men on civil staff-appointments; the inefficiency of superannuated generals, and the incompetency of commanders-in-chief; but the two evils of submission to native caste, and the disallowance of power to the English officer, are at the bottom of all the mischief. The greased cartridges were no doubt felt to be a real grievance, but it was only the spark which fired the mine that had been long preparing. Sir Charles Napier was, we think, thoroughly right in his claim for greater military independence both for himself and every subaltern. Every Indian crisis must be a military one; and the supervision of a civil GovernorGeneral, much more the intervention of a civil or military board, would be irksome and shackling to a much less impetuous temper than that of Napier. If the offices of Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief are to be kept separate, we shall probably for some years to come not send out second-rate or untried men in either capacity; but for a really strong and vigorous administration, such as is now required, the powers should be combined.

The religious scruple pretended by the mutineers at once gave the handle, so readily seized, for throwing the blame of the outbreak on the Christian Missionaries and Societies. Lord Ellenborough, backed by Lord Lansdowne in the House of Lords, pronounced it incredible that Lord Canning should have given his subscription to a Mission Society (whose sphere, it turns out, was confined to the European Christians of Calcutta), and implied that it was enough to account for the mutiny had he done so; and that he would certainly merit to be recalled. It was said that we had offended the natives by forcing Christian education upon them, and had brought the authority of Government to bear upon native conversion. The law lately passed by which a convert from Hindooism was saved from the entire loss of his property, to which he was subject under the old Hindoo law, was alleged by Mr. Disraeli as a pernicious and tyrannous innovation. But the course of events soon cleared off this line of argument. Though the missionaries at Delhi and Cawnpore, and elsewhere, fell in the indiscriminate slaughter of Europeans, there was no special animosity exhibited either against their persons or their quarters. In some places, as at Meerut, the missionary bungalow was spared in the general ruin; at Juanpore it was burnt in cold blood by a roof-maker to get himself a job. In the Punjaub and in Benares the preachers and teachers have already recommenced their services and schools, and the natives attend them. So far from the Bengal sepoy being the object of missionary propagandism, the only known baptized sepoy in that army was in 1819 dismissed on that very account; neither is there a single missionary station in Oude, the hotbed of the revolt.

The

The chief fields of missionary effort and success are in the south of India, which is the quietest part of all. The Mahomedans, doubtless, hate as well as fear the advance of Christianity; but the Hindoo has never opposed our preachers. Our missionaries have never met with such treatment in the native bazaars as Wesley and Whitfield did in the market-places of England. It is well known that the ministers of Christianity are generally treated with perfect indifference by the self-righteous Brahmins. They wonder rather at the ignorance of the preacher than dread his success. But the mass of the people can appreciate the self-denial and devotedness of the missionary, and only set themselves against the aggressions of force, or fraud, or law, on their faith. No doubt the bigoted Moslem and even the supine Hindoo saw symptoms of advancing light. Even in the Government schools the pupils might learn that the earth did not rest on a tortoise's back. The railroads, the electric telegraph, the gas, all told of innovation and strange power. The abolition of suttee-of infanticide-of Thuggee-of selfimmolation—of Juggernaut abominations-the discontinuance of grants to heathen temples, and of salutes in honour of their idolatrous services-the permission of widows to marry-the preservation of their property to converts-all moral conquests from the strongholds of superstition and injustice, and each of itself in the eyes of old Indians sufficient to create a revolution -had gradually been effected; the English, and in several cases the Christian, education of native princes was advancing; our own Queen had welcomed her royal Indian godchildren to her own court; in a word, for the first time since our occupation of India, British civilization was beginning to tell, and the Brahmin and the Moslem might equally see that, unless a blow was now struck, their chance of present power was setting, and their past beyond recovery. It is said that the moolahs had marked a century as the term of English rule; it is certain that the Mussulmans have never let go the hope of regaining their ascendancy, and it is now said that prayers have been regularly and constantly offered up in their mosques for the restoration of the royal house of Delhi. Bishop Heber, in his time, said that if a fair opportunity offered, the Mussulmans would gladly avail themselves of it to rise against us, but more from political than religious feeling.

It must already be evident to the mutineers themselves that they are playing a losing game. While their resources in men, arms, and ammunition are daily diminishing, ours are daily on the increase. The moment the balance turns in our favour the contest will probably be as brief as it is decisive. Those who

are

are familiar with the annals of European warfare have less reason to be apprehensive that the wrong-doers will escape than that the unoffending will fall victims to the indiscriminate fury of a heated soldiery. But British officers we feel convinced will do their utmost to prevent the sword from lighting upon a single guiltless head. They, at least, will not forget in the hour of victory that, though it is a dreadful necessity to punish the criminal, it is a sacred duty to spare the innocent. If, in the din of battle, they could forget that they were Christians, they can never forget the chivalry and humanity which are inherent in the hearts of English gentlemen. To risk their own lives and to save the lives of the unoffending will, we venture to predict, be the double distinction of every commander throughout the whole of the wide Peninsula of India. Until rebellion has been put down and order reestablished, it can be of no advantage to enter upon the great question of the future government of our Eastern dominions. The materials which are to guide the Ministry and the country in their decision are rapidly accumulating. Never before since we established our sway have the people of this country been willing to listen to the evidence, or have cared to arrive at a verdict. Whatever mistakes may be committed before experience has enlightened us upon the best measures to pursue, there will now be a real effort to secure the safety and ameliorate the condition of India, and, roused by a horrible catastrophe, we shall alike endeavour to do our duty to the natives and oblige them to do their duty

to us.

INDEX

TO THE

HUNDRED AND SECOND VOLUME OF THE QUARTERLY REVIEW.