idents

that o therwise m ust perish .

Henry Louis Vivi an D ero z io was born on the l oth

Apri l 1 809 , i n the house which stands to th is day on

the 24- Pergunnah S ide o f’b rcu lar Road , at the head“Of

b

j aun Baz aar S treet . The build ing is surrounded

by a large compound i n which there is a tank , and is

a good specim en o f the o l d - fashioned substant ial“ll.

houses o f fifty years ago . D e ro z ro S father, was

de scended from a respectable Po rtuguese fam i ly,I Q

’ S Q“A

,l

“ nam ed D eRo z ario,occupied a highly respectable

posi t ion i n the m ercant i le house of M essrs . J . S co tt

and Co . , i n Calcutta ; and m ust have been a man of

som e m eans, fo r the house he dwel t i n was his own

property,and h is chi ldren received the best education

That could then be procured i n Calcutta. He was

,twice marri ed

,and the subj ect o f th is biographi cal

sketch was bo rn to h is fi rst w i fe . Bes ides HenryLouis Vivian D e ro z io

,there were o ther three child ren ,

an elder bro ther Frank,who seem s to have led a

wo rthless l i fe,and u ltimately went to the bad , a

younger bro ther C laud i us, o f whom l ittl e ,o r no thing

se ems to be known beyond the fact that he went to

f

fl .

Scotland to be educated , and returned with a broad

Sco tt ish accen t that stuck to him fo r many a day,

a younger s ister, S ophia, who d i ed at the age of 17

on the z rst December 1 827, and a s ister, A m el ia,between whom and Henry there was that warm

enduring love which som et imes binds together, i n a

mo re than usual degree , a bro ther and S ister . Am el ia

shared many o f her bro ther’s enjoym ents , sym

pathised w i th h im i n his verse -mak ing, encouraged

him i n al l his undertak i ngs, i n sho rt , bel ieved i n him

and h is power to i nfluence thought and m en,befo re

any one else did . Of A m el ia’

s future l i ttle is known .

A fter death and i l l - fo rtune had broken up the fam i ly,She seems to have gone to S erampo re, where , i t is

bel ieved , she married . One o ther relat ion i t is need

fu l to m ent ion . Hen ry’

s aunt , his m o ther’s s iste r,

married a Eu ro pean gentleman,an I nd igo P lanter, at

Bhaugu lpo re . M r . A rthur j ohnson , D e ro z io’

s uncle,

was bo rn at R i ngwood i n Hampshire in the year

1782 . He served fo r som e years i n the Royal Navy

and at the age of 2 5, settled i n I nd ia . Fo r many

years he was a h ighly prosperous man,but in the

closi ng years o f his l i fe reve rses o f fo rtun e overtook

him ,and he d i ed

,and was buried at Bhaugulpo re i n

S eptember 1 847, after a res idence in I nd ia of fo rtyyears . A m onument to his m em o ry reco rds that he

won the respect and good -w i l l of al l around him, and

secured the last ing friendship o fmany by his general

4 Visit to B/iang nlpore.

wo rth and benevo lence of heart . There is no one

i n Bhaugulpo re to - day who knows anything about h is

great nephew. On frequent o ccas ions vis its were paid

to the m arr ied aunt ; and there,on a ro ck i n the

m idd le of the river, the boy D ero z io saw the fak i r,

which was the fi rst suggest ion to his ferti le imag ina

t ion o f the longest and most sustained fl ight of h is

m u se, The Fakir of j nng eeran, an eastern tal e,

which to this day stands unrival led amongst ind igenous Ind ian poem s i n excel lence and truthfulness

of del ineat ion and i n beauty and fert i l ity of poet ic

imagery.

A t an early age D ero z io went to the schoo l kept

by Dav id Drummond , i n Dhurrum to l lah, the s ite of

which is now bounded by Goomghur on the north ,Hospital Lane on the west

,Dhurrumto l lah on the

south,and Hart’s L ivery S tables on the east, from

each of which d i rect ions, gates entered the compound

of the schoo l . Here he received al l the educat ion that

scho o ls and schoo lmasters ever gave him . Drummond

was a S co tchman , a good example of the best type of

the o ld S co tch Dom in ie,a scho lar and a gentleman

,

equal ly versed and wel l read i n the classics,mathe

maties and m etaphys ics of his day, and trained,as

m ost S co tch students of the close of last century and

b eginn ing of this were,less i n the grammat ical n ice

t ies and d istinct ions of verbal crit ic ism,though these

w ere not neglected , than in the tfiong/zt of the great

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6 D rmnni ond’

s Influence.

t ion received the rud im ents of an Engl ish education

befo re pass ing to the H indu Co l lege . Among the

number o f Sherbourne ’

s pupils were Prosono Coomar

Tagore and his bro ther Huro Coomar Tago re. There

was another famous schoo l i n Bo itakhanah,presided

over by a m o st est imable and o rthodox pedagogue, a

d istinguished m ember o f the O ld M iss ion Church,

M r . H uttem an . Round h im the faithful gathered ;but those who cared less fo r o rthodoxy and m o re

for a tho rough educat ion , sent thei r sons to Drum

mond of Dhurrum to l lah . Hutteman was a good

classi c , and turned out som e fine scho lars, but if

thought and the power of think ing, and no t gram

matical n icet ies and the power to be un in tel l ig ible

and a bore in hal f- a- do z en languages, are the true

aim of educat ion , then the countryman of Hume

was the better educato r. The natural ly imag inat ive,impuls ive and powerful m ind o f D ero z io was

quickened and spurred i n to action under the clear,i nc is ive, log ical guidance o f David Drumm ond

,the

crooked -backed , broad -m inded S co tchman,who for

eight years, from the day D ero z io en tered h is schoo l

a child of six,t i l l he left i t a lad of fourteen

,watch

ed him w i th interest , and aided the rapid d evelop

m ent of his splend id powers of i n tel lect and imag i

nation ; and befo re the age of twenty, s ix years

after he left schoo l and entered on the wo rk o f his

Sho rt l ife, his acquaintance wi th the l iteratu re and

D r znnnzond’

s (requirements. 7

thought of England , and so far as these could be

attained through the m ed ium of an Engl ish tran s

lation,his knowl edge of the best th inkers and

wri ters of Eu ropean celebri ty, was of such a character

as to mark him off, at that early age , as a man no t i n

any degree in ferior to , and i n some respects far i n

advance of,any of his contempo raries of any nat ion

al i ty in Ind ia . D ero z io was l i ttle of a class i c scho lar. I t

is even very doubtfu l i f he ever go t m uch beyo nd

the Gal/ia es t omn is a’ivisa in partes tres which mark

ed the infan t class ic steps of the scho lar of h is daybut there was no poet , o r d ramat ic wr i te r

,o r th inker

of Engl ish l ineage wi th whose wo rks D ero z io was no t

fam i l iar— fam i l iar in a sense wh ich the exam i nat ion

d riven , high pressure students o f to -day m ight wel l

envy. I n mathemat ics he did l i tt le mo re than cross

the asses’ bridge .”H is chief del ight , his so le pursu it

outside of the cricketing, the amateu r theatr icals,

and o ther spo rts natu ral to boys of his years, was

the l iterature and the thought o f England , as he

found these embod ied in the poets, novel ists, d rama

t ists, and phi losophers o f that country . Ti l l the

latest day o f his Sho rt l i fe,poetry and ph i losophy

were the ch ief charm of his existence . There were

two places i n I nd ia where the m ost recen t wo rks

issued from the press o f B ri ta i n cou ld be found .

These were the shelves of th e m ost ente rpris ingbooksel lers, and the l ibrary of D eroz io

,frequently

8 D eroe io’

s Boy Companions .

the latter alone. The boy- compan ions of D eroz io

were,almost w i thout exception , i n after- l i fe note

wo rthy men . Lawrence A ugustus D eSouz a has

shown by his large -hearted ,open -handed

,benefac

t ions to the Euras ian comm un ity , i n h is care fo r the

w idow and the o rphan,and the strugg l ing scho lar

,a

k ingly example o f ph i lanthropy and the wise use of

weal th , wh ich w i l l embalm his nam e,a precious

memo ry,i n the hearts Of Eurasians . W . Kirkpatrick

was one of a band o f earnest m en,among whom were

J . W . R icketts , Robert J . Rose , Wal e Byrne, HenryA ndrews , R . H . H o l l ingberry,

and o thers, who labored

i ncessantly i n after - l i fe fo r the so cial, m o ral

,rel ig ious

and i n tel lectual advancem ent o f m en of thei r own

blood . Kirkpatrick ,M . Crowe , R . Fenwick and o ther

East I nd ians were the ch ief leader w riters of the o ld

East I nd ian ,a newspaper planned , ed ited and success

ful ly carried on by D ero z io t i l l his death . Kirkpatri ck

also ed ited and wro te fo r the Or ient P ear l , an annual

som eth ing after the styl e of the R epubl ic of L etters ,

and which conta ins m any articles that are i n terest ingread ing to this day. J . W. R icketts contributed to

the Oi ient P ear l , as wel l as o ther lead ing m embers ,

of the commun ity. Charles Pote, the Euras ian

A rt ist ,”

ano ther boy- compan ion of D ero z io,whose

po rtrai t Of Lo rd M etcal fe ado rns the Town Hal l o f

Calcutta, along w ith D ero z io and Dav id Hare, gave

that impetus to enqui ry among higher class Hindoos

Close of li is S enool Career . 9

which made the wo rk of Duff and h is successo rs a

m atter of easy accompl ishm ent . A s lads,D eSouz a,

DaCosta, Po te, W . Kirkpat rick,M c L eod

, Gal lowayand o thers , were m embers, w i th D ero z io

,of the sam e

Cricket Club , that p layed on autum n even ing s on the

ma ia’an ,that took part i n schoo l theatricals for which

D ero z io wrote pro logues befo re the age o f 14 , and

that swam and spo rted together i n early summ er

m o rn ings i n the Bam on Bust ee, the great tank now

fi l led up,which once sto od at the end o f what is

now Wood S treet, w i th Camac S treet on the west,

Theatre Road on the north, and nat ive v i l lages

stretch ing out to the south and east .

A t the age o f 14 , D e ro z io,as we have said

,ended

his schoo l l i fe ; but Dav id Drummond , the grim ,

S co tt ish , hunch - back ed schoo lmaster,

and Hen ryD ero z io

,the sprightly,

c lean - l imbed,bri l l iant Eura

s ian boy,adm i red and loved each o ther as rarely

master and pupi l do . N o ne watched w i th greater

interest his sho rt career, and there were few sadder

hearts i n Calcutta, that fo l lowed D ero z io to h is early

g rave that w in try afternoon,than Dav id Drumm ond

Of Dhurrum to l lah .

CHAPTER I I .

DAVID DRUMMOND , SHOOL MASTER AND INTERLOPER .

AVID DRUMMOND was a nat ive of Fi fe

Shire , bo rn in humble ci rcum stances about the

year 1 785, eleven years befo re the d eath o f Burns . A s

a boy, the fam e and poetry of the ploughman poet,

which fi l led al l S co tland from end to end,quickened

the lad Drumm ond to em ulate in som e fa in t fashion

what Burns had achieved fo r S co tland .

E’en t h en a wish

,I m ind its pow er,

A wish th a t t o m y lat es t h ourS h a l l s trongly h eav e my br east ,

That I for poor au ld S c o t lan d ’s sake,

S om e usefu l plan o r b euk could m ak e,

O r s ing a song at l eas t .

I n th is,at least

,Drummond was successful . A

few of his songs , i n the hom ely Do ric of h is nat ive

land,becam e popular

,befo re

,i n the year 1 8 1 3 , he

left S cot land for ever ; and even yet i n his nat ive

shire the songs of the peasant boy,— who, after a

res idence in I nd ia of 30 years, was laid 40 years ago

i n the grave, are no t al together fo rgo tten .

The ci rcum stances which impel led the youngScotchman to leave his nat ive land

,wi th a deter

D rnmrnoncl’

s A rr ival in I na’ia . 1 I

m inat ion never to return to i t , are hidden in obscuri ty ;but there are sound reasons fo r bel ieving that theo

log ical d i fferences wi th his own fam i ly had som e hand

i n i t . There were no t a few peasant lads i n the S cot

land o f 80 years ago , and have been s in ce then ,

whose parents pinched and saved and hungered

them selves, that thei r sons m ight som e day wag

thei r heads i n a pupit . The d isappo in tment,

grief and rage when hopes of th is so rt, cherished

through embittering poverty and a l i fe - long se l f

sacrifice almost superhuman , were dashed to the

ground by the refusal of the lad to enter the church

because h is m ind had outgrown the narrow theo logy of

the sect he had been educated to enter, may be better

imag i ned than described . Drummond wo rked his

passage out to I nd ia and landed , an Interloper,

i n the year 1 8 1 3 . He l ived w i th a friend at Ber

hampore for a sho rt t im e,and was then appo inted

ass istant on Rs . 1 25 a month , w i th board and lodg ing ,

i n the proprieto ry schoo l of M essrs . Wal lace and

M easures, after undergo ing an exam inat ion which

satisfied his employers that h is atta inm ents were

o f a high o rder . A few years after he becam e so l e

proprieto r ; and the Dhurrum to l lah A cademy under

Drummond speed i ly attai ned the highest pos i t ion

amongst the educat ional establ ishm en ts of Calcutta,

and aided material ly i n d i ffus ing a high class Engl isheducat ion am ong the ch i ld ren of Europeans, whose

1 2 T/ze P/zrenolog ical S ociety .

means d id not adm i t of their send ing their sons to

England, as wel l as amongst Euras ians and nat ives .

I t was one of the pecu l iari t ies o f Drummond ’

s schoo l

that, as i n the S cot land o f his day, the lai rd

’

s son

and Jock,the ploughman ’s boy,

sat s ide by s ide on

the sam e fo rm w i th Jenny,the herd ’

s lassie,and

romped together befo re and after schoo l hours , and

on the way to and from schoo l , so i n Dhurrum to l lah,60 years ago , European , Euras ian and nat ive lads

conn ed the sam e lessons, and m ingl ed together in

the sam e schoo l spo rts . The impetus g iven by Drum

m ond to educatio n in Calcutta awoke a spir i t of

competit ion the m eans of education multipl i ed , and

a healthy rival ry between schoo ls of various sorts

produced the happiest resu lts .

On the 4th o f March 1 825 a Phreno log ical Societywas establ ished by the adm i rers of Gal l , Spurz heim

and Com be . This society m e t i n the H n r é arn

room s,w i th Dr. A bel as President, Dr . John Grant

as Vi ce - pres ident,and Dr. Pa tterson as S ecretary .

For'

two years Drummond attended the m eetings,

and was a s i l ent l istener to the arguments and

d isser tat ions in favour o f phreno logy. Then,to the

amaz em ent of the society,he publ ished his Obj ections

to Pnrenology ,i n which he declared that “

phreno

logy was not the true interpretat ion of nature,that its principl es threw no sure l ight on the

enquiry regard ing the operat ions of the human

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14 Obj ections to Pbrenology

him to oppose “ D estructiveness”

? What is the

m ed ium of comm un icat ion whereby the excitat io n

of any o rgan whatever can have the sm al lest influ

ence even on its nea rest compan ion P and,

F ifi /i ly .— The very essence of Phreno logy i nvo lves

the abandonm en t both o f reason and m em o ry (the

one of which d i rects and j udges, the o ther retains

and resto res, al l the ideas and operat ions o f the

m ind) by affi rm ing that these , as wel l as al l o ther

attributes o f the “

g lo rious and d iv i ne intel lect of

man ,are the result of th i rty- five ungoverned ,

unconnected i nst i ncts .

I n the year 1 829 , sho rtly after the publ i cat io n of

his Obj ections to P hrenology ,the tear and wear

,the

wo rry and the fret , and the i n tense appl icat ion of

a consc ient ious teacher’

s l i fe in I nd ia,coupled

,i t

m ay be, w i th im propriet ies i n d i et , com pletely broke

down the heal th o f Drumm ond . Unl ike the m a

jority of h is thrifty countrym en , he l ived very nearlyif not qu ite up to his i ncom e . H is res idence was

one o f the mo st el egantly furn i shed i n Cal cutta, and

bal ls and suppers to k ind red spiri ts were frequent .

N evertheless, M r . Sandfo rd A rno tt , i n present ing

a copy of his own new Pers ian Gramm ar, wro te on

the fly l eaf—“ To Dav id Drumm ond ,

Esq ,who

am idst the luxuries o f the East never lost his rel ish

for the m etaphys ics and the m use of S co tland, which

he cult ivated so Successful ly. Fo r two years, 1828-

30 ,

Fa il ing H eal tlz. 1 5

Drummond sought to rega i n heal th by a residence

i n the S trai ts of Malacca, and left the care of

his flourishing schoo l to a M r . Wilson , who , whatever

o ther atta inm ents he m ay have had ,was defic ien t

in the energy and o rgan is i ng m ethods ofDrumm ond .

The cl erical party i n Cal cutta, headed by A rchdea

con D ealtry, i f i t d id not found , at l east patron i z ed ,

a schoo l i n the Circu lar Road ,which pro fessed i n

n ewspaper advert i sem ents to be “ the on ly schoo l

i n Cal cutta where a Christ ian educat ion could be

obtai ned . This,coupled w i th the secu lar system

pursued i n the Dhurrum to l lah A cad emy, and the

absence of its m ovi ng spirit,began to tel l i n popular

est im at ion agai nst Drumm ond ’

s schoo l ; so that ,when he returned i n 1 830 ,

w i th heal th l itt l e improved

by his‘

two years’ furlough , the A cademy had lo st

ground , and he was unable to carry on the heavydut ies which the labour of a large schoo l impl ied .

Soon afterward s,w ith the m oney derived from the

sale of the good -w i l l and furn i ture of h is schoo l,he

reti red to the Gene ral Ho spital where he rem ained

for years an i nval id . Very few,even of his m ost

in t im ate friends,knew what had becom e o f him .

M any o f tho se who knew h im best i n the years of

his prosperity had l eft Ind ia. A new race of m en

had arisen,striv i ng for l i terary fam e and fo rtune

,

who were ignorant of the keen,po l ished i ntel lect

,

that in prose and verse had gai ned the ear of a

16 D rummond’

s P oetry.

fo rmer generat ion , and was now d rawi ng out a l iv ingdeath in a Calcutta Ho spital . The echoes of the

outside world fel l fai n tly on the lonely i nval id’

s ear,

and one of these echoes woke the do rmant power

of Drummond . S ir Charles Metcal fe had freed the

Press of I nd ia,and am id the general rejo ic ing, the

i l lum inat ions and d eco rat ions and feasts , add resses

and eulogium s,an Od e to M etcal fe , which appeared

i n the H arbarn w i th the once wel l - known in it ials

D . D .,woke for a t im e by its eloquence , its d epth

of feel ing , and its fi re,a pass ing i n terest i n Drum

mond ; but there were few indeed of tho se who

adm i red the verses , who cared to know that their

autho r was bed - ridden in the d epths of poverty, the

i nmate of a publ ic hospital . A n a ide -d e - camp of

S ir Charles M etcalfe cal led on M r . Sm i th , the pro

prietor of the H n rbarn,to ask for the nam e of the

autho r, which was g iven ; and a subscript ion fo r

fifty copies o f Drumm ond ’

s poem s found its way from

the generous M etcal fe to the bed - ridden inval id .

This co l lect ion of poetry was never publ ished . The

few who ever saw i t i n m anuscript , amongst o thers ,

D . L . R ichardson , spoke of i t i n terms of the h igh

est commendat ion , many of the lyrics being charged

w ith “

great tenderness and del icacy o f feel ing .

I t was Drummond ’

s dying w ish that they should be

sent to S co tland and publ ished there, where they

would be best appreciated by a people fam i l iar wi th

I ndependence. 7

the gen ius and id ioms of the Doric in which theywere wri tten , and the Character, habits and associa

t ions round which he wove his web of song . The

vessel contain ing the manuscript was lost and thus

perished som e of the finest S co tt ish lyrics S ince the

days of Burns and Tannahi l l .

By the year 1 839 he had so far recovered heal th

that he determ ined to leave the General Hospital ,and beg in the battl e of l i fe w i th a frame bowed byd isease, a Shattered constitution

,a m i nd enervated

by long i l lness and seclus ion from the wo rld,and

l i teral ly wi thout a rupee . Fai l i ng heal th and pinch

ing poverty were hencefo rth his lo t t i l l death .

There were sti l l a few friends left to him from the

days of his hospitable pro speri ty,amongst whom

were Dr. John Grant and D . L . R ichardson . These,

with the generous im pulse of noble m inds,at once

o ffered the broken -down schoo lmaster that pecun iaryass istance which they could wel l affo rd . Drummond

appreciated thei r k ind o ffers,but his S co tt ish prid e

greater in poverty and S ickness than in heal th and

prosperity, would accept no help,no obl igat ions , which ,

i n the state o f his heal th i t was very doubtful whether

he would ever be able to repay. He would hang on

to the sk i rts of no m an ,he would be dependent on

no one,he would continue to do as he had done

l iving his l ife in his own way,even though that im

pl ied pinching poverty and a losing struggle wi th the

1 8 Tbe Wee/Ely Exam iner .

”

inevitable. Drummond’

s teaching days were over,

no t only because his impai red heal th rendered teach

ing imposs ible, but his pronounced vi ews on rel ig ioussubj ects, now that schoo ls i n Calcutta were abundant,rendered i t highly improbable that any schoo l of his

conduct ing would have anything but a very smal l

attendance . He could no t teach , but he could wri te,

and he thought he saw an open ing fo r a week ly paper . Under the auspices of Drummond as proprie

to r, ed i to r, repo rter and al l else but printer,the

Weekly Exam iner , a j ournal of po l i t ics,news and

l i terature,

had an existence of nearly two years ,1 839

-

4 1 . To this week ly newspaper bo th Dr. John

Grant and D . L . R ichardson frequently contributed ,

to help their o ld friend i n his new venture ; but the

burden of the who l e lay heav i ly on Drumm ond . The

abi l ity w ith which the Weekly Exam iner was con

ducted was general ly adm i tted , and its opin ions

were respected by a large po rt ion of the press o f

I nd ia .

However great Drumm ond ’

s talents undoubted lywere

,there were cond i t ions o f success which he co uld

no t command . H is leaders were fin ished essays,log ical and keen but his readers were thirst ing for

news ; the fi rst A fghan war was wo rk ing up to its

t rag ic - end ing . N ews Drumm ond could no t pay fo r

but he served i t up second - hand . Bes ides th is,h is

long i l lness and reverse of fo rtune had rendered him

R el ig ions Opin ions .19

i rritable, and he took o ffence at the neglect with which

the Eng l is/iman treated h is smal l venture , and never

m issed an oppo rtun ity o f hitt ing heav i ly and effec

t ively. The strength of his reason ing was always

superio r to his d iction . He wro te hurried ly and d i

fuse ly, and cared l itt le for style i f his argum ents were

log ical ly cons istent and conv incing . A t al l t imes he

wro te w i th great v igour and o riginal ity, but he was

o ccas ional ly rash , impuls ive and deficient in tact

and few things del ighted him m o re than o rig inat ing a

controversy and arguing through thick and thin fo r

the v iew he at fi rst adopted . H is rel ig ious opin ions

were never ai red i n the pages of the Exam iner,but

i n private,w i th the few rem ain ing Of his o ld friends ,

he launched out fearlessly on a sea of speculat ion and

d iscuss ion , that would m ak e the l istener catch h is

breath in wonder and amaz em ent . To him the right

of private judgm ent claim ed by the fathers Of the

Refo rm at ion three hund red years ago , was a very pre

c ious thing . He would bel ieve no thing,accept no

thing, unless i t could be m ade as ev ident and reason

able as a m athemat ical axiom . Trad it ion and ant i

quity were to h im no autho rity ; and he bui lt up his

system of fai th and the un iverse on a bas is no t m uch

broader than the Cog ito erg o snm o f Descartes ; but

he had neither heal th nor l e isure to think i t out and

fo rm ulate i t . H ad bo th been granted h im ,the nam e

of David Drummond would in al l l ikel ihood have

20 D rummond’

s D eat/z .

ranked wi th that of his own great countryman,David

Hum e,in the ro l l of Philosophical S ceptics . By the

m idd le of 1 84 1 , Drumm ond was agai n prostrate w i th

Spine d isease and the struggl e which for m onths he

carried on i n weakness and pa in to keep fai th w ith h is

subscribers , was no thing sho rt of hero ic . I l l - advised ,

he reso rted to st imulants, no tably laudanum ,i n large

quantities, to whip the last effo rt out of an enfeebled

body and a harassed m ind . Unable to s it up to

w rite, or even to wri te in bed , his ed ito rials were

d ictated i n spasmod ic gasps between the intervals of

weakness and bod i ly agony. A t last he gave the

struggle up . He was not do ing j ust ice to his sub

scribers ; he would no t take their money when he

could g ive them no fai r equ ivalent .

The Weekly Exam iner was abandoned . The smal l

sum avai lable from outstand ing debts was co l lected ,

and w ith it, broken in heal th , crushed i n spirits,

enfeebled i n m ind,the friends of his better years

e ither dead o r out of Ind ia,David Drummond for

eighteen months l ived a l ife of bod i ly agony i n the

depths of a bit ing poverty, no t often paral leled, w ith a

resignat ion , tranqui l l ity and sto ic ism rarely m et

w ith . M urmur o r complain t never passed his l ips,and i n the A pri l of 1 84 3 , at the age of fifty

- six,D a

vid Drummond,i nterloper and schoo lmaster, slept

the s leep that knows no wak ing, to such a l ife, at

l east,as that through which he had passed .

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CHAPTER III.

BHAUGU L PORE .

N leaving schoo l i n the year 1 823 , D ero z io be

cam e a c lerk i n the firm of M essrs . J . S co tt

and Company, and remained in the i r employm ent

for two years . In this firm his father had long held a

highly responsible posi tion . There was no fascina

t ion for D ero z io in the d rudgery of the desk , to

which so many m en of his race have clung, and are

cl inging, rather than strike out for them selves i nde

pendent sources o f l iving, no tw ithstand ing the

earnest and eloquent appeals that have been made

by such em inent m en of thei r own commun ity as

Jam es Kyd , the Kidderpo re ship - bui lder, and o thers

s ince his day. I n face o f the pos i t ive certa inty that

educated nat ives wi l l d rive, and now actual ly are

d riv ing, Eurasians from clerkships and qui l l - d riving

general ly,no adequate effo rt has yet been put fo rth

by Euras ians them selves to secure a future for their

ch i ld ren ; and the recently establ ished Euras ian

A ssociat ions are too young yet to pred ict m uch for

their future usefulness. The four wal ls of an office

and a clerk ’

s stoo l were speed i ly rel inqu ished by

L ife at Bkangnlpore. 23

D ero z io ; and at the age of S ixteen in the varied

wo rk and l i fe of an I nd igo - planter at Bhaugulpore ,

under the ho spitable roo f o f h is uncle Johnson ,and the k i nd ly eye of his mo ther ’s s ister

,the lad

D ero z io for a t im e found congen ial occupat ion . I t

was here,at Bhaugu lpore , w ith the ripple of the

Ganges i n his ear,and the boats of the fisher and

the trader bo rne on the t ide,o ut of whose broad

bosom rose the Fak i r - inhab ited rock of Jungheera,that the youthfu l poet d runk i n al l tho se sweet ih

fluences of nature and m uch of hum an nature,which

indel ibly impressed them selves o n his i ntel lect and

imaginat ion , and sti rred h im to the production of

h is m ost susta in ed effo rt i n po etry, the Fakir of

fang/teem .

In a no te to the l i nes

Jungheera’s rock s are h oar and s t e ep

A nd Ganges wave is broad and de ep .

D ero z io says,“although I once l ived nearly three

years i n the v i c in i ty of Jungheera,I had but one

oppo rtun ity of seeing that beaut iful and truly t o

m ant ic spo t . I had a View of the rocks from the

Oppos ite bank of the river,which was broad and ful l

at the t im e I saw it,during the rai ny season . I t

struck m e then as a place where achievements i n

love and arm s m ight take place ; and the doubl e

character I had heard Of the Fak i r, together with

24 L ife at Bkangnlpore.

some acquaintance w i th the scenery, induced me to

fo rm a tal e upon bo th these c ircumstances . FromFo rest’s Tour along the Ganges and Jumna

,I

subm it to the reader the fo l low ing description of

Jungheera. The fo l iage he speaks of d id not strike

m e probably i n consequence of the great d istance at

which I saw the island , which in a subsequent part of

the poem I have cal led bleak and bare

A t som e d istance from Monghyr, we saw on the

river Ganges on our right , a singular mass of rock

stand ing in the water,

and som ewhat resembl ingtho se of Co lgong. I t is d istant about two hund red

yards from the right bank imm ed iately Oppos i te to

the v i l lage o f Su ltangunge . I t rises about seventyfeet above the level o f the water, towering abruptlyfrom its bosom there is o ne place only at which a

boat can be put in , and where there is a land i ngplace, and a very steep and w ind ing path lead s tothe summ it . Here is found a smal l bui ld ing

’

s M adrissa,

or v i l lage of Fakirs, o r wandering m onks who res id e

i n i t The wh o le fo rm s a pretty Obj ect , as you run

past i n a boat and the thick and luxuriant fo l iage

which crowns the summ i t adds m uch to the effect

of the picture .

Here,at Bhaugulpore, there fel l on Dero z io

’

s and

eye , and l ingered i n his m em o ry,the plash o f oars i n

the river : the gree t ings and goss ip of women round the

wel l the creak ing o f the yoke : the pat ient to i l o f the

L ife at Bkangnlpore. 25

ryo ts in their fields the sounds that happy Chi ld ren

m ake at play their vo ices conning lessons, squatted

i n the mud under a peepul tree o r the Shade of a

verandah the song of g i rls grind ing at the m i l l the

wheel and deft hand of the po tter fashion ing the

hom ely vessels of the ryo t and the thicket and the

jungle, ful l of teem ing l ife : the roar of the t iger byn ight : the stroke o f the coppersm ith at his fo rge :

the d rum s and mus ic and songs and process ions of

pujahs and m arriage - feasts,the rippl ing laughter,

half m uffled head and gl eam ing eyes, and W insom e

face and figure of v il l iage beauties and over al l

this myriad t inted , m any vo iced , ever changingscene

,ful l of l ife and beauty and wonder

,the glo rious

pano ram a of an Ind ian sunset,when in the west

c louds wreath them selves in s low maj estic m o t ions

and unfo ld their Changeful , Cham eleo n tints , deepen

ing into blackest n ight , and day and its g lo ri es seem

l ike a go rgeous d ream of beauty, swal lowed up bydarkness .

I t is that hour wh en dusky n igh tC om e s ga t h e r ing o

’er d epar t ing ligh t ,

Wh en hue by hue and ray by ray,Th in e ey e m ay wa tch i t was t e away,U n ti l th ou canst no m ore beh o ldThe fad ed t in ts of pal l id go l d ,A nd soft d esc end the shad es of n igh t,A s did t h ose hues so pur e ly br igh tA nd in t he blue sky, s tar by s t ar,S h in es out

,lik e h appin ess afar

A wi ld ern ess of wor lds l— To dw el lIn one, wi th those we hav e loved w e l l

26 L ife at Bkangnlpore.

Were b liss inde ed l— The wa ters flowGurgl ing, in dark e st hue b e low ,A nd ’

gain s t th e sh ore th e rippl e breaksA s from its cav e , th e eas t wind wak es,But 10 wh ere D i an ’

s cre st on h igh appears,Fain t as the m em ory of departing y ears .

— N IGHT (DEROZIO.)

The m oon is gone and t hus go those we l oveThe n igh t winds wai l and thus for t h em we mourn ;

The s tars look d own ; thus spiri ts from aboveHal low t h e m ourn ers’ t ears upon t h e urn .

S om e th oughts are a l l of joy, and som e of woeM in e end in t ears— th ey ’re w e lcom e— let t h em flow.

We look around,But vain ly look for t hose wh o form ed a par tOf us, as w e of t h em ,

and wh om we woreL ik e gem s in bez e ls

,in t h e h e ar t’s de ep core .

Wh er e are th ey now —gon e to t hat “ n arrow c e l l

Wh ose g loom no l am p hat h broken ,nor shal l b re ak

,

Wh ose secre ts n e ver spir i t cam e to te l l [awakeO that t h e ir day m igh t dawn , for t hen t h ey wou ld

— ADA (D EROZIO. )

M id surround ings and mus ings such as these,De

ro z io’

s imaginat ion was k ind led i nto enthus iasm ; and

those graver and m o re abstract speculat ions which in

after- l ife, and over his early grave, earned fo r him ,at

the hands of fanat ics and bigo ts , the calum n ious

nam e o f atheist and i nfidel,were thought out and

i n som e m easure fo rm ulated .

I t was here at Bhaugulpo re that D ero z io real i z ed

what it is to love and to be loved . Here he saw that

l ight which never shone on land o r sea and which

only beam s from the eyes of those whose l ives are

i ntertwined i n the bonds which love alone can

First Contr ibutions to L iterature. 27

weave . Who the lady was, or what the c i rcum stances

were which parted their l ives , w i l l probably never now

be known but it is very evident that this episode i n

his l i fe made a last ing impress ion on him and he

stead i ly refused to marry,though frequently so l ic ited

to do so by his m o ther and s ister .

From his uncle’s plantat ion o f Bhaugu lpore , De

ro z io sent to Dr . John Grant o f the I ndia Gaz ette

those poetical contributions which bear the s ignature

of fnven is . The letters that passed between D ero z io

and Grant are unhappi ly lost indeed so far as we

have been able to l earn,no s ing l e scrap of his co r

respondence exists,except three letters

,the one dated

25th A pri l 183 1 , add ressed to the Manag ing Com

m ittee of the H indo o Co l l ege, res ign ing h is pos it ion

as master of the second and thi rd classes i n L i tera

ture and Histo ry another,a day later

, to his

friend Dr. H . H . Wilson,a m ember of the Comm ittee

o f the H indoo Co l l ege , w ri tten in reply to certai n

questions subm itted to him by Dr. Wilson and a

th i rd which we have been able to recover.

These letters w i l l be reproduced in their proper

place i n this sho rt m emo i r. The encouragem ent

g iven by Grant of the I ndia Gaz ette,

and his

apprec iat io n of the young po et’

s m erits,induced

D ero z io to co l lect his verses and publ ish them in a

separate vo lum e . I n the year 1 827 he cam e to

Calcutta and the lad of I 7 saw his first production

28 Connection wit/z t/ze P ress.

through the press, and imm ed iately found him sel f

famous . Ind igo - planting and Bhaugu lpore becam e

things of the past and D ero z io,as A ss i stant Ed ito r

o f the I ndia Gaz ette,ed i to r of the Ca lcu tta L i terary

Gaz ette, contributo r to the Calcutta M agaz ine, the

I ndian M agaz ine, Tbe B engal A nnual,and Tbe Kel idos

cope, and ass istant -master in the sen io r departm ent of

the Hindoo Co l lege, adopted teaching as a pro fess ion

and l iterature as a staff. Som e of D ero z io’

s art ic les

in the I nd ia Gaz ette are said no t to have been popu

lar,being flippant and pretent ious . A S a ru le

his art icles were always clever, smart , and l ively,

and yet had an a ir of coxcombery and conceit

that inj ured the effect of much truth and o riginal ityof observat ion . The letters which passed between

Grant and D ero z io are characterised , by o ne who

knew o f their existence,as highly cred itable to bo th,

and m arked by high chival rous feel ing and adm i ra

t ion on both s ides,and m utual respect . Pecun iary

m atters were touched on w ith a d el icacy of phraseo

logy and feel ing not common now-a- days . D ero z io

and Grant agreed to d i ffer, and i n their d ifference

m utual ly respected each o ther . Dr. John Grant,

the ed ito r of the I nd ia Gaz ette, the contempo rary,

along w ith D ero z io ,of Mered i th Parker , D . L .

R ichardson , and Dav id Hare, is thus described by

one who rem embered him wel l He was a man o f

great informat ion , and of i nfin i te quo tat ion could

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CHAPTER IV.

THE H INDU COLLEGE.

N the March of 1 828,D ero z io was appo inted

master of Engl ish L iterature and H isto ry i n the

second and th ird classes of the Hindoo Co l lege .

This appo intm ent , seem ingly SO i ns ign ificant, m arks

the early developm ent of one of the m ost impo rtant

m ovements i n the intel lectual h isto ry of the nat ive

bo rn subj ects o f this land . N o teacher ever taught

w i th greater z eal , w ith m o re enthus iasm,w ith m o re

loving intercourse between master and pupi l than

marked the Sho rt term of D ero z io’

s connect ion w ith

the Hindoo Co l lege .

N either befo re, nor S i nce his day, has any teacher,w i th in the wal ls of any nat ive educational establ ish

m ent in I nd ia, ever exercised such an i nfluence over

his pupi ls . I t was not alone in the C lass - room s and

during the hours of teaching that the gen ial m anner,

the buoyant spirit , the ready humour,the w ide read

ing, the read i ness to impart knowledge, and the

patience and courtesy of D ero z io won the hearts

and the high reverence of his pupi ls . I n the inter

vals of teaching he was ever ready i n conversation to

Tke Academ ic A ssociation . 3 1

aid his pupi ls i n thei r stud ies,to d raw them out to g ive

free and ful l express io n to thei r opin ions,on topics

natural ly aris i ng from the course of their wo rk i n the

class - room s and befo re the hour at which the usual

wo rk of his classes began , and som etim es after the

hour for clos ing the day’

s duties,D ero z io

,i n add i t io n to

the wo rk of the class,i n o rder to broaden and deepen

the knowledge of his pupi ls i n the thought and

l i terature of Eng land , gave read i ngs i n Engl ish l iter

ature to as many students of the H ind oo Co l lege as

cared to take advantage of h is self- imposed wo rk .

In conso rt w i th his pupi ls,he establ ished the A ca

dem ic A ssocia tion,which m e t i n a garden -house be

long ing to the S ingh fam i ly i n M an ickto l lah,where

n ight after n ight , under the p res idency of D ero z io,

and w i th Om achurn Bose as S ecretary, the lads of

the Hindoo Co l lege read t hei r papers, d iscussed ,debated and wrangled and acqu ired for them selves

the faci l i ty o f express ing thei r thoughts i n wo rds

and the power of ready reply and argum ent . To

these meetings there frequently cam e the unassum inglarge - hearted phi lanthropist

,David Hare

,i n “

white

jacket and o ld - fashioned gaiters or“ blue coat

, wi th

large brass buttons, the d ress - coat of his youth and

o ccas ional ly S ir Edward Ryan , and Co lonel Benson ,Private S ecretary to Lo rd Will iam Bentinck

,Co lonel

Beatson , afterwards A dj utant -General , and Dr. M i l ls,

the Pri ncipal of B ishop’s Co l lege, vis ited the m eet

32 Rel igious and P ki losopkical Op in ions .

ings . Poetry and Phi lo sophy were the chief themes

d iscussed . D ero z io’

s atta inm ents i n ph ilosophywere as w ide and varied as his acquaintance w i th the

poets and d ram at ists . I ndeed , his innate gift of

song, which entitles him to rank as an Engl ish poet

o f no inconsiderable em inence, was but the outcom e

o f h is v igo rous intel lect , which sought in verse an

outlet for the restless m ental activi ty that m arks

superio r m inds . N o doubt,i n the m eet ings of the

A cadem ic A ssoc iation and i n the social c i rcle that

gathered round his ho spitable table in the Old house

in Circular Road , subj ects were broached and d iscuss

ed w ith freedom,which could no t have been ap

proached i n the class - room . Free-w i l l,fo re - o rd ina

t ion,fate

,faith

,the sacredness of t ruth , the high

d uty o f cult ivat ing v i rtue,and the m eanness of v ice

,

the nobil ity o f patrio t ism,the attributes of God , and

the argum ents fo r and against the existence o f d e ityas these have been set fo rth by Hum e on the one

s ide,and Reid , Dugald S tewart and B rown on the

o ther ; the ho l lowness of ido latry, and the Sham s of

the priesthood , were subjects which st i rred to thei r

very depths the young, fearless, hopeful hearts of

the lead ing Hindoo youths of Calcutta ; but that

e ither D ero z io or his pupi ls revel led,as has been

asserted , in the“m o re l icentious plays of the Res

torat ion,and the m i no r pieces of Tom Pa ine, bo rn

o f the fi lth o f the wo rst period of the French Revo

T/ze c/zarge of A t/zeism and Immoral ity. 33

lution , or that lawless lust and western v ice entered

i n to some, w i th the secularism and ant i - theism of the

Hindoo Co l lege , that D ero z io taught“ the non - exis

tence o f God ,” that he adm i tted i t , and that he

was an atheisti c and immo ral poet , are al l o f

them unproved assert ions , and baseless calumn ies,

which Dr. Geo rge Sm ith , the B iographer of Duff,should have been at some pains to s i ft

,befo re

brand ing w ith in famy the m em o ry o f the d ead .

We venture to affirm that , whatever books and plays

were read and stud ied by D ero z io and his pupi ls,

whatever topics were b roached i n d iscuss ion and

i n conversat ion , either in the class - room ,the A ca

dem ic A ssociat ion , o r i n the friend ly c i rcl e under

his own roo f- tree,the l icense of thought and the

field of th ink ing were no greate r and no mo re repre

hensible than those over wh ich must t raverse the

m ind o f every man who th inks out fo r himself the

real it ies of nature , human ity and God . A nger, re

probat ion and fou l names , heaped o n seekers after

t ruth are the standard weapon s o f m o re t im id men

and i n too many cases the consequence o f thei r useis that m inds natural ly open to the receptio n o f

t ruth and a love o f its pursuit,bear wi th them

through l i fe contem pt o f the wel l -mean ing fanat icswho wo uld gauge the un iverse and m easure out the

love o f God by the standard of thei r own narrowtheo logical dogmat ism .

34 P aine’

s Age of R eason.

A cco rd ing to Dr . Sm i th*such was the no to riety o f

the H indoo Co l lege that the fam e of its i nfidel i tyreached even Am erica, and an enterprisi ng publ isher

issued a cheap octavo ed it ion of a thousand copies

and Shipped the who le to -the Calcutta market .

These were al l bought at once at two shi l l ings a copy ;and such was the continued dem and for the wo rst o f

the treat ises that eight rupees (S i xteen shi l l ings) were

vai n ly o ffered fo r i t .” I n this connexion,a reference

is g iven to the Ca lcutta C/zr zstian Observer fo r A ugust

1 832 . On turn ing to the Ckr istian Observer al l we

find is the fo l low i ng no te —“ Hum e’s wo rks were then

read w i th av id i ty ; a lso Tom Pain e’s ‘

A ge o f Reason ,’

fo r a copy o f which 8 Pcs . were o ffered by som e o f

the pupi ls— Ed . We venture to reh earse the sto ryo f the introduct ion Of Tom Pa ine’s wo rks to Calcutta

as to ld i n the co lum ns of the S umackar D urpnn for

J uly 1 832 . I t m ay be in terest ing to state,that the

D u rpun was a bi-week ly journal,publ ished i n

Engl ish and Bengal ee , and was the most useful of

al l the nat ive papers then publ ished . I t was issued

from the M ission Press Of S erampore, and ed ited by

Dr. M arshm an . While interfering l i tt le in rel igious

d iscuss ions , i t n evertheless oppo sed Hindoo bigo tryand i nto l erance . I ts art icles were d ist inguished by

good tem per and d iscretion . I n the pages o f the

Life of A lexander D uff, D .D . , vo l . I , pp . 144-5, I st edition.

Tbe true story . 3 5

D urpun“ the cheap ed i t ion of a thousand copies

,

wh ich Dr. Sm ith sel ls off at two shi l l ings a copy i n

his l i fe of Duff,as no ted above

,stands at som ething

l ess than a hundred . Here is the statem ent m ade

by the S umac/tar D nrpun : We understand that

som e time s in ce a large number of the wo rks of

Tom Pai ne,no t far Sho rt of a hundred

,were sent

fo r sal e to Cal cutta from A m erica ; and that one o f

the nat ive booksel lers,despai r ing of a sal e

,fixed

the price o f each copy at a rupee a few were so ld

at th is price, which fal l i ng i n to the hands of som e

young m en educated i n Engl ish , the anxiety to pur

chase the wo rk becam e great . The vendo r imm ed i

ately ra ised the price to five rupees a copy,but even

at that price we hear that h is who l e stock was so ld

am ong the nat ives i n a few days . S om e one soon

after took the trouble to t rans late som e part of

Pa ine’s ‘ A ge of Reason in to Bengalee , and to

publ ish it in the P rub/iakar , cal l i ng upon the m ission

aries and upon one venerable character by nam e to

reply to i t . We at the sam e t im e rece ived several

letters from som e o f the m ost respectable nat ives

i n Cal cutta, subscribers of the D urpun ,but staunch

H indoos,entreat ing us no t to no ti ce the chal lenge ,

o r to m ake the pages of th is jo urnal the area fo r

theo log ical d isputat ion s .

Who ever gave way to“ lawl ess lust and western

v i ce, and comforted themse lves wi th co ld secular

36 T/ze efi’cts of D eroz io

’

s teac/zing.

ism and immo ral i ty, i t was not D ero z io , nor was i tthe immed iate ci rc le o f lads whom he most powerful ly i nfluenced . The m o ral teaching o f D ero z iowas as high and pure as h is own l i fe was blameless ;and issued in as good re sults as ever fo l low i n thewake o f an earnest s trivi ng after truth . That heshook the c itadel o f h igher H i ndoo ism to its veryfoundation , i n a fashio n that no man

,teacher o r

preacher, has ever do ne befo re o r s ince h is day,is

an undoubted fact, which has been overshadowed bythe odium t/zeolog icum heaped on his rel ig ious op i

n ions, the splend id rheto ric o f Duff, and that m easure

o f success which the S co tt ish M iss ionary aecom

pl ished , by tak ing up the wo rk of D ero z io when

his hands were paralyz ed ,fi rst by calumny,

Oppro

brium and the bigo try o f h ighe r C lass Hindoos and

o thers, and then by death . Befo re ever Duff se tfoo t i n Ind ia,

the theist ic schism i n H indoo ism,

which exists i n strong vi tal i ty to - day as the Brahmo

S omaj, and which is l ikely to increase in st rength ,

and wo rk out fo r the people o f I nd ia a system o f

rel igious thought to ta l ly un l ike the dogmat i c fo r

mulae Of the various sections ei ther o f the Western

o r the Eastern Church , had been effected by Ram

Mohun Roy. The quest ion o f Eng l ish education

had been d iscussed,and partly settled as early as

1 8 16,in the found ing o f th e S choo l Book S ociety

and the H indoo S choo l . Ram Mohun Roy had

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38 D r . Bryce’

s efi’

or ts for improved education.

dem onstrated its success,som e years befo re D uff

o pened his scho o l fo r Hindoo boys under the patron

age o f Ram M ohun Roy i n the J uly o f 1 830 . In

1 824 Dr . Jam es Bryce , M in ister of the S co ttish Kirk ,S en io r Chaplai n o n the Benga l Establ ishm ent , ed i to r

o f the j okn Bu l l , and Clerk o f S tat ionery,presented

a petition and m em o rial to the Genera l A ssembly o f

the Church o f S co tland ,propo sing plan s fo r the

conduct o f I nd ian m iss ion s , which he declared* are

now ( 1 834) being SO successful ly carried out .

This schem e bo re w i th i t the recomm endation o f

Ram M ohun Roy . Duff’s biographer, however,assertS

' l‘ that Dr . Bryce’

s schem e was one fo r alm ost

everyth ing that Duff’

s was no t . Bryce’

s book

was publ ished i n Eng land during Duff’

s res idence

there,after his fi rst five years

’

wo rk i n Ind ia,and

must have been wel l k nown to h im . Duff never

quest ioned the general id entity o f plan between his

own wo rk and the proposa l o f B ryce and certa in lyB ryce bel ieved them to be iden tical . The inst itution

of the A cadem i c A ssociat i o n by D ero z io i n 1 828

had been fo l lowed by num erous im i tat ions am ongthe nat ive H indoos . Nat ive society was i n a per

feet ferm en t,and the ful l co nsequence o f the im pact

o f European thought and speculat ion on Eastern

ideas and system s had been fai rly real ised , and

“ Native Education in India, page 16.

‘

l‘ Life of A l exander Dufl

’

, D .D . , vol . I , page 40, I st edition .

Ram Moknn R oy and t/ze H indoo S cliool . 39

partly dem onstrated by the teaching of D ero z io ,

befo re Duff reached I nd ia . The great truths and

w ide speculat ions opened out by the study of mo ral

phi losophy had been unfo lded i n a series of lectures

to which crowded hund reds o f Engl ish - speak ingHindoo youths, del ivered by D ero z io at the inv i ta

t ion of David Hare,— al l this

,befo re Duff’s vo ice

was heard add ress ing a nat ive Engl ish -speak ingassembly. I t is a curious d isto rt ion of fact to assert

as Dr . Geo rge Sm i th in h is l i fe o f Duff does,that

the co l lege watched over and fostered by Dav id

Hare,and i n which D ero z io ,

as a teacher , effected so

m uch,was a co l lege which Ram Mohun Roy was

asham ed to pat ron i z e . Ram Mohun Roy and David

Hare l ived through l ife in the greatest am i ty and

mutual respect . I t was Dav id Hare ’s n iece who

nursed the Rajah in his last i l ln ess ; and Bed fo rd

Square, the hom e o f Hare’s two bro thers, was the

hom e o f Ram M ohun Roy during his stay i n England whi le one of them accompan ied h im to France

on the occas ion o f his v is i t to Paris . I t was the

persuasion o f David Hare backed by the influence

o f S ir Edward Hyde East , and the strong comm on

sense o f Ram M ohun Roy,which made h im w ith

d raw from a m ovem ent,the earl ie r stages o f which

he had fo stered , being fully persuaded , that i f his

name,appeared o n the comm it tee o f managem ent

the‘

objects of the Inst itut ion would be frustrated .

40 D eroz io’

s Cr it ique on Kant.

The large and weal thy sect ion of o rthodox H indooswi th whom Ram Mohun Roy had been long at feud

,

would have al together w i thd rawn from the establ ish

m ent of a co l lege w i th which he was i n any way

connected .

The l ec tures on ph i lo sophy wh ich D ero z io del iver

ed to crowded aud iences o f educated Hindoo youths ,i f even no tes of them ever existed , as i n al l probab l

l ity they d id , have been lost . N o t on ly so,but a

crit ique of D ero z io’

s on the phi losophy o f Kant is

also seem ingly lo st to this generation , o r stowed away

i n the lumber of fo rgo tten l ibraries . Of th is c rit ique

o f Dero z io’

s,Dr. M i l l

,the d ist ingu ished Sanscri t

scho lar, and one o f the most l earned and able Pri nc i

pals of the now defunct B ishop’s ( M idd l eto n )Co l lege, declared befo re a large publ ic assemblythat the Obj ect io ns which D ero z io publ ished to the

phi losophy of Kant , were perfectly o rigi nal , and

d isplayed powers o f reason ing and observat ion

which would not d isgrace even g i fted phi losophers .

D ero z io’

s nat ive friends have been even m o re eulogis

t ie,

and i n thei r adm i rat ion o f h is clear, subtle

power of think ing ,as evidenced i n this crit ique, have

m entioned his nam e in the sam e breath wi th that of

the greatest of m odern S co tt ish scho lars and phi lo

sophers, S irWill iam Ham i l ton . N o t ru e est imat e o f

D ero z io as a phi lo sopher and thinker can , be arrived

at so long as th is crit ique remai ns unknown .

Tbe immediate resul ts . 4 1

The establ ishm ent of the A cadem i c A ssoc iat ion

and the ful l and free d iscuss ion n ight ly carried on at

its m eetings was fo l lowed w ithin a few month s bV

the establishm ent of between twelve and fourteen

n ewspapers chiefly conducted by nat ives , advoc at ingv i ews of al l so rts

,from o rthodox Hindoo ism to

M aterial ism, and carrying on i n print the d iscuss io n

o f quest ions ra ised in the A cadem ic A sso ciat ion and

i n the num erous debat ing societies which sprung up as

o ffshoo ts and auxi liari es o f the parent so ciety . Duff’s

lectures on the ev idences of Christian ity, as wel l as

the rise of about a do z en nat ive schoo ls suppo rted

by Hindoos , al l these were but the outcom e of the

train ing of the Hindoo schoo l , and the i nfluence and

teaching of D ero z io .

CHAPTER V.

CHRISTIAN EFFORT IN INDIA .

OWA RDS the close of the fifteenth and begi n

n ing of the S ixteenth centu ries, Po rtugal was

a l ead ing power in Europe and the wo rld . The Po rtu

guese had contested the supremacy o f the Ind ian

seas w i th the Dutch , and shown the way to Ind ia

round the Cape,thus changing the comm erc ial route

of Europe, bank rupt ing the Venetians and Genoese ,and destroying fo r the t im e - being m uch of the com

m erce o f the M ed iterranean . They d iscovered and

co lon i z ed B raz i l,made them selves m asters ofM adei ra

,

the A z o res, Cape de Verde, and were to be found

i n Guinea, S enegambia, Mo z ambique,the Ind ian

A rchipelago and China . L isbon,their European

capital,was the greatest comm erc ial empo rium

perhaps i n the wo rld , and Goa Go lden Goa ”— the

c ity of their own found ing i n Western H industan ,i n the splendour and magn ificence of its streets ,publ ic bu i ld ings and rel ig ious and charitable inst i

tutions and ho spitals,rival led

,i f i t d id no t surpass ,

L isbon itsel f ; whi le the inhabitants , i n al l the pomp

and ci rcumstance of stately, l uxurious l iving and

S t. Francis Xavier . 43

eastern magn ificence, were probably unmatched even

in the East .

I t was at Goa that the first mun ic ipal i ty was estab

l ished i n I nd ia by A lbuquerque, and the sam e great

statesm an and general , whi le granting to Hindus

the ful l enjoym ent of the custom s and usages o f thei r

rel ig ion , reso lutely put down S a t i . I n these and

o ther respects , such as the M uhammadan custom o f

farm i ng the taxes, the pro tect ion o f m erchants and

traders , and the pun ishm ent of oppress ion,A lbu

querque outl ined a po l icy i n the Po rtuguese settle

m ent of Goa_

which the Engl ish ru lers o f Ind ia have

m o re o r less fi l led i n and d eveloped .

On a May day of the year 1 542 , after a voyage from

L isbon o f nearly a year’

s durat ion,there landed at

Goa the earl iest and , i n som e respects,the greatest

Christian hero,phi lanthrop i st and m iss ionary that

has ever laboured in Ind ia o r the East . I n ten years

the wo rk of his l i fe was completed . S t . Francis

Xav ier d ied i n the is land of Sanc ian ,near Macao

,

i n 1 552, while attempting to enter China,and his

body was carried back to Goa, where i t rests . S t .

Xav ier, on his arrival i n Goa,turned his atten tion

fi rst to the European sett lers,and

,having st i rred up

in them a spiri t Of pen itence for the depraved l ives

m any of them were lead ing ,and a rel ig ious fervour

and enthus iasm which his very presence and vo i ce

seem ed to produce,then turned to the nat ive

44 S t . Francis Xavier .

populatio n ; ,

and the burn ing z eal and fervent spirt

of S t . Xavier, the co l league of Loyo la, in the fo und

ing o f the S oc iety of Jesus,whose m embers m ay now

be found i n every part of the wo rld , had such effect

on the pearl fishing populat ion of the coast from

M anaar to Cape Com o rin,on the nat ive populat ion

of the k ingdom o f Travanco re,Malacca

,the Banda

is lands , the M o luccas,Ceylon and Japan

,as to stand

unrival led i n the reco rds of Christ ian pro selyt is ingenterprise , A s a Christ ian M iss ionary, S t . Xav ier’s

success was, to say the least o f i t,m arvel lous . NO

d oubt much of his wo rk was a m ere pass ing wave o f

excitem ent which d isappeared alm o st as soon as i t

was produced but the example and presence o f

this firs t o f m iss ionaries , his own high enthus iasm ,

h is purity o f l i fe,his devo t ion and his fa ith

,sowed the

seeds of a new endeavo ur which are now,after three

hund red years o f l i tt le m o re than s i len t growth , be

g in n ing to i nfluence the people o f the East .

From Franc is Xav ier to Wilson Of Bombay and

Duff o f Calcutta is a long way i t includes an i nter

val Of over thre e hundred years i t includes the in

vent ion Of print ing ; the rev ival o f learn ing ; the

Refo rm at ion ; the growth of comm erce,l i terature

and c iv i l i z at io n ; the supremacy o f the Engl ish in

Ind ia,and the g igantic strides o f Phys ical S cience

i t i ncludes the shattering o f Pro testantism i nto

i n numerable schism s and sects, the natural result of

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46 D r . D ufi’

s narrow tkeology .

that he has seen no thing i n the m o st degraded and

ido latrous countries of the East to equal the ido latryand d egradat ion o f the Greek Church the heartless

i rreverence of its priests,and the superst it ion o f the

people . The truth seem s to be that neither Wilson ,w i th al l his scho larship and phi lanthropy ,

nor Duff

w i th his impu ls ive earnestness and fervent z eal,

could ever see beyond the rim o f his own theo logy .

I t was quite unknown to Duff, and seem s to be

equal ly qu ite unknown to the great m ajo ri ty of

B rit ish and A m erican Christians , that the Greek

Church has accom pl ished a M iss ionary enterprise i n

S iberia and No rthern A s ia which m ay fai rly rank i n

impo rtance w i th any achievem ent o f Christ ian

endeavour i n anc ient o r m odern t im es ; and that

some of the very finest hymns that are now to be

found in the hym nals o f Presbyterians , Episcopal ian s

and Dissenters,are t ranslat ions from the L i tu rg ies

o f the Eastern Church . B rahm i n ism m ay be d isti n

gu ished by exaggerat ion confus ion , contrad ict io n ,pueri l i ty and imm oral i ty ,

as Dr. Wilso n in his

fi rst “Exposure o f the H indu Rel ig ion says i t

is . Mahom edan ism and Buddhism have each been

characterised as snares and delus ions , and as un

speakably false and co rrupt . Language equal lystrong and m uch m o re copious has been , and is

som et im es,employed by certai n w riters and speakers

to characterise the Christ ian church befo re the Re

Ckr istian ity and H indu ism . 47

format io n and Pro testant controvers ial writers even

yet speak o f the Church of Rom e as the M o ther of

al l abom i nation s, the scarlet wom an,and the who re

o f Babylon . Duff speak s o f the Church of Rom e to

Father S trick land of the N egapatam M iss io n as the

m o ther o f Harlo ts— d runk w i th the blood o f Sai n ts,

dest ined ult im ately to be utterlyDissenters are yet eloquent over the m o ribund

ro ttenness of Episcopacy,and S tate a ided churches

of al l so rts ; the bench of bishops and the estab

l ished clergy are a“ band o f dead dogs , no t d iv id

ing the wo rd of l i fe aright , and i t is on ly i n thei r

own l ittl e Bethel” that purity and s im pl ic i ty and

adequacy Of doctrine , ri tual and governm en t, are to

be found . I f w i th in the sphere o f Christ ian sects and

isms there is such d ivers ity o f bel i ef,such a fo rm u lat

ing of antagon ist ic do ctrines and practices as is com

passed i n the round from Jumpers and S and im an ians

to the ful l r itual and dogm a impl ied i n a Rom ish

Cathed ral service,no t to enum erate the frequent

heresy hun ting of S co tt ish P resbyterian d iv i nes , no r

to take any account o f Com t ism , M o rm o n ism and the

latest phase o f Spiritual ism,and o ther rel ig ious cults

which l ie m a in ly o uts ide the bounds Of d istinct ive

Christian tho ught , and yet hav e been accepted as

verit ies by m en reared in Christ ian lands under the

shadow of Christ ian ity i n som e of its fo rm s,then

Life of A lexander Duff, D .U . ,Vo l . I I . p . 143 , I st edition .

48 Essent ia ls of Ckr istianity .

Christians themselves may wel l wonder— and the

H eathen they preach to and proselyt ise m ay wel l be

lost i n aston ishm ent and greater wonder,— what

indeed,after al l

,are the essent ials Of Christian ity ?

N o r is this al l . Even during the last fifty years,s ince the July m o rn ing of 1 830 ,

when Duff opened

h is schoo l fo r Hindu boys i n the o ld m eeting place

of the Brahm o Sabha i n the Ch itpo re Road o f

Calcutta,and Wilson in Bombay began his wo rk ,

the pos it ion o f the Christ ian theo log ian has no t been

strengthened . The study o f histo rical science,the

growth of Rational ism ,and the great advance in

phys ical science , have m ade i t im perat ive that the

theo log ian should cons iderably curta i l”

his pretens ion s,

and that the B ible and Christ ian ity should take thei r

place am ong the o ther fa i ths o f the wo rld , a pure r

fa i th no doubt , as . understood by Western m inds

but,so far as age and numbers are concerned

,a

younger fai th and a fai th that dom inates but a

fract ion of hum an ity— a fa ith which,if i t is no t to

s ink to the rank Of a

’

ph ilosophy,must

,l i ke al l o ther

rel ig ions , contai n mysteries , and statem ents, and

problem s i nso l uble by hum an reason,and apprehend

ed o nly by faith . I t appears to us that the t ime is

fast approaching i n the histo ry of Christ ian enterprise

i n I nd ia and the wo rld when the quest ion What are

the essent ials of Christ ian ity ? w i l l requi re to be faced

and answered . I f Christ ian ity has any m ean ing

D ivis ions in Ckr ist ian ity . 49

at al l , i t clearly impl ies a Christ - l ike l ife , a human

l i fe,l ived out to the bitter end

,i t m ay be , i n a mo re

o r less near approxim ation to the human l i fe of its

great founder. There have been imported i nto

Christ ian ity an am ount o f dogmat ic assertion regard

ing the unknowable ; rash and utterly unprofitable

speculation and fancifu l and hai r- Spl itt ing d ist inct ion s

on subjects about which,however m uch may be be

l ieved,l itt l e can be known petty squabbles on ritual

,

Church government, Headship and S tate aid, which

have resulted in a long series of theo logical wrangl ing,schism ,

rupture and d issent,that are a stand ing re

proach to Christ ian ity and a d eep d isgrace to its

pro fesso rs . If th e ev i l l ives o f Europeans i n Ind ia and

o ther non - Christ ian countries have , as we are frequent

ly rem inded , con s iderably retarded the spread of

Christ ian ity,the bickerings , and j ealous ies, and rival

ries of sectarian partisans who go amongst non - Chris

t ian peoples profess ing to teach un iversal bro therhood ,a wo rld -w ide chari ty and a pro found unselfishness

,

have resulted i n m ischief m uch m o re deeply rooted— have resulted am ongst h igher castes o f educated

Hindus i n a to tal rej ect ion of Christ ian ity— excep

t ions there are,no doubt ; and i n an attem pt to

purify and elevate the rel ig ion o f the i r race from the

centuries of accumulated myth and e rro r that have

s lowly gathered round the germ i nat ing ideas that

g ive v ital i ty and permanence to thei r rel ig ion . The

50 B rakmoism .

B rahmo Sabha of the great H indu refo rm er, Ram

M ohun Roy, and its l i neal descendant,the Brahm o

S om aj,are i nd icat ions that

,i f H indu ism ever ceases

to be the rel ig ion of the educated higher class nat ives

o f Ind ia,i t w i l l no t be imm ed iately succeeded by

any fo rm of Christ ian ity as at present existing .

Whatever opin ions may be held regard ing those

c laims to d ivine comm iss ion put fo rth by the late

Keshub Chunder S en ,and however much the move

ment of which the Brahmo S omaj is the outcom e

may be stigmat iz ed as vague, eth ical rat ional ism ,

no one who has an i ntel l igent understand ing of the

m ovem ent w i l l se t its founder down as a band - box of

van ity,a vulgar quack ,

a sanc t lmonious Imposto r,and

the movem ent itself as a delusion and a snare . S elf

deceived and foo l ish,Brahm o ism m ay be ; but its

sel f- deception and its foo l ishness have in them som e

of those startl ing qual i t ies which , am ong early Chris

t ians,made the foo l ishness of preach ing overcom e

the w isdom o f the wo rld . The power of Brahm o ism

as a facto r in the rel ig ious l i fe of Bengal is not to be

d espised,and its ho ld on the higher aspirations o f

Young Bengal , and we m ay say of Ind ia,is o f a

k ind that Christ ian wo rk ers i n Ind ia would do wel l

not to undervalue or underrate.

The ideas and aspirat ions and l i fe of that so l i taryth inker who wandered by the banks of the L ilijan

and sat down , years ago , exposed to summer’s

Ckr istian ity and otker rel igions . 5 1

heat and w i nter’s co ld and rai n , to think out for him

self the mystery of pain,d isease and death, duty,

the un iverse,and God , even now rule the l ives of

m o re than a th ird of al l m ank ind . Buddhism ,dark

ened and overlaid as i t is w i th erro r and myth , has

i n i t a v i tal i ty and a real i ty i nferio r on ly to those of

Christ ian ity i tself. N either Buddhism,Hinduism ,

nor Mahom edanism,— rel igions which have mo re o r

l ess completely sat isfied the spiri tual n eeds and as

pirat ions of m i l l ions of hum an beings of al l ranks and

ages, and which have acc um ulated round them the

wi ld est extravagance of im agi nat ion and the gro ssest

erro r and yet retain their ho ld on such a large propo r

t ion of human ity,— can be expected to fal l asunder

and evapo rate at the touch of the I thurie l spear of

C hrist ian ity— l east of al l of a Christ ian ity spl it up

into numerous antagon ist i c sects . These rel ig ions

are part Of the race characterist ics o f the peoples

who possess them ; they are wo rked i nto the veryt issue of thei r l ives , and interwoven wi th thei r

t rad it ions and thei r h isto ry, and al l that a peopl e

ho ld dear and , unt i l events arise that shal l m aterial lyal ter the cond i t ions of thei r existence

,these histo ric

fai ths w i l l retai n their supremacy as l iv i ng powers

i n the l ives of thei r adherents . I t is no t w isdom,i t is

fo l ly, to endeavour to shake the faith of a people in

their historic and race - characterist ic rel ig ion befo re

they are prepared to accept or work out for themselves

52 Tbe vivify i ng ideas of rel ig ion .

a suitable subst itute, and i n this respect the rule of

the Eng l ish in Ind ia has been on the who le consis

tent . Fo l low ing in the wake o f the w isest and

greatest o f al l the Po rtuguese Viceroys, A lbuquer

que,the rulers o f Ind ia have affirmed , and again

affi rm ed,that the people shal l be left in the free

exercise of their rel ig ion , and that there shal l be no

tampering w i th these rights and priv i leges so far as

the Governm ent is concerned .

I t seems to uS w ise that this is so,that what is

false and impure in them should be left s lowly to fade

befo re the l ight o f know ledge and reason and the

growth of purity, and that the accumulated myths and

erro rs of ages that have saturated

’

al l these great

non -Christ ian system s of fai th,

should be left to

the slow,s i lent

,ever -active influence that is sen

sibly mak ing itself apparent in the effo rts of som e

at least of the educated nat ives to purify and

elevate the faith of thei r fathers. The ideas, potent

now,as at their first p rom ulgat ion , which have g iven

these system s of bel ief an enduring v i tal ity fo r cen

turies, i t may be poss ible to exhibit as fo rm ing the

essential principles of Christian ity, the v ivi fyingideas of the who le structure of the Christ ian faith .

I f, on the o ther hand,Christians could be brought

to real iz e that ritual and fo rm of Church govern

m ent,and the doubtful and dead theo logy and trad i

t ion of which the Christ ian ity of to -day po ssesses

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54 Iv'

on - essentials of rel igion .

are lead ing a l i fe such as this,and teaching m en so

to do,whether we cal l them Heathen

,Buddhist

,

H indu o r M ahom edan , they are nearer the Kingdom o f Heaven , than if, w ith but a feeble pretence

o r hal f- hearted effo rt after such a l ife,they should

ring the who l e changes on dogmat ic theo logy,and

prate of the eternal dam nat io n o f unbel ievers,the

everlasting decrees of God ,H is i n tentions from al l

etern ity,the fo re - o rd inat ion of the elect and squab

ble over cand les and chasubles and the cut and co lour

o f a priestly robe, o r the fo rm of church governm ent in

A posto l ic t imes . I t is this petty spiri t of st ick l ingand haggl ing over non - essentials

,this tenacious

adherence to dogmas evo lved from the inner con

sc iousness, and embod ied i n confess ions of fa i th ,

and art icles and catechism s,that has produced

d issens ion , d isun ion and d isgrace ; and that has

al ienated,and is al ienat ing, thoughtful m en al l over

the wo rld .

Dr. Wilson came to Bombay i n 1 825, at the age

of 24 , a m iss ionary of the church of S co tland , and

d ied i n 1 875. H is l ife was mai n ly spent in ant i

q uarian and phi lo log ical research , i n the duties of

h is cal l ing as a m iss ionary, and i n the advancem en t

of every wo rk of human ity. During his long res i

d ence i n Ind ia, where society changes so rapid ly, he

became a power and authority i n Bombay and took

the l ead in every social, c ivic , and philanthropic

Wilson and D ufi'

. 55

object . In his relat ionship w i th the nat ives of Ind ia

he was k ind and conci l iato ry, and i n the controvers i es

which aro se out Of h is advo cacy o f Christ ian ity he

was d istinguished by m i ldness,fa i rness

,tact and an

even temper. Fo r nearly fifty years he worked

at the educatio nal , m o ral , and rel ig ious improvem ent

of the Ind ian people, us ing thei r own vernacu lar i n

schoo ls, serm ons,tracts

,i t in erant preaching and house

v is i tation . He saw Bombay r ise from a m ere m i l i

tary stat ion to the rank of o ne of the great c it ies of the

world . I n al l the plans and schemes im pl ied i n th is

change, Dr. Wilson took an act ive part ; and i n

matters of great impo rtance to the Empire he was

frequently consulted by the Governm ent .

I n the great task of educat ing the people of I nd ia,in successful ly advo cat ing the claim s of Ind ia as a

M iss ion F ield,and i n helping on every good wo rk

on behalf of the Ind ian people,Dr. Duff, as teacher,

preacher and publ ic m an,occupies a high rank

amongst those who have laboured for I nd ia’

s welfare

during th is century. Goethe has som ewhere said

that two co nd i t ions are n ecessary to great m en— theym ust be bo rn at the right tim e, and they m ust d ie at

the right t im e ; or they m ay outl ive thei r fam e .T im e and the m an cam e together, when A lexander.

Duff, M iss ionary of the Church of S co tland , landed

i n Calcutta a youth of 24 , i n the May of 1 830 , five

years after John Wilson reached Bombay. Duff’s

56 D ufi’

s m iss ion .

avowed endeavour was to break down the power ofBrahman ism ,

and Christian i z e the high caste Hindus.

He d id no t break down Brahm an ism,and the higher

class Hindus are non - Christian to th is day.What

he d id accompl ish was , to leaven the m inds o f h is

pupi ls i n the m iss ionary schoo ls and co l leges w i th

Christ ian doctrines , and Christ ian ethics to educate

them in the l iterature and the thought of Eng land

and leave the leaven to wo rk . That he cou ld even

accompl ish this m uch, was due to the cond it ion of

affai rs exist ing i n Ind ia when he reached its sho res .

A l l attem pts to christian iz'

e B rahm an ical H indus

befo re Duff’s day,and S ince his t im e

,have been

fai lu res ; and m iss ionaries i n the S outh , the East,the West

,and the No rth of Ind ia have been im pel led

to gather thei r converts from m en Of low caste,and

m en o f no caste . Converts there have been from

Coo l in Brahm ins i n Duff’s t im e,as wel l as after and

befo re it ; but it is a gro ss falsehood to assert that

the power of the system of Brahman ism is shattered

i t rem ains intact to th is day,w ith probably as m uch

v i tal i ty and power o f endurance as i t had three

hund red years ago ,when S t . Xavi er, the great

A po stle of the Ind ies, first saw the strand of Ind ia

rise in the ho ri z on . There is a popular fal lacy abroad

among evangel icals and o thers i n Britain and A m erica

that the citadel of Hinduism was sto rm ed and over

th rown by Duff and his co l leagues, i n conj unction

T/ze d isappearance of converts .

wi th other m iss ionary agenc ies in Ind ia . I t is not

so,the leaven is only wo rk ing ; and we incl in e to

the bel ief that the result wi l l be, no t Free Churchism

o r S cottish Kirk ism ,or Episcopacy, o r

,as we have

said,any o ther fo rm of Christian ity as at present

exist ing.

Two months after he landed i n Ind ia,Duff began

his l ife’s wo rk . Vernacular preaching and teachinghad reached the lower classes on ly,

and even these w i th

but interm it tent success . On the S outhern sho res of

the Pen insula this was the case . Many of the converts

seem ed to d ie out or d isappear, wi thout leaving any

v is ibl e successo rs . Kiernander’

s Calcutta converts

had so d isappeared . Henry Martyn’

s nat ive Christians

could not be found by the m iss ionari es that cam e after

him . Lacro ix , the greatest vernacular preacher Ind ia

ever had,the friend and Contemporary of Duff

,

affirm ed , that after fifty years’

wo rk he was not cons

c ious of having m ade a s ingle convert,‘

and the A bbe

Dubo is,after labouring am ong the people of Ind ia

as no m an l iving or dead ever d id,declared his con

vict ion that the convers ion of the H indus was im

poss ible. Vernacular preaching and teaching had

been powerless against Brahm in ism . Duff real ised

the fai lure,and prepared his attack on the brain and

m o t ive power of Hinduism . Hitherto , then as now,

the Brahm ins had been able to sei z e on every asceti c,

mo ral or spiritual development that o ffered i n any

8

58 S tate of I ndian S ociety in 1 83 0.

way to assai l thei r posit ion and,by raising it to a

caste, abso rbe i t into Hinduism ,thus changing a foe

to an al ly. Would Duff’s method succeed ? He be

l ieved i t would , if not i n h is day,then surely i n the

fulness of t im e .

Befo re attempt ing any explanat ion of Duff’s m e

thod , i t is necessary that the cond i t ion of affai rs i n

Ind ia at the t im e of his com ing should be under

stood,in o rder that one may real ise the cond it ions

and causes that wo rked together to produce the

m easure of success he attained .

Unti l the year 1 822 converts and perverts of al l

k inds had been excluded from the publ ic service.

Lo rd W . Bent inck threw the se rvice open to al l

com ers of every caste and creed . Warren Hastings,in the Code of 1 772, had secured to Hindus and

M uhummadans thei r own laws o f heritable succes

s ion . This i ncluded the d is inheritance of perverts

and remained i n fo rce t i l l Lo rd Will iam Bentinck ’

s

day. N ow,for the fi rst t im e in the history of Ind ia

,

it was poss ibl e for a convert to retai n his personal

inheri tance, and al though a chan ge of rel igion im pl ied

d egradat ion from caste, and social and fam i ly ban

and curse, and insolat ion ,his personal inheri tance was

left,and a career was poss ible in som e b ranch of the

service . N either of these was attainable befo re 1 822.

Amongst the natives there had been gradual ly grow

ing and increasing i n strength an eagerness to obtai n

S tate of I ndian S ociety in 1 83 0. 59

an Engl ish educat ion , brought about no doubt bythe fact that the contest beween the Oriental ists

and the Angl icans had ended i n the defeat of the for

mer. A t al l events the m i nute of Macaulay, Febru

ary 1 83 5, laid the quest ion for ever. Eng l ish was

hencefo rth to be the language of the official classes,and Sanscri t and Pers ian handed over to students ,scho lars, po l iticals and o thers . A n Engl ish educa

t ion now m eant an entrance to lucrat ive employment ;it was the key that un locked the gate that blocked

the entrance to comparat ive weal th , and to place and

power. I t d id not imply this on ly, but to the sons

of nat ive gent lem en shut out from the posit ion their

fam i ly had i n m any cases occupied i n the govern

ment of nat ive S tates by the spread of Engl ish rule,it i n som e measure impl ied a resumption of thei r

fo rmer state ; and to that earnest band of truth

seekers wo rk ing s i lently and alone, common enough

in al l countries and al l ages, the language of England

laid bare a new wo rld of ripe thought and specu lat ion ,and exact observat ion

, a l iterature and a history ful l

of th e highest thoughts and the noblest effo rts .

There were seekers aft er God , l ike Ram Mohan

Roy, who procured Duff his first pupi ls, and whose

attack on ido latry and caste-prej ud ices raised the

act ive oppos it ion of his compeers ; and the spiri t of

rel igious unrest that has helped to shatter H indu

ism into multitud i nous castes, was probably more

60 D ufi’

s metkod .

apparent then than at the present day. These were

som e of the cond it ions and influences lying readyat the hand of the strong -w i l led

,impetuous Celt

,

who dared to d i ffer from h is contempo raries and his

predecesso rs, who set at defiance the express com

mands of the Kirk that sent him to I nd ia,and who

preached the Gospel of J esus Christ to the Heathen

by teaching Engl ish in a Calcutta schoo l .

When John Knox saved from the rapacious maw

of unscrupulous S cott ish nobles som e remnant of

that Church property which , had they been perm itted ,they would have al together appropriated , he took care

that a schoo l and a church should stand together in

every parish in Sco tland . From John”

Knox’

s day up

at least to the regim en o f S choo l Boards, the schoo l

and the church were intimately connected . Here

the B ible was the fi rst easy read ing book of everyS co tt ish boy and g i rl, and lessons from its pages and

the cho icest of it s Psalm s and verses were dai lyrepeated . A s early i n this century as 1 828

,John

Wood,in the S ess ional schoo ls of Ed inburgh, had i n

active operat ion m ethods of work ing which were

attracting the attention of every one interested i n

educat ion in S co tland . A bout the sam e t im e David

S tow,in the slum s of Glasgow, was wo rk ing out and

perfecting what he afterwards gave to the wor ld , viz . ,

h is train ing system— a system of mo ral and intel lec

tual training,which i n the hands ofcompetent wo rkers ,

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62 k does it not succeed P

an Engl ish educat ion , and which material ly contri

buted to that success, have been sho rtly not iced .

Duff’s schoo ls,co l leges and classes suppl ied that

want,and they were fi l led to overflowi ng. But i n

our estimat ion there can be no cont inuous wo rk ingon the l ines laid down by Duff, un less the m issionaryagenc ies are prepared to supply education at a

cheaper rate and of as sound a qual ity as that

prov ided i n the Government schoo ls . Hitherto ,m iss ionary schoo ls and co l leges have been as fai r

ly successful as those under Governm ent contro l,

i f the results of the Un ivers ity exam inat ion s may be

accepted as a test of success ; and i f the various

m iss ionary schoo ls and co l leges can st i l l go on com

peting w i th each o ther and‘

w ith Governm ent es

tabl ishm ents, and are able to offer a tho rough edu

cat ion at a st i l l cheaper rate,and are prepared to

carry on their wo rk w i th a year ly increas ing balance

on the wrong s ide of the ledger, to be defrayed by

increased contribut ions from m iss ionary funds, then ,

no doubt, the pupils and students o f their schoo ls

and co l leges may show no d im in ution . But that theyw i l l be able to Show students from as h igh a rank

in nat ive society as those who attend the government

co l leges, where there is no tampering w i th rel igious

bel iefs—no one w i l l be prepared to adm i t . A S i t is,

the bulk of the h igher class Hindus are students

of Government co l leges, and we venture to assert

Tke failures of Wi lson and Dufi: 63

that there were mo re higher class Hindus i n Duff’

s

fi rst schoo l 50 years ago than there are at the present

m om ent in al l the m issionary co l leges i n Cal cutta

combined .

The second cond i t ion necessary to produce a great

man ,acco rd ing to Goethe, is that he should d ie at

the right t im e . Duff outl ived h is fam e except w i th

that c i rcle of Evangel ical ism of which he was so

d ist inguished an o rnam ent and advocate. A S a great

preacher,possess ing the true power of the o rato r to

m ove Engl ish speak ing assembl ies, he, i n his day,had

few, i f any, equals . A s a m iss ionary to the H indus,to christ ian ise the Heathen

,his success was probably

neither better nor wo rse than that of the m iss ionaries

who had preceded and have succeeded him ,i f we bear

in m ind the cond it ions i n existence at the t im e o f his

com ing to Ind ia. That he utterly fai led to grasp any

of the v iv i fying ideas of the system of faith which he

attacked, and to turn them to any effectual purpose

in his crusade against B rahm i n ical H induism ,is not

anywhere apparent i n his wo rk . Both Wilson and

Duff had the greatest contempt for every fo rm of faith

but that which they them selves professed those who

d i ffered from them were not only m istaken , theywere wicked . They thus put them selves enti rely out

o f sympathy,not only w ith the people whose fai th

they laboured to destroy but w i th a large body of

earnest self-devoted wo rkers i n the same field .

64 T/i e message of peace.

H ow the legacy of Engl ish thought and Western

ideas may wo rk on the people of I nd ia,thei r fai ths

and their inst itut ion s,l ies ye t i n the future .

There are now two thousand years s ince the song of

the angels fel l on the ear of the Bethlehem shepherds,Peace on earth , good w i l l to m en , and s ince, the cry

of the Baptist , and the Carpenter of Naz areth ,—“Re

pent for the Kingdom ofHeaven is at hand , — startled

i nto newness of l i fe the dwel lers on the sho res of the

Levant . N evertheless there is no Christian city w ith

out its S lum s of poverty ,dev i l ry and d isease, over

which float in m id air the sounds of Church -

go ingbel ls . H ow far from being real i z ed is the “ peace

and good w i l l announced so long ago , is ev idenced

i n the d isgraceful ruptures, bickerings and v i tupera

t ion of sects cal l ing them selves Christians,and in the

C lang of arm s and the tram p of arm ed m en trained

to ho rrid war i n every Christ ian land . That these

hal cyo n days of “ peace and go od w i l l w il l com e

is the hope of al l earnest m en and the d ream of the

poet— when m en to m en the wo rld over,w i l l be

clasped together in a common bro therhood .

L o th e days are hast en ing on,

By proph et bards fore to ld ,Wh en wit h th e e v er c irc ling yearsC om es round t h e age of go ld\ Vhen pe ac e sh a l l ov er al l t h e ear thH er anc ien t sp l en dours fling,A nd t h e who l e wor ld send back the cry,Wh ich now the Ange l

’s s ing.

”

CHAPTER VI .

SUBVERSER OF AL L RELIGIOUS PRINC I PLES .

HE teaching of D ero z io , the fo rce o f his in

d ividual ity, his w in n ing manner,his w ide know

ledge o f books , his own youth , which placed him i n

clo se sympathy wi th h is pupi ls , h is open, generous ,

ch ival rous nature, his humour and playfulness, his fear

l ess love of t ruth, his hat red of al l that was unm an lyand m ean , his arden t love o f Ind ia, evidenced i n his

co nversat ions and reco rded i n his l i nes,

My coun try in thy day of glo ry pastA beauteous nal o c irc l ed round t h y brow

,

his soc ial in tercourse wi th his pupi ls, his unrestricted

effo rts for thei r growth in v i rtue , knowl edge and man

l inoss,produced an i ntel lectual and m o ral revo lut ion

in H indu soc iety s in ce unparal l eled . The effect pro

duced by D ero z io on h is pupi ls and on the higher

H indu society o f h is day,is we l l and t ruthful ly reco rd

ed in a sho rt manuscript h isto ry o f the H indu Co l lege

by Baboo Hurro Mohun Chatterj i , which his son

Chand i Churn Chatterj i has k ind ly placed at our d is

posal .* I t should be prem ised that the extract whichfo l lows has reference to the pos it ion of affai rs i n the

See also Christian Observer, Vo l . I .

66 Cur r iculum of tbe H indn Col lege.

H indu Co l lege during 1 828, a year after D ero z io’

s ap

po i n tmen t . That year the subj ects he taught , or rather

the text -books stud ied i n his classes,had been d rawn

up and fixed by the Comm i ttee ofManagement , which

cons isted of three H indu gentlemen , w i th Dr . H . H .

Wilson,the em inent Sanscrit scho lar, then S ecretary

to th e Comm i ttee of Publ ic Instruct ion,represent ing

the Governm ent of I nd ia, and Dav id Hare , the l i fe

long friend of the nat ives . These were

G oldsm i t h’s H istory of Greece, Rom e England .

Russe l l’s M od ern E urope .

R ob er tson’s Charl es the Fift h .

G ay’s Fabl e s.

P ope’s H om er ’s I liad and Odyssey .

D ryd en’s Virgi l .

M i l ton ’s Parad ise L os t .

S hakespeare, one of the Tragedie s.

This was the ground gone over i n Engl ish Histo ryand L i terature i n the fi rst three classes o f the H indu

Co l lege during 1 828. D ero z io taught the second and

third classes and we venture to assert that this high

class teaching ,winged w i th the strength , l earn ing and

love of D ero z io’

s i nd ividual i ty,had gone hom e to the

brai n and heart of the h ighest class o f nat ive so cietyi n Cal cutta befo re Duff, over who se wo rk which

indeed was but the com plem ent of D e ro z ro s,such

to rrents o f eloquence have been poured , ever set h is

foo t i n I nd ia .

A dded to these, I quo te from the m anuscript

h isto ry,“ the students of the fi rst

,second and th i rd

D eroz ia at Work . 67

classes had the advantage of attend ing a Conversa

z ione establ ished i n the schoo ls by M r . D ero z io

where read ings i n poetry, l iterature, and m o ral ph i l“osophy were carried on . The m eet ings were held

almost dai ly after or befo re schoo l hours . Though

they were wi thout the know l edge or sanct ion of the

autho rit i es , yet M r. D ero z io’

s d is i n terested z eal and

devot ion in bring ing up the students i n these sub

jects was unbounded , and characterised by a love

and phi lanthropy which , up to this day,has not been

equal led,by any t eacher e ither i n or out of the ser

v ice . The students in thei r tu rn loved him most

tenderly and were ever ready to be gu ided by his

counsels and im i tate him i n al l the i r dai ly act ions i n

l i fe . I n fact , M r. D ero z io acquired such an ascend

ancy over the m i nds of his pupi ls that they would

not move even in thei r private concerns w i thout his

counsel and advice . On the o ther hand,he fo stered

their taste i n l iterature, taught the evi l effects of

ido latry and superst it ion and so far fo rm ed thei r“ moral concept ions and feel ings as to mak e them

completely above the an tiquated ideas and aspira

t ions of the age . S uch was the fo rce o f his instruc

tions‘

that the conduct o f the students out of the

co l lege was most exemplary, and gai ned them the

applause of the outs ide wo rld , no t on ly i n a l i teraryand scient ific po i n t of v i ew, but what was o f st i l l

greater importance, they were al l considered men of

68 T/ie result of"D eroz io’

s teac/ting .

trut/z.’ I ndeed , the Co l lege boy

’

was a synonym

fo r truth , and i t was a general bel ief and sayingamong our countrym en , which those that remember

the tim e m ust acknowl edge, that such a boy is in

capable o f falsehood because he is a Co l lege boy.

’

I n May 1 829 several of the boys i n the fi rst andsecond classes had acqu i red a remarkable degree of

courage and spiri t i n express ing thei r opin ions on

al l subjects and particu larly on the subj ect of

rel ig ion .

“ The princ ipl es and pract ices of the

Hindu rel igion were open ly rid icu l ed and con

demned , and angry d isputes were held on mo ral

subjects ; the sent im ents o f Hum e had been

w idely d i ffused and warm ly patron i z ed The

most glowing harangues were made at debat ingclubs

,then very num erous . The Hindu Rel i

g lon was denounced as v i l e and co rrupt and“ unworthy the regard of rat ional beings . The

degraded state of the H indus fo rm ed the topic o f

many debates ; thei r igno rance and supersti t ion

were declared to be the causes of such a state, and

i t was then reso lved that nothing but a l iberal educa

t ion could enfranchise the m inds Of the people.

The degradation of the femal e m ind was Vi ewed

w i th ind ignat ion ; the quest ion at a very large

meeting was carried unan imous ly, that H indu

wom en Should be taught , and we are assured o f

the fact that the wi fe of one of the leaders-

of this

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70 P rokibition of tke M anagers .

of the H indu s and that practices,i n cons isten t wi th

H indu ideas of propriety ,such as eat i ng o r d ri nk ing

i n the class room s,were to be v i s i ted w i th d ism issal .

In the wo rds o f the manusc r ipt h isto ry I t wasno t unti l advantage had been taken by som e of the

c lergymen (Duff, D ealtry, A dam and H i l l) o f

th is grow i ng l iberal i ty ,i n announc ing a course o f

l ectu res (to educated Bengal ees) of Natu ral and

Revealed Re l ig ion ( i n Duff’

s house in Co l lege

Square , nearly oppos i te the H indu Co l l ege) that the

Managers were determ i n ed to crush the refo rm ers

by prom ulgat ing that famous o rder wh ich cal led

fo rth the d isapprobat ion of the publ i c . We quo te

the o rders “ The M anagers of the A nglo - Ind ian“ Co l lege hav i ng heard that seve ral o f the students

are i n the habi t o f attend ing soc iet i es at which

po l i t ical and rel ig ious d iscuss ion s are held (the

d iscuss ions which led to the firs‘ efo rm B i l l we re

agi tati ng the band o f lads i nfluenced by D ero z io),think i t n ecessary to announc e the i r strong d isapproba t ion o f the pract ice

,and to prohibit its cont i

“ nuance . A ny stud en ts being present at such a

so ciety after the promulgat io n o f this o rder wi l l

In cur thei r serious d ispleasure .

Imm ed iat ely on the prom ulgat ion of th is o rder,every newspaper and jou rnal i n Cal cutta

,secular

and rel igious , charged one afte r the o ther against

the Managers of the Hindu Co l lege, al l maintai n ing

Publ ic opin ion aga inst t/ie M anagers . 7 1

the right of publ ic d iscuss ion . _ The A theism of

D eroz io has been so o ften asserted his antagon ism

to Christian ity taken for granted and the' i nfluence

o f his teaching d eclared to“ be subvers ive of al l

rel ig ion whatever,that we hope i t may be som e

answer to these d isreputable charges, g l ibly made

by wel l -m ean ing m en,to quo te a paragraph from a

leader i n the I nd ia Ga z ette,wh ich has cons iderabl e

resemblance to the style o f D e ro z io,and wh ich

,i f

no t written by h im ,certa i n ly Speaks h is sentim en ts

regard ing the act ion of the m anagem en t .

We regret much to see the nam es o f such men

as David Hare and Rossomoy Dutt attached to a

document which presents an example o f presumptuous, tyrann ical and absu rd i nterm edd l i ng w i th the

right o f private j udgm en t o n po l i t ical and re l lg1ous

quest ions. The interference is presumptuous, fo r

the M anagers, as Managers , have no right whatever

to d ictate to the students o f the inst i tut ion how

they shal l d ispose o f thei r t ime out o f Co l lege . I t is

tyrann ical , for, al though they have no t the right,they have the power, i f they w i l l bear the conse

quences, to“

i nfl ict thei r serious d ispleasure on the

d isobed ient . I t is absurd and rid icu lous,fo r i f the

students knew thei r rights , and had the spiri t to

claim them , the Managers would no t venture to

enfo rce thei r own o rder ; and i t would fal l to th e

ground , an abort ion of i n to lerance . We recommend

72 Th “ I ndia Gaz ette on fire orders .

the Managers to beware of pursu ing the course

they have begun . We are aware of the1r mot ives,and i f we saw any danger of the Co l lege pass ingunder sectarian influence

,we should be as stoutly

o pposed to such a result as we are to their presen t

proceed ings . But Christ ian ity m ust not and shal l

not be put down by the m eans they are adopt ing .

I t must, at l east , have a hearingfrom those who are

w i l l ing to hear, and this is al l that its friends des i re .

They do not desi re that any regulat ions should be

made by the Managers i n favour o f Christ ian ity, but

a Christ ian government and a Christ ian commun itywi l l not to lerate that the Managers of an i nst itut ion

,

suppo rted i n part by publ ic money, should s ing l e out

Christ ian ity as the on ly rel igion against which theyd i rect thei r Ofli c ial i nfluence and autho rity. We

hope that M essrs . H il l and Duff wi l l revive the

m eet ings , i f they have been d iscont inued , and that

their proceed ings w i l l hencefo rth be conducted on

j ust and equal terms . We hope that the students of

the H indu Co l lege w i l l cont inue to attend i n spite of

the prohibi t ion of the Managers ; and we hope that

the Managers w i l l l earn to keep w i th in their own

prov ince, else they w i l l have a sto rm about thei r

ears, which w i l l be sooner ra ised than laid .

”

Two months after, that is, in A pri l 183 1 , decis ive

measures were taken to remove D ero z io and the

mo re advanced of his pupIIS who had publ icly avowed

Ram Comul S en . 73

their host i l i ty to Hinduism . The chief mover i n

this matter was Ram Com u l S en ,the grandfather of

the wel l -known Keshub Chunder S en ,the late leader

o f the Brahm o S omaj . Peary Chand M ittra, him sel f

a d ist inguished pupi l of the H indu schoo l , and one

of that band o f the cu ltured nat ives of Ind ia who

are the true friends of their countrym en , and the

advocates of every m easure o f usefu lness for thei r

advancem ent , has very recently given to the publ ic a

L ife of Dewan Ram Com u l S en ,which w i l l be read

w i th interest by al l i n teres ted i n the people of Ind ia .

Ram Comu l S en began l ife as a compos i to r in the

H indust é n i Press of Dr . Hunter, o n eight rupees a

m onth . From this humble pos i t ion he wo rked h im

self up to ho ld a very em inent place i n the educated

so ciety of Cal cutta and i n the service o f Ind ia .

Befo re h is death he was a member of nearly everyl earned , educat ional , and phi lanthropic society i n

Cal cutta, had publ ished his Eng l ish and Bengal i

Dict ionary, and taken an act ive and lead i ng part in

every m atter in which the best i n teres ts o f h is coun

trym en were concerned , and no tably i n the spread o f

European knowl edge . He was a firm friend of the

o rthodox H indus, and as such,vi ewed w i th ala rm

the consequences o f D ero z io’

s teaching, which the

m o re ho t - headed among nat ive youths carried be

yond the conc lus ions of thei r m aste r. The requ is i t io n

cal l ing the meeting of the Managers of the H indu

I O

74 M eeting of tke M anagers .

Co l lege , which resulted i n the practical d ism issal o f

D ero z io,was d rawn up by Ram Comu l S en

,and not

only exhibits the alarm and d istrust then preval ent

i n H indu soc iety, but bears on the face of i t som e of

those charges agai nst D ero z io which were then indus

t riously c i rculated ,and which D ero z io him sel f repu

d iated and chal lenged his accusers to substant iate.

The requ is it ion is as fo l lows“ The obj ect of conven ing th is m eeting is the

necess i ty of check ing the growi ng ev i l , and the

publ ic alarm aris ing from the very unwarranted

arrangem ents and m isco nduct of a certain teacher to

whom a great many chi ld ren have been trusted , who,

it appears, has mater ial ly i nj u red thei r m o rals,and

in troduced some strange system , the tendency of

which is destructive to thei r m o ral character and to

the peace of soc iety. The affai r is wel l known to

almo st every one,and need no t requ i re to be further

s tated . The consequence is , that no less than twentyfive pupils of respectable fam i l ies have been wi th

d rawn from the Co l lege , a l ist of which is subm i tted .

There are no l ess than a hundred and s i xty boys

absent , som e of whom are suppo sed to be s ick ; but

many have proposed to remove, unless pr oper t e

m ed ies are adopted . A l ist of these is a lso sub

m itted .

A t the m eeting convened by Ram Comul S en

various prOposals were made , such as that M r .

Tke M anagers in Council . 75

D ero z io being the roo t of al l the ev i ls and cause o f

publ ic alarm , should be d ischarged from the Co l

lege, and al l commun icat ions between him and the

pupi ls cut ofi". That such of the students of the

higher class who se bad habits are known,and who

were i n the ‘ d in ing party,

’

Sho uld be removed .

That al l those students publ icly host i le to Hindu

ism and the establ ished custom s o f the country,

and who have proved them selves such by thei r

conduct, should be turned out . That boys should

no t be adm i tted i nd iscrim inately w ithout prev ious

enqu i ry regard ing thei r character . I ka t wkenever

Europeans are procurable, a preference shal l be g iven

to them,thei r character and rel ig ion being ascer

tained befo re adm iss ion . That i f any of the boys

go to hear o r attend private lectures o r m eet ings,they be d ism issed . That such books as m ay i nj ure

their mo rals should not be al lowed to be taught ,brought, or read i n the Co l lege . That a separat e

place be fitted for the teachers to d i n e in and

the pract ice Of eat ing on

'

the schoo l table be dis

cont inued .

These proposals were carried i n the ir ma i n

features and in reference to the fi rst , the greatest

amount of d iscuss ion took place . The fo l lowingquest ion was k een ly d iscussed by the Managers ,v iz . ,

“Whether the managem ent had any j ust grounds

to conclude that the mo rals and tenets of M r .

76 Tke Resul t.

D ero z io,as far as ascertainable from the effects

they have produced upo n his scho lars,are such

as to render him an improper person to be

entrusted w i th the educat ion of youth .

Two of the Managers declared that al l they knew

o fM r . D ero z io was from repo rt on ly. One acqu itted

him Of al l blam e fo r want of proo f. Three con

s idered M r. D eroz io an improper pe rson for the

educat ion of yo uth . One Baboo was firm ly con

vinced that M r . D er o z io was far from being an

improper perso n for such an o ffice . Dav id Hare

reco rded his opin io n that M r. D ero z io was a h ighlycompetent teacher — and no one had mo re and

better oppo rtun ity than Hare had to fo rm an opin ion

o n the subj ect— and that “ h is i nstruct ions have

always been most beneficial . M r . Ho race Hayman

Wi lson said that he had n ever observed any i l l

effects from M r . De ro z io’

s i nstruct ion,and that he

cons idered M r. D ero z io to be a teacher of superior

abil i ty.

On this quest ion the majo rity seem ed i n favour of

D ero z io . The next question d iscussed was whether,

in the present state of publ i c fee l ing amongst the

H indu commun ity, i t was exped ient to d ism iss

D ero z io .

Four Baboos declared i t was necessary.

Two ,that i t was exped ient .

One , that i t was unnecessary.

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78 D eroz io’

s let ter to M r . Wilson.

it to be the d ictates of a generous heart anxious to

soo the what i t could no t heal . But I dare not ascribe

to myself a m eri t which I do no t possess ; and if myd ism issal be cons idered a deserved d isgrace by the

w ise and good , I must endure it .

A s the intemperat e spiri t d isplayed agai nst m e

by the Nat ive Managers of the Co l lege is no t l ikely.

to subs ide so completely as to adm i t of my return

to that i nst itution as speed i ly as you expect and as

the chances of l i fe may shape my future dest iny SO as

to’

bring m e but rarely i n contact w i th you, I canno t

perm i t th is oppo rtun ity to pass w i thout reco rd ingmy gratefu l acknow ledgments to you for al l the

k indness you have shown me s i nce I have had the

honour and pleasure of being known to you. I n

part icu lar, I must thank you for the del icacy w ith

which you conveyed to m e,on Saturday last, the reso

l ution of the Manag ing Comm i ttee and for the sym

pathy which I perceive my case had excited i n you.

S uch ci rcumstances when genu ine and unaffected ,make deeper impressions on my feel ings than t hose

greater acts of favour the mo t ives for which we

canno t always trace.

Bel ieve me‘to be, my dear S ir, w i th sentiments of

r espect and regard ,

Yours s i ncerely,

H . L . V. D EROZIO.

D eroz io’

s letter to the M anagers . 79

The fo l lowing is the letter referred to , contai n ingDero z io

’

s resignat ion

Calcutta , 25tk Apr il 1 83 1 .

THE MANAGING COMM ITTEE OF THE H INDU

COLLEGE.

GENTLEMEN ,— Hav ing been in fo rm ed that the

result o f your d el iberat io n in c lose comm i ttee o n

Saturday last was a reso lut ion to d ispense w i th my

further servi ces at the Co l lege , I am i nduced to place

my res ignat ion in your hands, i n o rder to save

my self from the mo rtificat ion of receiving fo rmal

not ice o f my d ism issal .

I t would , however, be unjust to my reputat ion ,which I value

,were I to abstai n from reco rd ing i n

this comm un icat ion certai n facts which I presum e

do not appear upon the face Of your proceed ings .

F i rstly, no charge was brought aga i nst m e . S econd

ly, i f any accusat ion was brought fo rward , I was

not info rm ed of i t . Third ly, I was no t cal led up to

face my accusers,i f any such appeared . Fourthly,

no w itness was exam i ned on ei ther s ide . F i fthly,my conduct and character underwent scrutiny, and no

opportun ity was affo rded m e of defend ing either.

S ixthly, while a majo r i ty d id not,as I have learn ed ,

cons ider m e an unfit person to be connected wi th

the Co l lege, i t was reso lved ,no twithstand ing, that I

80 Wilson’

s letter to D eros ie.

should be removed from i t,so that , unbiased , un

exam ined,and unheard , you reso lve to d ism iss m e

w ithout e ven the m o ckery of a trial . These are

facts . I offer no t a wo rd o f comm ent .

I m ust also avai l myself o f this oppo rtun ity of

reco rd ing my thanks to M r. Wilson , M r . Hare,and

Baboo S reek issen S ing fo r the part which , I am in

fo rm ed , they respectively took in your proceed ings

o n Saturday last .

I am, Gentlem en ,

Your obed ient servan t,

H . L . V. D EROZIO.

Ho race Hayman Wilson ’s reply to the above letter

of D ero z io we g ive below. I t contains the w i ld and

unfounded charges brought again st D ero z io,sedu

lously c irculated ,and impl ic itly bel ieved during his

l i fe - t im e and after his d eath and i t produced the

m an ly v ind icat io n o f him self,the only one which

D ero z io was ever perm i tted to m ak e,and which

cam e d i rect from h is’

sens i tive nature,burn ing under

a sense o f . injust ice and the coward ly calumn ious

attacks of m en who feared his influence m ore than

they loved truth .

25t/z Apr il , 1 83 1 .

D EROZIO,— I bel ieve you are right al

could have w ished you had been less severe

native Managers , whose decis ion was founded

Wilson’

s letter to D eroz io. 8 1

merely upon the exped iency of y ield ing to popular

clamour,the j ustice of which i t was no t i n cumbent

on them to i nvest igate There was no trial i ntend

ed— there was no condemnation . A n impress ion had

gone abroad to your d isadvantage, the effects o f

which were inj urious to the Co l lege, and which would

not have been d ispel led by any proo f you could

have produced,that i t was unfounded . I suppose

there w i l l st i l l be m uch d iscuss io n on the subj ect,

privately only I trust, but that there w i l l be and I

Should l ike to have the power of speak ing confidentlyon three charges brought against you . Of course ,it rests ent irely wi th you to answer my quest ion s .

D o you bel ieve in a God D o you th ink respect and

obed ience to parents no part o f mo ral duty ? D o

you think the intermarriage of bro thers and s isters

i nnocent and al lowable P Have you ever m ain tai n ed

these doctrines by argum ent i n the hearing of our

scho lars ? Now I have no right to i nterrogate you on

these or any o ther of your sent im ents,but these

are the rumoured charges agai nst you , and I shou ld

be very happy i f I could say bo ld ly they were false

o r could produce your written and unqual ified den ial

for the sat isfact ion of those who se good o pin ion is

wo rth hav ing .

Yours s incerely,

H . H . WILSON .

2 Deroz io’

s Vindication.

N ext morn ing D ero z io dashed off the fo l low ingl etter

26tk Apr il , 1 83 1 .

H . H . WILSON , ESQ .

My DEAR S I R ,— Your letter, which I received last

even ing, should have been answered earl ier but for

the interference o f o ther m atters which requ ired myattention . I beg your acceptance o f this apo logyfor the delay, and thank you fo r the in terest which

your commun icat ion proves that you cont inue to

take in m e . I am so rry, however, that the quest ions

you have put to m e w i l l impose upon you the d is

agreeable necess i ty o f read i ng this long just ifica

t ion of my conduct and opin ions . But I must con

gratulate myself that this Oppo rtun ity is affo rded

m e of address ing SO i nfluential and d ist inguished an

ind ividual . as yourself upo n m atters which,i f true

,

m ight seriously affect my character. My friends

need no t , however, be under any apprehens ion for

m e fo r myself the‘

conc iousness of right is my safe

guard and my conso lat ion .

I have never d en ied the existence of a God

in the hearing of any hum an being . I f i t be wrongto speak at al l upon such a subject

,I am gui l ty but

I am neither afraid , no r asham ed to confess hav ingstated the doubts of phi lo sophers upo n th is head ,because I have also stated the so lut ion of these

D eroz io’

s Vindication . 83

doubts . Is i t fo rbidden anywhere to argue upon

such a question P I f so , i t m ust be equal ly w rong to

adduce an argum ent upon either s ide . Or is i t con

s istent w ith an en l ightened no t io n of truth to wed

o urselves to on ly one View of so impo rtant a subject,

reso lv ing to clo se our eyes and ears agai nst al l im

press ion s that oppose them selves to i t

H ow is any opin ion to be strengthened but by com

plete ly comprehend ing the obj ect ions that are offer

ed to i t,and expos ing their futi l i ty PA nd what have

I done m o re than this Entrusted as I was for som e

t im e w i th the educat ion of youth pecul iarly c ircum

stanced , was i t for m e to have m ade them pert and

igno rant dogmat ists, by perm i tt ing them to know

what could be said upon on ly one s ide o f grave

quest ions S ett ing as ide the narrowness of m i nd

which such a course m ight have ev inced , i t wouldI“ave been inj urious to the m ental energies and ac

qu irem ents of the young m en them selves . A nd

(whatever may be sa id to the contrary) I can v i nd i

cate my procedure by quo t ing no less o rthodox au

tho rity than Lo rd Bacon : I f a man,

says this

phi lo sopher (and no one ever had a better right to

pronounce an opin ion upon such m atters than Lo rd

Bacon) w i l l beg in w ith certai nt ies he shal l end i n

doubt . This, I need scarcely observe,is always the

case w ith contented igno rance when it is roused too

late to thought . One doubt suggests another, and

84 D eroz io’

s Vindication .

un iversal scept ic ism is the consequence . I therefo re

tho ught it my duty to acquain t severa l of the Co l

l ege students w ith the substance of Hum e’

s celebrated

d ialogue between Cleanthes and Phi lo,i n which the

most subti le and refined arguments against Theism

are adduced . But I have also furn ished them w i th

Dr. Reid ’

s and Dugald S tewart’s mo re acute repl ies

to Hum e,— repl ies which to this day continue unrefut

ed“ This is the head and front of my o ffend ing .

I f the rel ig ious opin ions of the students have be

com e unhinged in consequence of the course I have

pursued,the fault is not m i ne . To produce con

vict ions was not w i th in my power and i f I am to be

condemned for the A theism of some, let m e receive

cred i t for the Tkeism of o thers . Bel ieve me,my dear

S ir, I am too tho roughly imbued w ith a deep sense

of human igno rance, and of the perpetual vic iss i tudes

of opin ion , to speak w ith confidence even of the most

un important matters . Doubt and uncertain ty be

s iege us too closely to adm i t the bo ldness of dogma

t ism to enter an enqu iring m ind and far be it from

me to say“tbis is

,

”and “

tkat is not,when after

the most extensive acquaintance w i th the researches

of science,and after the most daring fl ights of ge

n ius,we must confess w i th so rrow and d isappo in t

m ent that hum i l i ty becomes the highest w isdom ,

for the highest wisdom assures man of his igno

rance .

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86 D eroz io’

s Vindication .

a no ise lately) in fo rm ed m e that his father’s treat

m ent of him had becom e utterly i nsuppo rtable , and

that his only chance of escap ing i t was by leav ingh is father’s hom e . A l though I was aware of the

truth o f what he had sa id,I d issuaded him from

tak ing such a course,tel l ing him that m uch shou ld

be endured from a parent,and that the wo rld would

n ot j ust ify h is co nduct i f he left his hom e w i thout

being actual ly turned out of i t . He took m y adv ice,though I regret to say on ly fo r a sho rt t im e . A

few weeks ago he left his father’

s house,and to my

great surprise engaged ano ther in my neighbourhood .

A fter he had completed his arrangem ents w i th his

land lo rd , he in fo rm ed m e fo r the fi rs t t im e o f what he

had done ; and when I asked him why he had no t con

sulted m e befo re he took such a step * “ because

repl ied he ,“ I knew you would have prevented i t .

The o ther instance relates to M ohesh Chunder

S ing ,hav ing recently behaved rudely to his father

and o ffended some of his o ther relat ives , he cal led

upon m e at my house w ith his unc le Umachu rn

Bo se and his cous i n N ondo lal l S i ng . I reproached

him severely fo r his con tum acious behav iour, and

to ld him that,unti l he sought fo rg iveness from h is

father, I would not speak to him . I m ight m ent io n

o ther cases,.but these m ay suffice .

(I I I .)“ D o you think m arriages of bro thers and

s isters innocent and al lowable P” Th is is your th ird

D eroz io’

s Vindication . 87

q uest ion .

“NO,is my d ist inct reply ; and I n ever

taught such an absurd ity. But I am at a loss to

find out how such m isrepresentat ions as those to

which I have been exposed have becom e current .

N 0 person who has ever heard m e speak upon such

subjects could have c irculated these untruths at

least,I can hard ly bri ng myself to th ink that one

of the Co l lege studen ts w i th whom I have been con

nected could be either such a foo l as t o m istake

everyth ing I ever sa id , o r such a knave, as w i l

ful ly to m isstate my opin ions. I am rather d isposed

to bel ieve that weak people who are determ ined

upo n being alarm ed,

find ing no thing to be frightened

at , have imputed these fo l l ies to m e . That I should be

ca l led a scept ic and an i nfidel is no t surpris ing, as

these names are always g iven to persons who think

fo r them selves in rel ig ion but I assure you ,that the

imputat ions which you say are al leged aga i nst m e,

I have learned fo r the fi rst t im e from your letter, never

hav ing d ream ed that sentim ents so opposed to myown could have been ascribed to m e . I m ust trust

,

therefo re,to your generos i ty to g ive the m ost unqual i

fied contrad i ct ion to these rid icu lous sto r ies . I am

not a greater m onster than m o st people,though I

certain ly Should no t know myself were I to cred i t

al l that is said of m e . I am aware that for som e

weeks,som e busy bodies have been m anufacturing

the most absurd and ground less sto ries about m e,

88 -D eroz io’

s Vind ication.

and even about my fam i ly. S om e foo ls went so faras to say my s ister, whi le o thers said my daughter

(though I have not one ) was to have been m arriedto a Hindu young man l I traced the repo rt toa person cal led Brindabone Gho sal

,a poo r B rahm in

,

who l ives by go i ng from hou se to house to en tertai n

the inm ates w i th the news o f the day, which he in

variably i nvents. However, it is a satisfact ion to

reflect that scandal, though o ften no isy, is not

everlast ing .

N ow that I have repl ied to your quest ions, al low

m e to ask you,my dear S ir, whether the exped ien cy

of yield i ng to popu lar clam our can be o ffered i n

j ust ificat ion o f the m easures adopted by the N at ive

M anagers o f the Co l lege towards me ? Thei r pro

c eed ings certain ly do no t reco rd any condem nat io n

of m e,but does i t no t look very l ike condem nat io n

of a man ’s conduct and character to d ism iss h im from

office when popular clam our is against him ? Vague

repo rts and unfounded rum ours went abroad co ncern

ing m e ; the N ative Managers confi rm them by

acting towards m e as they have done . Excuse my

say ing i t, but I bel ieve there was a determ i nation

on thei r part to get rid o fm e,no t to sat isfy popular

C lam our,but thei r own bigo try. H ad my rel ig ion

and m o rals been invest igated by them ,they cou ld

have had no grounds to proceed agai nst m e . Theytherefo re thought i t most exped ient to make no

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CHAPTER VI I .

D UFF AND THE PUPILS OF DEROZIO.

S early as the year 1833 , th is i nd ignant den ial of

the vi le calumn ies ci rcu lated by bigo try wasprinted i n the Calcutta Q uar terlyM agaz ine and R eview

(see pages 92-4) and the sam e co rrespondence

appeared i n the Bengal Obituary ,and must have been

perfectly wel l known,not only to Dr. Duff, who

spent an active l i fe in Ind ia and England for nearlythirty years after 1 848, but to Duff

’

s biographer, Dr .

Sm ith . N ot only i n the newspapers of the day, but

in a fragmentary sketch of D ero z io’

s l i fe given in

the Bengal Obituary ,these charges were declared

to be “ the o ffspring of unfounded calumny, and yet ,

in the face of this, Dr. Geo rge Sm i th , fifty years

after the events, revives these detestable untruths,and sneers at D ero z io as a Eurasian of som e

abi l ity and much conceit, in o rder that his fault less

ido l , Dr. Duff, Should walk the stage, the first m is

sionary of m odern t imes, i n the bo rrowed plum es of

the achievements of the dead D ero z io . Duff needs

no such borrowed plumes and his biographer, by the

ungracious belittleing of Deroz io, and the al l but

D eroz io’

s I nfluence. 9 1

i gnoring of the influences which alone made it pos

s ible for the Scott ish m iss ionary to effect what he

d id,mars the usefulness and truthfulness of his wo rk

,

and lays him self open to charges which few bio

graphers would care to i ncu r. We have set fo rth

chrono logical ly the influence of D ero z io on the higher

class Hindu youth, and the consequences which

fo l lowed on the impact of Western thought and

culture,as exempl ified in the teaching of D ero z io

,

on Eastern culture and the h igher H induism of Ind ia.

We have endeavoured to exhibit,that to the despised

and al l but unknown Euras ian lad , Henry Lou is

Vivian D ero z io , belongs the chief glo ry and high

honour of being the fi rst,and to this day, the most

effectual mo tive power to move to its very depths

the rel ig ious sentiments, aspi rat ions and bel iefs of

educated Hindus. That Duff only entered on the

heritage of D ero z io is evidenced in many ways ;

and that,had it not been for the wel l -m eant z eal

of Duff and o ther Christ ian m in isters, and the fierce

b igotry of rel ig ious z ealo ts , D ero z io’

s splend id powers

and unparal leled i nfluence m ight have effected a

m ightier revo lut ion in the rel ig ious bel iefs of educated

Hindus,than al l the m issions and m iss ionaries sent

to Ind ia s ince the days of S t . Franc is Xav i er. H ow

l ittle ho ld Duff had on the h igher class, or any

educated c lass,

of H indus, is t ruthful ly attested

in the pages of I ke Enquirer , a,

journal conducted ,

92 Tke Enquirer .

”

fifty years ago , by one of the most d istinguishedpupi l - friends of D ero z io st i l l al ive . A nd how tru lyand fearlessly and fai rly D ero z io taught his pupi l

friends to think and reason , may be gathered from

the pages of that journal . We quote a s ingl e passage

from I ke E nqu irer Of March 1 832, l itt le m o re than

two months after D ero z io was laid i n his grave and

in this connexion,i t Should be bo rne in m ind that

the influence of D ero z io over the educated higher

c lass nat ive society of Calcutta continued unabated

t i l l h is death,and is even now a l iv ing real i ty. We

quote from the I ndia Gaz ette of March l oth, 1 832 ,

in which the article from I ke E nqu irer is re

produced

M r . Duff’s l ectures on C/zr istianity ,intended

o rig inal ly fo r the H indus, are now attended by

them very rarely. The seats of the aud ience remai n

for the most part vacant , but for a few East I nd ian

and European gentlemen that tak e som e interest

in the bus i ness. The Hindus,we know not why,

have given up in a great m easure hearing the Rev.

gentleman we could recogn ise fo r som e tim e past

only about half- a- do z en nat ives among those that

attended the lectures . This is certain ly a neg lect

for,considering the claim s that have been attributed

to Christ ian ity,and the influence it is said to have had

over the civ i l i z at ion of man,its enquiry does become

important to every one. In consequence of the

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94 Tbe Enquirer”on Dufi

’.

k istory’ here again is a very great m isapprehension .

Bel ief is not arbitrary. I t com es hom e i tself,how

,

we do not know. We bel ieve this because we feel

it so . We doubt that , because, l ikew ise we feel

it so . To say we are bound to do a thing is to sup

pose we have the power to do i t and we are mora l ly

obl iged to exercise tkat power . N ow bring this

phrase to matters of rel ig ion , and see how inconsist

ent you become . The Christ ian bel i eves i n J esus ;the H indoo does not ; i f both of them be sin

cere,the fo rmer feels the truth to be in Jesus

,the

latter takes a contrary v iew,and feels i t e lswhere .

We have supposed bo th to be true i n thei r say ingand i f we be an advocate for the op in ion of the one

the utmost one can say against the o ther is , be is,

muck m istaken o r deceived ; in o ther wo rds his

understanding kas erred. To say this is one thing,and to assum e M r. Duff’s d ictato rial tone, and attri

bute obst inacy and crim inal w ickedness to un

bel ievers of our system ,is another and a d ifferent

posi t ion . A word to the w ise is sufficient,and we

d ism iss the subject w ith the hope that our lecturer

wi l l stick to such arguments and such reason ings

as may bring convict ion to the m inds of his hearers

and give up imputing bad hearts to them,and thereby

runn ing the risk of prej ud ic ing them against him .

This is the sort of crit icism which D eroz io’

s stu

dents were able from his train ing, in the class- room,

First Converts. 9 5

the A cadem ic and k indred S oc iet ies , and i n his iri

tercourse wi th them as friends,to bring to bear on

the argumentat ions of Duff and o ther advocates of

Christ ian ity. That Krishna Mohun Banerj ee, Mohesh

Chunder Ghose, and o thers of Dero z io ’

s pupi ls Went

over to Christ ian ity, was only what was to be ex

pected , was only the log ical consequence of the

teaching of thei r friend and master ; but that some

one else Should claim the cred i t of this awaken ingand this powerfu l impulse of i ndependent think i ngamongst h igher H i nduism ,

is due to the igno rance

and fanat ical hero -wo rship of men who are unable

apparenly to see outs ide the rim of thei r own theo

logical ho riz on , and who m easure the un iverse of

thought and fee l ing by the narrow institutes of sec

tarian theo logy, the confession of Fai th,and Cate

chisms and effete m etaphys ics of generat ions of m en

who , neither i n learn ing, cu lture, train ing, purity of

l i fe or common - sense,have any claim to rank as

teachers or leaders of thought, or fo rmulato rs of re

l igious dogma for al l men and for al l succeed i ngages .

Duff himself in his own rheto rical way, adm i ts to

the ful l , that the result of Engl ish thought and teach

ing on higher H indu Society had been effected

and exhibited befo re his com ing to Ind ia,and uh

consciously pays the highest tribute to the influence

of Deroz io . I n the month of June 1830, that is l ess

96 Tli is “R ising body of Natives .

”

than ‘

a month after he landed in Cal cutta, Duff

writes thus : “We rejo iced when in the m etropo l is

of Brit ish Ind ia, we fai rly cam e in contact w ith a

ris ing body of nat ives wko kad learned to tk ink and

d iscuss al l subj ects w it/i nus/tackled f reedom ,though

that fredom was ever apt to degenerate i nto l icense

in attempting to demo l ish the claim s and preten

s ions of the Christ ian as wel l as every o ther pro

fessedly revealed faith . We hai led the ci rcum

stance as ind icat ing the approach of a period for

which we had wai ted, and longed , and prayed .

This “ ris ing body of nat ives who had l earned to

think and d iscuss al l subjects w i th unshack led free

dom was the wo rk of the Hindu"

Co l lege Engl ish

education,and the product of D ero z io

’

s teaching and

influence . S tudents of Duff there were none and i t is

nearly fourteen months after June 1 830, befo re the

fi rst exam inat ion of the General A ssembly’

s M iss ion

Schoo l took place, and then the highest pupils or

students OfDuff’s scho o l,on the 1 5th of A ugust 1 83 1 ,

in the Freemasons’

L odge, 1 1 8, Dhurrumto l lah, passed

a highly cred itable o ral exam inat ion in d ist inguishingthe parts of speech , repeating the rules of syntax,

g iving the roots of the lead ing words i n thei r read

ing lesson , and answering quest ions on Genes is

and the Gospels (see the India Gaz ette fo r Mon

day, A ugust 1 5th , Was i t these students

of Duff’

s‘ that Dr. George Sm i th refers to i n a

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98 Emma Roberts .

which have experienced his guard ing care from those

typographical erro rs which they could no t o ther

w ise have escaped . H ad D eroz io been the wi ld

A theist, the immo ral poet,

” the constant referrer

to the most lascivious plays of the Resto rat ion , the

d ream er and teacher of fi l thy grossness, i t is no t at al l

l ikely that the accompl ished Emma Roberts would

have so i led the purity of her name,and tarn ished her

reputat ion by al lowing D ero z io to hand le her proo f

sheets and emendate her verses . We look on this

tribute to the wo rth of D ero z io as one of the strongest refutations of al l the calumny and abuse heaped

on him .

CHAPTER VII I .

THE EURASIAN MOVEMENT OF 1829-30 .

N January 1 822,i n consequence of a decis ion

of the S uprem e Court in Calcutta,which de

c lared that a large propo rt ion of East I nd ians

d id no t com e under the denom inat ion of Brit ish

subj ects, a subscript ion to defray the expenses

of an appeal to the King (Geo rge IV) i n Counc i l

was inaugurated . This was the comm encem ent of

the first combined movem ent of the East I nd ian

comm un ity,which , after eight years of ag itat ion

and o rgan isat ion , culm inated i n the Pet i tion of the

East Ind ians, Christian inhabitants of Calcutta and

the Provi nces comprised wi th in the “ Pres idencyof Fort Wil l iam ,

to the H on’

ble the Comm on s

of the “ United Kingdom of Great Brita in and I re

land in Parl iam ent assem bled, presented to the

House of Lo rds by the Earl of Carl isle on the

29th M arch 1 830 ,and to the House o f Comm ons

by the Hono rable Wil l iams Wynn , on the 4th of

May of the sam e year .

Towards the clo se of last century fears regard ingthe increasing numbers and loyal ty of Eurasians were

100 Tke P ol icy of S uppresszon .

spread abroad chiefly am ongst the servants of the

Company ; and ,whether from a sense o f danger , a

feel ing o f sham e and d isgrace, o r a determ inat ion

to hedge round the preserves o f office in the g i ft o f

the Directo rs from al l but those of pure European

birth and education , Euras ians were effectual ly ex

cluded from pos itions and offices which they were

wel l fitted to occupy. A general letter of the Court

o f Directo rs , 14th March 1 786, prohibited those wards

o f the Upper Orphan S choo l of the Bengal M i l itaryS o ciety, who were bo rn of native

'

m o thers by British

fathers , from being sent to England fo r educat ion .

I n the Gaz ette of June 1792, i t was no t ified that .no

person , the son of a nat ive, shal l hencefo rth be

appo inted to employm ent in the Civ i l, M i l itary o r

M arine servi ces of the Company ,or as swo rn officers

o f the Com pany’

s ships , between Europe and Ind ia .

I n 1 795, during the Governo r-Generalships of Lo rd

Co rnwal l is, al l persons no t descended from European

parents on both s ides, were prohibited from servingin the European branch of the army,

unless as fifers,

d rumm ers and bandsm en . Tho se of thei r number

debarred from serving i n Brit ish reg im ents , who en

tered the serv ice o f nat ive princes , were imm ed iatelyrecal led on the outbreak of ho st i l i ties . This was the

case in 1 80 1 , when the Mahratta war began . Indeed ,

u p to the renewal of the Charter in 1834 , the genera l

tendency of the rule o f the Company was to level

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102 Tne P ol icy of S uppress ion .

Eurasian,was Q uartermaster-General of the army fo r

m any years . To these we may add the nam es o f

Co lonel Na i rne, Majo r Deare,Capta in Routledge ,

L ieutenant Mul l ins and Co lonel Sk inner o f the I rre

gulars, al l o f them d ist ingu i shed officers,no table for

fearless bravery and gal lantry i n act ion,capable

so ld i ers and leaders of m en i n the days when war

was learned i n the field and camp,and no t as now

a- days i n a cramm ing establ ishmen t and i n the bu

reau of a M i l i tary Departm ent . There are yet i n the

c iv i l serv ice,and sti l l m o re largely in the army,

m em

be rs o f the Euras ian comm un ity who,through fa

m i ly connexions w i th the Directo rs o f the late Com

pany o r o ther h igh o fficials,found an entrance to

these serv ices ; but i f the fact o f their birth is no t

den ied o r igno red , i t has been frequently suppressed .

The causes that wo rked together to produce th is

exclus io n from the higher o ffices of the Ind ian ser

v ice we have h inted at . We do no t think that the

Euras ians were ent irely blam eless . I n al l probabi l ityan amount o f self- conceit , no t always wel l -ground

ed in sterl ing capacity, was as apparent towards the

clo se o f last century,as it is to—day,

am ong m anyi nd iv iduals of Euras ian birth ; and there may have

been foo l ish talk and vapouring am ongst the mo re

restless and headstrong which gave som e ground

o f truth fo r statem ents issued , no t w ith the autho ri ty

of the Company’

s respons ible officers, but nevertheless

The P ol icy of S uppression . 103

from the Governm ent press, which damaged consi

derably the chances of Euras ians occupying any but

subo rd inate posts , and represented them as a dan

gerous elem ent in Ind ia to be suppressed and regard

ed wi th suspic ion . Bes ides this, i t seem s to us, there

can be l ittl e doubt that the influence ofm any D irec

to rs and o ther Ind ian ofii c ials was exerted to pre

vent the rise of Euras ians to higher ofli ces, i n o rder

that European uncl es and cous i ns m ight no t m eet

in the various serv ices of I nd ia, and be continual lyassociated on term s of equal i ty w i th nephews and

cous i ns bo rn of nat ive wom en , who , even if they were

leg it im ate, and on this account brought no sta i n on

the fam i ly honour, had nevertheless i n thei r veins

som e of the blood of the subject- races ; and m ight

be ready to presume on thei r European t ies , and be

a stand ing d ishonour and d isgrace to the fam i lyescutcheon . Whether we have been successfu l or

not i n enum erating al l the causes which produced the

Gaz ette N o t ification of 1792, and the Reso lut ion of

Lo rd Co rnwal l is’ t im e , 1 795, Euras ians were effec

tual ly excluded by these o rders and notwithstand

ing the L ex L oci A c t of 1 83 1 , the concess ions granted

to m en of Ind ian birth at the renewal of the Charter,

1 833 and 1 855, and the various m inutes and reso l u

t ions s ince these dates , it is certai n that Euras ian s

have not,during th is century, occupied the favour

able posit ion with regard to servi ce in the great

104 M iss ionary and Government Education .

d epartm ents of S tate in Ind ia which they occupied

befo re 1790 . N or is this al l befo re the M iss ionaryand Governm ent schoo ls and co l leges were estab

l ished, i t was only a comparat ive ly sm al l number

o f purely nat ive m en who possessed a sufficient ac

quaintance w i th Engl ish to render thei r serv ices

avai lable as clerk s and wr iters and in o ther po sts

in the various Governm ent and m ercanti le o ffices .

These pos i t ions were fi l led almost exclus ively by

Euras ians up to about 1 83 5. S ince then,no t only

has the Euras ian comm un ity largely i ncreased w i th

o ut any co rrespond ing m ultipl icat ion o f o ffices i n

which thei r serv ices are des i rable, but the conse

quence of M iss ionary and Governm ent educat ion

has been,that large numbers , yearly i ncreas ing, of

pure nat ives have been com petito rs w i th Eura5 1ans

for those very posts which , up to the fi rst quarter of

this century,they, because of thei r Engl ish educa

cat ion,almost m onopo l ised . While pure nat ive

races have been pr ovided by M issionaries and the

Governm ent w ith schoo ls,co l leges and splend id

staffs of teachers to carry on thei r educat ion,Eura

s ians have had to depend almost entirely on their

own resources aided by private phi lanthropy . The

consequence is that al l the advantages and faci l it ies

are on the s ide of Hindus and M uham edans,and

so cu lpably neg l igent have success ive M iss ionaries ,

Church d ign itaries and rulers of Ind ia been , that a

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106 R icketts appointed Agent.

fo r its completeness i n al l its parts, subm itted i t to a

third gentleman . On the 28th February, 1 829, a M eet

ing of the Comm ittee read,d iscussed and approved

of the thrice rev ised pet it ion , had i t engrossed , and

placed i n the Town Hal l fo r s ignature , and prin ted

in several newspapers . A General M eeting o f the

Comm ittee was held i n the Town Hal l , on the 20th

A pri l 1 829 , at which J . W. R icketts was unan im ouslyappo inted the A gent of

“ the East I nd ians , a de

s ignat ion which,as i nc lud i ng the who l e body to

which they belonged , they preferred to al l o thers , to

proceed to Eng land as a deputy i n suppo rt of the

petit ion , and i t was agreed that a fund should be

raised “to prom ote the great and im po rtant obj ects

contemplated by us . By the 1 8th of July 1 829,

subscriptions amounting to Rs - 5- 6 had been

received by the Comm i ttee, which , after deduct ingnecessary expenses , left a balance of Rs - 4 - 0 .

M r. J . W. R icketts generous ly offered to undertake

the journey to England and the advocacy o f the

claim s of the East Ind ian commun ity there, on cond i

t io n that his passage money and the bare expenses

incident to the j ourney and res idence i n England ,should be defrayed by the comm un ity. The commu

n ity on thei r part,whi le glad ly ava i l ing them selves

of M r . R icketts’ serv ices,cons idering the respons ible

publ ic character wi th which that agent was i nvested ,and the “

suitable degree of respectabi l i ty to be

R icketts sa ils for Eng land . 107

sustained on the occasion,autho rised him to d raw the

sum of £500 a year for his suppo rt i n England ,includ ing travel l ing expenses . I t is not to be supposed that these prel im inaries

,scattered as they were

over a period of nearly eight years , were so far con

c luded w i thout a cons iderable amount ofpubl ic d iscus

s ion,letter-writ ing and oppos i t ion . A sm al l section

o f the Euras ian comm un ity,choo s ing fo r t hem selves

the nam e o f Indo - Bri tons,as d istinguished from East

Ind ians,headed by M r . Charles R eed and J . L .

Heatly,the fo rm er a gentlem an of cons iderable abi l i

ty,and possessed of a gen ius for l i tigat ion , Oppo sed

the action of the East Ind ian Comm ittee, and d id

thei r best to inval idate and render abo rtive what

had al ready been effected . The I ndo -Britons were

wo rsted i n the d iscuss ion and thei r effo rts rendered

unavai l ing. J . W. R icketts sa i led for England i n the

A ndromaclte , Captain R . L . Laws , and , after a pro

tracted voyage, reached London on the 27th Decem

ber,1 829 , the very month in whichLo rd W. Ben tinck ,

acting on the advi ce of Butterwo rth Bayley and S ir

Charles Metcal fe , abo l ished S ati , and the year which

saw the suppression of the Tang'

s . Geo rge the IV. was

entering on the last year of his reign . The Test and

Co rpo rat ion A cts of Charles I I ’s reign , which exc lud

ed d issenters from c ivi l offices un less they qual ified

them selves by tak ing the S acram ent acco rd ing to

the rules of the Church of England , had j ust been

1 08 B r ita in in 1 829.

repealed . P i tt , Cast lereagh , Cann ing, and the who lestrength o f the Whigs had unsucessful ly advocated

the rem iss ion o f the d isabi l it ies of Roman Catho l ics .

I reland,under the complete contro l of Dan ie l

O’

Conne l l , the priests and the Catho l i c asso ciat ions

was on the verge of rebel l ion,clamouring for the

adm iss ion to the Imperial Leg islature o f m embers of

the Rom ish Church . The M etropo l itan po l i ce ‘

and

the I rish and S co tch constabulary were founded by

S ir Robert Peel , and i n the sam e year Benjam i n

D israel i publ ished his fi rst novel , Vivian Grey ,while

Gladstone was an undergraduate of Christ’s Church,

Oxfo rd . The Rad icals of Glasgow and ‘ the west of

S co tland , inc ited to rebel l ion by

fl

R ichm ond,the

ever- to - be detested Governm ent spy,arm ed w i th

p ikes,were sabred down and ridden over on their way

from Glasgow to S t irl ing by a party of d ragoons ;

and Bai rd and Hardy, S co tch Rad icals, were execut

ed for t reason , because they gave express io n to po l i

t ical sentiments m uch less stro ng than m ay be met

w ith any m o rn ing now i n the co lumn s of a l iberal

n ew spaper. Parl iam ent was to m eet in February of

the fo l low ing year , 1 830 . In that Parl iam ent“

O’

Conne l l i ntroduced a bi l l fo r un iversal suffrage,

t rienn ial parl iaments, and vo te by bal lot , w hich was

rejected by a m ajo r i ty o f 306 on the 28th May .

When R icketts landed i n England , and during the

who le period of his residence there , the great

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1 10 R icketts at Wore.

anxious to presen t the petition to the House of

Lo rds,and would have done so but fo r the influence

brought to bear by the Board of Contro l and the

Government . In the interest o f East I nd ians and

their petit ion , M r. R icketts co rresponded w ith the

Duke of Well ington , Lo rd Carl isle,the R ight

H on’

ble S ir Robert Peel,Lo rd Cal tho rpe

,the

H on’

ble S ir A lexander Johnsto n , for som e t im e

Chief- Justice and Pres ident i n Counc i l,Ceylon , S ir

John Bowr ing,then Dr. John Bowring, Ed ito r of

the Westm inster R eview, and o thers . He was also

exam ined at great length befo re the Lo rds’

S elect

Comm i ttee on the affai rs of the East I nd ia Com

pany on the 3 l st March 1 830 ,and

‘

befo re the Com

m ons on the 2 1 5 t and 24th of J une ; and , al though

o n the last o ccas ion suffering from fever , he acqu it

ted h im self in a manner which won for him the high

est praise .

CHAPTER IX.

THE TOWN HALL MEETING, 9 1 11 MARCH 1 83 1 .

N al l the m eetings and controvers ies which at

that t ime were mov ing Euras ians to strive fo r the

rights hitherto w ithheld from them by the unj ust

j ealousy of the Ind ian rulers and advisers Of those

days, D ero z io played an i ndependent and impo rtant

part . The m en that as happy boys shouted together

in play, now stood on the sam e platfo rm and raised

their vo ices i n ind ignant pro test and appeal against

the social and legal ban that den ied them even the

nam e o r the rights Of Brit ish - bo rn subj ects,and

wi thheld from them the rights Of trial by j u ry and

H abeas Corpus . Differences Of opin io n as to the l in e

of action and the nam e which the un ited comm un i

ty should take,I ndo -Britons

,East Ind ians , Indo

Europeans,A nglo - I nd ians

,very early aro se i n the

m ovement which ult imately cu lm inated i n the East

I nd ians’ pet it ion to Parl iam ent Of 1 830 , on behal f

of which J . W . R icketts undertook a journey to

England , as thei r agent , to press the just ice Of thei r“

claim s to the legal status Of Bri t ish subjects. De

ro z io, himself a member OfComm ittee , was opposed .

1 1 2 D eroz io’

s Speec/z.

to the proceed ings which J . W. R icketts brought

to such a successful term i nat ion . D e ro z io was im

pressed w ith the bel ief,al l argum ents to the con

trary being had i n v iew,

“ That the d escendants Of

European fo reigners were no t i ncluded am ong the

part ies from whom the petit ion was sa id to com e .

He entertained the impress ion that in England , that

c lass,who had num erous ly s igned the pet it ion , would

not be properly, i f at al l , represented by M r. R icketts .

On the return Of R i cketts , Reed , Theobald , Theo

do re D ickens, and D ero z io, who had cons istently

opposed the send ing of a delegate, j o in ed i n honour

ing him fo r his m odest , manly and successful advo

cacy o f thei r c laim s and at a m eeting held i n the

Town Hal l on the 28th March 1 83 1 , D ero z io,i n

moving the propos it ion that , as a m ark Of approba

t ion , respect , and affect ion,M r . R icketts c hould be

presented , as a m em o rial o f grat itude by his countrymen

,w ith a s i lver vase, his po rtrai t i n Oil

,and a

publ i c d i nner welcom i ng him to his nat ive sho re ,

spok e as fo l lows

Why then am I here this day. I have int im at ed

that I have been cal led here by duty,and that is a vo ice

which I dare no t d isobey. I am an East I nd ian , and

therefo re I ought to be here . I am i nterested in the

welfare Of my countrym en , and therefo re I ought to be

here.I am anx ious to know what measures have been

adopted to promo te that welfare , and therefo re I ought

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1 14 D eroz io’

s eulogy of R icketts.

in those ages, w ith bri l l iant examples befo re your

eyes Of honours and triumphs acco rded to those

who had served their country ; conceive how

such examples had Operated upon your m inds,

and how you had then welcomed to his nat ive sho re

the man who for you has done m uch and suffered

m uch . Many whom I have now the honour to

address are aware that i t is not recently that he has

exerted himself to amel iorate our cond i t ion . I n

youth , when he fi rst felt l ife in every l imb, that

an imat ion was i nspired by an unabat ing z eal to do

his country serv ice. Y ou can test i fy whether “I

overrate him,when I declare

,that i f any man is

entitled to the grat itude Of the East I nd ian com

m unity, that man is John Wil l iam R icketts. H ad

he been entit led to i t on no o ther gro und than be

cause the P arental A cadem ic I nsti tution (the Dove

ton Co l lege,) an establ ishment which,i f not we l l

suppo rted, is l ess cred i tabl e to those who should

suppo rt i t than to its founder, owes its o rigin to

him ,such gratitude had been wel l deserved . Should

we no t , therefo re , present to him some token Of

our regard , which he may hand down to his poste~

rity,that the conduct Of so excel l e nt a father and

so wo rthy a man may not be lost upon his sons ;but that i t may i nspire his chi ld ren to render such

serv ices to yours as he has done to you . If then ,

I am surrounded by East I ndians, i f there be in

S upports motion for secondpetition. I 1 5

your bosom s one spark of manly feel ing which

m ay be k ind led into a flam e ; i f you cons ider

patriot ic exertion in your cause as wo rthy of

im i tation if you are al ive to just principles of duty,I charge you by al l that is dear to your hearts to

support the propos it ion which I shal l now subm it .

The propos i tion so eloquently advocated by Dero

z io , was carried unanimously. A t the sam e m eeting,in second ing the mo tion of his friend Charles Po te,the Euras ian A rt ist

,that a second pet it ion should be

d rawn up and presented to the new Parl iam ent,and

that the agitat ion Of their c laim s to equal rights as

Brit ish subjects should be continued t i l l i t bo re fru it

in j ust concess ion to r ights long wi thheld,D ero z io

spoke as fo l lows

I rise to suppo rt the proposit ion of Mr. Pote .

A s j un io r counsel i n the case, I cannot, however, be

expected to dwel l so long o r so ably upon its m erits.

But its impo rtance and the necessity of press ing i t

upon the cons iderat ion Of this m eet ing, must be myapo logy for the l iberty I take with the pat ience and

indulgence o f al l around me .

A l though our respected delegate has info rm ed

us Of his hav ing received very favourable assurances

from certain noble Lo rds and o ther influential

ind ividuals in Parl iament, I canno t see the evi ls

which the adoption Of this reso l ution is l ikelyto entai l . Why are we assembled here this

‘

1 16 S upports motion for second petition.

day ? A re we to confine ourselves to a part icular

routine and exclude al l matters which do not come

exactly w ith in i t ? I s this assembly unprepared to

entertai n this propos i t ion ? What is the d ifficultyin its way ? I s i t characterised by less d iscretion

than z eal ? He who entertains such a not ion has

c ertainly m isunderstood the Object .Of my friend

M r. Pote, and at tended but ind ifferently to the

t eno r of his suggest ions. I t is not requ ired of the

c omm ittee to prepare a petition this mom ent,nor is

it supposed that any ind iv idual present has such a

d ocum ent ready i n his pocket which he has onlyto lay upon the table for i nstant s ignature . S uch

speed is not contemplated by us . We only cal l

upon our fr iends to request the comm ittee to d raft

ano ther pet it ion , and , that no haste m ay do m is

chief,to take care that it shal l be ful ly approved Of

befo re it is s igned and despatched . S uppose th is

reso l ut ion is adopted , and that it afterwards be

comes unnecessary, what harm wi l l be done ? We

shal l only have to‘ change our m inds— a matter of

no inconven ience . Were there no o ther cons idera

t ion , the fact that one House of Commons rarelytakes cogn iz ance Of pet it ions addressed to its pre

d ecesso r, should be alon e suffi cient to convi nce us

of the imperat ive necess i ty Of appeal ing'

to the

Legislature Of Great Britain again . What have we

hitherto done What have we yet obtai ned P

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1 1 8 F i rm and respectful remonstrance.

We thank his Lo rdship . He prom ised to present

our pet ition . This was generous . But when the

t ime cam e for his Lo rdship’s hand to fo l low up the

benevo lent suggest ions Of his heart,that hand be~

cam e sudden ly paralyz ed . Weighty matters Of

S tate pressed upon his heart, and the petit ion

was left to make its own way i nto the-House

of Comm ons. I am apprehens ive, (though I

only suggest the poss ibi l ity of the thing) that

m atters Of S tate may be as burdensome to our

o ther sympathis ing friends i n Parl iam ent, and that

such paralyt ic attacks as,we see

,

‘

do sometimes

affl ict Lo rd A shley, may be common to o thers who

are deeply i nterested i n our welfare. TO pro tect

ourselves against such m ischances,i t wo uld not

perhaps be the most u nw ise course to petition the

Leg islature . Gentlem en , you have no thing to fear

from firm and respectfu l remonstrance . Your cal ls

fo r j ust ice must be as i ncessant as your grievances

are heavy. Complai n agai n and again , complain

t i l l you are heard .

“

A ye , and unt i l you are answer

ed . The ocean leaves traces Of every i n road i t

makes upon the shore but i t must repeat those in

roads w ith unabated strength, and fo l low them up

with rapid ity,befo re i t washes away the strand .

Though the m em o ry of D ero z io has been shame

less ly neglected by his fel low Eurasians , his

body resting in a nameless grave in an obscure

Tito Apatny of Euras ians. 19

co rner of a d i lapidated graveyard , and his verynam e

,if known at al l to the ris ing generat ion Of m en

of his own blood,known in a hazy so rt of way, the

calumn ies Of his l ife st i l l c l inging to his shadowym em ory, the course Of action so ably and w iselyadvocated by Charles Po te and Henry D ero z io

,has

no t altogether been wi thout fruit . But we venture to

think that,had Euras ians been mo re energetic in thei r

assert ion Of equal rights , and an equal share , no t on lyo f posts i n the Government Of Ind ia for which theywere suited , but of an adequate S tate - aided system

o f educat ion for their chi ldren , their pos it ion to d ay

would no t have been that of a race burdened i n the

battle of l i fe w ith co nd i t ions which , i n some respects,

they themselves have induced . Through this repre

hensible apathy and i nd ifference to thei r own best

interests, wh ich rarely al lows them to rise much

h igher than talk and platfo rm o rato ry, even i n the

December Of 1876, on the Occasion of the inaugura

t ion Of Tne Euras ian and A ng lo- I nd ian A ssociation

in the Town Hal l of Cal cutta, w i th S ir R ichard

Temple in the chai r, when the Euras ian populat io n

Of Calcutta was proved by the census of that year

to number over and probably double that

number in the who le pres idency of Bengal, less than

three hund red Euras ians came together to o rgan iz e

a m ovem ent on which so m uch Of thei r own future

depended , and which affo rded them an Oppo rtun ity

1 20 The Apathy of Eurasians.

Of man ifesting the real ity Of thei r earnestness to helpthemselves, and exhibiting to the Leg islato rs Of Ind ia

and England their determ inat ion to make known

thei r j ust complaints,to complai n again and aga in ,

t i l l they were heard and t i l l they were answered,

”to

fo l low up w i th unabated strength and rapid i ty everym eans which would ensure the educa t ion , the soc ial

status,the po l it i ca l i nfluence, and the future wel l

being Of their class.

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1 22 Kr ishna M ohun Banerj ea .

in the H indoo Co l lege, Krishna Mohun Banerj ea

was a pupi l of the first c lass . A lthough never

in the classes Of the Co l lege taught by D ero z io,

he and the o thers,to be afterwards enum erated

,

continual ly associated w ith him during the inter

vals of schoo l hours and i n the gatherings at

D ero z io’

s house, as wel l as i n the A cadem ic and

o ther associat ions , and in the conducting of the

H esperus and o ther papers . Krishna M ohun was

the leader Of the advanced L iberal party amongst

the Hindoo youths of Calcutta,and he

,though a

Kul in Brahm in , sat down at D ero z io’

s table w i th o ther

advanced thinkers Of h is countrym en , and,i n de

fiance Of al l caste ru les, partook freely Of beef,beer

and o ther European luxuries . The Brahm in ical

thread was thrown as ide, and Pope and Dryden

were held i n mo re esteem than the sacred books Of

the Hindoos . A t a m eet ing Of the m o re bo ld and

l iberal -m inded Of Hindoo youths, held at the house

Of Krishna Mohun , from which he him sel f was

absent— the date being 23rd A ugust, 1 83 1 , four

m onths befo re the death Of D ero z io— carried away

by their impuls ive feel ings , and each inci ting the

o ther,after partak ing Of some roast beef

,the m em

bers proceeded to toss the remainder i nto the com

pound Of an adjo i n ing house , occupied by a Brahm in

held in high est imat ion for ho l iness,

shout ing at

the same t im e sufficiently loud to reach the ears Of

Baptism . 1 23

the inmates ' There is beef— there is beef. A

personal encounter fo l lowed . The fam i ly Of Krishna

M ohun,ind ignantly appealed to by the o rthodox

H indoo comm un ity,had no o ther al ternat ive than to

ex - commun icate the arch Offender. Compel led to

flee from the hom e and friends Of his boyhood ,and

suffering acute m ental to rm ents, he was attacked

by fever, on recovery from which he entered on his

course as journal ist with renewed v igo r and w i th‘

mo re uncomprom is ing dec is ion . A t this po in t of

h is histo ry he cam e i nto immed iate contact with Duff.

On the 28th of A ugust 1 83 1 the E nqu irer announced

the baptism of Duff’s first convert,D ero z io

’s pupil

,

M ohesh Chunder Ghose. Duff’s next convert was

the Ed ito r of the Enqui rer , Krishna Mohun

Banerj ea,also the pupi l - friend ofD ero z io ; but neither

Of these m en jo ined , or in any way laboured for,

the Church Of S co tland . They were not Duff’s

co nverts,in any true sense of the wo rd and they

can be cal led so on ly in the sense that, havi ng gone

the who l e round Of speculat ion , they were in a pos i

t ion , befo re they cam e in contact w i th Duff, to ap

prec iate the arguments and the claim s of Christ ian ity.

That they were subj ect to o ther influences than

those of the S co tt ish M issionary, is evidenced i n

the fact that they were adm i tted to the Episcopal

Church of England ,— no t to the Kirk of S cotland .

The truth is both Banerj ea and Ghose had long been

1 24 Teaching of D eroz io.

in contact with and receiv ing rel igious instruct ion from

gentlem en , clerical and lay, belong ing to the Epis

copal Church . These men were in truth the first fru its

Of D ero z io’

s i nfluence and teaching, fo l lowed“

out to

their legit imate conclus ions , rather than the result Of

any sustained effo rt on the part of Duff. The who le

fabric Of Hindoo prejud ices had been broken down byD ero z io , and a love for truth and a struggl e for its

attai nment planted in its stead and no idea was

Oftener embod ied i n wo rds by D ero z io in conversat ion

and d iscuss ion , or burned i nto h is pupi l - friends’ m e

m ori es m o re deeply,than this Whatever com es

before you i n the semblance Of truth , that enqu ire

into with al l d i l igence, out Of the high respect due

to truth . In defiance of the mandate Of the m ana

gers Of the Hindoo Co l lege, fo rbidd ing attendance

at rel ig ious and o ther d iscuss ions,D ero z io

,i n oppo

s ition to their bigo try and i nto l erance,encouraged

the students to attend the lectures Of Duff ; and

when remonstrat ed w i th by M r. H . H . Wilson on

the injury to his own pos it ion in the schoo l,Of thus

d i rectly setting at defiance the mandate of the mana

gers, he d eclared i t was no bus iness Of his to put a

stop to free d iscuss ion and the search for truth .

Krishna Mohun taught for some tim e in the

Hare S choo l , has been pro fesso r in the now defunct

B ishop’

s Co l lege and exam iner in the Co l lege of

Fort Wil l iam,is hono rary docto r- in- law Of the Cal

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1 26 Ram Gopal Ghose.

ho ld ing the truth , he declared there was no death -bed

recan tat io n , no documeut s igned by D ero z io declaringh is bel ief in Christian ity, but that D ero z io d ied as he

had l ived,searching fo r truth . This test imony he main

tained during the who le term Of his sho rt l ife . He

was baptised in the Old Church by the Rev . T .D ealtry,

‘

afterwards B ishop Of M ad ras . In the sam e church

Krishna Mohun Banerj ea,a sho rt t im e afterwards

,

preached the funeral serm on Of h is Old friend and

associate . The aud ience was a crowded one,and

amongst the wo rshippers was David Hare, who knew

the preacher and the dead as lads i n the schoo l Of

h is own found ing.

Ram Gopal Ghose was bo rn in the October Of

1 8 1 5 , the son Of,Gobindo Chunder Ghose , a Mook

tear of the Rajah of Cooch Behar, and an accountant

i n a Calcutta m ercanti le house . He received his

earl iest educat ion in Engl ish at the S choo l Of M r.

Sherbourne, an East I nd ian,who was amongst the

ear l iest t eachers Of Engl ish to nat ives i n Calcutta.

Dwarkanath Tagore and o ther wel l known nat ive

gentlemen were also pupi ls Of Sherbourne . A t the

age Of n ine he was sent to the H indu Co l lege , where

he was favourably not iced by Dav id Hare, whose

interest in al l the lads, and anxiety fo r the success

Of the Co l lege, was unrem itt ing . Ram GOpal’

s'

father

was subsequently unable to pay the fee Of Rs . 5 5 3

a month for his schoo l ing. David Hare had young

Ram Gopal Ghose. 1 27

Ghose placed on the free l ist . A t the age Of four

teen he cam e under the influence Of D ero z io ,and

bes ides do ing the wo rk Of his class , engaged i n the

extra stud ies which D ero z io vo luntari ly d i rected .

The best preparat ion for publ ic l ife, however, which

Ram Gopal received was i n the A cadem ic S o cietyfounded by D ero z io . A t the age Of 1 7, on the

recommendat ion of David Hare,he becam e ass ist

ant ban ian to a Jewish m erchant named Jo seph ;but long after leaving the H indu Co l lege he con

t inued his stud i es, and for som e years he took his

seat in the fi rst class on the Saturday fo renoons

and took par t i n the wo rk Of the class . In private

study and i n i ntercourse w i th D ero z io and his com

pan ions at the A cadem ic and elsewhere,he broadened

and deepened his knowledge and acquired a faci l i tyo f express ing his v i ews . He contributed a series

Of letters to the Gyananeshan , then ed i ted by

Russick Krishna Mul l ick,on the Inland Trans i t

Du ties, which attracted the no tice Of S ir Charles

Trevelyan , and which a ided cons iderably in effectingtheir abo l i t ion . On the death Of the Gyananeshan

he started the Benga l Specta tor , which Peary ChandM ittra ed i ted for som e t im e . He also founded the

S ociety for the A cquis it ion Of General Knowledge , i n

which D uckinarunjan Mookerjee and Tara“Chand

Chuckerbutty were active m embers . This afterwardsbecame the Bengal Brit ish Ind ia Society. M r.

Kelsal l

1 28 R am Gopal Ghose 65“ Co.

jo i ned M r . Joseph in the bus iness in which Ram

Gopal was now a valuable and trusted ass istant, and

on M r. Jo seph reti ri ng, the firm afterwards becam e

Kelsal l , Ghose CO . He remained partner in the

firm t i l l the commerc ial cris is of 1 847 was bridged

over, and then reti red from the business wi th two

lakhs . Sho rtly after he was Offered a Judgeship in

the Cal cutta Sm al l Cause Court,which he decl ined .

He then began bus iness on his own account, and the

firm of R . G. Ghose 8: CO. was one Of the best known

in its day. On the Bengal Ind ia A ssociat ion,ceas ing

to exist , he, i n conj unct ion w ith o thers,founded

the B rit ish Ind ian A ssoc iat ion,which exists to this

day. He was appo inted a m ember Of the Counci l

o f Educat ion,and took an active interest in many

educat ional i nst itut ions i n Cal cutta. There was

scarcely a society of any em inence, social,po l it ical

o r l iterary, w i th which he was no t associated , and he

was appo inted to nearly every Government Comm it

tee to conduct enquiries regard ing every subj ect Of

publ ic impo rtance.

I n 1 853 , when the renewal Of the Company’

s Char

ter was being d iscussed in Parl iam ent, Ram Gopal

cal led a meeting at the Town Hal l to advocate the

adm iss ion Of educated natives into the covenanted

serv i ce. The m eeting was o ne Of the largest that

had ever been gathered i n Calcutta, and the speech

which he made on the occasion was one Of his

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30 Gohin, Russich, <9 M itra.

m ents . I n the pages of the R eformer,then owned

by Prosono Coom ar Tago re , a seri es of art icles

attack ing Christian ity appeared, written by Gobin .

These were repl ied to by the H on’

ble Ross DonnelyMangl es in the pages Of the Enqu irer . The d ist in

gu ished scho lar and ant iquary, Raj end ra Lala M i tra,

L L . D ., C . I . E . ,

was part ly educated at the schoo l

of Gobin Chunder Bysack .

Russ ie Krishna M ul l ick was one of the most

d istinguished students Of the H indoo Co l lege . He

suffered cruel persecution from the m embers Of his

own fam i ly on account Of his rel igious convict ions .

He was d rugged , carried Off from Calcutta, and placed

in i rons. A fterwards he abandoned his father’s

house,took Up his residence at Chorebagan , and

for some t im e conduct ed the Gyananeshan . A s a

deputy co l lecto r he was d ist inguished as a tho rough

ly rel iable and m eritor ious Ofli cer. H is son now

occupies the important pos it ion of superin tendent

Of roads for the Calcutta Mun icipal i ty.

A m rita Lal l M itrawas, in early l i fe, the Officer in

Charge Of the Toshakhana, and d ischarged his duties

w ith z eal and faithfulness. He laid down his office

a poorer man than when he took i t up . He was son

in - law of the late S ir Rajah Radhakant Bahadoor ,

fo r a long t im e the esteemed head Of the o rthodox

H indoos of Calcutta, and one Of the o riginal founders

Of the Hindoo Co l lege . Amrita Lal l M i tra never

Chunder Ghose 65" S ichdar . 1 3 1

took part w ith the unorthodox party. Though

keeping on friend ly terms w ith his Old fel low- stu

d ents,he confo rm ed to al l the practices of o rthodox

Hindoos. He suffered from asthma al l his l i fe and

enjoyed i nd ifferent heal th , and latterly he reti red to

Benares where he recently d ied . H is son is now

a wel l -known pleader of the H igh Court Of Calcutta.

Huru Chunder Ghose was appo inted m oonsiff at

Bancoorah. The salary was smal l,and the tempta

t ions to accept bribes were great and Of dai ly occur

rence. These he res isted and d rew on his fam i ly for

suppo rt. H is nam e sti l l l ingers in the d istrict where

he laboured , as that of a go od j udge and a god lyman . He afterwards became Magistrate Of Calcutta

and Judge of the Smal l Cause Court , i n the entrance

hal l Of which his bust now standswith the fo l lowinginscription on the pedestal

HURU CHUNDER GHOSE,Born 1 808, d ied 1 868.

For 1 5 years one Of the Judges Of the

Court Of Smal l Causes.

H is son is now Reg istrar Of A ssurances i n Calcutta.

Radhanath‘

S ickdar was the best mathemat ic ian

in the group of D ero z io’

s friends,and was long em

ployed i n the Surveyo r-General’

s Offi ce . Phys i cal lyhe was the sturd iest of the lot and held the theo rythat the food Of a people determ ined their character

and capacit ies. Beef~eaters, he declared , ruled the

1 32 D uchinarunj un M ooheiy’

ee.

wo rld . Though not a Christ ian he had renounced

Hindoo ism al together and l ived after the Engl ish

fashion . He bel ieved that Ind ia would never become

a great nation t i l l the inhabitants made use Of d iet

consisting extens ively Of beef, i n which he largelyindulged . He fel l a martyr to his own theo ry,

and

d ied of a sk in eruption induced i t is said , by beefeat ing .

Ram tonOO L ahiree was d ist inguished l ess for

strength of i ntel lect than for the generous unselfish

ness Of his nature.

M adubo ChunderMull ick was a quiet,unassum ing

man ,who went into bus iness i n a casto r-Oil factory,

and m et w i th heavy losses.

D uckinarunjun Mookerjee’

s father was a Kul in

B rahm in of no special stand ing in society,and

o f no special culture or fo rce Of i ntel lect . A fter his

m arriage wi th D uck inarunjun’

s mother he dwelt in

her house, and was a sort Of pensioner on his w i fe’s

fam i ly. The relat ion o f the father to the Tago re

fam i ly seem s to have been perfectly wel l known

to D uck inarunjun ,and the latter does not appear

to have held his father in much awe . A t al l events,

whoever took the young and ardent H indoo lad to

task, fo r associat ing w ith Dero z io and for being in

fluenced by his Open frankness,w inn ing ways and

hatred of al l sham s,eccles iast ic

,c ivi l , social and

moral , it was not his father. H is und isguised

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I 34 Duchinarunj un M oohcr/ee.

could no longer remain in a house where the feel ings of

h is friends were outraged and his most int imate com

pan io n d riven by abuse from the house. He took a

house near D ero z io’

s in C ircular Road,w i th the result

,

so far as D ero z io was concerned , as d etai l ed i n the let

ter above no ted . He afterwards returned, not to his

father’s house,but to that of a relat ive and when the

outburst of outraged Hindoo ism came, that subj ected

Russic Krishna Mul l ick to cruel persecut ion , and that

d rove Krishna Mohun Banerjea from the hom e Of

h is chi ldhood , Duck inarunjan received Krishna

Mohun and sheltered him for a month . The

wel l known tendencies Of Duck inarunjun , sho rtlyafter the death of D ero z io , became so Obnoxious

to the advisers of his fam i ly that, w i th their

adv ice, he was d rugged , carried from Calcutta,

and kept fo r some time at Benares, from whence he

again returned to Ca l cutta. The drugg ing and the

Benares d iscipl ine, whatever it m ay have been , d id

m o re than its wo rk . From the day Of his return to

Calcutta t i l l his death , mo re than thirty years after

wards , he was never the same man i n tel lectual ly o r

moral ly that he had been . He seemed as i f his reason

had been shaken : he behaved in an Odd and to him

unusual manner ; and he appears for a t im e to have

lo st al l mo ral contro l Of him self. The phi ltre w i th

which he was d rugged seem s to have destroyed his

nobler nature and awakened al l that was an imal in

D uckinarunj un M ooherjee. I 35

his composit ion ; and ever afterwards the nobler

inst incts Of the man were clouded . He plunged

into debauchery and excess Of the lowest k ind,i n

part suggested to him by either a deeply cunningor a grossly unwise med ical adviser ; and it was on lywhen heal th and purse were impai red that he in a

great measure abandoned his evi l courses but to the

end Of his days he was d ist inguished for low an imal

cunn ing and intrigue, so much so, that no t even

h is friends would trust him . Of course the friends

Of his Co l lege and D ero z io days, out Of respect for

themselves, fel l away from him ; and i t was only after

a cleaner l ine of l i fe had been en tered on,that som e

Of them had further intercourse w ith him . H is habits

became mo re respectable,or rather less d isreputable .

He settled down to quiet and v igo rous wo rk as ed i

tor Of a newspaper printed i n Eng l ish andBengalee.

This change was part ly due to the loss of a legacy,som e Rs which he inherited from his maternal

grandfather , and which he was i nduced to lend to

Dav id Hare w ith th e prom ise of eight per cent.interest. Hare, though never a bankrupt

, got intod ifficu lties, and could on ly g ive to Duck inarunjunsom e land in Calcutta as part paym enh— paym ent i n

ful l so far as Hare was concerned,—Of the debt Of

Rs

A bout this period in the l i fe histo ry of D uck ina

runjun Mookerjee the young Maharani of Burdwan

1 36 D uchinarunj un M ooheriee.

had been left a w idow. The deceased Rajah hadno male issue, and befo re his death he had adoptedas his hei r a lad whose s ister and whose aunt he

married ; for al l of whom he had amply prov ided .

The i ncom e of the young w idowed Ran i am ountedto about Rs 1 ,000 a month

, mo re o r less . Doom edby Hindoo law to perpetual w idowhood

,and impri

soned for l i fe w ith in the wal ls Of the Z enana,i f we

except those rare occas ions when rel ig ious rites per

m itted a sho rt excurs ion to a neighbouring temple,the s lumbering pass ions Of the young Maharan i

,in

flamed no doubt by the tales and go ss ip of the wo

m en servants,and i t may be by intrigues, som e

thing Of which may have come w i thin her know

l edge, devised m eans w ith the help of her wom en

servants to enjoy in secrecy the society Of that sex

from which her widowhood debarred her. Rumour

says, w ith how m uch o r how l ittl e truth i t may

be d ifficult to say, that m ore than one paramour

secret ly v is ited the Maharan i and rem ai ned i n her

chamber al l n ight, to be as secretly conveyed

w i thout the precincts of the Rajabari befo re the

z enana or the househo ld were sti rring. The youngRan i had expressed d issat isfact ion at the manage

m ent Of her estate, and des i red to have adv ic e regard

ing her share in the Raj and a new Dewan or m in is

t er. Something o f the young handsom e Duck ina

runjun Mookerjee, his gal lant ways wi th lad ies, h is

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1 38 D uchinarury’

un M ooheiy'

ee.

the d iv in i ty. I t was arranged that on the even ingwhen the yearly poojah cam e round , the young Ran i ,accompan ied by on eo r two Of her confidan ts

,z enana

dom est ics , shou ld steal away from the group of re

turn ing lad ies and enter a carriage which was to be

i n wait ing to d rive her to Calcutta i n com pany w ith

her adviser D uck inarunjun M ookerjee . The eventful

n ight cam e , the rel ig ious cerem on ies were completed

and the tra in Of wom en,about fifty i n number, were

return ing to the palace as day was d epart ing and

deepen ing i nto that speedy darkness wh ich dwel lers .

in the t ropics know so wel l,when the Ran i

,unper

ce ived ,s l ipped as ide

,found the carriage , and was

whirled towards Calcutta as rapid ly as ho rses could

carry her . I t was no t unt i l the z enana had been

reached ,and each one was sett l ing in her own quarters,

that the runaway was m issed . A hue and c ry was

ra ised throughout the palace , and a body o f sowars

(ho rsem en) , which fo rm ed part Of the palace retinue,

was sent o ff to scour the country i n search Of the

lady who had so sudden ly van ished . One party Of

sowars took the road to Calcutta : the carriage w ith

the Ran i and her Dewan , D uck inarunjun was speed i lyovertak en , and the Ran i rescued . D uck inarunjun was

being m o st unm erc iful ly m al treated by the sowars ,

and i n al l l ikel ihood would have been k i l l ed outright

and l eft on the roadway,when three M iss ionaries

travel l ing dak from Cal cutta, attracted by the no ise

D uchinarunj un M ooherj ee. 39

c am e on the scene . They could not wai t to sett le

the matter and se e the lady and her friend i n safe

keeping , but they to ld the sowars,we have seen

th is man in your power being i l l treated ,i f he d isap

pears , Or any i l l befal ls him ,we w i l l bear w i tness to

what we have seen . Overawed by the M iss ionaries

D uck inarunjun was l eft unm o l ested further, and the

lady was hurried back to th e palace which she had

so sho rtly befo re quitted .

S om e time after the Ran i left the pa lace and cam e

to Ca lcutta i n o rder to pro secute her c la im s . A s

a w idow i t was Of course imposs ible that she

could again enter the married state . D uck inarunjun

though nom inal ly a Hind oo,was not held i n m uch

esteem byhis co - rel ig ion ists . A Brahman in the serv ice

Of D uck inarunjun perfo rm ed a m arr iage cerem ony,

and the Ran i and her fo rm er Dewan l ived together

t i l l her death,long afterwards, as husband and w i fe .

One son was bo rn who,when he cam e to an age suffi

c iently Old to comprehend the pecu l iar relat ionship

Of his father and m o ther, has been heard to reprove

h is father for being the cause of his no t being bo rn

R ajah of Burdwan . A l l his l i fe D uck inarunjun

M ookerjee l ived i n the m idst of schem ing and

i ntrigues . In the inc idents that l ed up to the M ut inyand throughout its progress , the fo rm er pupi l o f

D ero z io schem ed'

al l round,at one t im e mak ing

overtures to some members of the Tagore fam i ly

140 D uchinarunj un M ooheiy‘

ee.

regard ing certai n designs Of the King Of Oudh,at

ano ther seem i ngly wo rk ing hard as a loyal subject

in the interests Of Eng land . A l l his m anoeuvres

during the period Of the S epoy Rebel l io n w i l l pro

bably never be revealed but h e had suffi c ien t craft

to m ake i t appear to Duff and the Officials of the

Fo reign Offi ce that he was a highly deserv ing and

loyal subject . He Obtain ed from Lo rd Cann ing the

escheated estates Of M an S ingh , who had jo ined the

rebels . A fterwards he was m ade a Rajah by the

Fo reign Office and l ived on his estate t i l l his death ,if no t shunned

,at least regarded w ith no feel ings o f

respect either by his co - rel ig ion ists o r h is ten antry.

Were the t rue state of m atters revealed , probablyD uck inarunjun deserved som ething qu ite d i fferent to

what the Governm ent Of I nd ia i n its gui leless l ibera

l ity bestowed on him .

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1 42 The East I ndian .

”

quence and abi l ity and a power Of argument Of which

East I nd ians m ay wel l be proud . Dr . John Grant , a

journal ist Of no i ncons ide rable abil i ty,the fi rst ed i to r

Of the Gover nment Gaz ette,sa id Of the East I nd ian

,

that whatever d ifferences Of opin io n ex isted amongh is (D ero z io

’

s) co ntem po raries as to the m ode of con

ducting i t , there could be none whatever as to the

talents , the perfect ho nesty, and the unfettered v i ews

O f the ed i to r. I n to th is venture,the East I nd ian

,

he po ured the l itt l e fo rtune Of the fam i ly. The ex

penses which he incurred i n establ ishi ng th e paper,in the typographical improvem ents which he intro

duced , and i n equipping the Office Of the Eas t I nd ian

at NO . 9 , Cossito l lah (now N O . 1 1 , Bent inck S treet,)

w i th every fac i l ity for the execut ion Of print i ng in

al l its branches , swal lowed up the l i tt le capital Dero

z io had at h is d ispo sal . On through the clo si ngmonths Of h is l i fe he labo red i n the print ing Office

and the ed i to r ial chai r and on the publ ic platfo rm,

w ith an energy,a devo t io n and an ab i l i ty which , had

he never achieved anything else , wou ld have marked

h im Off as no o rd inary m an . He was the chief

speaker at a m eeting o f East I nd ians held in the

Town Hal l on the fi rst Of J uly 1 83 1 , for the purpose

o f approv ing the d raft Of their second pet ition to Par

l iam ent . J . W. R icketts occupied the cha i r. A bout

I 50 East I nd ians were present , as wel l as a number Of

H indus, who took a warm interest in the proceed ings .

The second petit i on . 143

We subj o in a summary Of D ero z io’

s speech on the

o ccas io n gathered from the I nd ia Gaz ette Of Wed

nesday,A ugust 3rd , 1 83 1 M r . H . L . V. D ero z io

stated,that befo re pro ceed ing to the rej ection o r

adoption Of the d raft of the second petit ion , he would

m ake a few remarks on the m is- statem ents and m is

apprehen s ion s that had gone abroad regard i ng the

v i ews entertai ned by East Ind ians Of thei r d isabi l i

t ies . Thei r grievances were Of two k i nds,po l i t ical

and l egal but i t had been said that they were seek

ing fo r priv i leges to which European s and Hindus

and Mahom edans were inel ig ib l e . The petit ion

stated that they were w i thout any Code OfCiv i l L aw.

He d id no t know of any case in co rrobo rat ion , but

would no t al low h is want Of i n fo rmat ion on th is

po i n t to be conclus ive agai nst i t . J udg ing from the

law i tself, the argum en t was certai n ly i n thei r favo r,and no th ing cou ld be thrown into the oppo s i te scale

but preval ent practi ce,wh ich a s ing l e dec is ion would

i n a m om ent overthrow. The law,whatever the

pract ice, was unsu ited to thei r cond i t ion,for i t re

garded them as H indus and M ahom edans but in

what d id they ass im i late ? Thei r conduct,habits

,

thoughts , usages and feel i ngs were to tal ly d iss im i lar,and was i t to be said i n the n ineteenth centu ry,

that

i n leg is lat ing fo r a who l e body i t could be j ust to place

them under laws to tal ly un su ited to their ci rcumstances. I t surely could no t be cons idered a great

44 The second petition .

priv i lege to be placed under Bri t ish L aw . Let the

m any who had been ruined i n the S uprem e Court

speak their sent im ents ; fo r, bad as i t was,i t was

better than the j um bl e o f Hindu and Mahom edan

L aw to which they were subject the m om ent theycrossed the M ahratta Ditch . On e great ev i l aris ingfrom th is state Of the law was

,that the greater po r

t ion Of the East I nd ians,lo cated as they were i n

Calcutta,had no t the m eans Of acquai n t ing them

selves w i th that law,to wh ich they becam e subject ,

when they passed its boundar ies . He here m ention

ed as a case in po i n t . A n East I nd ian gentlem an

who had been educated i n England , hav ing returned

to h is nat ive land ,and whi le igno rant o f the laws to

which he was subj ect,was

,thro ugh the subo rnat io n

Of perj ured w it nesses aga i n st him ,th rown into one

o f the z i l lah jai ls fo r a period Of two years . This

was an ev i l Of great m agn i tud e, and the ci rcum stances

were such as no European co u ld be placed under .

I t had been said w i th regard to the lega l and po l i t i

cal priv i l eges which they c la im ed that , i f adm itted

i nto the c iv i l and m i l itary serv ices,they wo uld o n

this po i n t have advantages over what are perm itted

to the Hindus an d M ahom edans,and at the sam e

t im e would be ent itl ed to ho ld lands i n the interio r

which Europeans were prevented from do ing . The

adm iss ion Of East I nd ians to certain rights d id no t

preclude the poss ib i l i ty Of o ther classes of the popula

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146 D eroz io’

s speech.

array of East I nd ians. They had talent enough to

send an agent to England , and had influence to cause

an interest ing debate i n Parl iam ent on the subject

of their claim s and i f this were want of talent and

influenc e,they could do very wel l wi thout the talen t

and influence that stayed at hom e and d id no th ing.

D ero z io then depicted the consequences of l osingthe present o pportun ity and the respons ibi l ityresting on them to sec ure for thei r posteri ty al l the

advantages and privi leges possibl e. He expressed high

hopes for the new m in istry, and bel ieved that the in

troduction of the Reform B i l l was but the prel im inarystep to the intro duction o f mo re important reform s .

This argued wel l for Eas t Ind ians, for they had not

now to deal w ith igno ran t and partial men . He

advised them to conti nue to pre sent their claim s ;

success inv i ted them fo rward and ho pe cheered the

way. Did they fear t o rise in the scale of po l i t ical

importance, to be cons idered wo rthy of confidence

and honour , to be placed und er a defin ite co de of

laws, and to gain for the ir c hildren rights and pri

vileges which had not desc ended from their fathers

to them selves A nd ‘he conc luded a bri l l iant and

most effective speech by moving the ade ption of the

D raft petit ion .

”

H is friend Pote seconded the reso lution, and

Drummond ofDhurrumtol lah, his Old master, wasted

with i l lness, rose to point out that the definitions

The East I ndian second petition. 147

of the petition were not sufficiently clear and that

the pet it ioners were real ly Christ ians bo rn in Ind ia.

D ero z io overruled the Obj ection by po int ing out that .

clauses 1 and 2 of the peti t ion were expl ici t enough

The pet ition was approved .

S ome d iscussion then fol lowed as to send inga delegate to England, and the names of R icketts

and Pote were presented to the m eeting. R icketts

was w i l l i ng to go ; but he said that it would

entai l the loss Of his appo i ntment. Po te generous

ly would not hear of this, and h im sel f o ffered to

go . On the vote being taken , 48 only vo ted ,R icketts 33 , Pote 1 5, the o thers think ing it prema

ture t i l l suflflcient funds had been got together to

c lear expenses.

The o ther speakers at the me eting were Crowe ,W. Kirkpatrick , W. R . Fenw ick , M r. Wo l laston and

H . A nd rews. The latter gentleman is st i l l l iving,

and evi nces the same warm interest in every measure

of usefulness which d ist inguished him fifty years

ago .

The second petit ion was transm itted to Mr. John

Crawfo rd in England for presentation to Parl iament,but

,ow ing to a change of m in istry and o ther causes,

so far as we know, it was never presented. The

petit ion wi l l be new to men of this generation at

least,and as bes ides it bears the touch ofDero z io

’

s

hand,we reproduce it here

The East I nd ians’

secondpetition .

THE EAST INDIANS’

SECOND PETITION.

Calcutta , j une 27, 1 83 1 .

M . L’

B L ANC , PR I NTER — EAST IND IAN OFFICE.

THE EAST I NDIANS’ SECOND PETITION .

To the H onourable the Commons of the United

Kingdom of Great B ri tain and I reland in P ar l ia

ment assembled,the P etition of the unders igned inha

bitants of Ca lcutta and the P rovinces compr ised with

in the P residency of For t Wil l iam in Bengal .

HUMBLY SHOWETH ,

I st— That your Peti t ioners are nat ives of,

and

res idents in, Brit ish Ind ia ; Christ ians i n rel igion ;

and acknowl edg ing subject ion to the Crown Of

Great Bri tai n but labouring under certain griev

anecs which they des i re to bri ng under the no t ice of

yo ur Hono rable House in the hope of be ing rel ieved

from them .

e nd— That your Peti t ioners cons ist — first,of those

o r of the descendants o f those,who have been bo rn

out of wed lock ,of nat ive mo thers

, and who , al though

of Christ ian fathers, and un ited w i th Christ ians i n

faith,in language, i n habits, i n manners

,in feel ings,

and i n o pin ions,are yet regarded in the eye of the

law as w i thout the pale of Christ ian ity. S econd ly,that your Petit ioners cons ist of those, or Of the des

cendants of those,who

, though Ofnative descent (some

e nti rely and some part ial ly) and bo rn in wed lock ,profess the Christ ian re l igion , and are assim i lated

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1 50 The secondpetition.

though Christians, along wi th the professors of the

H indu and Mahummudan rel igions, to Mahum

m udan crim inal law, which (whatever mod ificat ions

that law may have undergone by the Company’

s

R egulat ion) is abho rren t to thei r feel ings and degrad

ing to thei r characters, as contrad ist i ngu ishing them

from their Christ ian brethren .

6th.

- That a further effect of the posi t ion in wh ich

your Pet it ioners are placed by the state of the law,

o r the interpretat ion given to i t , is that in the civil

relat ions of l i fe they have no law whatever for their

guidance . Not being Hindus, they cannot regulate

those relations by H indu law. N o t being Mahum

mudans they canno t regulate them by Mahum

m udan law . A nd not being Brit ish - bo rn subj ects,

they canno t enjoy the advantages of the law of

England . Your P etit ioners,being w i thout any

w ritten law bind ing upon them i n the m ost impo rtant

relat ions Of l ife, are therefo re dependent upon what

any j udge may cons ider the practice w i th regard to

them i n those relations. This leaves them so much

in the hands , and at the d iscretion of the M in is

ter of Justice, that they respe ctful ly so l ici t from your

Hono rable House that cons ideration to this particular

which its importané e demands .

7th.— That your Petit ioners are systematical ly,

and as a class,excluded from al l superio r and cove

h anted Offices in the Civil and M i l itary Services,

The secondpetition .1 5 1

and from al l swo rn Offices in the Marine S ervice of

the East I nd ia Company and that on the no t ificat ion

Of the appo intment Of any one who may be then

res id ing i n Ind ia, they have been st igm at i z ed as a

body by a prov is ion publ icly announced i n the

Gaz ette ofGovernment , that the appo in tm ent should

not be val id i f the ind ividual appo inted be the son

of a nat ive Ind ian .

8th.—That yo ur Petit ioners as a class are further

systemat ical ly treated as inel ig ible to most of those

subord inate employm ents in the J ud ic ial , Revenue ,and Po l ice Departments, which are Open w i thout

reserve to the H indu and Mahummudan nat ives of

the country.

9th.—That by a General Order, dated the 27th

February 1 808, of the Commander- in - Chief,for the

t im e being, of his M aj esty’

s Fo rces i n Ind ia,they were

as a class expressly declared ,and are st i l l practical

ly considered to be,d isqual ified from ho ld ing

h is Maj esty’

s Comm iss ion in the Bri t ish Ind ian

A rmy.

1 0th— That by st ipulations in t reat ies with the

powers of Ind ia,which st i l l preserve a shadow of

independ ence, your Petit ioners,though regarded

as nat ives of Ind ia,are practical ly debarred from

engag ing in their servi ce in any capacity, w ith

out the special l icense of the Supreme Government of India.

1 52 The East I ndian”N ewspaper .

n th— That the spirit of the entire po licy of

the East I nd ia Com pany’

s Governm ent towards

your Petit ioners has been , and is, degrad ing , invid ious,and pro script ive and that instead of encourag ing,they have d iscouraged , every attempt made by your

Peti tioners to improve thei r own cond i tion and that

of the i r o ffspring.

1 2th.— That your Petit ioners respectful ly refer to

the evidence g iven befo re the S elect Comm ittee

appo inted by the last Parl iament to i nquire intothe affai rs of Ind ia, in co rrobo rat ion and proof

of thei r al legations ; and they confident ly so l ic it

from your Hono rable House a tho rough considerat ion of the grievances herein brought to no t ice,and rel ief from thei r futu re Operat ion .

A nd your Pe tit ioners, as i n duty bound , wi l l ever

N ext month , S eptember 1 83 1 , there occurred

that passage at arm s” between D ero z io and

Captain Macnaghten which wi l l be referred further to .

I t was not alone on the platfo rm and in the social

c i rcle that D eroz io advocated the claims of .h is class.

I n the co lumns of the H esperus, an even ing

°

paper

which, whi le teaching i n the H indoo Co l lege and

assist ing Krishna Mohun Banerj ee and o ther of his

students in the pages of the Enqu irer , he had sue -s

cessful ly launched, he championed the claims of

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D eroz io é “ Capt. M acnaghten.

a gentleman who , for many years befo re his death in

1 846, was a Captai n on the Ret ired L ist of the Bengal

A rmy,a writer of d ist inguished abi l i ty bo th in verse

and prose on the press of Ind ia,and who

,along w ith

John O’

Brien S aunders, Cobb Hurry of the D elhi

Gaz ette, and o thers,s i nce the days Of the d epo rted

S i lk Buck ingham ,had gradual ly developed the high

tone and abi l ity of the Ind ian Press,and freed i t

from the lead ing- strings of Governm ent contro l , t i l l

it could rank i n usefulness, v igo r and independence

w ith the press of any country i n the wo rld . A n

art icle from the pen of D ero z io i n the co lum ns Of the

E ast I ndian had stung Capta i n Macnaghten of the

j ohn B ul l beyond the o rd i nary bounds of prudence ,and he made his appearance in the ed i to rial office

o f the East I ndian arm ed w ith a cane to demand

sat isfact ion from D ero z io . The latter was then a

neatly d ressed lad Of twenty - one,and the Captai n

a man of at least thirty- five . On acquaintingD ero z io w i th the obj ect of his vis it

,and exhibit ing

his cane, I have com e to have sat isfaction D ero z io

repl ied ,

“ Then take it .” There m ust have been

something i n the tone and bearing of D ero z io which

speed i ly effected the evapo rat ion , either of the

courage o r the intention of the Captain,fo r he

contented him self with gen tly laying his cane o n

D ero z io’

s shoulder and declaring,

“ Cons ider your

self assaulted , S ir, then turn ing on his heel , he left

D eroz io’

s letter to the I ndia Gaz ette.

”1 55

t he Ofli ce , fo l lowed ebY the gay laugh of the amus

ed D ero z io . N othing further cam e Of this passage

at -arms beyond a war of wo rds i n the various

newspapers . We subjo i n D ero z io’

s letter closing the

d iscuss io n

( The I ndia Gaz ette, S eptember 29th,

CAPTA I N MACNAGHTEN AND M R . D EROZIO .

Capta i n Macnaghten says in to - day’

s j ohn Bu l l

that he is determ ined not to read the East I ndian and

H u rhar u any m o re . Regard ing his assault upon m e

there are two statements— his suppo rted by Captai n

White,and m ine by Mr . King . Whatever Opin ion the

publ ic m ay entertai n regard i ng the assai lant and the

assai led,i t wi l l be unan imous ly adm i tted that the un

fai rness Of the transaction belongs to Capta in Mac

naghten . When gen tlem en com e to assault o thers for

supposed aggress ions, the parties canno t conceal thei r

nam es from each o ther w ithout the im putat ion of

coward ice and the suspic ion o f being ruffians .

Captain Macnaghten never gave m e h is name . I

found h im out,and even after I succeeded in uh

m ask ing him , he continued (t i l l to -day) to cal l him

self “ Tit - fo r - tat, as i f he shrank from id ent i fy i ng

him self w i th the person that assa i l ed m e . I d ism iss

this bus iness from my hands , and the thought of i t

from my m ind , w ith the sat isfaction of hav i ng done

no th ing wrong . Persons o f character and re spec

tabil ity, whose good opin ion I des i re , wi l l acqu it m e

D eroz io’

s letter to the I ndia Gaz ette.

of everything improper in th is transact ion . Myconduct wi l l suflflc iently prove that I had not the

l east suspicion of being assaulted,as I was ; that I

endeavoured to find out my assai lant ; and that

upon d iscovering his character,I was prevented by

my friends from pursuing him a s a gentleman . I

am sure there is no o ther officer in the army who

would have come to a stranger as Captain Mac

naghten d id to me , w i thout in the fi rst instance

g iving up his nam e Circum stances depend ingent i rely on my being put i n posse ss ion of my assai l

ant ’s name would have influenced my decis ion re

gard ing the course to be taken Captai n Mac

naghten has done his tattered character no good byattempting to patch it up in this way I t is not

in my nature to entertai n a feel ing of resentment

long and now that the affai r is about to pass from

publ ic attent ion , and that excitem ent has g iven

place to reflection , I pity the man who has brought

h imself into a s ituat ion so deplo rable. He is even

now upon his knees , entreat ing the H urharu to spare

him the reco l lect ion of his fo rm er d isgrace ; and i t

is to be hoped that the ed ito r Of that paper w il l grant

the prayer of a fal len man who sues for mercy.

With these sent im ents I withd raw myself from the

scene in which I have been obl iged for some days to

act so conspicuous a part . Having fixed upon myassailant the infamy which his conduct deserves, I

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1 58 D estruction of fi les.

the Calcutta and o ther Gaz ettes m ay be , i t w i l l be

utterly imposs ible to wri te the histo ry of that periodo f Ind ia’

s progress , comm erc ial , social, and o ther

w ise, as ful ly as could have been done if these ando ther journals had been preserved . The d ifficulty of

preserv ing cumbrous fi les of books i n Ind ia is wel l

known . I n a s ingl e n ight the ravages of white -ants

m ay do m uch to destroy the m ost un ique and valu

able vo lum es ; and ,i f l eft und isturbed

,a few years

would complete their d estruction . I n England , i f

kept from damp, books m ay l i e for years un impai red ,though covered w ith dust . Bes ides th is

,the rapid

changes i n society, the various hand s th rough which

the property Of publ i c j ournals passes,and the care

lessness Of servants render i t mo re uncertain that

fi les shal l be preserved and transm i t ted . I t seem s to

us that , i n the m atter Of the preservat ion of publ ic

newspapers, and prov id ing easy publ ic access to their

fi les,the Governm ent have not been as m indfu l as

they ought ; and we ven tu re to suggest , that steps

should be taken to Com plete , as far as possible,the

blank fi les of defunct journals ; and early sets '

of

those at present existi ng secured . There are,we are

persuaded,cart loads o f m in utes and trashy repo rts

lumbering the reco rd room s Of I nd ian Departm ents ,

which m ight very wel l d isappear and m ake room for

that reco rd of publ ic i ntel l igence and stream o f criti

c ism ,suggest ion and d iscuss ion, on al l the mul tifari

I nfluence in publ ic movements . 1 59

ous topics which concern the press , and the men of

the then ex ist ing generat io n , from which the so cial ,

po l it ical and const itut ional h isto ry of a country can

m ost truthful ly, and w ith the greatest m i nuteness, be

gathered .

The influence which D ero z io exercised in soc iety,o n the platfo rm ,

and i n the press,to bring about

,

what he him self never l ived to see,the fi rst fru its of

the moderate assert ion of their rights as Brit ish

subjects by the Euras ian commun ity,has , up to the

present tim e, never yet , we venture to th ink,been

real i z ed . There is no argument u sed now- a- days on

behalf of the Euras ian commun ity which D ero z io

and the men w i th whom he was associated 50 years

ago , d id not use w ith more eloquence,w ith greater

m oderat ion , and w i th mo re indom i table perseverance

and abi l ity. I t has been the fate of D ero z io,as i t has

been that of o ther em i nent m en,that the sun Of his

sho rt l i fe shou ld go down in baseless ca lum ny and the

white heat Of rel ig ious controversy ; and that

the m en of succeed ing generatio ns, d istant from his

own ,should have imposed on them the task of clearing

his character from unjust charges, vind icat ing his

fam e as a poet of no m ean em inence, and estimatingin som e fashion his i nfluence on the thought and

act ion of his t im e . The i nfluence which he exerc is

ed on behal f of his own c lass, and on the general

thought of his t im e, through the press and on the

I nfluence in publ ic movements .

platfo rm, we have po i nted out rather than exhibited

in detai l . That detai l can be fo rthcom ing onlyon a m inute study of what we have h itherto fai led

to Obtai n access to,i f indeed they exist, viz .

,the

fi les of those journals i n which D ero z io wro te,and

which he conducted with such m arked abi l ity,but

which the commun ity, who ought to have preserved

h is m emo ry green , have, to thei r own sham e,al lowed

so speed i ly to be ann ihi lated . Even the L ibraryo f the Doveto n Co l lege, an essent ial ly Euras ian

I nst i tut ion,has neither a copy of his wo rks no r a

leaf of a newspaper of h is conducting, no t even a

s ingl e repo rt or reco rd of the numerous m eetings

and proceed ings, i n al l of which Euras i ans had a v i tal

interest , nor yet a complete set of the repo rts o f

thei r own Inst itut ion ; and the few books compos

ing the L ibrary are d ropping to pieces, a shamefu l

monument Of Euras ian z eal and grat i tude, to the

hono r Of their fathers and the m emo ry of their dead .

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162 S chool Examination.

pupils to avai l themselves of the jud ic ial s ituat ions

which had so recently been opened to East

Ind ians.

These lectures were never del ivered . E l even days

after, the grave closed on the bri l l iant lad, and

there was quenched one of the m ost hopeful l ives.

I t is beyond quest ion that , had the lectu res been

del ivered,they would have gathered round D ero z io

in the Doveton spir i ts as earnest , unselfish , and

noble as those which characterised his connect ion

w i th the H indu Co l l ege .

In The East I nd ian of Saturday, 1 7th December,there appears a repo rt Of the exam i nat io n of the

pupi ls of the Dhurrum to l lah A cademy : th is no t ice

conta ins the las t l ines wri tten fo r the East I nd ian

by D ero z io . A fter comm enting on the excel

lence of the exam i nat ion passed by the boys, the

not ice goes on to say that , the most pleas ingfeature in this inst itut ion is its freedom from

i l l iberal i ty. A t som e of the Calcutta schoo ls Objec

t ions are made to natives,not so much on the part Of

the masters as of the Christ ian parents . A t the Dhur

rum to l lah A cademy i t is qu ite del ightful to w itness

the exertions Of Hindu and Christ ian youths , striv ingtogether fo r academ i c honours ; this w i l l do m uch

toward s soften ing asperities, which always arise in .

ho st i le sects ; and when the H indu and Christ ian

have learn ed from m utual in tercourse how much

L ast publ ic words . 163

there is to be adm i red in the human character ,

w ithout reference to d ifferences of opin ion in rel ig ious

matters , shal l we be brought nearer than we now are

to that happy cond it ion when

M an to m an the world o’er,

S hall bro t hers be and a’ t hat .”

To those parents who Obj ect to the bring ing Up

of their ch i ld ren among nat ive youths, we des i re to

represent the su icidal nature of thei r conduct . Can

they check the progress of knowledge at certai n

schoo ls can they close the gates of the H indu Co l

lege and o ther inst i tut ions If not , is it not obv ious

that they canno t w i thho ld know ledge from Hindu

youths, and i f they man ifest i l l iberal feel ing towards

those youths, are they not afra id of a react ion In

a few years the H indus w i l l take thei r stand by the

best and the proudest Christ ians and i t canno t be

d esi rable to exci te the feel i ngs of the fo rm er against

the latter. The East I nd ians compla in o f sufferingfrom proscription , is i t for them to proscribe Suf

fering should teach us not to make o thers suffer.I s it to produced d ifferent effec t on East I nd ians

We hope not . They w i l l find after al l,that it is

the ir best in terest to un ite and co - operate w i th

the o ther nat ive inhabitants o f I nd ia. A ny o thercourse w i l l subj ect them to greater Opposi t ion than

they have at present . Can they affo rd to make

mo re enem ies

1-64 Thefu lfi lment of the prophecy.

The clear, far - seeing w isdom of these,the last

public wo rds o f the greatest Euras ian in manyrespects that has ever shed lustre on h is race

,and

the broad chari ty and to l erat ion which they exhibit ,clearly mark him o ff as not on ly m uch in advan ce

o f the m en o f his own day, but far ahead i n w ide

sym pathy and t rue l iberal i ty even of the m en o f

to -day. Eurasians have,from the i r earl iest existence

as a commun ity,de cl ined to have thei r sons educated

s ide by s ide w ith the nat ive lads of Ind ia,for m o ral

and rel ig ious reasons which in our estimat ion have

been unduly i n tens ified and need lessly pers isted

in,to thei r own hurt . The wo rds of D ero z io m ay

wel l ring in the ears of th is generat ion and rouse

them to a consciousness Of their past unw isdom

In a few years the Hindus w i l l take thei r stand

by the s id e of the best and the proudest Christ ians .

H ow complete a fulfi lm ent of D ero z io’

s wo rds is

the present cond it ion of Euras ian youths, ousted

from the lower grades of Government serv ice bynat ive lads

‘

; and competing w ith them i n h igher

educat ion and in the attainment of that rank which

the impress Of a Univers ity degree marks as scho

larship, w ith al l the advantages Of heavi ly sub

sid ised Government Co l leges thrown into the scal e

on the s ide of the nat ives . The East I nd ians

complai n Of suffering from proscript ion , is i t fo r them

to proscribe ? Eurasians have suffered from the

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166 Cholera .

My heart, and sh a l l that l i t t le lamp,

M y g lorious image beS h a l l t h e n igh t so m irk, the s tream so dampBe l it and c heered by t h ee ?

L o in th e brea t h of the tyran t windThe trembl ing flam e looks wan

A nd pale, as if fe ar had se iz ed its m indIt fade s

,alas

,

’tis gone

And wil t th ou trem b l e so,my heart ,

Wh en th e m igh ty bre a t h e on t h ee ?And sh a l l t h y l igh t l ik e th is d epar tA way i t canno t be .

I n the autum n of 1 83 1 an unusual ly high rate of

mo rtal ity prevai led i n Calcutta and its suburbs,the

chief causes of death being cho lera, dysentery, and

fever. In the v i l lage Of Baraset near Barrackpo re

who l e fam i l i es had been swept away ; and i n the

v ic in ity Of Bhowan ipore nearly a third of the ih

habitant s had d i ed . In the v i l lages between the

S al t Lake and Calcutta the mo rtal i ty was not less

great . Every day during N ovember there‘

were

carried to Kal ighaut about fifty dead bod ies , and

to the neighbouring ghauts about hal f that number.

On the Diamo nd Harbour road a fam i ly of ten

m en were carried o ff i n a few days, leav ing o n lythe w idows . Everywhere in Calcutta and its

neighbourhood cho lera was prevalent ; and nearlyevery case proved fatal . On Saturday, December

1 7th, 1 83 1 , the day on which there appeared i n the

East I ndian the not ice, already referred to,of the

exam inat ion of the pupi ls of the schoo l i n which

D eath. 167

D ero z io received al l the educat ion scho o ls could

ever g ive him , he was strick en w ith cho lera, and

for s ix days he struggled w ith the d isease, t i l l

the bitter end i ng cam e in death . There crowded

round his s i ck -bed,

no t terrified by the ravages

of cho lera,but ris ing above the fear o f contagion ,

the pupil - friends Of the H indu Co l lege . A l l through

the s leepless,weary, pai n fu l n ights and days, there

watched the s ick -bed of the dy ing D ero z io,Krishna

M ohun Banerj ee,Ramgopal Ghose, Mohes Chunder

Ghose, . and o thers,sharing the anxiety and fat igue

of D ero z io’

s m o ther and his s ister,A m el ia. Dr.

John Grant , the m an Of al l m en who fi rst recogn iz ed D ero z io

’

s bri l l iant capacity, who rocked the

crad le of his gen ius, and fo l lowed to the grave his

hearse, was i n constant attendance ; and when

som e hopes were entertai ned that the splend id con

stitu tion o f the dying lad wou ld w i thstand the

ravages of the d isease,the docto r’s m elod ious vo ice

rose i n the s ick chamber,read ing to the East

I nd ian boy the second book of Campbel l ’s P lea

sures of H ope. The pleasures of hope were very brief.Racked w ith pain that fi l led the room w ith low

m oan ing, wo rn out by s leepless days and n ightsand the v io lence o f cho lera-m o rbus

,on S aturday,

the 23rd December 1 83 1 , the weary eyes closed i n

d eath ; and there d isappeared from the g reat river

o f th is m ortal l i fe one of the mo st bri l l iant mo rn ing

A the istic c? immoral poetry .

l ights that ever sai led adown its stream . For him,

as fo r al l true m en,death had no fear

,however m uch

they hate i t, gate though it be to l ife , the gloomyentrance to a sunn ier wo rld . This is how D ero z io

s ings of death and fate, and man ’s eternal energy

D eath my best friend, if t hou doest Ope’the door

The gloom y en trance t o a sunn ier wo rl d,

I t boo ts not wh en my b e ing’s sc en e is fur l ed,

S O th ou c ans t augh t lik e v an ish ed b l iss r estore.

I v ain ly cal l on th e e , fo r fat e the m oreH er bo l ts hur ls d own , as she has eve r hur ledA nd in my war wi t h her I

’ve fe l t

,and fe e l

G rief’s pat h cut to my h e ar t by m isery’s s teel .But m an ’s e t ern a l en ergies can m ak eA n atm osph ere around him ,

and so takeGood out of ev i l, l ik e the y e l low bee ,Th a t sucks from flowers m a l ign an t a swee t treasure.

O tyran t fa t e thu s shal l I v anqu ish th e e ,For out of suffering sh al l I gat h er p l easure .

The “ poo r self- sat isfied creatures,‘

as Robert

Dick,the baker and geo log ist Of Thurso , said of his

own detractors , who make an image of God after

thei r own hearts,and no t after the image of thei r

m aker,made D ero z io

’

s short l i fe and sudden death

the peg on which tohang a hom i ly,to po in t a theo

log ical m o ral , and ado rn a tal e. A theist ic and

imm o ral poet, subverser of al l rel ig ious principles

whatever,were howled over his grave by the unco

’

guid ; and repeated i n mo ck ing parro t tones hal f

a century after his death , by smal l m en, hedged

round by a com fo rting theo logy of their own. That

D eroz io thought fo r himsel f on al l topics , is beyond

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1 70 The story of the confession.

l ike but that D ero z io d ied i n any o ther faith than

that in which he l ived,that is , a chi ld - l ike confi

dence in the great loving spirit that fo rmed h is

spirit,“and confessed that he was a Christ ian and

that he d ied a bel iever in the fai th of Christ, is a

statem ent which takes for granted that he l ived and

thought during his sho rt l ife in antagon ism to the

teachings of Christ as he understood these. This

conclusion we venture to think,canno t be accepted ,

no tw i thstand ing the statements that have been mad e

regard ing what passed between bo th H il l , J . W .

R icketts and D ero z io ; one Of these statements

go ing the length of assert ing that a written recan

tat ion of i nfidel ity, and a ful l avowal Of Christian ityas these gentlemen and their Church understood

it,was produced and s igned on his death -bed . I f

such a document ever existed , it was never exhibited

to his closest friends , nor shown to those most l ikelyto be made aware o f its existence, v i z the student

friends who continual ly sought his so ciety and l ingered

round his dying bed . They knew no thing of this con

fession and though his bed was closely watched byone or o ther of them day and n ight , no clergyman

o r friend w ith a sto ry o f confess ion o r rec antation

was ever seen by them ,m uch less any written docu

m ent to that effect, bearing the signature of D ero z io .

The who le sto ry seem s to have arisen from the laud

able anxiety Of som e of his friends, to get from him

The spir it of his l ifiz. 1 7 1

some more defin ite avowal of rel igious convictions

than he ever could see his way to fo rmulate duringh is l i fe

,and i n the course of conversat ion , no doubt,

D ero z io expressed him self,as i n his calmer and more

serious moments he would have done, in such a way

as seemed to those anxious for his “soul ’s welfare

,

”

to warrant them in declaring that D ero z io had d ied

in the faith of Christ . D ero z io l ived i n the faith and

spirit ofChrist as he understood that fai th and l ife ;and i n no o ther faith could he l ive o r d ie . That

he read the l i fe and teaching of Christ d ifferent lyfrom o thers that he set his foot fi rm ly down agai nst

dogmat iz ing, aga inst hypocrisy, agai nst al l i l l, mo ral

and intel lectual,and dared to d i ffer from his fel lows

and seek for truth w i th a fearless chival ry, a lovi ngchari ty, and an undogmatiz ing modesty, was the

head and front of h is o ffend ing. He suffered the

penal ty Of al l who dare think for themselves ; and

bigo ts and fanat ics and the wel l -m ean ing m en who

require to have compan ionship and the assurance of

convict ion which the authority Of o thers carries

w ith it in rel ig ious matters , branded him an infidel .

Of few men may i t be said mo re fitly than of

D ero z io,

“ Here l ies one who never feared the face

of man,

”who sought for truth fai thful ly, fearless ly

and w ith al l d i l igence, chival ry and charity, and

after searching for it here awhi le,“went to find i t

in another world who, during the short morning glow

172 The lesson of his l ife:

o f his brief l ife, wo rked del igently‘

to cul ivate the

intel lect and purify the l ife of al l h is pupi ls, and who

spared neither care no r sacrifice to raise the nat ive

people o f Ind ia, and the m en of his own race,to a

social , mo ra l , intel lectual and po l it ical pos i t ion which

one day sooner or latter they shal l attai n .

There is one lesson from D ero z io’

s l ife which

Euras ians may wel l con and lay to heart . With no

o ther educat ion than that which a Calcutta adven

ture schoo l, fifty years ago , could give him ,he began

to earn his own l ivi ng and suppo rt his m other

s ister and bro ther, after his father’s death , at an age

when most lads are cramm ing”for exam inations,

and tread ing on each o ther’s feet“

i n thei r eager

ness to enter some of the grades of Governm ent

serv ice. D ero z io’

s gen ius and high natural abil it ies

were accompan ied by that tenacity of purpose,

that steady appl icat ion to work , and that d eter

m inat ion to m ake o ne’s way, w ithout which

gen ius and abi l i ty are m erely marsh l ights , to

lure their possessors to uselessness and ru in . The

advantages which the train ing of a un ivers ity course

bestow are not by any m eans to be ignored or des

pised and when a train ing Of th is so rt is compat ible

with the m eans and future prospects of lads, it would

be the highest fo l ly to w ithho ld it . But when neither

the present means,nor the future prospects of a

fam i ly, warrant the outlay on an expensive educat ion ,

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1 74 The tr ibute of the Government Gaz ette.

East I nd ian boy, that gave su ch indubitable prom ise

of som eth ing m o re than comm on -place talent, when

we reflect on the fo rm idable d isadvantages he hadto contend w ith, and the elast ic ity and success w i th

which he bo re up against them , so as to make forh im self a name, our regret for departed gen ius is

m ingled w i th adm i rat ion at its buoyant energy.

Dest ined to term inate his sho rt career when o thers

are but comm enc i ng the irs, he nevertheless l ived

long enough to acqu ire a reputation that is not l ikelyto perish ; and that is honourably associated w ith

l iterature, and the mo ral , social and po l itical improve

ment of h is countrymen . H is wo rks evinc

ed a vigour of thought, an orig inal i ty—

0f conception ,

a play of fancy and a del icacy of tone which o cca

sioned the mo re surprise when the reader cam e to

know that the autho r was an East I nd ian boy whose

peregrinat ions had never extended beyond Bengal ,and whose A lma M ater had been a Calcut ta S choo l .

I n.

1 827 his publ ished poem s att racted the no t ice and

excited the applause Of a section of the London Press .

Ever s ince,his nam e has been befo re the publ ic ,

either as a contributo r to various l i terary wo rks, or as

the able and independent ed ito r Of a newspaper . Of a

d i l igent and act ive turn , he was not a youth that

could sit down and eat the bread of id leness nor had

he any false fast id iousness as to the sphere in which

he could useful ly exert hiS'

talents. Our youthful'

The tr ibute of the “ Government Gaz ette.

”1 75

poet becam e a teacher in the Hindu Co l l ege . I t

certain ly, one wou ld im agin e, was not the s i tuat ion a

young and ardent m ind l ike his would choose had he

a variety of cho ice . This,however

,he had not— and

he acco rd ing ly entered w ith alacri ty and z eal upon

h is new dut ies . The Faheer of j ungheera

evi nces an extrao rd inary command of language and

an acute percept ion of the beauty Of nature and

those ideal it ies which fo rm fo r the poet a wo rld of his

own . Of fel ic ity of thought, no l ess than the ex

press ion of that sympathy which the poetic m ind

ho lds w ith the wo rld,v is ible and i nv is ible , a Wa lh by

M oonl ight, publ ished two or three weeks befo re his

d eath,furn ishes an example .

That the in terest which he took i n the progress of

his pupi ls was as deep as i t was generous, and in

dependent of al l selfish mo t ives,is sufficiently ev ident

were there no o ther proof of i t than the beaut iful son

net addressed to the students of the H indu Co l lege,which he publ ished i n the Bengal A nnual , 1 83 1 .

Circumstances impel led M r. D ero z io to res ign the

s ituat ion he held at the H indu Co l lege . Thus

thrown on his own resources , he establ ished the

East I nd ian newspaper,which

,however o ther d i ffer

ences of opin ion exist among hi s co ntempo rar i es as

to the mode o f conducting i t , there could be no n e

whatever as to the talents,the perfect honesty, and

the unfettered v iews of the ed i to r. The labou r

1 76 The tr i bute of the Government Gaz ette.

of conducting a dai ly paper in Ind ia must be obv ious.

E lastic and buoyan t as was the character of HenryD ero z io

’

s m ind , i t could scarcely be expected ,that

the constant tens ion of facult ies,caused by his

connect ion w i th a daily paper of pecul iar vi ews, andthe o rgan Ofa c lass , no less than his anxiety on o ther

po ints, not necessary to be d i lated on here, and per

haps d isappo intm ent of som e of those hopes to which

the aspiring chi ld of gen ius is mo re especial ly subj ect,

it is, we say,scarcely surprising that these should have

affected his fram e to a degree that he h imself was

probably not aware of. To these may also be added

a feel ing ofmort ificat ion at having been m isconceived

in his views, even when his i ntentions were the most

single -hearted , and devo ted to what he cons idered

the right . Youth,and the consciousness of elastic

and o riginal powers of m i nd are apt to l ead thei r

po ssesso r into som e imprudence,and that he should

have his share of the rashness,and impetuos ity of

bo th un ited was but natural . Now that he is low,his

friends may aver w ith pride,that i f his speculat ions

were no t always conclusive, or h is in ferences legiti

mately fo rm ed , his m o ral character was irreproach

able , his devo t ion to the spirit of what he deemed

t ruth,even romantical ly uncomprom is ing, his inten

t ion good , and his conduct as a son,a bro ther and

friend,and a member of society,

which it was his

dearest wish to elevate and improve— such as to reflect

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The tr ibute of the S umachar D urpan .

than to M r . D ero z io . I f any proo f be needed of this

it may be found i n the perpetual abuse heaped on

h im by some of the native papers of this Pres idency,

foes to every improvem ent .

Thus, at the early age of 2 1,has this highly-

g i fted

young man been cut off, in the m idst of a career of

great usefulness , and j ust as he was about to reap the

fru it o f his arduous labours i n the establ ishment of

his journal . H is abi l it ies were gr eat, and his ideas

respect ing publ ic interest were general ly j ust . On

some subj ects , part icularly those of the m o st so lemn

impo rtance to man,i t was feared that his high talents

and the natural impetuos ity of youth had hurried him

into speculat ions which m o re pro found enquiry m ight

have corrected . We therefo re lam ent his death most

deeply, because, from the cause j ust m entioned , he

never accompl ished hal f the real good which m ight

have been hoped for from one so r ichly endowed .

This high testimony to D ero z io’

s abi l ity and worth

is al l the mo re remarkable, com ing as i t d id from

a journal conducted by the M iss ionaries of S erampo re,

and ed i ted by M r. Marshm an (see A s iat ic Jour

nal , Vo l . VI I I , pages 79 and 1 33 , A s iat ic I ntel li

gence) .

On the 3oth Of December 1 83 1 , the fo l lowing ad

vert isem ent appeared i n the I ndia Gaz ette

Encouraged by my friends and most of the East

I nd ian commun ity to publ ish the memo i r of my late

Tke M ot/ter and S ister 1 79

bro ther, Henry Louis Viv ian D eroz io,I bring

myself befo re the publ ic and so l ic i t their patronage

to the above wo rk .

A MEL IA DEROZIO .

This m emo i r never saw the l ight ; m isfo rtune

was clo s ing round the m o ther and s ister o f D eroz io ,

and how bravely they m et i t,may be learned from

the fo l lowing advert isem ent which appeared in the

sam e paper for a number o f days

Private Tuit ion,Circular Road , Cal cutta. I n con

sequence of the lam ented and unt im ely death of her

son Henry,M rs . D ero z io thus early publ ishes her

intentions w i thout delay. She purpose s receivingunder her roo f a few young lad ies and i nstructingthem in the fo l low ing branches - Engl ish and French ,Read ing and Writing,

Geography ,Histo ry, A rith

m etic, the E lem ents of M athem atics and Phys ical

S cience , N eed lewo rk and Dom esti c Economy. A s

M rs . D ero z io has enj oyed the benefit of the best

education in England ,and as she w i l l be ass isted i n

the duties of teaching by a very competent ind ividual ,she hopes to affo rd every sat isfact ion to the parents

and guard ians of the child ren entrusted to her care .

Being also anxious to g ive the female education a

higher character than it has hitherto possessed i n

I nd ia,it w i l l be her aim to real iz e that object to the

best of her abil ity. Every poss ible attent ion w i l l

be paid to the heal th and mo rals of the young

1 80 Tne “ East I ndian .

”

lad i es . Music , dancing, and d rawing at the usual

c harges .

”

We add another advertisem ent from the newspapers

of December 29th and fo l low ing dates , contain ingan appeal to the commun ity to continue to suppo rt

the East I nd i an

The great expend i ture of money that has

been incurred by the late proprieto r (H . D ero z io )in establ ishing this paper, and i n its typographical

improvements,lately effected , w i l l be who l ly lost

to his fam i ly if the paper is no t continued . With

the experience of some months to guide us,i t

is almost superfluous to ins ist upo n the necessity of

m ai ntain ing a paper which has the interests of the

East I nd ian commun ity in View . Ind iv iduals are

too o ften bl ind to thei r own interests, and st il l mo re

so to the general i nterests of the comm un ity. We

wou ld appeal to the sham e that w i l l fo l low,i f the

East I nd ians should be found unw i l l ing to suppo rt

their own cause . We have a confidence that the

tear o f so rrow and the tribute of respect which theyhave paid at the grave o f their departed friend , w i l l

be fo l lowed by substantial serv ice fo r al l the trouble,to i l

,care and sacrifice

,which have been endured

i n their service by the lamented ed ito r of the East

I ndian .

A m eeting of the friends and adm i rers of D ero z io ,

for the purpo se of erect ing some suitable monument

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Tae M eeting to erect a M emor ial .

W . R . Fenw ick,D . Hare

,D . M . King ,

W . Kirkpatrick,

J . W . R icketts, J . Welsh , and Baboos D uck inarunjun

M ookerjea, and Krishna M ohun Banerj ee,be appo in t

ed to carry the fo rego ing reso l ut ions i nto effect

and that M r . W. R . Fenw ick be requested to offic iate

as S ecretary to the comm ittee .

4 ta.—M oved by M r . L. Fraz er, and seconded by

M r . J . A . Lo rim er

That any surplus that m ay be left from the sub

script ions ra ised on account of the m onument,be

tendered to the fam i ly of the late M r . D ero z io .

S ubscriptio n books were handed round,

and

donat ions to the am ount o f Rs 900 were entered .

On a letter being read by M r . Byrn from M r .

S tapleton , o ffering to publ ish a l ithographic m i n iature

o f M r. D er o z io w i thout any rem unerat ion fo r hi s

labours

stk .

— Moved by Baboo Krishna Mohun Ban e rj ee,and seconded by M r . R . Dias

That M r . S tapleton ’s proposals be accepted,and

a m in iature o f M r .

“

D ero z io be publ ished w i th the

consent of his fam i ly ; and that the thanks of the

m eeting be presented to M r . S tapleto n fo r h is d is im

t e rested o ffer . Vo tes of thanks for the use of the

H al l and to the Cha i r c lo sed the m eeting .

S choo l , newspaper, and m onum ent al l cam e to

no th ing ! A person of l i tt le m o ral wo rth and som e

pretensions to l i terary sk i l l obtai ned the d i rect io n

Tne last of D eroz io’

s M ot/zer and S ister 1 83

and m anagem ent o f the East I nd ian ,and the con

fid ence of D ero z io’

s m o ther. This person who has

been characterised as l i ttl e better than a European

loafer,

speed i ly brought the paper to ru in , and ,

w i th i t,A m el ia and her mo ther. Everything was

so ld o ff and the mo ther and s ister of D ero z io at

this po in t d isappeared from m o rtal ken . A m el ia

appears aga i n o nce on ly. S om e years afterwards

she was accidenta l ly m et at S erampo re by Krishna

M ohun Banerj ea : then she was m arried . S ince

then the fam i ly have d isappeared . A re any m em

bers yet i n ex istence ? A re any o f D ero z io’

s books,

l etters,o r m anuscripts st i l l avai lable to throw som e

l ight on h is l ife and wo rk i’

The m ovem ent to erect a m onum en t to his m emo ryand wo rth , inaugurated i n the hal l o f the Doveto n

Co l l ege , at which two of his best loved friends,Krishna M ohun Banerj ee and M ohesh Chunder

Ghose— spoke in feel ing term s o f thei r d ead master

and Kirkpatrick and o thers who , i n the m erry days

of long ago , had spo rted w i th him on the green ,and R icketts who had sto od s ide by s ide w ith

h im on the plat fo rm s of publ ic m eetings, ro u s ingEuras ians to an assertion o f thei r rights, and

Fenw ick and Crowe,who had suppo rted him i n the

heavy task of ed i ting and m anag i ng the Eas t

I nd ian ,al l paid tributes to his m em o ry,

- cam e to an

ignom i n ious end ing Fenwick , the man entrusted wi th

1 84 T/ze end of t/ze M emor ial .

the money,Rs 900 ,

ra ised on the day of the m eeting ,

and whatever o ther sums he afterwards co l lected

from nat ive, Euras ian and European fr iends, go t

into deep waters in m oney m atters and ,probably

bel ievi ng that his embarrassm ents were on ly t em

porary, appropriated the who le of the subscriptions

o f the D ero z io M em o rial . D ero z io’

s native friend s

were d isgusted ,and the Euras ians made no m o tion .

The keen feel ings o f regret wo rked by D ero z io’

s

d eath,d ied away the m en that knew him went to

jo in him in ano ther wo rld ; and a generat ion has

arisen that knows him no t . I t m ay no t yet be too

late to place som ewhere,either over his grave , o r

better st i l l,on the wal ls of the Pres idency Co l lege

l ibrary, som e s im ple m em o rial of his l i fe and wo rk

and there are surely m en o f his own race fo r whom

he has done so m uch,over whom ,

as we have said ,he has cast the glow of his gen ius , and exhibited

in a remarkable m anner the he ights‘to which they may

aspire and may attain,there are surely nat ive gent le

m en ,them selves educated at the H indu Co l lege, and

who ,together w i th thei r sons , are reaping the fru its

o f Dero z io’

s sowing, who w i l l glad ly aid in erecting

a modest m em o rial to the lad who , fifty years ago i n

poetry, phi lo sophy,and journal ism ,

in the schoo l

room ,on the platfo rm ,

and i n the soc ial ci rc le, ex

h ibited a gen ius and a publ ic wo rth which has too

lo ng remained unacknow ledged .

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I 86 l e papers of D eroz io.

as Dr . John Grant, H . M . Parker— a gentleman

o ccupy ing a high position in the Revenue Depart

m ent, and m ov ing i n the highest c ircle of European

society i n Calcutta, a man of cu lture and no m ean

poetic o rder,as ev idenced i n his D raug ltt of Immar

tal i ty— no d inner party given by M r. Park er was

complete w ithout D ero z io— and the accompl ished

prin cipal of the H indu Co l lege, D. L . R ichardson,

and o thers who m ight be m ent ioned , al l these would

have turned the head of most boys of twen ty but to

the end of his s ho rt l ife D ero z io retained the child l ike

s impl ic ity of his character. A fter his death and t he

abandonment of the contemplated biography by his

s ister A m el ia,D ero z io

’

s papers seem to have

passed into the hands of M r . R ichardson . A mongst

these papers were several s hort poem s s ince pub

l ished,notably I ndependence and a s econd sonnet to the

students of the H indu C o l lege, no t contained in his

co l lected wo rks, and fi rst publ ished in the Ca lcu tta

Q uar ter ly M agaz ine, 1 833 . There w ere also a num

ber of letters , now apparently lost , and an incom

plete translat ion from the French of M . P i erre

Lou is Moreau De Maupertu is , on Mo ral Phi lo sophy .

This incomplete tran slat ion, three chapters o f which

were printed after h is death in the Calcutta Q uar ter ly

M agaz ine for 1 833 , along w ith a sho rt not ice of his

l i fe and poem s,is evidence of th is m uch at least, that

Dero z io knew sufficient Fr ench for al l the purpo ses

Taefulfilment of nis work. 1 87

ofa student and tha t his knowledge of Phi losophyd id not embrace the be st ‘

known autho rs only, but

extended to those whose very nam es, either in this

generation or the i r own ,were and are, quite unknown

to the bulk of stud ents of Philosophy.

The fierce rel ig ious excitement which marked

D ero z io’

s connexion w i th the Hindu Co l lege, and

which d istingu ished the closing years of his

l i fe,has long s inc e passed away. The Brahmo

S omaj,now d ivided into three branches

,the A d i

S omaj,pres ided over by the spiri t and gen ius

of the venerable Babu D ebendra Nath Tago re, the

S adharan B rahmo Somaj , a commonweal th based

on const itut ional and representat ive principles , and

the “ New Dispensation , the nam e assumed by

those Brahmos who accept the teaching, leavened

w ith the B ible and western culture, of Keshub Chun

der S en , son of Peary Mohun Sen, who d ied i n 1 848,

Dewan of the Calcutta M int, a student of the H indu

Co l lege, and a grandson of Ram Gomul Sen, the most

act ive m ember of the comm it tee that decreed the

d ism issal of Dero z io , has entered on the work of re

fo rmat ion and regenerat ion begun so long ago by

Rajah Roy, who d ied in England neither H indu,M ohamadan

,nor Christian .

The schoo ls and co l leges of Christ ian sects are

substant ial ly aid ing i n the great work of educat ingthe people of India. S ide by side with the Hare

1 88 Tnefulfilment of nis worn.

S choo l , on the land g iven as a free gift by Hare forthe o ld Hindu Co l lege, there stands its l ineal descendant

, the Pres idency Co l lege, pres ided over by a

staff of accompl ished m en,and furn ished with a l ibrary

and apparatus . A djo in ing these are the Univers itybuild ing and the M ed ical Co l lege Hospital, a group

of educat ional agencies which real i z e to the ful l

that for which the Ind ian Rajah and the o ld

fashioned Engl ish clo ck -maker and o thers of the i r

day laboured so strenuously. The wheel of t im e

turns round on its axis,

and brings its own

reparat ion . The very wo rk which D ero z io stud iedw ith the students of fifty years ago , and on which

was based , in a large m easure , the charge of“athe

ism and the subvers ion of al l rel ig ion whatever

unjustly brought against him during his l i fe,and

repeated after his death,the L i fe and Wo rks of

Dav id Hume, Histo rian and S ceptic, by no less a

person than Professo r Thomas Huxley, a nam e that

has stunk for years in evangel ical nostri ls, is now one

of the text -books set down for exam inat ion ; and

this has been effected w ith l itt le mo re than a m i ld

pro test from a few wel l m ean ing m en . The who l e

field of mental science is now ably taught by d is

t inguished scho lars,and successfully stud ied by the

descendants of the very m en who crowded to the

lectures of D ero z io,and who have now entered on

the quiet inheritance of a curriculum which, in

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1 90 Tfie fu lfi lment of nis work .

N ot there , but i n a nameless grave, i n a crowded

city grave -yard .

N o dream , shal l in to th a t slum b e r deep,N o wan d ering m or ta l t hi t h er onc e shal l wend ;

Th ere n o t h ing ov er h im but th e h eavens sh a l l we ep,There n ever pi lgrim at his shrin e sh a l l bend

,

But ho ly stars alone t heir n igh tly vigils keep.

”

CHAPTER XIII.

THE POETRY OF DEROZIO.

HOSE whom the gods love d ie young is a

trite saying, m o re o r less verified,i n som e

fashion , i n the l ife experience o f m ost m en . The

prom ise of D er o z io’

s early years m ight , or m ight

not , have been real ised . Th o se who knew him best

and loved him m ost, bel ieved , that , had l i fe been

granted him , he would have achieved for himself the

very highest rank as poet and thinker. N otw ithstand

ing al l the praise bestowed on his early vo lum es bythe press

,and by warm - hearted adm i rers

, D ero z io

d id no t , as has been asserted , -rest on his oars and seek

no higher fam e, n o m o re enduring m onum ent of songand thought , than those embod ied i n boy ish verse

and speculation Dero z io him self be l ieved that he

had i t in him ,to rise to higher fl ights of thought

and to delve deep down into the great heart

of human ity ; and this self- assurance of conscious

power grew i n strength , and found express io n

in conversation w ith those who cam e in contact

w ith him during the few m onths prec ed ing his

death .

1 92 Tne sty le of nis P oetry .

A good deal has been said regard ing the style ofD ero z io , that it is but an echo o f Byron , Moore

, and

M rs . M c L ean (L. E “ exaggerated ideal ism and

pictures of pass ion . N o doubt,the influence of

these writers exercised cons iderable power in m ould

ing the fo rm o f m uch of D ero z io’

s poetry. Theywere the poets then fashionable, and to depart from

their m odels was,fo r a young unknown writer

, to

court defeat . D ero z io’

s idea was,

fi rst,to gain the ear

of the publ ic by s inging to them in the prevai l ingfashion of the day and then , having

'

gained a hear

ing, to strike out in that style in which his own

nature would mo st vigo rously d rape his song.

Comm enting on a revi ew of D ero z io’

s po etrywhich appeared i n the 1 3th No . of the Or iental Q uar

ter ly M ag az ine for December 1 829, the Gover nment

Gaz ette, of about the sam e date, then ed ited by Dr .

John Grant, says :

When the Reviewer blam es him (D ero z io) for

mak ing the Byron ic Schoo l too much h is m odel,

we m ust say for our young poet that he him sel f,

at the t im e of publ ishing his Faneer of [ungfieercaanticipated that an obj ect ion against exaggerated

passion and sentiment would be m ade. Whythen

,i t may be asked , d id he not adopt a s impler

model ? This we shal l briefly explain . In an artic le

quo ted from the Q uarter ly Review it is j ustly re

marked that,‘whoever endeavours to rival the best

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Tfie Fakeer of j ungneera .

he would have demonstrated to the fu l l , what he had

al ready demonstrated i n part,that there was som e

thing mo re in him and his power of song, than

sweet im i tat ive echo .

The j udgm ent which an impart ial wo rld passes

on men ,and the posi t ion ass igned them by an un

biased succeed ing generat ion , free from the heats o f

personal l ikes and d is l ikes and bitter controversy,is based , not on what a man m ight have been , or

what at som e early period of his l ife he may have been ,but on what he actual ly was, and what he achieved

up to the t im e of h is death . I t is on these l ines we

venture to est imate H . L . V. D ero z io .

The Fafieer of [ungli eera is a poem of two cantos

w ithout a plo t and w i th few incidents . I t may be ana

lysed i n a sentence or two . A young Hindu w idow

is about to perfo rm the rite of S at i , when she is

rescued by a fo rm er lover,the leader of a band of

lawless men,whose strongho ld is the rock of Junghee

rah. In a raid , the last on which he was to lead the

band befo re quitt ing the lawless l i fe for ever, the

robber chief is k i l led and his band scattered,and

Nuleeni is found dead i n the arm s of her dead lover .

A round these few i nc idents the gen ius of D ero z io has

woven som e of the finest po et ic imag in ings ; and

there are parts o f the poem which ind icate,i f they

do not always reach , the true elem ents which d ist in

gu ish the genuine poet there are imaginat ion , mus ic ,

T/ze open ing . 1 95

sympathy wi th nature and human nature, and tnougnt .The open ing of the po em alone contai ns gem s of

poet ic metapho r which wo uld have furn ished almost

the who le sto ck - in - trade of better known s ingers.

Here is the thought of the open ing, w i thout the

m us ic . The viewless w ind , wandering l ike youngspirits on the w ing, over flower bel ls

,wak ing odours

,

rust l ing the grass, breathes l ike a lover’s s igh . The

sun - l i t stream breaks into d imples l ike a wak ing chi ld ,sm i l ing i n its mother’s face . The sun

,l ike heavenly

hope set over earthly care, pours bless ings on the

earth and brings its beaut ies fo rth . The butterfly,l ike a flower plucked by an angel from the fai rest

bowers of heaven,to which w i ngs had been added ,

has been sent to earth as an earnest of what beauties

bud i n heaven . The bee on quivering, m elod ious

w ing, l ike a faithless lover, giddy and w i ld , s ips honeyfrom the floweret

’

s l ips. Under the banyan tree,fanned by refreshing winds, the brain c ircled by fa i r

fanc ies,and the thought arrayed i n robes of song— a

beauteous spo t would be blessed to m instrelsy and

there the g i fted bard m ight weave del ic ious d reams .

Then fo l lows a piece of v igo rous description , but not

by any means the best i n the poem .

The golden God of D ay has drivenH is chariot to the western gate

Of yonder red resplenden t heaven ,

Where ange ls high to hai l H im waitBut ere his couch he press to -n ight ,

His rays 9. mournful scene shal l l ight .

196 Hymn to tke S un.

The laughing wave that rol ls below,Gil t wi th the yel low sunshine’s glow,Shal l hear

,ere changed its hue may be ,

A maddening wai l of misery .

There are cho ruses of women,Brahm ins and the

chief Brahm ins, and mo re descriptive passages . We

t ranscribe the XV. stan z a

A s Hits the insect round the flame,S o whe els the heart round passion

’

s fire .

Their blindness , madness , sti l l the same,A like in pangs they both expire .

W'here’er the treacherous taper burns,Thither the head long insect turnsA nd fearless , fluttering near it stil l ,R egard less of al l pain or i l l ,Un ti l the warm th that round it playsA ttracts it n earer to the blaz e,Expiring there, at last it l earnsThough bright the flame, it scathes, it burns.So round the torch that Love hath l it,M ad as the moth the heart wil l flit,On giddy wing it wi ld ly wheels,Th

’ en liven ing glow its spirit feelsA nd then it fond ly fancies, thisM ust be what minstrels picture bliss,Un ti l in to the fire it flies ,And then , too late, lamenting , dies

S tan z a XIX .,the Hym n to the Sun, though cast

in a som ewhat hackneyed m easure, has a steady flow

and maj est ic ring abo ut it, which ought to mak e i t

better known .

HYMN TO THE SUN .

God of this beauteous world whom ear th and heavenAdore in concert

,and in concert love ,

Whose praise is hymned by the eternal seven ,Bright wheel ing minstrels of the courts above

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198 Tfie L egends of t/ze S /zuslzan .

God of th’

immortal mind with power to scanThoughts that like diamonds in the cavern

Though deeply bedded in the breast of man,

D istinct and naked to thy piercing eye .God of Eternity whose go lden throne

I s borne upon the wings of angels brightGod of al l goodness, thou art God alone ,

C ircled with glory , diademed with light

The repet ition at the clo se,o f the open ing verses

is a feature in the poetry of D ero z io which occurs

frequently. This repet it ion o f the open ing no tes of

the strain as the clo s ing l ines are dying o n the ear,

and thus carrying the m emo ry and imag inat ion back

through the who le effo rt , and again down the l ine

in thought, is a true poetic inst inct which poets and

m usic ians of the fi rst o rder have frequently hand led

i n a fashion to produce resu lts of the happiest and

most powerful descript ion .

The fi rst canto ends w i th Nuleen i and her lover

safe together in the rocky hom e of Jungheerah .

The second canto opens w i th a festive scene at

Rajmahal i nterrupted by the advent of N u leen i’

s

father, and contains, in our est imat ion , som e of the

most v igo rous verses D ero z io ever wro te . The

Legend of the Shushan , w i th al l its imperfections, is

worth read ing. Here is the open ing part .

0 Love is strong, and its hopes wi l l buildWhere nothing beside would dare

O Love is bright , and its beams wi l l gildThe desert dark , and bare.

D eroz io’

s N otes .199

And youth is the time, the joyful time ,When visions of bliss are before us

But a las when gone, in our sober primeWe sigh for the days flown o

’

er us .

For youth and love their hopes wi l l buildWhere nothing beside wou ld dare

A nd they both are bright , and their beams wil l gi ldThe desert , dark and bare .

The rain fel l fast , and the midnight blastI ts horrible chaun t did sing,

And i t how led and raved as i t mad ly passedLike a demon on wildest wing.

The precipitous lightning beamed al l bright ,A s it flashed from the dark

,dark sky,

Like the beautifu l glance (which ki l ls with its light )Of a woman ’

s large black eye .I t hissed through the air, and it dipped in the wave ,And it mad ly p lunged into earth ,

Then pursued the wind to i ts desolate cave,And hurried to its home in the north .

Some spirit had charmed each gathered cloud ,Ti l l the mystic spel l it broke

A nd then uprising, oft and loud ,The heavens in thunder spoke .

And sooth it seemed as if, save that gleam ,

A l l nature had lost her lightThe moon had concealed her beautifu l beam

’

Twas a fearful , fearfu l night .

D ero z io’

s no te to the Legend of the Shushan we re

produce in its enti rety. The w i ld weirdness o f the

o riginal , and how far D ero z io fo l lowed i t , w i l l be

apparent to the reader“ A student of that excel lent i nst i tut ion , the

H indu Co l lege, o nce brought m e a translatio n of the

Betal Puncheesee, and the fo l low i ng fragm ent ofa tal e

hav ing struck me for its w i ldness, I thought of wri t

ing a bal lad,the subj ect of which should be strict ly

I nd ian . The Shushan is a place to which the dead

Deroz io’

s N otes .

are conveyed to be burnt . I n confo rm i ty with the

practice o f eastern sto ry- tel lers , who frequently repeat

the burden o r m o ral of the song, I have introduced

the “ O Love is strong, &c .,wherever an oppor

tunity offered

Thereupon,he took the Jogee as ide and said

,

O Gosayn ! you have g iven m e many rubies , but

have never even once eaten i n my house : I am

therefo re m uch asham ed , so pray tel l m e what

i t is that you want ? ‘ Great King,’ repl ied the

Jogee ,‘on the banks of the river Godavurry is a

S hushan , where al l I w ish fo r w i l l be gained by

Muntra. S even - eighths of what I want have been al

ready obtained and I now seek at your hands the

remain ing po rtion . Y ou m ust therefo re stay w ith

m e one who le n ight .’ ‘ A greed ,

’ repl ied the King,

appo int the day.

’

On the even ing of the fourteenth

day of the m onth Bhader com e to m e armed . Go ,‘

returned the Raja,

and I prom ise to be w i th you

on the day you have fixed .

’ With this prom ise the

Devo tee took leave of the King and pro ceeded to

the Shushan . The Raj a was lo st in m ed itation , t i l l

the tim e appo in ted sto l e upon h im,

and then ,

hav ing armed him self,he went a lone in the even ing

to the Jogee .

Com e in and sit down , my son,

’

said the Devo tee

and the Raja compl ied w i th his request , whi le at the

same t ime he, unalarm ed , beheld demons, gho sts ,

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202 D eroz io’

s N ote.

suspended the co rpse , which , as soon as i t fel l,

began to c ry. The King ,hearing its vo ice , was

pleased at the thought that i t m ust have been a

l iving being ; then having descended ,Who are you

said he to i t . To his great aston ishm ent the co rpse

only laughed ,and w i thout any reply cl imbed the

t ree . The King fo l lowed i t , and,hav ing brought i t

down in his arm s,repeated h is quest io n . But rece iv

ing no answer,he thought that i t m ight have been

the o il -man, wh o ,

the D ey had said ,had been kept i n

the cemetery by the Jogee ; then , hav ing bound i t

in his cloak , he began to bring i t away .

He who great ly ventures,w i l l greatly w in .

‘Whoare you ,

’

said Betal the co rpse,to the Raja

,

‘and

where are you tak ing m e P’ ‘ I am Raja Vic rom ,

’

said the King ,

‘and I am tak ing you to the Jogee .

’

Let it be agreed between us,

’ repl ied Betal,

‘ that i f

you speak while we are on the road,I shal l return .

’

To this the Raja consented,and proceeded w i th the

co rpse. While they were on the way , O King,’

said Be tal , the learned and the w ise spend their t im e

in songs and study,and the i ndo l en t and igno rant

in" frivo l i ty and s l eep . I t therefo re behoves us to

m ake an easy journey of i t w i th pleasant conversa

t ion . Hear then what I now tel l thee’

But t h ere was a man , and a holy man,A gifted Sunyasee.

Sympatny between N ature and H uman N ature . 203

A Sunyasee is a devo tee who l ives in the desert

The moss his bed , the cave his humble cel lH is food the fruits, his drink the crysta l wel l .

The verses from S tan z as X . to XVI I I . of the

second canto are fu l l of beautiful poet ic imagery ,

d ramat ic in tens i ty, and that sym pathy between

nature and hum an nature which Wo rdswo rth,and

above al l Burns,i n his “Wee m odest crim son t ippet

flower,

and “Wee s leek i t c ow’

r in t im ’rous beasti e,

d eveloped to the highest po in t . We do no t m ean

to assert that D ero z io m ay rank i n equal ity as a

poet w ith either Wo rdswo rth o r Burns but i t seem s

to us that the poetry of D ero z io is steeped i n an

intens i ty of feel ing and pass ion,and a weal th of

beautiful thought , a l i tt le fancifu l , no doubt ; and that,i n comm on w i th al l true po ets , D ero z io has fe lt and

expressed ,no t on ly the c lose affin ity of the varyi ng

m oods and the l i fe o f man w i th the changeful phases

of nature, but also the sympathy that l inks together

al l created th ings, and that throws the beam s o f a

warm human love around on al l Nature.

The parting between N uleen i and her lover is,in

som e respects,one of the finest passages i n the

Fakeer of Jungheera. There is in i t no t m uch

of that deep grip of som e of the m ore abstruse

problem s o f l ife which age and ripe experience can

a lone supply ; but there is a freshness and beautyas wel l as a dramat ic force and t ruthfulness, which

204 Tbeparting between tbe lovers .

poets of seventeen do not always exhibit , and which

may fai rly earn fo r: D ero z io a modest n iche amongthe m i no r poets

X.

How beautiful is moon l ight on the streamH ow bright on l ife is Hope

’

s enchant ing beamLife moves in constan t like the rippling ri l l

,

Hope’

s and the moon ’

s rays quiver o ’

er them sti l lHow soft upon each flower is fair moon lightM aking its beauty more serenely bright ,B ringing sweet sighs of fragran ce from its breast ,Where al l its odours are , l ike thoughts , at rest .How sweet to s it upon a bank and markThe soft moon look ing on a l i t tle bark ,A s if she watched it from her az ure sphere,The guardian Spirit of its blest careerF l inging her mel ted pearls upon its sai l ,That swells wi th infan t pride before the gal e ,How speeds the shal lop with i ts fleecy wing,Like bliss or fancy— qu ite a fragi l e thingThus shone the moon upon the hal lowed wave,B right as the wish for freedom ,

in a slaveThus shone the moon upon Junghee ra

’

s flower,N u leen i , rosebud of the rocky bower ;A nd thus soft beams upon the shal lop lay ,Which soon must bear her Robber - love away .

XI .

A las that fate should come ’twixt heart and heart ,And like a tyran t force the loved to pa rtB reaking the d ream which comes but once to blessEm stence with a ray o f happinessThat golden vision which , in mercy given ,

S eems as’twere brought by seraphim from heaven

A nd when ’

tis gone we wish tha t l ife were o’

er,

To d ream in Heaven that dream fo r evermore .A las that warm celestial Love shou ld knowThe blights of earth , the agon ies of woeThe ki l l i ng poison creeping through each vein ,The feel ings cru shed , and the bewildered brain ;The scorpi on stinging every hope to death,A nd life bereft of a l l but tears and breath .

’Tis wel l these pangs it never twicecan fee ! ,For hearts impassioned , wounded, never heal

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206 Tltepar t ing between tlze lovers .

Thee , sweet to -n ight for one short hour I leaveA daring conquest must my hand achieve ;A nd

’tis my prom i se , ere ano ther chief

Sha l l be selected fo r thy love’s rel ief,

Once more to lead them to their prey a lone ,Then quit fo r ever , and be al l th i ne own .

Q uen ch no t the light of that l ife ~

g i ving eye,Swift on the wings of Love to thee I ’l l flyBu t one short hour— and I demand no moreFor ever thine, when that short hour is o ’

e r.

How dreadfu l is the storm , with flag unfurl edA nd sheathless l ightn ing warring with the world ,Lost is of l ight the last remain ing ray,A s if the stars had burn t themse lves away

,

Or as the w ind , by furious demons d riven ,

Had quenched fo r ever those smal l lamps of heavenHark how it rushes l ike a man iac by

,

Raving and singing as it cu ts the skyHark how i t hissing o

’

er the rive r fli esC hafing the waves and moan ing t i l l i t d iesA s though the spi rits of the storm , unblest ,Had been sen t down to t rouble al l at rest .S natched is the moon from heaven , as she had beenToo fair a witness fo r so dark a sceneA s though her delicate and gen t le formM ight n e

’

er abide the gathering of the stormBut , l ike the beautifu l o n earth , be sti l lB owed or destroyed beneath the blasts of i l l .The heavens their flood -

gates a l l at once unbar,The waters W i ld ly hurry to the war

,

Mad ly to earth the ra in in torren ts gushed ,A s from its d ismal prison - clouds it rushedA gai nst Junghee ra

’s rocks and shelving shore ;

Loud howls the tempest W i ld— the breakers roar ,Thus , as the tempest dimmed the moon - l ight scen eUpon Nu leen i

’

s soul , where al l had beenA t peace , those words of parting quenched the lightWh i ch made existence most d i vi nely bright .Farewel l — alas that me lancho ly wordC omes spel l - like on the heart whene

’er ’

tis heard ,A s if the spirit from that momen t wereB ound with a curse to be dissevered ne ’er.I t lingers on the ear, as if twou ld beS ti l l sounding, un ti l slow EternityC ame stealing o

’

er ex i stence and there seemsAn omen in its echo, as in dreams

T/ze close of tfie P oem . 207

The trusting maiden fond ly seeks a signH er ho pe

’

s myste rious history to d ivin e .

A h there ’s a mourn fu l,a prophetic spel l

In the faint fal l of early love ’s farewel l .

We close our extracts from the “Fakeer of Junghee

ra”

w i th a descript ion o f the n ight i n which N u leen i

goes fo rth to search the battle - plain for her lover.

H igh from he r cl aud pavi l lion , fleecy whi t e ,The moon rains down her Showers of icy light .A nd worlds in mul titudes. resplenden t , throngA round her throne l ike minstrels with their song,Loosening sweet music on the fragrant b reez e ,That si len t l istens to their melod i es .

The earth sl eeps list less — she wi l l wake againWhen morn ing breaks her d ream but shal l the slain ,Whom n ow upon her bosom co ld she bears,Yet find a land unreached by mortal caresA morning blushing in a brighter skyThan that above which seems fo r bl iss too nigh ?M ysterious sl eep whate

’er of nothingnessM an learns , i t is from thee z— bu t thou canst blessThe heart to whom Hope

’

s joy- inspi ring nameH as long been but a sound whose being

’

s flameI s almost quenched in to the latest sparkThat gleams to show how al l around is darkThough d read thine influence , the sou l o f griefWoos thee alone , fo r thou canst yield rel ief,S uch as the d reams of waking life may n e

’erB estow on human suffering, and despair.

N ow al l around is tranqui l as the seaWhen hushed i t seems as in a reverieSo sti l l , so si len t , you might hear the beatOf your own heart , o r seraph

’s viewl ess feet

O r deem your mind ’s imagining had foundSome spel l to form itself in to a soundOne of those thin ethereal tones that weOft hear at n ight - the heart ’s best minstrelsy .Too pure fo r mortal ear and earthly painBu t 10 alone upon the batt le - plain ,

Pal e as embodied moon light , glides a form ,

Like a soft breez e when S i lenced is the storm

208 Gizanges in I ndian S ociety .

I s it a spirit from a happier sphereCome down to mourn o

’

e r w reck’d enjoymen t here ?

O r l earn that ea rth has lost its paradise ?O r bear a tale o f suffering to the skies .

’Tis poor Nu leeni

That the “ Fakeer o f Jungheera is not better

known to the students of Engl i sh l i terature , and that

i t seem s to be to tal ly unknown to th is generat io n of

fai rly cultured m en and wom en,is due , i n som e

m easure,to the fact , that , as a rul e

,things Ind ian

have a weak v i tal i ty. There is probably no soc ietyin the wo rld which experiences m o re frequent changes

in so sho rt a period as the so ciety which fo rm s the

brain and heart o f I nd ia. One race of officials and m er

chants succeed s ano ther ; and a m an to i l ing i n the

plains of Ind ia for half a century m ay see se t succeed

se t i n ever van ishing t ra i ns and he him self,though

known wel l perhaps to the m en who fo rm ed societyat his fi rst com ing ,

m ay,unless he is i n som e prom i

nent pos i tion,be al l but unknown to later com ers .

On the o ther hand,m en who have m ade fo r them selves

a fai r reputat ion in I nd ia,return to Britain and ex

perience som ething of the spiri t , at least,of the

l ines

no one , now,

Dwel ls in the Hal l of I vorMen ,dogs and horses al l are dead ,

He i s the sole survivor .

”

The cultured and l i terary circl e of which D ero z io

formed not the least ornament, fifty years ago , i n

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2 10 The Enchantress of the Cave.

The n ight befo re a dec is ive battl e is to be fought

between M uhammadans and Hindus fo r the m as

tery o f Ind ia, Naz im seeks the enchantress of the

cave to l earn “whether al l is wel l w i th his wi fe

Jum ee l i,whom he has left behind . He finds that

the youth who had accompan ied h im to battle has

deserted him,and he proceeds alone to the cave .

I n the Enchantress he d iscovers Jum ee l i,his w ife

,

who had accompan ied him to battle,d isguised i n

male att ire,and agai n assum ed the guise of an en

chan tress . This is the who le sto ry. The ride to

the cave in thus described

O’

er many a hi l l he urged his horse ,Unchecked his speed , uncrossed his course ,The rowel of his spur was redA way like l ightning-shaft he sped ,The hil ls rung with his clatter ing treadYet gal lant ly he urged him on ,

Fo r the cave must be gained ere rise of sun

H is course like a mountaineer ’s arrow he kept .Fu l l forward he wen t— the ravine is leaptThat milk white barb now neighed aloud ,A nd toss

’

d on high his crest so proudThe white foam blanched his brid le rein ,A s wi ld ly streamed his flowmg maneHe champed the bit that gal led him much ,Then sprung to Naz im

’

s spurring touchAway he bounds his speed might copeWith flight offleetest antelopeNow down the vale he wends, and now

H as a lmost reached the lofty browOf yonder hi l l— and when ’

tis past,He’l l win the wished -for cave at last .’Tis won— he

’

s gone— no more I hearH is charger

’

s tramp ring on my ear ,I ts very echo now is sti ll ,A nd Si len t are the vale and h i l l 1

The S ong of the Enchantress . 2 1 1

Here is a picture of the cave and the enchantress

which recal ls som e of the weird effects of the L e

gend of the Shushan °

H is steed is tied to a withered tree,A nd now the caverns enters heA nd who is the hag so wan and grimThat sits there , a l l regard less of him ?H er yel low skin is shrivel led and shrunk,H er locks are grey , and her eyes are sunkA nd time has set on her brow , it appears,Perchance the seal of a hundred years .

A hundred years of sorrow and careLook

,look on that brow—what paleness is there

A nd there’s an unearthly flash in her eyeWhen first it is fixed on a passer -byH er lips are parched , her jaws are lank ,The cave that shields her is dreary and dankA cau ldron is seething in that lone cave ,Which yawns like a deso late , loathsome graveA nd she , the tenan t who makes i t he r home ,L ooks like an A frit* escaped from the tomb

Here in its enti rety is the Song of the Enchan

tress . The no tes A to F,appended to this poem

,

show an amount o f out - of- the -way read i ng ,and an

acquain tance wi th legendary lo re, which exhibits, in

som e fashion,one s ide

,at least, of the wide read ing

of D ero z io

Oh ! is far from me,But there the treasure of ages beThere wi l t thou find great Jem shid

’

s gem , iA nd Gian Ben Gian ’

s bright diadem .

A nd the weal th of the Seventy - two is thereBut , creature of clayThey ’re far away

These we re a k ind ofM edusae o r L am iae supposed to be the most terribleand

pru

Velapf a l l “

A

c orders of the D ives.

”

Vzde Vatheh and d’

H erbelot.z e no te

1 Vide no te B .

2 1 2 The S ong of the Enchantress.

Then why dost thou come to claim my careThe S eal* of the fifth king can con trou lGenius and Gian t , and Ogr e and GhoulBy i ts power the tides of the sea are confined .I t quenches the fire

,and it hushes the wind

Say, dost thou seek this talisman true ?In its search there is many a peril to m e ,

A nd ere it is won thou must wander far,For buried it lies in Chuhulmenar .

To -morrow the leaguering cohorts assai lThe H indu , and wel l know I who wil l prevai lI ween by thy pisto ls , and sabre

,and shield

That thou art just come from the ten ted fieldBut there is no charm , save the strength of thine arm ,

To vanquish thy foeman , and keep thee from harm .

The friend ly Simurgh'l‘ through th

’ etherea l path ,I t was once said , bore Tahamurath

The wonderful bird o ’

er the dark desert bore him ,

Ti l l al l from Kaf to Kafi was before himHe took from its bosom the plumes for his helm ,

Then where was the power that he could not o’

erwhelm ?

But fled’s the S imurgh to the moun tain that standsOn the stone! that ne’er moves but when A l la commands.’M id noxious winds, and vapours dampLove seldom flies to the warrior’s campOnce Rustum and Zal loved wel l , ’

tis true,S ince then such faith has been proved by few.

0 com’

st thou here l ike the n ightingaleThat hath no young rose to list his tale ?O r does the Su l tana Of thy lone heart ,Forgetting thy pain , play the tyran t

’

s part ?O r is she faithless, and hath she fledTo share with another her shame and bedThere once was a charm in the Opal stoneTo make the false heart al l thine ownBut the Peri -King came and stole the gemA nd placed it in his own diademS ince then , it has lost the potent spel lTo bind the frai l and the faithless wel l .I n the cygnet

’

s down there once was powerTo blight the woe of an evil hour

The Seal of Soliman Jared —Vick note C.

1‘ A fabu lous b i rd .

— Vide note D .

I From one extrem ity of the earth to the other.—Vz'

de note E .

Sukhrat .—Vidc no te F.

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2 14 N otes to the Enchantress of the Cave.

How fair she smiled her every leafM ight give a glow to the cheek of grief,A nd every odou r that she shedImparted sweetness ere i t fled .Thou then perchance didst rudely tearThe flowret from its stalk , and wearThat fragi le emblem of the fairUpon thy breas t— but it perished thereSo , like the tendri l to i ts vineJum ee l i

’

s heart has clung to mineA nd as the rose from i ts own treeToo soon she’d fade , if torn from me ,A nd oh I could no t calmly d ieUn ti l I knew that al l was wel lWith her, who claims my latest sighI f thou thus much to me canst tel l,I f this, thy dark , prophetic eyeCan see— I seek nor Sign no r spel l .

i

There is a red streak in the eastOf coming l ight it gives them warningTo glorious brightness now increased ,I t shines upon the dews of morn ing,But where is Naz im , where his brideTo battl e ’s red field , side by sideThey ’re gone .

N O T E S

(A ) 0h l Chuhu lmenar is far from me.

Chuhulmenar is the mode rn name of I stakhar . I t signifiespi l lars ,

”so cal led (as M rs . Ramsbottom wou ld say) because forty

pi l lars were buil t in i t by So liman Ben Daoud . I t was known to theGreeks by the nam e of Persepo lis , so famous in the history of Macedonia’s M adman .

” Here , i t is said , are deposited the treasures of theseventy - two pre-A a

'

am zte Sul tans (abou t whom Mussulmans on ly pretend to kn ow anything, ) and the diadem o f Gian Ben Gian , thechief o f the Gen ii , to whom the bui lding of the pyramids of Egypt ,as wel l as the temple of So liman , has been ascribed . Gian Ben Gianis said to have reigned two thousand years over the Peris.

(B) There wi lt thou _find great j emshid’s gem .

Jem shid’

s gem has given birth to many orienta l simil es, and most ofthe H i ndoostanee poets have made al lusions to it . I hope to be forgiven fo r having made mention of it here , as I have nowhere read of

A strophel and S tel la . 2 1 5

the gem of Jem shid be ing in I stakhar, a lthough that sul tan bui l t.

thatc ity . The story of this gem ,

like that of many wonderfu l th i ngs,seems enveloped in a cloud of mystery , so that i t may be a l l a fable ,o r I may be right .

(C) The S eal of the fifth hi ng can con trou l

Gen ius and Gian t , and Og re and Ghou l .

The most famous talisman of the east was the seal of SolimanJared , fifth monarch of the world , after Adam . I t no t on ly con trou lcd Gen ii and demons of al l k inds, bu t the possessor of i t had theen tire command of the elemen ts. Vatheh , R i chardson ,

D’

H erbelot .

(D ) Thefm’

endl) S i murgh .

Rara avis in terris, and wonderful sto ries are told concerningi t. Fo r a more particular accoun t of it I beg to refer the reader toC alif Vathek .

(E ) Ti l l al lfr om Kaf to Ifof was befor e h im .

This moun tain , which is no other than C aucasus, was supposed tosurround the wor ld like a wal l and the sun ,

it was believed , rosefrom one of i ts eminen ces, and set on the opposite— hence “ fromK

'

af to Ka sign ified fr om on e ext r em i ty of the ear th to the other .

I t was to this moun tain that the S imurgh bore Tahamurath throughthe ai r , and over the deser t . From the breast Of this bird he tookt he plumes for his helmet , and they have been since worn by the mostrenowned warriors of the east , who consequen t ly have never wantedsuccess. Vatheh.

(F ) To the moun tain that stands

On the ston e that ne’

er moves bu t when A l la commands .

This stone is cal l ed S uhhr at , and resembles , o r is thought to be,an emera ld . On it stands moun t Kaf ; and when A l la commands it,o r any of its fibres to move , an earthquake is produced .

I n th is abrupt fashion the tale ends,and the

imaginat ion is l eft to conceive what fo l lows .

The rare m erit of som e of S ir Phi l ip S idney’

s

sonnets is too wel l known to require that thei r ex

ce l lence should be d i lated on here . The XXXl st

of A strophel and S tel la beg inn ingWith how sad steps 0 moon thou c limb

’

st the skies,How silent ly, and with how wan a face ,

2 16 S onnets.

A nd the XXXIXth,

Come sleep, 0 ! sleep I the certain knot of peace,The baiting place of wit , the balm of woe

,

The poor man ’s weal th

,the prisoner ’s release ,

The indifferen t judge between the high and low .

are probably two of the m o st exqu is i te of the who le

one hund red sonnets and songs of A strophel and

S tel la nevertheless w e haz ard the opin ion that, w i th

the exception of the XXXIXth,there are a few of

D e ro z io’

s sonnets that com e l itt le,i f anything, sho rt

i n m eri t of som e of the best productions of S ir

Phil ip S idney. The sonnets of the Euras ian lad

whose A lma M ater was a Dhurrum to l lah A dventure

S choo l , who never t ravel led beyond the l im its of

Bengal , and whose chival ry, charity and purity i n

som e respects resembled S idney’

s, the ido l of E l i z a

bethan England , m ay be read with interest side bys ide w i th those o f the representat ive Of the “

nu

sta ined young m anhood of England’

s s ixteenth

century.

Here are som e of D ero z io’

s sonnets

TO THE RIS ING MOON .

Why art thou blushing Lady A rt thou ashamedTo Show thy fu l l fair face B ehind yon screenO f trees which Nature has en robed with green ,Thou stand ’st as one whose hidden sins are named ,Peeping the leafy crevices betweenLike memory looking through the chi nks of yearsFor some fair island spot unsoi led by tears .

N ow thou’

rt aseen l ing, melancholy queenBut the red rose has sickened on thy cheek ,A nd there thou wanderest , sorrowful and weak,

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2 I 8 The A bol it ion o! S attee.

D ero z io’

s power of l i nk ing wi th and transferringto i nan imate nature the l iv ing pass ions, hopes, and

fears of human nature is wel l exempl ified i n his

sonnets .

There are several o ther of D ero z io’

s m ino r pieces

that wi l l wel l repay the read i ng. Here is one

ON THE A BOLITION OF SATTRE.

The practice of S a ttee, or of burn ing or bury ing

al ive the w idows of H indoos , is hereby declared il legal ,and pun ishable by the Crim inal Courts. Regulat ion

XVI I 1 829 .

Red from his chambers came the morning sun

And frowned dark Ganges, on thy fata l shore,Journeying on high but when the day was doneHe set in sm iles, to rise in blood no more ,

H ark heard ye n o t the widow ’

s wai l is overNo more the flames from impious pyres ascend ,

See Mercy now primeval peace restore ,Whi le peans glad the arch etherea l rend ,

For India hai ls at last , her father and her friend .

Back to its cavern ebbs the tide of crime ,There fettered , locked , and powerless it sleeps,

And history bending o’

er the page o f time ,Where many a mournful record sti l l she keeps,

The widowed H indoo ’s fate no longer weepsThe priest ly tyran t

’

s cruel charm is broken,

And to his den alarmed the monster creepsThe charm that mars his mystic spel l is broken ,

O’

er al l the land ’

tis spread he trembles at the token .

Ben tinck , be thine the everlasting meadThe heart ’s ful l homage , sti l l is vi rtue ’s claim ,

A nd’

tis the good man’

s ever honoured deedWhich g ives an immorta lity to fame

Transien t and fierce , though daz z ling is the flameThat glory lights upon the wastes of War

Nations unborn shal l venerate thy name,A triumph than the conqueror

’

s mightier far,Thy memory shal l be blessed as is the morning star.

The A bol ition of S attee , 2 I 9

He is the friend of man who breaks the sealThat despot custom sets on deed and thought ,

He labours generously for human wea lWho holds the omnipotence of fear as naught

The winged mind wil l not to earth be brought ,’Twil l sink to clay if it imprisoned be

For’tis with high immortal longings fraught ,

And these are dimmed or quenched ete rnal ly ,Unti l it feels the hand that sets its pinions free .

And woman hath endured , and sti l l endures ,Wrong, which her weakness and her woes shou ld shie ld ,

The slave and victim of the treacherous luresWhich wi ly arts, to m an , the tyran t yield

A nd here the sight of star, or flower, or fieldOr bird that journeys through the sunny air,

Or socia l bliss from woman has been sea led ,To her, the sky is dark the earth is bare ,

AndHeaven’

s most hal lowed breath pronounced forbidden fare .

Nurtured in darkness, born to many woesWords, the mind

’

s instrumen t but i l l supplied ,D elight , even as a name she scarcely knows ,And whi le an infan t sold to be a bride ,

To be a mother her exa l ted pride ,And yet not her’s, a mother’s sigh or smi le

Oft doomed in youth to stem the icy tideOf rude neglect , caused by some wan ton ’

s wil eAnd forced at last to grace her lord

’

s funerea l pi le .

Daughters of Europe by our Ganges side,Which wept and murmured as it flowed a long,

Have wives, yet virgins, nay, yet infants , died ,Whi le priestly fiends have yel led a dismal song

’M id deafening clamours of the drum and gongA nd mothers on their pyres have seen the handsWhich clung around them when those bands were young,Lighting around them such unho ly brands

A s demons kind le when they rave through hel l in bands.

But with prophetic ken , dispell ing fearsWhich haun t the mind that dwel ls on nature ’s plan ,

The Bard beho lds through mists of coming yearsA rising sprit speaking peace to m an .

The storm is passing, and the rainbow’

s spanS tretcheth from North to South the ebon car

Of darkness rol ls away the breez es fanThe infan t dawn , and morning

’s herald star

C omes trembl ing into day O can the Sun be far ?

220 The m inor pieces .

This is probably one of the noblest odes ever writ

ten by D ero z io and there are ideas and aspirat ions

in i t which , we doubt no t , w i l l wake a ready response

in al l who read i t .

There is scarcely anything he ever wro te, which

does not bear the impress of his strong fert i le

imaginat ion and his culture . The “ Po et ’s Habita

t ion,the “ N ew A t lant is ,

” “ A da,

” “ A ddress to

the Greeks ,” “ Po et i c Haunts, the

“ Go lden Vase .The translat ion from Hafi z and several of his

sonnets are al l product ions of great m erit , and cer

tain ly g ive evidence of cons iderable powers .

The Go lden Vase is a subj ect wh ich has been

hand led by poets s ince the days o fBo ccaccio . Keats

deal t w i th i t i n his own m elod ious , sumptuous way, i n

his Isabel la o r the Po t ofBas i l . D ero z io has woven

round the them e a s im ple thread of burn ing love and

wom an ’s constancy and his i ndependent, natural

t reatm ent of the topic ought to have earned for him a

warm er recogn it ion o f his genu ine capacity.

D ero z io m ay on ly claim to rank am ong the m ino r

poet s of h is day. H is was the first glad song of

consc ious power, poured fo rth , steeped i n the feel ing,pass ion , and im ag inat ion o f h is s im ple , boyish nature .

S hould th is m em o i r i n any way help to cal l atten

t ion to the bri l l iant lad , and his sho rt l i fe o f prom ise ,rather than of fulfi lment i t w i l l have served its

purpose, i f i t v i nd icates for him an humble place in

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APPENDIX.

The P eti tion of 1 830 .

The following is the full text of the East IndianPeti t ionTo the "

Honourable the C ommons of the United Kingdom ofGreatBritain and I reland in Parl iamen t assembled , the petition of the undersigned C hristian inhabitan ts of C al cutta, and the provinces comprisedwithin the presidency of Fort W i l liam ,

HUMBLY SHEWETH ,

I . That your petitioners are members of a numerous increasingand widely -dispersed class of subjects of the C rown of Grea t Britain ,l iving within the territories at present governed by the Unit ed Company of merchan ts trading to the East Indies, in the province of

Bengal , and in the town of C al cutta.2 . That the body of which they compose a part , form s a distinct

class of soc iety in B ritish India , which dates its existence more remotely from the time when the East India C ompany fi rst formedpermanen t establishments on the continen t of India, but chiefly fromthe more recen t peri od , when the acquisition of immense t e rritori esrequired the presence of an increased number of Europeans to maintain and govern them .

3 . That they are descended , in most instances , on the father’sside, from the European subj ects of the Crown of Great Britain , and

on the mother ’s side , from the natives of India ; and that in otherinstances they are the chi ldren of intermarriages between the offspringsof such connexions ; but that , a l though thus closely a llied to theEuropean and Native races , they are excluded from almost al l thoseadvan tages which each respectively enjoys , and are subject to pecu liargrievances from which both are exempt .4 . The first grievance which your pet itioners beg leave to bringto the notice of your Honourable House is, that a very large majorityof the class to which they belong are en tirely destitute of any ru leof civi l law, to which they can refer as a standard that is to regulat etheir conduct in the various relations of society . Those of yourpetitioners who live in C alcutta within the limited jurisdiction of theS upreme C ourt , are guided in their civi l relations by the Laws ofEngland ; but the moment they pass beyond that jurisdiction , toreside either t emporari ly or permanen tly in the interior , they are

thereby placed beyond the pale ofal l civi l law, Whether British , H indu,o r Muham edan . By the rigid interpretation ,

which successive Judgesof the Supreme C ourt of Judicature of Fort Wil liam , have given to

224 APPENDIX .

the phrase “ British subjects in the various acts of Parliamen trelat ing to India, your petitioners are excluded from coming underthat denomination , and are consequen tly preven ted from enjoyingthe benefi ts of the Laws of England , and , by their profession ofthe Christian religion , they are equa l ly debarred from the adoptiono f the Hindu o r Mahomedan civi l law ; while there is no other civi lcode to which they can have recourse as their guide in the varioust ran sactions and relations of life . However extraordinary the factmay appear , your petitioners affi rm ,

withou t fear of con tradiction ,

that there is no law which regu lates their marriages and makes themlawfu l , —there is no law which shows the ru le that is to define thelegitimacy or il legitimacy of their issue , there is no law which prescribes the succession to their property , —there is no law which poin tsout whether they possess the right of bequeathing by wi l l , and ,if so , to what extent , —there is no law that declares which of theirchi ldren , or whether one o r al l , shal l succeed in case of in t estacy .In these and other equal ly importan t particulars, they have no lawto direct o r contro l them and they are thus treated as ut terly un

worthy of any one of those rights, which it is the express obj ect ofa code of civi l law to define and the primary design of society andGovernmen t to prot ect . Your petitioners thus literal ly composea great body of out - laws, not made so by any crimes of their own ,

and on that very accoun t feeling the more deeply the legaliz edwrongs that have been inflicted on them , and the con temptuous indifference and neglect with which their anomalous civi l conditionhas been regarded . I t is no t, however, the invidious judicial construction of the doubtfu l languages of the A cts of Parliaments that hasa lone tended to degrade their civi l condition no r have they ever beenpermitted to enjoy the fu l l advan tage that would have arisen to themfrom the abso lute and total neglect of that condition by their immediate rul ers. A Ru le and Regulation" of the Governmen t of theEast India C ompany has, by clear and express definition , includedyour petitioners in the class of native subj ects of the British Government , ” and has thereby subj ected them to the numerous disabilitiesof their Hindu and Muham edan fel low -subjects ; whi le , by anotherenactm ent

'l' of the local Governmen t they have , as belonging to theabove -men tioned class , been deprived in a body of the protection of

the A c t ofHabeas C orpus having been made liable to be taken up on

suspicion by any of the loca l authorities , and confined as S tate prisoners , withou t the legal possibility of ever obtaini ng their release ,since the on ly appeal they could have wou ld be to the local Governmen t . Thus they are not virtual ly and by im pl icaton but direct lyand immediately denuded of the fi rst and most important of al l civi lrights— personal security ; and they may , therefore , be just ly con

sidered as holding their property , their l iberty , and even the i r l i vesat the discretion of every powerful public functionary .

“it Regulation VI I I of 1818. I Regulation I I I of 1818.

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226 APPENDIX .

whom they may deem most worthy , but they humbly submit that nowise , just , or beneficent Government wi l l ever impose any other generalcondition on candidates for employment than fitness for the officesthey may seek ; sti l l less wil l it exclude any class of m en , on theground of birth or colour, when it does not possess the power of

limiting their increase , or of dimin ishing their number ; and , least of

a l l , wil l it wan ton ly add insul t to injury , and to proscription a load of

public and gratuitous contumely .7. The fourth grievance of your petitioners is that they are no t on lyexpressly excluded from al l those offices of trust and emolumen t in theC ivil , M ilitary and M arine services of the East India Company

’

s Governm ent , which are open to British subj ects , ” but that they are alsot reated as inel igible to most of those subordinate employmen ts in th eJudicial , Revenue and Police D epartmen ts, and even in the Militaryservice , which are open without reserve to the Hindu and Muhammadannatives of the country . You r petitioners are prohibited from beingappointed to the situations ofMunsiff

, Sheristadar, and almost al l otherinferior Judicia l offices they are prevented from practising as Vakee lsor P leaders in every one of the courts of justice of the East IndiaC ompany , from the highest to the lowest they are shut out from al lthe subordinate offices in the departments of General , Revenue andPol i ce and in the A rmy they are no t permi tted to 1111 the posts of

native commissioned or non - commissioned officers , nor even that ofa naick o r corporal in a native regimen t , al though leave is given tothem to shed their blood in the ranks as privates , and to offic iate inthe regimen tal band as drummers and music ians . Thus, of themany thousand subordinate employments under the local Governmen t ,there are few from which they are not excluded except on conditionof abjuring the Christian fai th . in which case , their eligibility as

natives of India wou ld be at on ce restored .8. The fifth grievance , of which your petitioners complain , is, thatthey are expressly declared to be disqual ified from ho lding H is

Ma'

esty’

s commission in the British Indian army . The C ommanderih -Chi ef for the time being of H is Maj esty ’s Forces in India , on thea7th of February 1808, issued a general order , sti l l in force , by whichno person can be recommended in India for any vacan t commissionin H is Maj esty’s service, who belongs to the class of which yourpetitioners compose a part . Your petitioners humbly trust that H i s

M aj esty , in the exercise of his roya l prerogative , wil l see fi t to rescmdthis invidious order , and though they are aware that i t does no t belongto your Honorable House to free them from the gal ling disabil ity towh ich it has subj ected them ,

yet they have deemed I t importan t tobe mentioned in th i s place, as an additional proof of that system of

cruel prescriptions, of which they have been made the unoffendingvictims .9 . The sixth grievance imposed upon your petitioners is that , by

stipulations in treaties with al l the powers in Ind ia , which sti l l po

reserve a shadow of independence , they are debarred from employ i ng

APPEND IX. 227

your petitioners in any capacity without the permission of theSupreme Governmen t of India. I t is true that , in those treaties,on ly Europeans and Americans are expressly prohibited from beingso employed ; yet, although these are denominations under whichyour petit i oners cannot be c lassed , the restriction is practical ly appliedto them also. Thus , by the limited signification which has beengiven to the phrase B ritish subj ects” so as to exclude your petitioners, who are subjects of the British Crown ,

they are exposed toin to lerable grievances and by the extended meaning which has beengiven to the terms “ Europeans and Americans, ” so as to includeyour peti tioners , who are natives of A sia, they are preven ted , exceptunder special license seldom given , and always liable to be recal led ,from employing their talen ts and industry in the service of any of theNative Princes. In bo th cases, but by con trary means, alike crue land unjust to your pet i tioners, the one great obj ec t of exclusion iseffected and thus whatever step they take in life , and to whateverquarter they look, exclusion , disabi lity and proscription meet themat every turn .

10 . The last grievance to which your petitioner wi l l advert is thatevery plan proposed by others, or adopted by themselves, for theimprovemen t of the class to which they belong instead of receivingthe fostering coun tenance of the paterna l Governmen t has met withpositive disapproval , or cold neglect , strongly con trasted with theactive and l i beral encouragemen t that has been laudably given bythe local authorities to various institutions formed for the benefi tof other classes of the population . I n suppor t of this statemen t yourpetitioners beg to refer to the benevolen t plan proposed by the lateColonel Kirkpatrick , in 1782 , having for i ts obj ects to secure a provision for the sons of European officers by native mothers by educatingthem in England , and obtaining cadetships for them in the Indianarmy. This scheme , which received the approbation of the wholemi l i tary service , and was not opposed by the loca l Government , wasrejec ted in the most unqualified manner by the C ourt of D irectors,the residence of such children in Europe for education being that partof it which especial ly cal led forth their reprobation . In the samemanner, at a more recen t period , two institutions were commencedby the exertions of your petitioners, and devoted to the educationof their children , cal led the Parental A cademic Institution (now theD oveton Col lege) and the Calcutta Grammar School , amidst severepecun iary difficul ties, and with the certain prospect of great advantageresu l ting from even a slight measure of assistance from Governmen t ,have been refused a participation with other simi lar institutions inthose funds, which the East India C ompany is required , by A ct of

Parliamen t , to apply to the moral and in tel lectual improvemen t of theNatives of India . Thus their European paren ts are frownedupon fOr endeavouring to send them to England for education . Yourpetitioners themselves are d i scouraged in their humble at tempts toextend the blessings of education among their own class in India .

228 APPEND IX.

Every avenue of honorable ambition and of social improvement is shutup against them and it is with a keen and long cherished convi cton of

the wrongs they have suffered from the race of their fathers that theynow bring themselves to the notice of your Honorable House , and res

pectful ly ask for tha t equal ity of rights and privi leges to which , incommon with every other class of H is Maj esty’s subj ects, they are

unquestionably entitled .I t . Your petitioners have now briefly enumerated the principal

grievances for which they seek redress from your Honorable House ;but the statemen ts they have made are very far from expressing thedepth and the exten t of the degradation which has been en tai led uponthem , and the numerous ramifications of the evi ls which they suffer .

What they have styled their grievances are not individua l cases of

grievances peculiar to one person, one time , and one occasion ; but theyare classes of grievances, each class extending to the whole bodyto which your petitioners belong, and al l of them spread over the en tireperiod of existence

, pervading every transaction and relation of life,and doubly left , first , in their own persons and fortune , and , second ly ,in the condition and prospects of their rising offspring.

1 2 . However diversified and pervading the part i cu lar effects of thegrievances your petitioners suffer, there is one unvarying general resu l twhich they produce : there is one poin t to which they are al l madeto tend , and that is, to place your petitioners in the situation of aproscribed class, to preven t their amalgamation with the Europeanpopulation , and to creat and perpetuate against them the mostmortifying and injurious prejudices . Your pet i tioners are aware thatthe abolition of those social prejudices, of which they are made t heobject , cannot be brought within the scope of legislative enactmen ts,and it is with no such view that they seek for the interposition of

your Honorable House . They trust to the loyal ty and rectitudeof their own conduct fo r that p lace and consideration in societywhich belong to them but they think they have a right to complainwhen the acts of the legislative and governing powers, instead of havinga tendency to neutral i z e and destroy the prejudices that exist againstyour petitioners, have had the direct and certain effect of cal ling themin to existence . Your petitioners neither ask nor expect any specialin terference in their behalf, but they warm ly protest against thoseinvidious d istinctions which mark them ,

in the land of their birth , asoutcasts and aliens, bereft of al l privi leges, and strangers alike to therights of society, and to the feelings of human ity . I t is surely not thecharacteristic of a paternal and an en lightened Government , whichshou ld be the common and equal protector of al l its subj ects, to scatterwith i ts own hands the seeds of discord and to array the differen tclasses of society against each other in bitter con tempt and implacable hatred . Yet such is the undeniable tendency of the exclusiveand contumelious system of misgovernment , under which your petitioners have long suffered , and which , if continued , must produce inthe class to which they belong, hitherto free from the slightest reproach

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230 APPEND IX .

expectation that their peculiar grievances would attract the attentionof those who have the abi lity , and , they trust , the wi l l to remedy them .

1 5 .Your petitioners hOpe that it is on ly necessary to bring to the

notice of your Honorable House the evi ls which have been en tailedupon their body, to produce at once the disposition to remove them .

With regard to such matters as may appear fi t fo r the direct interference of Par liamen t , your petitioners cannot doubt that an immediateremedy wil l be applied , and , with regard to such as seem to reside,during the existen ce of the presen t charter of the East India C ompany ,within the province of that body and their loca l Governmen t , yourpetitioners pray that to them their rights and interests may no longerbe committed

,withou t appeal and that , in any new charter which the

Legislature may grant , a clause may be inserted , expressly prohibiting,in al l its parts, that system of exclusion directed against your petitione rs which has hi therto formed a distinguishing feature in the policy ofthe Company

’s Governmen t . They pray to be delivered that from

state of neglect and abandonmen t in which they have hitherto beenal lowed to remain ,

beyond the pale of civi l law , ignom iniously drivenfrom al l community of rights and privileges with any of the denominations of the society in which they reside . They pray your HonorableHouse to admit them to the fel lowship of their fathers, to rescue themfrom subjection to institutions the most degrading and despotic,and to treat them as subj ects of the British Crown , to which alonethey recogn iz e their al legiance to be due , and to which they desireto bind themselves and their posterity by the indissoluble ties of

j ustice and of gratitude .And your petitioners, as in duty bound , wil l ever pray,The following is a report of the debate in the House of

L ords on the occasion of the presen tat ion of the peti t ion.

The notes are those made by M r. J . W. R icketts

HOUSE OF L oans, 29TH MARCH 1830.

THE EARL OF CARLI SLE .— I rise to present a petition from the Chris

tian inhabitan ts of C al cut ta and the provinces comprised within theP residency of Fort Wi l liam , praying fo r the revision of the laws affecting the native Chr istian popu lation of India . ” I can only say, myLords, that I have a most earnest desire that relief should be affordedto the petitioners who labor under great hardships.

LORD ELLENBOROUGH .—This is far from being a favorable op

por tunity for entering in to a discussion upon the statemen ts of thepetition . I must , however , assure the Noble Earl that I feel , as everyperson of the slightest humanity must do, the greatest compassion for

the unfortunate situation of the class to which the petitioners belong.

These are the descendants of Europeans by native mothers, and theoffspring of intermarriages.

APPEND IX .

I am ful ly conscious, too , that it is of great importance to al leviate theevi ls Of their condition and no man wil l rejoice more at such a c ircum stance than myself, if a way can be found of doing so , without aviolation of the principl es essential to the conservat i on of the B ritishempire in India .

‘There are some grievances stated in that peti tion ,

which,if they practical ly exist , I think might be redressed without

danger , and that at no distan t period . If, fo r example , they l ie underinconveniences with respect to the law Of marriage or of succession , I seen o reason why a remedy shou ld not be applied . What , however , is reallyasked by the petitioners , is not an equality of civi l rights, but an ad

m ission to privil eges from which the great body of the native popu lationof India are excluded . They are the i l legitimate offspring of Europeanfathers and native mothers i" , and they wish to be placed in a situationsuch as is fi l led by i l legitimate child ren in no part of the world . INevertheless, since the arrival Of the petition in this conntry, it has

received the greatest consideration both from the Board Of Con trol andthe D irectors of the East India Company . I am no t prepared to statethe resul t of that consideration at the presen t moment ; bu t wil l saythat there is every disp osition to ameliorate the condition of the petitioners and gran t their prayers, as far as may be consistent with the twogreat obj ects we must a lways hear in mind when legislating fo r India ,namely, the conservation of our empire and the wel l -being of th egreat body of the people .

THE EARL OF CARL I SLE .—What difference is there be tween the

chi ldren of ha lf-castes, and the half- castes themselves PLORD ELLENBOROUGH .

— A s regards the privi leges Of Europeans,

H ere is an apprehens ion o f danger altoge ther w ithou t foundat ion and is onlycalcu lated to m i s lead the Engl ish public . I t is the same as saying, I f we dowrong , we are safe bu t if we do r ight , we are su rrounded w ith danger . D angerand i nsecu r i ty may ce r tainly spr ing from the wrongs and grievan ces o f a d iscon

tented peop le bu t if the pe t it ione rs have been u n ifo rm ly loya l in the ir conductunder al l the load of degrad ing disabil i t i e s here tofore systemat ically heaped upon

them ,i s it to be supposed that the abolit i on of the se d isabi lities wou ld lead them al l

at once to abandon the ir loyalty fo r rebe llion ‘

Z

t The pe t it ioners are persons born both in and ou t Of wedlock who labour alikeunde r the sam e disab i lit ie s.

t.Q u i te the reverse . In England , for instan ce , no enqu iry is ever m ade in to

legi t imacy or illegit imacy ofbir th ,e ither to qual ify or d i sq ua l i fy for Office ; and , i f it

we re no t thought invid ious to m ent ion names , many ind i viduals m igh t be po in ted Ou t as com ing under the lat ter c lass , who neve r the le ss fi l l respons ible and im

por tant office s i n the S tate . On this ve ry subj ec t too , speaking of the legal incapaC i ty of an i llegit imate child , Blacks tone says A nd real ly any o ther d ist inc t ionbu t that of no t i nhe rit ing wh i ch c ivi l po l icy renders n ece ssary wou ld ,

w ith regardto the i nno cen t Offspr ing of his paren t ’s , c rimes be odious , unjus t , and c rue l to thel ast degre e .

”

N o r , indeed , is the po l i t i cal d isability , as appl icable to East I nd ians ,the sons of the European fa the rs and nat ive mo the rs , really grounded upon the fac tof i llegi t imacy Of bi r th since there ar e instance s Of pe rsons , the i l legi tima te sons ofE uropean

.paren ts on both sides

,who have been unscrupu lou sly adm t t ted in to the

East I nd ia Company’s service , bo th c ivil and m i l itary. The Obj ec t i on then ism ere ly shzn -deep, and dist i tu te of al l reason and j ust ice ; applying as it do es ex

c lusw ly to persons de scended from I nd i an mo thers bu t sha ll such an obj ec t ional ike O

absu rO

ed and unj u st , cont inue to ope rate as a libe l upon the British adm i nis trat i on i n i nd ia i n this libe ral and enlightened age ?

32 APPENDIX .

the children Of half- castes are in the same situation as the half-castesthemselves, but no t so as regards offices under the C ompany , fo r asnatives they may be

.

appoin ted to any mi litary situation in the Company

’

s service to whi ch natives are eligible.Ricketts’ note to the last statemen t is : Not so

,they are ineli

gible to the posts Of Subadars, Jemadars, Havi ldars and Naiks inthe Native A rmy in Ind ia . ”

The fo l lowing letters passed be tween L ord Carlisle and

M r. R icke t ts regard ing his L ordship’s statemen t in theHouse of L ords

GROSVENOR PLACE,9th j un e 1830 .

Lord Carl i sl e presen ts his compliments to Mr . R icketts , and begsl eave to acknowledge the receipt of the copies (of report of the debatefrom the Mirror Of Parl iamen t” ) which have just reached him .

He is aware that the Observations he made upon presen ting thepetition to the House Of Lords were very imperfectly, if at al l , re

ported . He must , however, be al lowed to say that he did state thevarious grievances which were enumerated by the petitioners, and

concluded with professing that he was actuated by no unfriend ly feeling to the Governmen t of I ndia o r to the noble Lord at the head ofthe B oard of Con trol , and that he was disposed to believe that thenoble Lord was sincerely desirous Of correcting the anomalies detai ledin the petition , and of remedying the grievances , and amelioratingthe condition of what must be considered an unfortunate portion of

the population of British India . If Lord Carlisle had been apprisedof the in tention of publishing the debates upon presen ting the petitionsin the two Houses, he could have easily furnished the short accountof what he d id say. A s the statement appears at presen t , it omitswhat he did say, and put words in to his mouth he never used .Lord C arl i sle must also observe;that he was aware that it was the

inten tion of the Comm ittee of the Lords to examine M r. R icket ts,and imagined that his evidence would afford more information than adiscussion in the House .

J . W. R I CKET’I S

,

6, Cloudsley Ter race, L iverpool Road.

A lthough in this no te L ord Carl isle dec lares that he is

reported to have used words he never u t tered , and that theaccount om its what he did say, his L ordship

’s shor t speech

appears in Hansard as we have quo ted i t wi thou t any no teto the effect that this is not What L ord Carl isle d id say.

I t m ight be in terest ing to learn in how many ins tancesspeeches quo ted in the early days of Parliam en tary report

ing are really in every respect what they purport to be .

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234 A PPEND IX .

the petition , yet our obligations to his Lordship remain uneffected bythat Ci rcumstance .M r. R icketts wrote of the debate in the House of Com

mons as fo llowsA fter the Easter recess our petition was presen ted by Mr. Wynn

i n t he House of C ommons on the 4th of May. Never before , sincemy arrival in England , d id I witness a more interest ing spectaclethan the one presented to my sight on this occasion and Mr . Wynnvery kind ly secured a seat fo r me in the House below the gallery , whereI truly enj oyed a rich menta l feast , afforded by the warm bebate arising from the subj ect , one which was now, for the first time, fairly andtangibly brought before the Legislature . Withou t exception , it wasdeci ded ly the best thing in the way of a debate in the House thatevening , as was also acknow ledged by others ; and M r . C rawford ,who was likewise present , came up to congratulate me on the pecu liarwarmth of in terest shown to be felt by the different speakers, and on

the hap y issue of the business so far as it wen t .TO r. Wynn , therefore , and also to S ir James M ackintosh and S ir

C harles Forbes , to M r. J . S tewart and M r. Wo l ryche Whitmore , arethe East Indian public pre -eminen t ly indebted for the highly beneficialresul ts accruing from their parliamentary exertions in an affair whichconcerns a pol i tical ly degraded and proscribed class Of Christian popu

lation , subject to the ru le Of a British Christian Governmen t , at halfthe distance Of the globe . No r are our Obligations. in this respect,the less due to D r . S . Lushington and M r . J . Hume , who , but forthe lateness o f their arrival o n the particular evening referred to, wouldhave taken their fu l l share in the debate .

HOUSE OF COMMONS , 4TH MAY 1830 .

M R . W I LL IAMS WYNN .— I regret , S ir, that the duty of presenting

the petition which now hold in my hand , has devo lved uponme , in consequence of the indisposition of my Noble Friend , theM ember for Woodstock (Lord A shley) . I regret that it is not in thepower of that Noble Lord to presen t the petition , because I am surethat i t would have made a greater impression upon the House if ithad come from his hands, ins tead Of from mine ; and that, no t merelyon accoun t of his official character as one Of the Commission ers forthe A ffai rs of India , but also on accoun t of the great diligence and

at tention which he has been in the habit Of bestowing upon al l subjectsconnected with that country . This petition is very numerously, and

I may also add very respectably , signed by the Christian inhabitan tso f C alcutta and the provm ces comprised within the Presidency o f FortWi l liam

,descended on the one side from European subj ects of the

Crown of Great Britain , and on the other , from natives of India , whomay

,therefore

,be denominated Indo -B ritons, though they are more

general ly known by the title of half-castes. The gr i evances of whichthe pet i tioners complain are numerous ; but may , I believe, be com .

APPEND IX . 35

prised under two heads. Whilst they l ive in Calcutta , within thel imited jurisdiction of the Supreme C ourt, they are guided in theircivil relations by the laws of England but the momen t they pass fromthat jurisdiction ,

they complain that they are placed beyond the paleof al l civi l law , whether British , Hindu or Muhammadan . They like .wise complain that they are excluded from al l superior: offices inthe civi l and m ilitary Services of the East India Company . TO thissubject I a l luded last year , when I had the honour Of presentinga petition from the natives of India , complaining that they wereexcluded from al l Offices of trust and emo lumen t in the land o f theirfathers . Fo r my own part I cannot separate the cases of these twodifferen t classes of pe titioners . This , however , I must say, that whatever argumen ts applied to the case of the nat ives of India , apply wi thinfini tely stronger force to those unfortunate individuals who composethe subscribers to this petition . They , at least , are o f our blood andOf our religion many of them have been educated in this country , andare possessed of capacity and acquiremen ts Of the first description .

Though they profess themselves to be , and actual ly are , Christians,they are , when in the in terior , amenable to the Muhammedan crimina llaw . They are thus deprived of al l the advantages of tria l by juryand

,when accused of offences, are liable to be fined and imprisoned ,

and corporal ly pun ished , not merely by Europeans but also by Muham

medan officers Of justice . Q uestions may arise as to the validity of

their marriages and al l such questions must be decided no t accordingto the princrples Of Christians , but according to those ofMuhammedanlaw . How great the disadvantages are , which arise from this system

,

have been made apparen t i n the inquiries that have been recen tly in v

stituted in to this subject by the Comm i t tee of both Houses now sit

t ing on the Eas t India C ompany’

s C harter . I t happens that a greatmany females , the daughters of European fathers by native mothers,are married to European officers, high in the service of the Company ,at Calcut ta . I have been told that , among the officers who hold thehighest situation on the staff in the Company

’

s service at Cal cutta,

there is not at presen t one who is no t married to a femal e of Ind iandescen t . Supposing that an offence shou ld be charged against any of

these married couples, whilst resid i ng in the interior , the husbandwou ld be sen t to C a lcutta to be t ried by Europeans accord ing to theprinciples Of British law but the wife might be tried and condemnedbefore any Muhammadan magistrate . This is no t merely a grievancein I tself, but it gives rise to a feel ing among the half- castes, that theystand in a d ifferen t situation from their European relations , with whomthey wou ld otherwise m ix upon terms of equality , and to whom theyare , in poin t of fact , equal in this coun try .There is nothing in the law o r constitut ion of this coun try to prevent any half-caste from being elected a M ember of Par liamen t , o rfrom taking his seat in this House . They are frequen t ly sen t overto this coun try fo r education , and , in many instances , receive one

equa l to that rece ived by any gent leman whom I am now add ressing

236 A PPENDIX.

and they are , consequen tly , equal ly competent to discharge the dutiesOf any situation however important . The grievance which the petitioners feel the most severely , is their exclusion ,

by the East I ndiaC ompany , from a l l employments in their service

,— civil and military .

Within these few years this injustice, glaring as it original ly was,

has received considerable mitigation fo r the exclusion has been con

fined to the sons of paren ts either of whom were Of unmixed Indianblood . Former ly , any one who had a tinge of colour in his skin , was

c ertain to meet with obstruction in his road to preferment ; indeed ,i t was impossible for him to advance at al l . It came within my ownknow ledge that , on one occasion , the son of an English ofli cer, bya lady whom he had married in England , was darker than sui ted thetaste of our mi litary critics and there was, in consequence , a refusa lto admi t him , though regularly nominated , in to the C ompany

’

s service .I know that there are those who talk of the inheren t unfitness Of

persons of I ndian descent to fi l l offices of trust and impor tance inIndia. I should be ashamed to argue with those who uphold suchdoctrines . I shou ld blush if I were compel led to go through thenames of those who , in spite Of these regu lations , have worked out theirway to greatness by the commanding force Of their talen tsI last year adverted to a distinguished instance in the case of C olonel

Skinner , who, though he was excluded , owing to his descen t from anative mother, from serving in the East India Company

’

s regu lar army,raised a corps of m en , and distingui shed h imself in an em inen t man

ne r during the late wars . Fo r his in trepid disin terested conduct , al thoughrej ected by the C ompany

’

s service , he earned fo r himself the rank of

Lieutenan t-C o lonel in the King’

s service , and Obtained the C ross of aC ommander of the Bath . I have seen evidence" W i thin the last twodays , which proves C olonel Skinn er

’

s influence in India to be so greatas to enable him to raise m en at any time . That Offi cer is agal lan t m an

,and as loyal ly attached to his Sovereign as man can be

but is it wise , I would ask , to make such a man , with such influence ,the Object Of proscrip tion ? I f such po licy is to be permanen tly adopted

,individuals in his circumstances W i l l soon be animated with feel

ings of hosti lity to our Indian Government . I f the career Of honor isshut against them ,

those talents which cannot be used in favor Of theGovernmen t , wi l l be used for i ts destruction . O thers ho ld i t to bepolitic that these m en Should be systematical ly degraded ,— and why ?“ Because (say they) the natives of India look upon these half- castesin a very d ifferen t manner from that in which they look upon Europeans .

”This mode Of argumen t is real ly monstrous . The governors

o f India fi rst place these individuals in a state Of degradation , and

then urge that degradation as a reason for continuing it .Upon this subject , I w il l on ly refer to what had been so wel l stated

by S i r Thomas Munro . That excel len t officer, in a minute upon th is

S ee the evidence of R . D . Mangles, Esq . , before the L ords’ Committee.

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238 A PPEND IX .

therefore , that , whatever may be the issue of the inquiry now proceeding up

-stairs , the House wi l l take in to its consideration the situationboth Of these petitioners and of the natives, and W i l l admit them toevery office which their education and acquiremen ts render themqualified to discharge . I may , perhaps , be asked , “ Would you wishthe whol e governmen t of

,India to find i ts way into the hands of

A siatics To that question I would merely answer,that it is my

belief that such a permission as that which I now seek to obtainas a matter of right fo r the ha lf-castes, would never be too extensively gran ted to them in practice . No mat ter in what hands the pat ronage Of India may be hereafter vested , whether i t be in those of theEast India Company , or of the British Governmen t , we may be surethat , under any European administration , suffi cien t favour wil l beshown to Europeans, and that nothing but decided merit wi l l placean A siatic on the same l evel with them . I t is unwise to le t men in

the situation Of these petit ioners feel that the caree r of honour is shu tagainst them ; and in a House of Commons which has removed theexclusion which fo r so many years Operated upon a large class of itsC athol ic fel low -subjects -an exclusion which was on ly j ustified on

po litica l grounds , even by those who advocated its continuance - in

a House ofC ommons wh ich has also taken the first step to emancipatethe Jews from the state Of degradation to which they have been so longconsigned by the law of this coun try— ih such a House of Commons,I say, I do no t expect to find any opposition made to so reasonablea prayer as this, that men shou ld no t be shut out from al l officesOf t rust in the coun try of their birth

,simply because they derived their

origin from i ts origina l inhabitants. I beg leave to move, S ir, that thispeti tion be brought up .

The petition was then brought up, and on the question that thepetition be now read ,M r . STUART WORTLEY said — As the whole subject of the governmen t Of India is now undergoing the considerat ion of a committeeabove stairs, I am sensible that the presen t would be an unfi t Oppo rtun ity to en ter into a discussion upon the situation of tha t class of

persons from whom this petition has been presented by my honorable friend . Yet , after what has passed , I should no t feel myselfjustified if I suffered the petition to be brought up without offering a fewObservations to the atten tion of the House . The principa l Object thatI have in view, in rising at this time to address the House , is to assurethe Right Honorable Gen tleman , the House , and the petitioners t hemselves , that the half-castes are not looked upon with any of that con temptuous feeling which they are disposed to at tribute to the Governmen tOf India . I believe it to be the disposition of the local Government ,and I am sure it is the disposition of the Government at home , to giveevery consideration to the state and condition Of the people of India.They are very far, indeed , from being insensible to their condit ion ,

and are a lways reaoy to consider in what way relief can be afforded

APPEND IX . 39

to them ,consistent ly wi th the prin ciples that must regulate the Govern

m en t of a coun try so situated . Amongst the grievances stated in thepetition, there appear some to which a remedy may be appl ied , nam el y, those relating to marriages and successions. These are poin ts affecting the relations of social life, and remedies might , I think , be easi lydiscovered but though I admit this, yet , when I am ca l led upon togo beyond these grievances, and in to the consideration Of others , Ithen am certain ly unable to decide whether these can be remedied ,and fo r this reason, that they invo lve very great and importan t considerations respecting po litica l governmen t .

”I beg also to say that I am

o bliged to consider that it would be highly inconvenien t to en terin to such an explanation as the subj ect necessarily requires, on

the question of the bringing up o r reading of a petition fo r, S ir, thequestion is one Of a most extensive nature , and must , of necessity , bebrought under the consideration Of the Body now delegated by theHouse to inquire in to the subj ect of India . This I conceive to be themost proper course to be pursued on this subj ect , and I must a lsosay, I am sure that whoever wil l careful ly , and in detai l , inquire in to it,wi l l see how exceedingly difli cult it wi l l be at once ito find a remedy fo rwhat is complained of. I shal l also take leave to add

,as the Right

Honorable Gentleman has taken this opportunity Of adverting to theevidence given before the C ommittee , that a lthough what he has men

tioned is quite to the purpose , and wel l i l lustrates hi s views, yet thereis one point on which the evidence has not reached the bot tom .

I n the course of that evidence the number Of persons situated likethe petitioners in the provinces ofBengal was inquired into. One of

the complaints made is, that they are excluded from al l governmen t ando ther situations and let us consider the answer which does not provethei r condition to be so very bad , though I wi l l no t assert that a veryextensive field lies open to their ambition . The fact is, that the wi tness, whose peti tion I believe this to be , was examined before theC ommit tee . On being asked what is the number of this class of personsin Benga l and its dependencies, he says he bel ieves aboutHe is then asked what propo rtion of this is fi t for the ho lding Of Offices,and he says Then the question is put to him ,

what number Ofthem are actual ly employed ? and his answer is , that there are twothirds of that number, or abou t persons in actua l emp loymen t .I do not mean to say that this is an answer to the petition but it is a t

”This'

is the Old bugbear again or , in o ther words , a pre tence to do wrong undera col ouri ng of danger in the at tempt to do r ight .1’ In the evidence here referred to the number is estimated at not at

as stated by M r . Wortley . Of th is number or more are supposed to be em

p loyed in publ ic and pr ivate Offices and abou t 500 are deemed to be q ualified forOffices of trust and respons ibility ; bu t , instead of the ir be ing so employed , they arej ust tan taliz ed w ith a S igh t of these offices , to dec ipher the harsh and unjus t prohibit ion inscr ibed upon them , Touch not , tas te no t , handle not while they are pe rm i t ted to ho ld inferior s ituat ions , the highest salaries Of wh i ch fal l be low the leve lof what is enj oyed by every beardless youth in the Civil Service at the very thresholdof his public career .

240 APPEND IX .

l east a’

pall iation of the case and it is,at al l events, c lear proof that

there Is no t such a number of them destitute of employmen t as it iswished that we shou ld believe . Un less I were to enter ful ly upon thewho le subject of the law, and of the distinctions which have resul tedfrom pecu liar circumstances , I could no t with propriety now go farther ; and in , conclusion , I wil l beg to repeat what I said at the comm encem ent— that I shou ld be one of the last persons who wou ld throwany obstacle in the way of al lowing these petitioners to forward theirin terests— that it is by no means from any prejudice against either casteo r co lour that the Governmen t excludes these ind ividuals from thehigher offices, but that the question invo lves other points of the greatest magn itude , and that i t remains fo r the Parliamen t a lone to considerand decide on the course that ought to be pu rsued .S I R JAM ES MACKINTOSH .

—S ir, I confess I have been anxious tod eliver my sentimen ts on this subj ect , and the causes of that anxietya re , I trust , o f such a nature as may excuse it . I have had an opportu

n ity of observing the persons and characters of the m en whose petition is now before us , and I have made them the subj ect of as muchinquiry and reflection as I was capable of. I need no t say that I wil lno t condescend to urge any thing against the pretended inferiority ofn ational character, or against the no ti on ofthere being one class createdto rule , and another m e re lyto obey . I have ever accoun ted such doctrinesas the common ph rases of the advocates ofoppression and sure I am thatthere is no reason , and not a shadow o f foundation , for them in any par to f the charact er of the natives of India . I shal l no t follow my RightHonorable Friend in giving the example of a single person of h ighattainmen ts, which might not be admit ted as an argumen t , from the singularity of the circumstance but I wi l l say, that I made minute inquiryin the places of education , in counting-houses , and in the ofli ces of

Governmen t ,— whe re , it is true , some of these unfortunate beings are

admitted to inferior offices , and in which they have just liberty enoughto enable them to get a sight of what would be the object of their ambition , and are tan taliz ed with the view of what it is impossible for themto attain . My main reason for rising has been the impulse of my conscience, and that obliges me to declare that there is no class of indivi

duals not in actual s lavery , throughou t the domin ions of the C rown in

these realms, that is used with so much need less harshness and oppres

sion as this race .

I do no t agree with the Honorable Secretary to the Board of Con trol ,that this is not a proper opportun ity to en ter upon this subj ect , becausethe Whole must come before the Committee now examining in to thestate of Ind ia. I am quite sure , and on this I think even he wi l l agreewith me

,that this Committee cannot go in to al l the branches of so vast

an inquiry as the governmen t of one hundred mil lion s of men ; and I amequal ly convinced that , un less we take frequen t Oppor tunities of prelim inary discussion in this House , we shal l never be ripe for the properconsideration of this great and extensive subject . I confess I feel surprised at the idea implied in What the Honorable Secretary to the Board

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242 A PPENDIX .

parts of the world ; but if I am cal led upon to point out the mostod ious light in which the exclusions that are sanctioned there , areto be regarded I almost hesitate to state it ; bu t sti l l I W i l l avowthat these exclusions of the half- castes do assume the odious appearance of exclusions made by fathers against their children . I dono t believe that those who made these regula tions ever cou ld havecontemplated their subsequen t efiects ; and I am sure that many o f

those who ,from motives of S tate policy , are induced thus to act ,

pu t their hands to what they wou ld have recoil ed from with horrorin a private station . But I am sti l l sure that , if the signatures to theseregulations prove that they are the disfranchisemen t of child ren bytheir parents, and such as the parties wou ld be i n capable of, if theyhad considered for a moment , these regulations are such as oughtno t to be al lowed to continue .

I shal l no t longer delay the House but I have this day read anaccoun t of a meeting held at Calcutta on the i sth of December , and

I read speeches delivered in the English language by two Hindus ofrank and learning , and con taining sentiments which wou ld do honorto the members of any assembly . One of them , Rammohun Roy,has embraced your rel igion ,

notwithstanding the degradations you

impose upon those who profess Christiani ty . He says , he is convincedthat the more the natives of India come in contact and associate w ithEnglish gen tlemen ,

the more wil l they improve in every light , —whetherpol itical , commercial , o r moral . I cannot but agree with him in thisview ; and , thinking that the abolit ion of dist inct ions is the bes tcourse to be pursued , I most heartily concur in the prayer of thisPetition .

M R . R . C . FERGUSSON .—I cannot help offering my opinion to the

House upon this very importan t subject . Shortly after I had thehonor of a seat in this House , I d id state my opinion upon it , andcal led the atten tion of the Right Honorable Gen tl eman then at thehead of the Board of C on t rol to its consideration , and his answer wassimilar to his statement of this day , —that the question was one whichrequ ired the deepest and most serious deliberat i on . I never was theadvocate o f exclusion and I sa i d , then , and I say now , that it wi l lbe the pol icy of the Governmen t of England to d raw more upon thetalen ts and the acquirements of the natives of India , than they now do .I say, also , that some of the statements in this petition are of a veryquestionable description ; but I , at the same time

,admit that the

petitioners are placed in a very pai nfu l S i tuat i on . In the fi rst place , itis d i fficu l t to say what law they are under. They are no t M uhammedans,but it is a subjec t of consideration whether i t be po licy that Muhammedansshou ld have the benefi t of laws which they have no t , o r whether theyshou ld be excluded from the law which applies to other Christians .

They are , at present , subj ect to the laws wh ich are adm in istered bynatives and although no injury may , in fact , accrue , yet it is hard tosubject them to the verdict of a Muhammedan o r a H indu tribunalThe in terest I have taken in them they have long known . I felt it

APPEND IX . 243

long before I had the honor of a seat in this House . If this class wishfor a l l the advantages and privileges of British subj ects , I think theyought to have them but at the same time , I do no t know that muchreal advan tage would resul t to them , for then they wou ld be subject toa l l the regu lations and al l the restrictions that Brit i sh residents arenow governed by . If they wish to be considered as nat i ves , and as

B ritish subjects , too , then they w il l have greater privi leges thanB ritish subj ects enjoy ; and if the mat ter be left to their own choice ,I think they wil l pause a long whi le before they wi l l choose to beconsidered merely as British subj ects .

When,however , we en ter upon the consideration of this subj ect ,

we ought no t , in my opinion ,to confine ourselves to the case merely

of half-caste C hristian s , as distinguished from that of the H indusand the Muhammedans ; nor ought we to make any difference intheir favor , notw i thstanding their being part ly of European blood .

The petitioners are not , as they wou ld wish to have i t believed ,excluded from a l l offices . They certainly are no t in a S i tuation to fi l lthe highest offices but there are vast numbers of places of emolumen tfi l led by this class . I say this to thei r cred it , fo r they owe it to theirin tell igence and the ir industry , and in these qualities they are no t

exce l l ed by any other class of m en . They are no t , however , prac tical ly oppressed . If, as is true , they are excluded from the higheremploymen ts, they do not suffer more than other classes , and there i s nogreater inj ury inflicted by the exclusion of a Christian than of a Hindu .

M y Right Honorable and Learned Friend has spoken of the case of

Rammohun Roy and of him I can a lso speak from acquaintanceas one than whom there is no man of more in tel ligence . I wish Icould say with my Right Honorable Friend that he is a Christian ,

but I do no t bel ieve he is . He has certain ly shaken off his prejudices,and believes that there is but one God and no t a thousand , as somepersons believe to be the faith of o ther Hindus ; but he is so faradvanced that his faith wou ld not disable him from the enjoymen t ofany offi ce that his talents wou ld en title him to . I think we ought toexamine how far the talen ts of al l the natives may be used fo r thebenefi t of our Governmen t ; but this , in fact , m ay be considered as in

progress for now,in poin t of fact , more and more confidence is d ai ly

p laced in them , both as respects their admission to offices , and to theadministration of justice . The presen t question then , I am o f opinion ,ought to be considered with reference to every class of natives, at thesame time that I desire to be known as one friend ly to the petitioners;and I shal l be their fri end

, and be always ready to render them eve ryservice in my power . In con clusion ,

I wi ll observe that not on ly isthis a subj ect for serious consideration ,

but that it is a state of th ingsthe remedy for which cannot be afforded at once, but must be givenby degrees .

M R . WO L RY CHE WH ITMORE .—After the discussion that has taken

place, I wil l not detain the House but I should no t discharge myduty if I did not offer one or two observations. I congratulate , then,

244 A PPEND IX .

both the House and the natives of India on this discussion— theHouse,because we perform a sacred duty in showing that we extend our careand our protection over every port i on o f the domin ions under theBri tish C rown and no t on ly that , but that we are ever ready to doour duty . I congratu late the natives of India , and especial ly the classto which the petit i oners belong , on the effect of this Petition ,

becauseI am sure that it i s on ly necessary for their interests to have th e subjectpubl icly discussed in order to their p i ogress and advancemen t . I feela lso that we shou ld no t confine ourselves

,in our ccnmderation of this

subj ect , merely to the half- caste but I cannot concur with the Honorable Gen tleman in thinking that the exclusion of that particular class isno t an injustice . I t is a subj ect that must occupy the attention of theC omm i ttee

,and I think it qu ite as importan t as the question whether

Englishmen shal l be restrained from hold ing land and my opinion is ,that natives ought to be al lowed to fi l l every situation accessi ble toother subj ects, except , perhaps , some very few , in which their admission might be accompan ied with the idea of danger o r insecurity .S I R CHARLES FoRBEs.

—Sir , I rise to support this pet ition , and togive my testimony in favor of a l l that has been sai d of the h igh charactero f the natives of India . I shal l no t go further in to the subject atp resen t , but wi l l conclude by saying that , after an experien ce of

twen ty- two years in Ind i a and seven teen years here , the more I see of

my own coun trymen , the more I like the natives of India .M R . WILL IAMS WYNN .

— I shal l make but one or two observat ions .

In the fi rst place , with respect to the situations of emolument held bythis class, the highest office possessed by any of them does no t

Oyie l d

more than £600 o r ;5760 a year . They are excluded from al l m i l i ta ryoffices, and from C l Vl l stations under the Governmen t . I can see no

reason why this exclusion should always be enforced in the instructi onssen t out by the Court of D i rectors , in wh i ch , when an appoin tmen t i sbestowed , it is always accompan ied with these words—

“

pro vi ded hebe no t the son of a native ~of India . ” N ow ,

there is no reason whythis should be continued , o r why a pe rson shou ld be con t i nued , or whya person shou ld be excluded from al l comm iss ions In the A rmy , aswel l as al l civi l employments , because he may happen to be the son of anative mother . Neither can I see why native Christians shou ld be on aworse footing than any other class , and excluded expressly by the regulations of the M adras Governmen t from the offices of d i strict m unsrfs,

which are open to other natives, whether H indus o r Muhammedan s .

*

MR . STUART WORTLEY.-A s to the statemen t of the R ight Honor

able Gen tleman , I confess I was not aware of the con tinuance of theexceptions in instructions sen t out ; nor d id I imagine that there wasthe d istinction he al luded to in his last observation .

MR . JOHN STEWART .— I rise to bear testimony to the respectabi l i ty of

the class to which the petitioners belong and my wish i s , that al l thedisabilities of which they complain shou ld be removed . I do not agree

S ee Bishop H eber’

s correspondence , and Madras Regulations , 1 81 6.

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246 A PPEND IX .

Wellington was also presen t on the occasion . Most of the Peersshowed an incl ination to d raw out to public view , by the fair d rift oftheir questions , the aggravated ev i ls o f our C i vil and po litical condition wh i le Lord E l l enbo rough was the on ly one among them who ,assum ing a sort o f ex - oj fa

'

o pos i tion in the affair , endeavoured , bythe o rd i nary process of cross - examination

,to pal l i ate and soften

down , as much as possible , the otherw i se glaringly self-evident hardship of our case .

I am a nat i ve of Calcu t ta, the bearer of a pe t i t ion froma por tion o f the inhabi tan ts of that town and of the

presidency of Fo rt Will iam,which has been presented to

the House of L ords. The pe t i t ion is signed by be tweensix and seven hundred , m ost ly persons imm ed iately descended from European fa thers and nat ive m o thers

,as wel l

as of in termarriages be tween these descendan ts. Our

fi rst grievance is, that we are dest i tu te of civi l law. Weare no t recogn ised as Bri t ish subj ec ts by the Suprem e Courtof Calcu t ta if resid ing in the m o fussi l ; we are thrownupon the jurisd ic tion o f the m ofussi l cour ts which are

regulated by the Muhammadan law. A s Christ ians, we can

no t avail ourselves of the M uhammadan civil law,though

we are subjec t to the C rim inal Code. In al l that regardsm arriages and succession to proper ty, we are wi thout anydefin i te rule of civi l law by which our affairs can be regulated . The provisions of the M uhammadan C rim inal Codeare barbarous as appl icable to a Christ ian popu lat ion , eventhough the Code is m od ified by the Company

’

s R egu lat ions. We m ay appeal to the Sudder D ewany Adawlat in

C alcutta ; but in the year 1 82 1 , when the quest ion of

appeal was tried, i t was the Opin ion of the Judge thatwe could not claim a r igh t o f appeal to the SupremeCourt, even though the Sudder D ewany Adawlat Court

possessed the power of increasing the pun ishmentwi thou t fresh evidence be ing adduced . We are ex

cluded from al l super ior covenan ted offices,ei ther by

the posi t ive R egulat ions of the Company or by the

established usage of the service. I t is provided byR egu lat ion that the son o f a nat ive Ind ian shal l not beappo in ted to the regular service o f the Company, or to theM il i tary service of the Company. Even the descendan ts

APPENDIX . 247

of in termarriages are not eligible, bu t there has been somem od ificat ion of this wi th in the last two years by order ofthe Court of D irec tors, though there is no law on the sub

j ce t . I know ins tances in which persons, no t imm ed iately descended from nat ive m o thers

,have been refused

appo in tmen ts under the Company sim ply on account ofthe ir paren tage ,

and if the re has been an al terat ion of thephraseo logy of the Company

’

s R egu lat ions since 1 827, the

fact of refusal of appo in tm en ts remains unchanged . Weare no t al lowed to ac t as pleaders in any of the Courts.

We can ho ld no comm issions in the Company’

s or theK ing

’

s service . We m ay be drumm ers and fifers, but I amno t aware of any instance in which a num ber of the com

m un i ty has been advanced to the rank of corporal ; theorder wi thho ld ing comm issions was passed in the year1 088 by the Commander- in -Chief, and it has never beenrepealed . There are instances o f d eviat ion from this ru le.Som e of our class were adm itted in to bo th the civi l andm ilitary services prior to the proh ibi t ion . The Q uar ter~m aster-General of the A rmy is an East Ind ian

,adm i t ted

before 1 79 1 , and M r . A chmuty, o f the civi l service.C o lonel Skinner is an officer who has served wi th greatd ist inc t ion . He is the son of a nat ive m o ther. I havenever heard o f any objec t ion on the part of the nat ives of

Ind ia to serve under him,or any obj ec t ion on accoun t of

his m o ther having lost caste. Members o f our class who

take service under Nat ive States are requ ired to re turn to

the Company’

s terri tories on the ou tbreak o f war . The

M ahrat ta officers who were employed in the year 1 80 1 and1 80 2 were invi ted back to the Company

’s terri tor ies under

prom ise of being pensioned . Some availed them selves ofthe pension , o thers were barbarously murdered by thenat ive princes the m om en t they were aware of their intent ion to leave the S tate . Treat ies wi th nat ive S tates preven tEuropeans from taking service , bu t we are , i n thisInstanc e , recogn ised som e t im es as Europeans, andsom e t im es as nat ives, as i t serves the purposes of the

Governmen t . We ai e recogn ised as nat ives except

248 APPEND IX .

wi thin the jurisd ic t ion of the Supreme Court,— and yet

the officers who were employed by the M ahrat ta S tateso f Sc india and H o lkar were threatened to be deal t wi thas t raitors if they d id no t re tu rn to the C ompany

’s terri

tories. The publ ic and private schoo ls for the educat ionof children o f Eas t Ind ians have never rece ived assistancefrom Government in any

‘

shape whatever. We are exc ludedfrom part icipa t ing in the gran t for the educat ion of the

nat ives o f Ind ia. The number of East Ind ians wou ldnot, I think , be overrated , were they est imated at

m o re or less in Calcu t ta and al l the province . There wasa po l ice repor t m ade in the year 1 82 2 , and the Christ ianpopulat ion in Calcu t ta alone was est imated at

of wh ich there were Europeans ; consequen t ly we

were included in the remainder,that is

, S ince1 82 2 the number must have con siderably increased . Weou tnumber the Europeans very considerably, and our

number is on the increase owing to the increased numberof Europeans and of in termarriages .

are princ ipally employed in subord inate capaci t i es in thepubl ic offices of Governmen t

,ch iefly as clerks. During

Nepal war East Ind ians were employed in the Irregularcorps ; but the corps was d isbanded . I say, wi th perfectconfidence, that there are many persons of half- bloodqual ified to ho ld high posi t ions. I dare say we mightco llec t abou t 50 0 so qual ified . M any are employed intrade of various k inds in the Calcu t ta and China trade ,as officers and captains

‘

o f ships, and as m erchan ts. Baretto’

s

house was considered one o f the weal th ies t in Ind ia ;there are also L ackersteen

’

s,Brightm an and B ruce , and

A llan ’

s houses. The educat ional establ ishm en ts for the

education of East Ind ians in C alcu t ta are : the M ilitaryO rphan Schoo l , Paren tal A cadem ic In st i tu t ion (now

D ove ton Co llege ), and the Calcu t ta Gramm ar Schoo l .I n the M i l itary Orphan schoo ls

,Upper and L ower,

there are perhaps 800,includ ing bo th sexes.

Thereare from 1 30 to 1 40 in the Paren tal Academ ic In

stitution,and abou t 40 or 5 0 in the Gramm ar Schoo l .

Besides these there are private schoo ls. Pupils con t inue

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250 A PPEND IX .

made an applicat ion for the Female Asylum , this was alsogran ted and gran ts have been m ade to o ther inst i tu t ionsin consequence o f appl icat ions from Europeans in the irbehalf, such as the Free Schoo l and o thers. My fatherwas an Ensign in the Engineers, and d ied at the S iege of

Seringapatam , in 1 792 . I was educated in the schoo l supported by the army, the M ili tary Orphan School , and neverwent to ano ther. Many of my coun trym en, who havebeen educated in England , Sco t land , and Ireland, have , ontheir go ing back to Ind ia, been so much d isappo in tedat the state of things that they have, in many instances,re turned to Europe to seek a living, find ing that the doorwas completely shut against them in their nat ive land : Imean men of first rate educat ion . There was a son of a

General officer who re turned in 1 825 ; he had obtainedthe d iploma of a doc tor of med icine

,bu t he found that

the s tate of society was such as to compel him to re turnto Europe ; and I believe he is now prac t ising in England .

There have been some o ther instances of this k ind .

The following is M r . R icke t ts’s accoun t of his at tendancebefore the House ofCommons

I attended in the House o f C ommons on Monday , the l i of j une ,for the purpose of giving my evidence . The in terrogatories pu t tome on this occasion happily discovered much of a feeling of deepin terest in the details of our case . Hence the eliciting of many freshpoin ts in my examination before the Committee in the Lower Housewhich was left un touched before that of the Upper . The C ommitteeadjourned about 3 o

’clock in the afternoon , and resumed my examination at their nex t sitting on Thursday, the 24th . My bodi ly heal thhad

, since my fi rst arriva l in England , now begun to decline sensiblyfrom a perpetual struggle with the e xtreme fickleness of the climateand on this occasion I proceeded to the House under a vio len t irr itation of fever, wh ich becoming known , [was advised to go home .This, however , I declined doing, from my great anxiety to despatch thebusiness , lest a total cessation might take place from the approachingeven t of the King ’

s death , which occurred , as it turned ou t , but two daysafter, and my adjourned examinat ion was accord ingly gone through .

Upon now taking a cool and deliberate retrospect of the whole matter , I have on ly to regret my fai lure in repulsmg, wi th a due regardto justice and in the strongest terms compatible with a sense o f pro

per decorum ,certain an tiquated notions of an i l liberal stamp , hatched

In a particu lar quarter connected with the India House , as embodiedin the questions put to me in the course of my examination . For this

APPEND IX . 5 1

self conscious fai lure on my part , I hope not to stand chargeablewith a deficiency of right feeling suited to the case , since , i n my owndefence

,I can tru ly plead a weak state of heal th very sensibly affect

i ng my Spirits, doubtless superinduced by the benumbing influence ofa desperately severe and changeable climate . What I here a l lude toregards quest i ons relative to co lour , caste of mothers , wan t of men

ta l qual i fications , ” and so forth ; the two former being indeed o f so

grave a magn itude as to prop up a system of aristocracy,based on

the flimsy texture of the skin , to the u tter overthrow of every principleof sound mora l phi losophy .So far as regards any si l ly prejudice arising from colour and

caste of mothers , ” these are d istortions of the fact too pueri le and un

founded to deserve a serious thought in the mind of a reasonable beingbut , with regard to the matter of men ta l qua l i fications,

” the questionseems to claim a lit t le sober treatment . A nd here , I would ask , whatare the qual i fications necessary to fi t m en for the public service inIndia A re they human , angelic , o r divine ? I f the two latter , coldand hopeless despair belongs to our case, unti l the mi l lenn ium shal lhave done its perfect work amongst us ; but I rather think that the qual ifications so much insisted on are merely human ; and what are they PEmbracing the circl e of mora l qualities, they consist in principleso f uniform probity and rectitude , which lead to correctness of publiccharacter and conduct through life ; and wi th regard to menta l qua lit ies, they are made up of such ingred ients as common sense a soundunderstanding , comb ined with a competen t know ledge of English andthe vernacu lar dia lects of the coun try , and a prac tical apt i tude forthe despatch of public business . W i th these qual i fications (taken on

the lowest scal e , fo r the mere sake of argumen t , but which may ofcourse be carried to a sti l l higher pitch if desirable superadded to anhonest regard for the public good of India , it must requi re the presence of a monstrous political anomaly to bar the door against candi ‘dates for public employmen ts, such an anomaly as has , I must say itto the shame of Eng land , already too long been allowed to exist iuIndia.

The lead ing po ints in M r. R icketts’s exam ination beforethe House of Commons are as fo l lows

“ I am the agent of certain parties in the town of

Calcu tta who have presented a pet ition to the Houseo f Commons. They have been cal led by var iousnames, such as Eurasians, A nglo - Ind ians, Indo -Britons

,

Half- castes, &c . , but they have latterly selected the

nam e of East Ind ians for them selves. The class of personsincluded In that designat ion are the descendants of European British subjects and European foreigners by native

2 52 APPEND IX .

m o thers, legi t imate and illegitimate, as well as their off

spring. The religion or caste of the nat ive mo thers ofmost

o f the East Ind ians wi thin the province of Bengal are M u

hamm edans of respec table fam ilies, but reduced circums tances ; they are in many instances Moghal s and Pathans.There are a large proport ion of the officers in the Company

’s

service marr ied to East Ind ian lad ies.

“ The d isadvan tages we labour under are set forth in the

pet i t ion , of which I am the bearer. We are l iable to befined , imprisoned , and corporal ly pun ished at the d iscret ionof the Judge, or to trial for capi tal crime and in none of

these instances can we claim the in terven t ion of a jury. We

are exc luded from the regular service of the Company, civiland m il i tary ; and none but the subord inate S i tuat ions ofclerks are Open to us . Before 1 79 1 the Company

’s service,

civil and m i l i tary, was open to us,and the Bombay army

was commanded by General Jones, an East Ind ian , duringthe campaigns of 1 80 3 and 1 80 5 . The p resent Q uarterm aster-General of the Army, Co lonel S tevenson, is also an

East Ind ian . There are also members of the commun i tyin the King

’s army, such asMajor Deare

, Captain Ru tledge,L ieu tenan t Mullins

,and o thers. Co lonel Skinner is in the

Irregular service he has commanded from to

troops. In the m ed i cal profession there have been Drs.

L um sdain, Bre ton and L ycke the lat ter pract iced in

Calcu t ta and ret ired to England wi th a fortune there havealso been D rs. Fri th, Gordon , C larke, Im lach, D ick, Free,and Casey, al l East Ind ians, and m ore or less em inent intheir profession. Besides these professions, there are East

Ind ians engaged as Ind igo -

plan ters, Schoo lmasters, A rchitee ts, Carvers and Gilders, Under takers

,&c . and the East

Ind ian comm ercial houses in Calcut ta are the firm s of

L ackersteen , Vrignon , M endes, Bare t to and Brightman, and

M r. Kid is the M aster Ship-Builder of the C ompany in

Calcu t ta. The sons ofprivate so ld iers by nat ive women are

employed as drummers and fifers in the army, and appren

t iced to trades at the expense of the L ower Orphan Schoo l ,which was founded for the reception and education, along

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2 54 A PPEND IX .

was taugh t read ing, wri ting, ari thmet ic, geography, the use

o f the globes, English grammar, &c . ,

but ne i ther L at in nor

Greek .

Up to the year 1 827 East Ind ians were excluded froms i t t ing upon grand or

H

petty juries ; since then they are ad

m issible by law to si t on j uries, and have been summ on edand served in common wi th Europeans. We are held in

equal respec t by the na t ives of Ind ia wi th Europeans . Ic ou ld ins tance the case of Ind igo plan ters and m erchan tswho are scat tered in d ifferen t parts of the country, who are

visi ted by Princes and Nabobs as Europeans are , and t reated wi th equal respec t . R amm ohun R oy,

“a learned and

respec table nat ive in Calcu t ta,”

associates wi th us as he

does wi th Europeans, and so would any o ther respec tablenat ive.The native mo thers of East Indians are chiefly Muham

m edans ; there are some H indus. The nat ives iden t ify us

wi th our fathers, and m ake no inquiry regard ing our m o thers.

I t wou ld be an improvem en t of our class i t would tend tothe general im provem en t of socie ty, if we were placed exac tly upon a foo t ing wi th Bri t ish -born subj ec ts not in theK ing

’

s or the Company’s services. The od ious d ist inc t ion

now made strikes at the roo t ofal l civi l and social improvem ent in Ind ia.

”

The resu lt of the Eurasian M ovemen t of 1 829-

30 was thepassing in the year 1 83 2 , when a new Charter was grantedto the Company, of wh at is known as the L exi L oci A c t,and the inser t ion in the Char ter of the clause that no one

Shou ld be excluded from any office because of his creedo r colour. This in some m easure freed East Ind ians fromthe anomalous posi t ion they occupied in the eye of the law

EURAS IANS AND POOR EUROPEANS IN IND IA .

That has happened in Ind ia which has occurred in m ost

lands and in al l t im es, wherever and whenever two rac es

at d ifferen t stages o f c ivi l iz at ion have m et. The races havem ingled , and an am algam has been pro duced possessingqual i t ies ak in to bo th . The quest ion— and it is a m ost

m om en tous one to m en o f Engl ish descen t in Ind ia, and on e

that is on ly as yet in process o f so lu t ion— is what par t m en

of European extract ion, born in Ind ia,and m ore or less

com ple tely educated there, shall take in the industrial andcomm erc ial developmen t o f Ind ia

’s fu ture

,and in the civil,

m il i tary, m ed ical , and o ther great S tate depar tm en ts of the

empire ? That they aze weigh ted wi th m any and gravere tard ing cond i t ions in the S truggle fo r a higher and a

brighter fu ture for the ir sons— cond i t ions inheri ted , ac

qu ired,and

,it m ay be , imposed— no one who knows Eura

sian , will , we shou ld think , be prepared to deny ; and it

is the influence these cond i t ions m ay exercise in hinderingEurasians from acqu iring for them selves

,and transm i t t ing

to succeeding generat ions, a lo t in life less hampered wi thd ifficul t ies, a charac ter m ore stable and tenacious of purpose, and a de term inat ion to be, to do and dare , al l thatm en m ay, which, i t seem s to us, al l who have the in terestsof Ind ia at heart, and who labour for the well-be ing of

Eurasians and poor Europ eans, m uch m o re the comm un i tywho suffer under them in the race of life

,shou ld employ

every m eans in the train ing and educat ion of the risingrace to erad icate o r m in im i se.Portuguese, Du tch , French, and Engl ish adven turers

and se t t lers left beh ind them a race of m en which,

- be

cause of the less desirable quali t ies inheri ted from theirm others, their uninterrupted c ontact and intercourse with

nat ives, - low class, nat ives in many cases, as servants,during that p er iod of l ife when the fu ture charac ter is formedand crystalliz ed , and the wan t of that heal thy rivalry and

fel lowship wi th the hardy race of their fathers, wh ichthe ir isolated posi t ion en tailed— grew up and transm i t tedto the ir children quali t ies which weigh ted them in no

ord inary fashion in the ir struggle to acqu ire a l iving and

keep the ir foo t ing with the hard ier nat ive races of Ind iaand the descendan ts o f the ir fathers’ race . The lax m oral ity in which m any were crad led , the enervat ing effec ts of

the climate of the coun try on races o fEuropean ex trac t ion ,and o ther causes

,such as the tendency, which has m an i

fested i tself m ore o r less marked ly wherever a m ixedrace has been produced , for the pure race of the fathers torepud iate the equal i ty of the m ixed one, in many instancesto treat its m embers wi th ind ign i ty or scant cour tesy— al l

these causes,and such as these

,tended st ill further to bur

den Eurasians,and hedge them round wi th - a mass of re tard

ing cond i t ions in their l ife’s progress, which in the case of

m any ind ividuals, requ ired an effor t short o f hero ic to

overcom e,and which in the case ofmany more will require

a force li t tle short of the marve llous to triumph over.This is not the age , nor is this e i ther the occasion or

the place, to draw aside the cur tain of Ind ia’

s past— a

past that com es so very near our own day— and d isclo se

in al l its hideousness the depravi ty, the concubinage, and

som e thing worse that charac terised the lives of no t a few

Europeans during the“

existence of the Honorable EastInd ia C ompany. In the year 1 8 1 4 th is is the stat e o f affairstest ified to as exist ing

“the state of concubinage in wh ich

so m any nat ive females l ive corrup ts al l m oral i ty and de

c ency. Nearly every European pr ivate so ld ier has a fam ilyo f half- castes ; and there have been officers of rank and

civil ians in the coun try not conten ted wi thou t seragl ios,l ike o ther Nabobs whom they learn ed to exceed in de

bauchery. Thus arose the worst and the lowest sec

t ion of the commun i ty, and its creat ive source is not al

toge ther dr ied up to this day. The large m ajori ty o f

Eurasians , however, have in term arried wi th Europeans, andare gentlemen in manners, tastes, and education . They

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258 A PPENDIX .

Duff, before he sailed from Bri tain in the year 1 829, had tofurn ish himself wi th the Company

’s perm ission to se t tle in

Ind ia, and perm ission for a lady to accompany him as his

Wife was refused un t il the veri t able Mrs Duff was produced .

The Company’

s servants al l over I nd ia form ed an exc lusivec irc le , and enjoyed a m ono p oly of ofli ce and emo lum en t

which no outsiders— z

'

nter lopers theywere called— could everat tain and there wi l l read ily occur to our readers thenam es of fam ilies who for three generat ions have been re

presen ted in Ind ia by some of their m embers. When byfam ily influence and o ther in terest brought to bear on thosewho had the gu idance of the Company

’

s affairs, i t was alonepossible to obtain an en trance on an Ind ian care er, it isnot at all :to be wondered at ei ther that the land swarmed

with European adven turers ready to bar ter, to in trigue, ort o fight fo r the ir own hand, or sel l their services to the highest bidder as occasion offered, o r that Eurasians, no twith

standing their parentage, or rather because of their parentage, which p laced them under a social ban , should havefai led to secure for their communi ty a worthy position inany of the services.

There fell on the field of Seringapatam ,with many

other gal lant men ,a brave and gallant sold ier, Ensign

R icket ts of the Engineers, whose orphan boy found a

home in the Upper Orphan Schoo l of Kidderpore . J . W .

R icketts, the -ward ofKidderpore O rphan Schoo l , was one ofthe earl ies t and ablest m embers of the Eurasian comm uni ty,who l ived and laboured he re in Ind ia for t h eir we l l -being,and who advocated , and advocated successfully, the claim sof Eurasians to be freed from c i vi l and poli t ical d isabil i t ies,and to have som e share in the c i v il and m ilitary services ofIndia. I t was largely due to the agi tat ion wh ich he ando thers originated , and to the m ission which he under tookin 1 83 0 to plead the ir cause in England , that , in the year1 83 3 , during the Governor—Generalship of L ord W . Ben

tinc k, the Ind ian service was thrown open to al l persons,

whatever their birth or co lour.H ow li t tl e the rulers of Ind ia have found it needful to

regard , either in spirit or letter, the great charter of Indian

A PPEND IX . 59 :

freedom and right, is apparen t from the fact that it was on lyin the year 1 85 3 that the Ind ian C ivil Service was thrownopen to compe t i t ion ; and that now,

in 1 884 , i t is im possibleout of England to obtain any appo in tm en t in any greatInd ian depar tm en t except in its very lowest ranks, o r undervery except ional circum stances

,wi t hout undergo ing a. resi

dence and t rain ing in England , which prac t ical ly closesthe way to high office to al l but the comparat ive ly weal thy.

B esides this o ne by one every door of en t rance to Governm ent service is be ing deliberately closed against the Dom ic i led commun i ty, and a recen t Secre tary of S tate forInd ia declared that the descendan ts of Englishmen shallnot be allowed to compe te on equal terms wi th A siatics.

Even in the lower grades of the departm en ts there are

fairly educated Eurasian lads,as fairly educated as the

so ns of the lower m idd le ranks in England ,who owe the ir

educat ion— smal l thanks to the Ind ian L egislature— to

adven ture schoo ls and m issionary co lleges and ind i v idualphilan thropy, and who are com pe t ing side by side wi th highl y educated , S tare educated , H ind us and M uhammadans.

What chance can lads of Euro pean extract ion wi th thetrad itions and tastes and aspirat ions of the ir fathers, and

for whom the State does so li t tle ei ther to educate themor fi t them in any way to serve Ind ia, have wi th the sons ofnat ive races whose habi ts of l ife and m odes of l iving renderit possible for them to l ive in comparat ive com fo r t on a

sum which would inevi tably starve to death even themythical Sco ttish studen t who is supposed to cul t ivatel iterature on a l i t t le oatm eal ? I n this m at ter of educat ion,Eurasian lads mus t compete wi th nat ives at a d isadvan

tage, and the cond i t ions o f equal i ty in the struggle w ill .be more equally d istribu ted when Eurasians avail themselves of the educat ion provided in S tate-aided co l leges,or enjoy the same advan tages in this respect as nat ives .

The cost per head to Ind ia fo r educat ing the sons of

nat ives, H indus and M uhammadans, many of them belonging to the higher classes and perfec t ly able to pay hand ?

somely for their own educat ion, ranged during 1880 , in

the Presidency of Bengal, from Rs. 1 93 in the Presidency

260 A PPENDIX .

C o llege to RS . 60 5 in the Berhampore Co llege, while m issionary and independent co lleges, whose studen ts rank

as h igh in the exam inat ions of the Calcu t ta Un iversi ty,are able to produce their resul ts at a co st to the

S tate o f Rs . 1 8 in the General A ssembly’

s Co llegeRs . 63 in the Free Church Co llege ; Rs . 86 in the now

defunct Cathedral M ission Rs . 5 1 in St. Xavier’s C o llege

RS . 60 in the L ondon M ission Inst i tu t ion and Rs . 1 76 inthe D oveton C ol lege. Am ongst al l the educat ional institutions in existence in Ind ia the on ly d ist inc t ively EurasianC o llege is the D oveton . The k indred Madras Dove tonC o llege owes its existence to the same generous founder,and was organ ised by M organ, the fi rst and ablest of thePrincipals of the Doveton Co llege, Calcu t ta.

The D oveton Co llege, which has played a m os t important par t in the educat ional and in tellec tual progress of theEurasian commun i ty, owes its o rigin to the son of theEngl ish ensign who left his boy award of the Orphan Schoo lofKidderpore, and its most l iberal donor, whose name itbears

,was a m ember of the same commun i ty, abandoned

by his nearest relat ives, picked out of a chari ty schoo lin M adras, and educated by his uncle to serve wi th distinction in the N iz am ’

s dom in ions. The s tory of the D ovetonand its vicissi tudes, from the Saturday even ing of I st March1 823 , when John W illiam R icke tts gathered in his house inS ou th Go l inga S treet a few members and friends of thecommun i ty, and thus laid the foundat ion ofwhat is now theDoveton Co l lege, was ably to ld 25 years ago in the pages ofthe Calcutta R eview (see Vo l . XXIV, page 288) by Dr.

George Sm i th, who succeeded M organ in the Principalship,and has been rehearsed at greater length in the fift ieth reporto f that inst i tu t ion by M r. Henry Andrews, one of the m en

yet al ive, who fifty years ago laboured to secure for Eurasiansa legal and po l i t ical status, and a share in the variousoffices of S tate. From first to last, down even to the

present day, the history of this Eurasian Inst i tution ,no twi thstand ing the D oveton and Desouz a bequests

, has

been the history o f a s truggle against chron ic indebtedness,and agains t the ind ifference of the very communi ty for

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262 APPEND IX .

long, an educat ional establishment complete in al l its

par ts from an infan t schoo l to the ful l curriculum o f an

Engl ish co llege , can so far at least,as a tho roughly equ ipped

co l lege depar tmen t is c oncerned , only be a d ream fitful lyreal ised . I t appe ars to us that , however desi rable in som erespec ts the fu l l real iz a t ion of this comple te scheme m ay be ,there are no valid reasons why the Sons of Eurasians sho uldno t sit side by side wi th tho se of H indus and M uhamma

dans in the class- room s of the Governm ent co lleges . Bythe t im e Eurasian l ad s are ready to en ter on the study of

the subjec ts impl ied in the cu rricu lum of a c o llege, theteach ings o f the fam ily, the social circ le , and the ir own

educat ion al establ ishm en ts will have already done much to

form the charac ter and rendered i t highly im probable thatei ther the ir fai th or their morals wi l l be injuriously affec tedby such an arrangem en t . I t seem s to us t ha t there has

been far too m uch m ade by ecclesiast ics of the mo ral andrel igious d ifficul t ies of the educat ing toge ther of Eurasiansand n a t ives

, and by the very comm un i ty who have no

o ther cho ice than to t rust the ir chi ldren from the ir veryearl iest years largely in the hands of nat ive ayahs and

bearers, drawn from the very lowest social and m oral stratum o f native socie ty. H ad the ir children from the ir birthbeen tended by Christ i an Engl ish- speak ing servan ts, drawnfrom the lower ranks of the ir own commun i ty, free from the

grosser vices of lower class natives, then i t m igh t have beenin telligible that to con so rt wi th low c lass H indu and

M uhamm adan lads in schoo l work and school spor ts wouldhave been a process to which few paren ts would have caredto subj ect the ir children . We are bound to say thatm any Eurasian lads are in psssession of an anount of ver

nacular abuse and n as t iness acqu ired from nat ive servan tswhich i t would be d ifficul t , if no t impossible , for them to

acquire ei ther in the upper classes of a wel l regu la ted school,or s t i l l less in the class- room s o f an effic ien t co llege, even

though educated side by side with lads of purely nat ivebirth.

India is the home, the nat ive land, of Eurasians i n as

true a sense as it is ofmen of pure Indian blood. It is to

A PPEND IX . 263

India, and in India that Eurasians have to look for a careerand Ind ia is the on ly fu ture of the ir ch ildren . I n this struggl e for existence they have as compe t i tors and fe l low - sub

j ec ts purely nat ive races,who

,whatever defec ts of charac

ter they may labour under, are m any of them indued wi tha tenac i ty of purpo se and a splend id power o f endurancewh ich som e sec t ions of the Eurasian commun i ty would dowell to emu lat e

, and which al l sec t ions of Eurasian socie tywill do we ll no t to underrate . The nat ives of I nd ia are

largely avail ing them selves of the high class educat ion

provided for them in S ta te -aided schoo ls and co l leges, andare now crowd ing the subordinate grades of departmen ts,and occupying some of the higher, which , even twen tyyearsago , were fi lled by men of European ex trac t ion or of purelyEngl ish birth . I t is clearly imperat ive that , if Eurasiansare to compe te wi th nat ives for po sts in Governm en t depar tmen ts wi th any fair m easure of success, they must be as wellequ ipped as possible wi th a high class l iberal educat ion to

fi t them for the con test and those of the ir number who are

no t sufficien t ly weal thy to train and educate their lads inEngland , should avai l them selves of the education offeredin the Governm ent high class schoo ls and co lleges. The

supplyof educated nat ives and Eurasians is yearly increasing,and however much in past years the Governm ent of Ind iam ay have been induced to impart to their deal ings wi thEurasians and nat ives occasional strokes of philan thropy,these will become rarer and m o re rare as the deb t of In

d ia ac cum u lates and the power of taxat ion approaches i tsl im i ts, and the purely u t ili tarian principles tha t dom inatethe transac t ions o f the bulk of S tates and m en wi l l impe l lthe ru lers o f Ind ia to choose

,on so und business principles,

from am ongst cand idates equal ly fi t ted to serve the S tate inany capac i ty those that can be had cheapest . I t is here, itseem s to us

,that purely nat i ve races will have the advan tage

because of the ir S impler and less expensive m ode o f l iving,un less Eurasians can claim and dem on stra te the possessionand exercise of such higher trai ts of character and capaci tyas wi l l render the ir services to the S tate comparable in valuewith those of the highly-

paid Engl ish competi t ion-wallah .

”

264 APPEND IX .

That the Eurasian commun ity are al ive in some degree tothe grave crisis approach ing in their posi t ion, is ind icated bythe Eurasian and Anglo- Ind ian A ssoc iat ions which haverecen tly sprung up in the Bengal and Madras presidencies.

These have brough t the we igh t o f publ ic opin ion to bear onInd ian officials, and agitated and d iscussed many topics ofgreat in terest to the commun i ty. The possession, for som et im e , of an organ of their own to advocate and agitate theclaim s of the ir communi ty, and the exis tence of an associat ion wi th many branches, whi ch claim s that it “ prac t ically represents the who le dom iciled Anglo - I nd ian and Eurasiancommun i ty,

”marks a stage

'

in their history and a power ofassert ing them selves som e thing ak in to the movem ent of 1 829under the guidance of J . W . R icke tts. The presen t m ove

m en t,which bears wi th i t so m any high hopes, wi l l be c lose

ly watched bo th in Ind ia and in England , and if the enthu

siastic M adras m ee t ings of a few years ago , which precededthe format ion ofa Eurasian socie tywi th multifarious schemes

for the advan tage o f the commun i ty, the Calcu t ta Soc iety,and the various m ofussil branches

,end in wrangl ing and

windy talk , there wi l l sink below the soc ial horiz on , o f thisgenerat ion at least , some o f the highest hopes that have beenformed by i t o f the power of Eurasians to o rgan iz e the irown commun i ty, and to do that for them selves in the d irce ~

t ion o f educat ion , the provision of a fu ture career fo r

the ir children,and general self-helpfu lness, wh ich hi therto

nei ther S tate nor chari ty has done , nor is imm inently l ikelyto do . The resu lt of this m ovem en t is in the ir own hands,and its success or failure wil l be a test of the ir own choos

ing, to mark their fi tness or unfitness for tak ing a self- rel iantindependen t part in the service of Ind ia and the developm en t of its resources.

There is a law in l ife as clearly d ist ingu ishable in the

history of races and nat ional i t ies, as in the l ife h istory o f

the an im al and vege table creat ions of the geo logic past , andthe infin i te m od ificat ions and adaptat ions of form and co lourand func t ion of the presen t . I t is this, that through thewho le myriad l inked web and woof of l ife

,from its lowest

m icroscopic form to its highest developmen t , there is a

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266 A PPENDIX .

that l ie waiting, l ike avenging furies, men and races of manwho in any way make for them selves

, or have inherited , cond itions and surround ings and consequences which render itinevi table, ei ther that they should sink to the lowest level inthe social scale, or d ie out of sheer inan i t ion, o r be slain bythe vices that eat out the ir manhood and vi tal i ty.

I t is in view of consequences such as these, consequenceswi th which, here in Ind ia, the progeny of the earlier D u tchand Por tuguese se t tlers are already face to face ; and whichseem at no d istan t date likely to overtake the lower class of

Eurasians and poor Europeans, that the law ofhuman bro

therhood , the law of Christ ian chari ty, may and ough t tofind a wide and a fert ile field ofusefu lness . The islands ofthe Pacific are strewn wi th them issionary evangelists of everyChrist ian sect. R ound the fringes of the

“ Dark”African

Con t inent Christ ian pioneers are work ing their way inlandamong hordes of savage men . In America and in A sia them issionaryfo llows the footsteps of the m efchant. In al l the

wide world fabulous wealth is expended to evangelise and

to Christ ian ise ; is there to be no m ission to the poor Eurasian and the poor Indo—European P Wil l the m en of “The

Oxford M ission ”who are labouring here under the auspices

of the R ight Reverend Father in God,”B ishop Johnson

.of Calcutta, wi th al l the wealth of the rank and fashion of

England at their back , and the o ther m issionary agencies whoare doing so much for pure asiat ics, lay aside for a l i t tle theirclassics and their mathematics and their me taphysics, and thein terest ing legacy of d ogmat ic theology which has been ihherited from the fathers of their Church, and gather toge therthe gu t ter children

”of European extract ion in Calcu t ta and

e lsewhere, and train them up in c lean , self- rel ian t l ives, andappren t ice them to trades, that theymay grow up wi th som ehope of lead ing useful l ives rather than develope in to pestsof socie ty and a stand ing reproach to Ind ian statecraft and

the Christ ian Church P The pie t ism that wou ld hungerand th irst for the conversion of heathen lands, that wou ldtalk i tself into a frenzy o f en thusiasm over the evangel iz at ion of the higher class of Brahm ins, that can build ornatecathedrals and found churches, and spend splend id sums

APPENDIX . 67

of money in printing B ibles,and raising rival preaching

houses, wi th in sound of the “ jangle”of each o ther’s bells,

that can talk and med itate on the goodness and love, and

infin i te pity, of the “A l l Father,”and the bro therhood of

al l m en , and yet leave their own flesh and blood, the sons

and daugh ters of their own fathers, to grow up in hunger,‘and ignorance, and vice, consor t ing wi th

,and sink ing to

the level of, the veriest scum of Ind ian society, is not Chr istian ity as its great Founder taught it by bo th precept andexample, is can t, con tempt ible can t , which wil l do moreirreparable m ischief to the cause of true Christ- l ike teachingin Ind ia and the world than al l the accumulated wrongdo ing and imm oral i ty that have been perpetrated in Ind iasince the rule of England first began .

Twenty years ago L ord Cann ing placed it on record ,that “ I f m easures for educat ing these children are not

promptly and vigorously encouraged and aided by the

Governm ent, we shal l soon find ourselves embarrassed inal l large towns and stat ions wi th a floating populat ion of

Indian iz ed Engl ish loosely brought up, and exhibi t ingm ost of the worst qual i t ies of bo th races

,whilst the

Eurasian populat ion , already so numerous that the meanso f educat ion offered to i t are qui te inadequate, will increase m ore rapidly than ever. I can hard ly imagine a

more profitless, unmanageable communi ty than one so com

posed . I t m ight be long before it would grow to whatwould be cal led a class dangerous to the S tate, but veryfew years wil l make i t

,if neglected , a glaring reproach to

the Governmen t and to the fai th which i t will,however

ignorant and vicious, nom inally profess. On the o therhand , if cared for bet imes, it will become a source of

strength and usefulness to Bri t ish rule in Ind ia.

”

In the M arch of 1 879 , L ord L yt ton , in a m inu te on the

educat ion and employmen t of nat ives and poor Europeans,wh ich wil l probably render his name one of the landm arks in the ir history, declared that “ L ord Cann ing

’

s

warn ing has unhappily been j ust ified by the even t . Wewere to ld offic ially, two years ago , that there were between eleven and twelve thousand European and Eurasian

268 APPEND IX .

children in India growing up wi thout any educat ion at al l— a scandal to the Engl ish nam e and the Engl ish Governmen t . ”

L ord Cann ing’s m inu te called into existence abou t a

doz en schools, hill schools, half the cos t of which the S tateprovided , and to which a grant- in -aid is st ill con t inued .

The charges at these schoo ls are necessarily so high, we are

to ld , that the weal thy alone can take advan tage of them .

S o that down to the presen t day nei ther State nor Churchhas touched even the fringe of what is a yearly increasingincubus, a peril to the S tate, and a scandal to the Churchthe m inute of L ord L yt ton has produced as yet no thing buta crop of suggest ions, twoZreports and som e wrangl ing.

The lengthy prel im inary report of Archdeacon Baly ap

peared towards the close of 1 880 , and am id a m ass of de

tails nei ther new nor,in our opin ion , necessary at

,

so earlya stage of the enqu iry, the A rchdeacon recomm ended theestablishm en t of hill schools and the subord inat ion o f the

“

Train ing Co lleges to the Episcopal Church in Ind ia. Thesein effect were the two proposals con tained in the Prel im i

naryRepor t ,”which occupied about 59 pages o f the Gaz ette

of December 1 3 th, 1 879 . I t seem s to us that , howevercred i table these proposals m ay be, as evidencing the philanthropic desires of the A rchdeacon and his loyal ty to hisown Church, they are bo th of them u tterly impract icable asso lu t ions of the problem he has under taken in som e fash ionto solve. We doubt if there be any body o f sane legislators, either in or out of Ind ia, who wou ld saddle the people of th is coun try with the up

-keep of a circle of h illschoo ls

,in which would be gathered toge ther the children

ofpoor Eurasians and Poor Whi tes al l over Ind ia. The

idea is so comple tely Utopian that the k indly feel ings of

the proposer m ust have obscured his m ore robust comm on

sense ; while the suggest ion that the Train ing College forInd ian teachers Should be under the con trol of the clergyof the Church to which the A rchdeacon belongs, will, inour estimat ion , rouse the religious an imosi ty of every rel igions sec t in Ind ia ; and if persisted in , wil l embi t ter thewhole quest ion and sink it from one of imperial importance

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270 APPENDIX.

suffer beneath an Ind ian sun and ifpuny creaturesof the racehave been already produced, who can on ly exist by per iod icsojourns on breezy hill—tops, then their expiring effor t shouldbe to enable them to effec t this sojourn and the philanthropic and the chari table may wel l aid them in their reso lves.

I f the Governmen t of Ind ia are themselves bringing out ski lled artiz ans and others from England to work on the ir rai lways and public works and elsewhere, and paying them suchwretched sum s that they are unable to educate and providefo r their children in a m anner sui table to the needs of the

clim ate of Ind ia, and are allowing mercan t ile houses,trad ing

fi rm s and o thers to perpe trate the same injustice, then thesooner this in iqui ty is exposed, and the cruel facts are made

public, the be t ter i t will be for England and for India.

I f it is the need o f Ind ia that m en of this sort shouldbe brough t to her Shores to labour for the S tate, thenthe S tate should see to i t , that they may return to the

land of their birth and not remain here a d isgrace to

Engl ishmen and a cancer in her rule ; or, if remain ing,they should be a strength and bu lwark, and no t a raceof s ickly paupers . The Government seems to us to havecomm i t ted a grave m istake in appo in t ing the comm itteeat al l ; and would have acted wi th greater wisdom had

it handed the who le subjec t over to the educational departm ent of the P residency. The depar tment has officers al l

over the Presidency, who , we are bound to say, wouldhave suppl ied fac ts and suggestions from the yearly roundof the ir du t ies and experience, certain ly not less authen t icthan those suppl ied by A rchdeacon Baly, and as certain lym ore varied and valuable, because com ing from those thebusiness of whose life i t is to labour for the educationaladvancement of the people . No doubt , the VenerableA rchdeacon Baly, in an enquiry of this sor t , would provea valuable witness, but it seem s to us that i t is to the edu

cational departmen t the Governmen t ought to look for a

c lear and succinct d igest of the fac ts on which it is pro

posed to legislate , and for a prac t ical wo rking schem e for

the at tainm e n t of the subjec t legislated fo r. I t is no dis

paragement tothe Archdeacon to say that there are in the

APPENDIX . 7 I

educational departm en ts of Ind ia gen t lemen of not lesswide cul ture, and qu i te as varied and lengthy Ind ianexperience, whose acquain tance wi th the cond i t ion of

European and Eurasian educat ion and employm en t ismuch m ore real and varied than any thing to wh ich A rchdeacon Baly can aspire. H is appo in tmen t to the positionhe held on the comm i t tee was probably due to the fac t thathe has evinced his in terest in the subject by the publicat ionof a pamphlet d ist ingu ished by earnestness and thoughtfulness.

I t seems to us that elementary Schools for Eurasiansand poor Europeans should be established ,— ough t longago to have been es tabl ished— under Government con tro land support in al l the large Presidency towns and sta

t ions. I t is in these towns and stat ions that Eurasians,weal thy and ind igent al ike, are gathered toge ther in the

largest numbers, and a local rate for educat ional purposes,if such a rate were deemed needful , wou ld press wi thleast hardsh ip on the populat ion of European ex trac t ion .

I f the Governm ent are real ly bent on vigo rous act ion inthe mat ter, and will rem it it to the educat ional departmen ts of each Presidency, a very few years m ay see a

network of efficien t schools al l over I nd ia affi liated withthe already established higher class schools and co llegeswi th an undenom inat ional Training Co llege, or its equ ivalent, in the capi tal of each Presidency, and a large proport ion of children of schoo l -go ing age in a fair way to

wipe out some of the reproach which, as long as this

remains undone,will l ie on the rulers of Ind ia.

We have no fai th whatever that, were the Governmentto establish al l over the country techn ical schools, suchas that which now occupies the prem ises of B ishop

’

s C o l

lege at Seebpore, these alone would train up a band o f

ski lled tradesm en of European ex trac t ion which wouldrender it unnecessary to impor t Ski lled European labouras largely as at presen t, or would in the end vind icate thewisdom of Governm ent in incurring so large an expensefor what after al l is but an experiment with but a problematical outcome . Technical schools can never create an

272 APPENDIX .

industry, however valuable they may be in d iffusing soundknowledge . Techn ical schoo ls have the ir uses— h ighlyimpor tant uses , especially in coun tries where the populat ionhas already m astered and developed a prac tical knowledgeof hand icrafts and a m oderate degree o f sk ill in thesepursu i ts ; but thi s is not the posi t ion which the Eurasiancomm un i ty occupies. I t is on ly the m erest frac t ion o f

the who le number who have fo llowed, or whose paren ts

have fo l lowed , engineering or m echanical pursu i ts. If

i t is con tended that they have never had oppor tun i t ies fordo ing so , and that it is the du ty of the S tate to providefacili t ies for acqu iring knowledge of th is sort , then it appearsto u s that such a posi t ion is un tenable, for it am oun ts toa dec larat ion that the S tate ought to provide fac ili t ies forlearn ing trades which nei ther the ind ividual nor the com

mun i ty have found i t to their advan tage to fo llow. The

suprem acy of Bri tain in the m echanical arts and manufac

tures was not acqu ired in techn ical schoo ls, and wou ldprobably never have been at tained had i t been sought

for there. That supermacy and the sk il l acqu ired by o thernat ion ali t ies in k indred ar ts and professions, are due

main ly to ind ividual en terprise ; and where a paternalGovernmen t has though t proper to in tervene, unless inthe way of supplying sk illed theore t ical knowledge basedon prac t ice, and that but sparingly, the resul t has general lybeen d isastrous. To set up techn ical schoo ls al l over Ind ia,is to begin at the wrong end , and to foster the growth of

a class of m en who , after the course o f techn ical instruct ion had been ended , would look to the Governm ent to

supply them wi th fairly-

paid posts in which the heaviesttoo ls they would be requ ired to use would be the pen, the

pencil, and the compass.

A trade or handicraft is only to be learned effec tually bythe learner do ing for himself, under the supervision of a

sk illed journeyman , every process impl ied in a correc t

prac t ical knoweldge of the branch sough t to be acquired .

A m ore or less lengthy appren t iceship has proved i tself inal l t ime and in al l coun tries the best school for rearing up

a band of sk illed, intelligent workmen and, until Eurasians

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274 A PPEND IX .

pro fession, and who are prepared to subm i t themselves to

all the hardships and subord inate rou t ine duties impl ied ina sold ier’s l ife in Ind ia, then it seems to us it is on ly a quest ion of train ing and d iscipline ; and the Government maysafely enrol one regiment at least in each Presidency as a

trial . In view of the prac t icabi lity of Eurasian regiments itm ight not be inappropriate for the Government to util isethe L awrence A sylum ,

and the H ill and o the r schoo ls of a

m ore or less eleem osynary charac ter al l over Ind ia, whetever Eurasian boys are educated , so that the train ing of a

portion of them at least should have in view their en teringthe army.

The very lowest class o f Eurasians who may, for variouscauses

, be en tering on a l ife of loaferism and vice, should be

brough t toge ther in industrial schools, somewhat after them odel of those in Britain ,

and taught trades, or, after a

prelim inary train ing, be drafted into the Army, the Navy,the M erchan t service, or wherever else they can serve Ind iaand make a living. A t M adras, Bombay, and in the

Hooghly, training~ships for Eurasian lads, such as those nowto be found in almost al l the large seaports of Great Bri tainand Ireland , would rescue many from a l ife o f vagabondageand , i t may be, crime, and fi t them for earn ing a l iving as

able seamen .

The Eurasian commun ity, i t appears to us,while avai l ing

themse lves ofevery legi t imate channel to ven t i late their gr ievances, to m emorial iz e S tate departmen ts, to pet i t ion Governmen t

,to in terview statesmen and legislators wi th depu ta

t ions and to bring the weight o f public opin ion to bear on

every hind rance which s tands in the way of the ir advancem en t

,should con t inual ly bear in m ind , that their fu ture

l ies largely in their own hands, and that they need not hope

that ei ther the high officials of Ind ia or England , or theGovernmen t of ei ther, wi ll do for their commun i ty whatthey will not do for themselves. I t is not by scath ingat tacks on parties or Government, or by bit ter and acrim onious comments on public men and publ ic m easure s ,o r by virulent onslaughts on departmen ts and functio s ,

arieS,—however useful these attacks may be in certai n

APPEND IX . 275

s tages of public mendaci ty, peculat ion ,nepotism , and

general wrong-do ing— that any race or any communi ty evervind icated , or ever will vind icate, its own fi tness for posi t ionsof trust and responsibil i ty, where jud icial calmness of judgmen t

,moderation of speech, fert i li ty of resource, and stet l

ing in tegri ty are em inen tly n eedful . I t is in the dai ly exhibition of those higher qual ities and charac teristics whichmark off a race fit to figh t the bat tle of l ife manfully, andhelp to m ould the fu ture of a great people, that Eurasianswill find the shortest method o f so lving the problem of the irown future and dem onstrate their capacity to fi ll the highestoffices in the Ind ian Empire . Whenever and whereverthese qual ities man ifest them selves, the rulers o f Ind ia and

the friends of the Ind ian people wi ll not be slow to acknowledge them , to honor them ,

and to glory in them . Whether or no t these qual i t ies wi ll be developed and exhi

bi ted more largely in the future than they have been in the

past, depends great ly on Eurasians them selves, and not on

any power lying ou tside their own wil l and reso lve . The

laws that govern existence in som e of its aspec ts, are wi thout pi ty and dest itu te of remorse the fi ttest are the so lesurvivors, and the struggle of l ife goes on . I t is chiefly inadversi ty, though not seldom in prosperity, that men and

races Show the s terl ing powers and capaci t ies inheren t inthe ir natures and if this crisis in their history through whichthey are about to pass, and on which they have alreadyen tered , brings to the surface, in the Eurasian communi ty,qual i t ies which o therwise would have lain dorman t , then ,indeed , to them , sweet are the uses of adversi ty.

”

Throughout this long struggle for a higher, a m ore varied ,and a more useful posi t ion in Ind ia, Eurasian s have beenfo llowed by the anx ious hopes, and the best wishes of some

o f the noblest Englishmen who have ever served Ind ia and

there are now in England and in Ind ia numerous sympa

thisers who wi ll be the first to gr ieve if, by violence ofspeech, unreasonableness in the ir demands, over-statementof their c laims, o r deficiency in self-helpfulness, theyshould inj ure , o r cas t to the ground the prom ising hopescherished of the ir future . A S we have already noted , the

276 APPEND IX .

conditions inherited , acquired , and it may be imposed ,which ac t as h indrances in their efforts towards a br igh te rfuture, are such as require, in many instances, no ord i ~nary effort to overcom e . Every inch on the ir road to

success must be gained for them selves and by them selve s,am idst heal thy rivalry, the play of in terests

,and the force

o f charac ter. In the view of such a con test , big with thei rfuture fate, through which, as through the val ley of the

shadow of rac i al and social death,the ir way l ies to a

h igher and a nobler life, the hearts of those in whose ve insflow their fathers’ blood may wel l pulse wi th the exci tem ent born of high hope and manly warfare ; and there

may wel l l inger in the years, and qu icken the impulse ,of al l fight ing this fight of social l ife o r death, imperi alusefulness or uselessness, some such words as these

Courage , brother, do not stumble ,Thou

gh thy path be dark as n ight ,

There 5 a s tar to guide the humbl e,Trust in God and do the right .

Le t the road be long and dreary ,A nd its ending out of sight ,Foot it bravely , strong o r weary

,

Trust in God and do the right .

Trust no par ty , Church or faction ,Trust no leader in the fight ,Bu t in every wo rd and actionTrust in God and do the righ t .