Chapter XVI: India (1)

DUTY OF A GOVERNOR-GENERAL TO VISIT THE PROVINCES--PROGRESS TO THE NORTH- WEST--BENARES--SPEECH ON THE OPENING OF THE RAILWAY--CAWNPORE--GRAND DURBAR AT AGRA--DELHI--HURDWAR--ADDRESS TO THE SIKH CHIEFS AT UMBALLA-- KUSSOWLIE--SIMLA--LETTERS: SUPPLY OF LABOUR; SPECIAL LEGISLATION; MISSIONARY GATHERING; FINANCE; SEAT OF GOVERNMENT; VALUE OF TRAINING AT HEAD-QUARTERS; ARISTOCRACIES; AGAINST INTERMEDDLING--THE SITANA FANATICS-- HIMALAYAS--ROTUNG PASS--TWIG BRIDGE--ILLNESS--DEATH--CHARACTERISTICS-- BURIAL PLACE.

[Sidenote: Duty of a Governor-General to visit the Provinces.]

At a very early period of his stay in India, Lord Elgin formed the opinion, which was indeed strongly impressed upon him by Lord Canning, that it was 'of the greatest importance to the public interest that the Governor- General should see as much as possible of men and things, in all parts of the vast empire under his control; and that a constant residence in the narrow atmosphere of Calcutta had a tendency to impair his efficiency.' Writing to Sir C. Wood on the 17th of September, 1862, he said:--

No man can govern India in ordinary times, such as those in which we
are living, if he is to be tied by the leg to Calcutta, and prevented
from visiting other parts of the Empire. Canning, although he lived in
times by no means ordinary, and although he was compelled by
circumstances to be more stationary than he would otherwise have been,
was as clear on this point as anyone. He urged me most strongly to
proceed northwards at the earliest moment at which I could contrive to
do so. When I referred to the difficulty which the assembling of the
Council for legislative purposes might occasion, he assured me that he
had never intended to make himself a slave of the Council; that he had
taken the chair at the commencement of the proceedings, but that he
should certainly have objected to the establishment of the principle
that his presence was indispensable to its deliberations. He was
especially anxious that I should tour, in order that I might satisfy
myself as to how his arrangements affecting natives, &c., worked,
before modifying them in any degree. And, apart from Canning's opinion
altogether, this is a point on which I have had some personal
experience. I have been now steadily in Calcutta for a whole hot
season. No man, I venture to affirm, in the situation I occupy, has
ever been more accessible to those who have anything to say, whether
they be civilians, soldiers, or interlopers. But there is a blot on my
escutcheon which can easily be hit by anyone dissatisfied with a
judgment pronounced in my name. It can always be said: "What does Lord
Elgin know of India? He has never been out of Calcutta. He is
acquainted only with Bengal civilians and other dwellers in (what is
irreverently styled) 'the ditch.'" Indeed, I fear that I am exposed to
the same reproach in your circle. I see no remedy for this evil, if I
am to remain constantly here.

[Sidenote: Projected tour.]

Starting from these premises he came to the conclusion, that 'it was better to organise a tour on a comprehensive scale, even though it involved a long absence from Calcutta, than to attempt to hurry to distant places and back again during successive winters.' Accordingly, it was arranged that as soon as the business of the Legislative Council was concluded, he should start for the north, and travel by easy stages to Simla, visiting all the places which he ought to see on his way. After spending the hot weather at the Hills, he was to proceed early in the next winter to the Punjab, inspecting it thoroughly, and returning before the summer heats either to Simla again, or to Calcutta, as public business might determine. For the Session, if so it might be called, of 1863-4, he was to summon his councillors to meet him somewhere in the north-west, at some capital city, 'not a purely military station, but where the Council might obtain some knowledge of local and native feeling such as did not reach Calcutta.' The spot ultimately fixed upon was Lahore, the capital of the large and loyal province of that name. The earlier part of the tour was to be made chiefly by railway, with a comparatively small retinue; but for the latter part of it he was to be accompanied by a camp, furnished forth with all the pride, pomp, and circumstance belonging to the progress of an Eastern Monarch, and necessary therefore in order to produce the desired effect on the minds of the natives.

[Sidenote: Railway to Benares.]

It was on the 5th of February, 1863, that the Vice-regal party left Calcutta. They travelled by railway to Benares, which they reached on the evening of the 6th. The first phenomenon which struck them, as Lord Elgin afterwards wrote, was the 'very sensible change of climate which began to make itself felt at some 250 miles from Calcutta.'

The general character (he said) of the country continued to be as
level as ever; but the air became more bracing, the surface of the
soil more arid, and the vegetation less rank. Hot mid-days, and cold
nights and mornings, are substituted for the moist and comparatively
uniform temperature of Lower Bengal, to a greater and greater degree
with every step that the traveller takes towards the north.

The railway, with the exception of a portion near Calcutta, is a
single line; but it is perfectly constructed, and with no great regard
to cost. The vagaries of the water-floods, which, during the rainy
season, sometimes pour down in unmanageable force from the Ganges and
sometimes rush towards it from the opposite side of the railway line,
have constituted the great engineering difficulty of the work. Some
very remarkable bridges and other constructions of this class, to
permit the free passage of water under the line, have been built. The
most critical point has been to obtain a secure foundation in the
sandy soil for these erections; and, strange to say, the principle
adopted by our engineers, under the name of the 'Sunken Well' system,
is the same as that followed by the great architects who built the
famous 'Taj' of Agra. It will, it is to be hoped, prove successful;
and these important works will remain an enduring monument of the
benefits conferred on India during the present reign. Nothing that has
been done by the British in India has affected the native mind so
powerfully, and produced so favourable an impression, as these railway
undertakings.

[Sidenote: Durbar.]

On the day after his arrival at Benares he held a Durbar--his first truly Oriental Durbar--which, though not comprising any independent chiefs, was attended by several native gentlemen of high consideration and large possessions. In addressing them, he took the opportunity of dwelling upon the improvement which recent measures had effected in their position, and the consequent increase of their responsibilities:

'It is the desire (he said) of Her Majesty the Queen that the native
gentlemen of India should be represented in the Council of the
Governor-General, in order that when laws are made for India their
opinions, and wishes, and feelings may receive due consideration. It
is my intention and duty to do everything in my power to give effect
to Her Majesty's gracious intention in this respect. Among the rajahs
and gentlemen here to-day are many who have large estates in the
neighbourhood and along the line of railway which we travelled over
yesterday. The value of those estates will be greatly enhanced by the
completion of the important work of which we are about to-day to
celebrate the opening. I need hardly remind them that they will owe
this advantage to the introduction of British engineering skill and
British capital into this country. I trust that the consideration of
this fact, and of similar facts which are of daily occurrence, will
tend to produce a kindly feeling between the races, by showing them to
what an extent they may be mutually useful to each other. Meanwhile, I
hope that the gentlemen whom I am addressing will turn these
advantages to account by doing their utmost to improve their
properties, and to promote the happiness and welfare of their ryots
and dependents.'

[Sidenote: Railway dinner.]

In the afternoon of the same day he was present at a dinner given in celebration of the opening of the railway from Jumalpore to Benares. In the course of a speech which he made on that occasion, after referring to the fact that both his predecessors had taken part in similar celebrations, he said:--

In looking over the published report of these proceedings a few days
ago, my attention was arrested by an incident which brought forcibly
home to my mind one painful circumstance in which my position here to-
day contrasts sadly with that which Lord Canning then occupied. At a
stage in the proceedings of the evening, corresponding to that at
which we have now arrived, he departed from the routine prescribed by
the programme, and invited the company to join him in drinking the
health of his noble predecessor, the Marquis of Dalhousie, who had, as
he justly observed, nursed the East Indian Railway in its infancy, and
guided it through its first difficulties. It is not in my power to
make any similar proposal to you now. A mysterious dispensation of
Providence has removed from this world's stage, where they seemed
still destined to play so noble and useful a part, both the proposer
of this toast, and its object. The names of both are written in
brilliant characters on some of the most eventful pages of the history
of India, and both were removed at a time when expectation as to the
services which they might still render to India was at its height. I
shall not now dwell on the great national loss which we have all
sustained in this dispensation; but, perhaps, I may be permitted to
say that to me the loss is not only a public one, but a private and
personal calamity likewise. Both of these distinguished men were my
contemporaries, both, I believe I may without presumption say, my
intimate friends. It is a singular coincidence that three successive
Governors-General of India should have stood towards each other in
this relationship of age and intimacy. One consequence is that the
burden of governing India has devolved upon us respectively at
different periods of our lives. Lord Dalhousie when named to the
Government of India was, I believe, the youngest man who had ever been
appointed to a situation of such high responsibility and trust; Lord
Canning was in the prime of life; and I, if I am not already on the
decline, am at least nearer to the verge of it than either of my
contemporaries who have preceded me. Indeed, when I was leaving
England for India, Lord Ellenborough, who is now, alas! the only
surviving ex-Governor-General of India, said to me, 'You are not a
very old man, but depend upon it, you will find yourself by far the
oldest man in India.'

Passing from these personal topics, after noticing the good fortune which had placed the formation of the railway system of India in the hands of a man who had in a special manner made that subject his own, he proceeded to speak of the future of Indian Railways, insisting especially on a point about which he felt very strongly, the necessity of their ceasing to depend on a Government guarantee, and adding some practical hints for their development and extension:

[Sidenote: Future of Indian railways.]

But, Gentlemen, however interesting it may be to refer to the past and
to dwell upon the present, the most important questions which we have
to answer relate to the future, and the most important of all in my
opinion is this--to what agency are we henceforward to look if we
would desire to extend as widely as possible, to all parts of India,
the benefit of this potent instrument of modern civilisation? I have
no hesitation in affirming at once, in answer to this question, that
we must not look to an indefinite extension of a system of Government
guarantees for the accomplishment of this object. In the first place,
it would be wholly unjustifiable for any one object, however
important, to place such a strain upon our finances as this policy
would involve. In the second place, however justifiable and necessary
a system of Government guarantees may be in certain circumstances, it
is essentially an expensive one, because by securing to shareholders a
minimum rate of interest on their capital it weakens in them the
motives to economy, and because by dividing the responsibility for
expenditure between Government and Railway Officials, it diminishes in
the latter the sense of responsibility. Moreover, the indefinite
extension of a system of Government guarantees is wholly incompatible
with the endeavour to bring private enterprise largely into play for
the execution of these works; while there is an unlimited call for
capital for works enjoying the protection of a Government guarantee,
it is not to be expected that capital will be forthcoming to any
extent for similar works which have not that protection. For the
accomplishment, therefore, of the great object to which I am
referring, we must henceforward, I apprehend, look to private
enterprise; not perhaps to private enterprise wholly unaided by the
State, but at any rate, to private enterprise not protected by
Government guarantee. But if so, what are the conditions which will
entitle railway enterprises of this class to the countenance and
encouragement of the Government? I lay it down as a fundamental
principle, that we ought to look to the eventual establishment of one
uniform railway gauge for the whole of India. The experience of
England is conclusive as to the inconvenience of a double or
conflicting railway gauge. After the expenditure of an untold amount
of money in Parliamentary conflicts, the broad gauge of England has
been compelled to take the narrow gauge on its back, and the whole
capital expended upon the former may be said to have been thrown away.
But what does this resolution in favour of an uniform gauge imply? It
will, I think, be admitted that the main object of an uniform railway
gauge is to enable the several railway lines to exchange their plant
in order to avoid transhipment of freight. But if the plant of the
subsidiary line is to be transported along the main lines, it must be
sufficiently well finished to be fitted to travel in safety at high
speed; and if the plant of the main lines is to travel along the
subsidiary lines, the latter must have rails sufficiently heavy, and
works of construction sufficiently substantial, to support it.
Moreover, where streams or rivers are encountered they must be
bridged. In short, the subsidiary lines must be built in a manner
which would make them nearly as expensive as the main lines; in other
words, railways must not be introduced into any part of India where we
cannot afford to spend from 13,000_l_. to 15,000_l_. a mile upon them.
I am not prepared to accept this conclusion. I have been a good deal
in America, and I know that our practical cousins there do not refuse
to avail themselves of advantages within their reach, by grasping at
those which are beyond it. In 1854, I travelled by railway from New
York to Washington. We had several ferries to cross on the way, but we
found that the railway with the ferries was much better than no
Railway at all. In short, in America where they cannot get a _pucka_
railway, they take a _kutcha_ one instead. This, I think, is what we
must do in India. There are many districts where railways costing
3,000_l_. or 4,000_l_. a mile might be introduced with advantage,
although they would not justify an expenditure of from 10,000_l_. to
15,000_l_. a mile. We have only to be careful that _kutcha_ lines are
not mistaken for _pucka_ ones--that they are not allowed to set up a
rival system as against the main lines, or to occupy ground which
should be appropriated by the latter.

[Sidenote: Carriage dâk to Allahabad.]

As the railway from Benares to Allahabad was not yet complete, Lord Elgin and his suite performed this part of the journey by carriage dâk. They travelled by night; 'each individual of the party occupying his own separate carriage, and being conveyed along at a hand gallop by a succession of single ponies, relayed at stages of four to five miles in length.' In the letter which describes this, he adds the characteristic remark:

'These ponies do not lead very happy lives, and, here as elsewhere, a
diminution in the sufferings of the brute creation will be one of the
blessings attending the introduction of a railway system.'

At Allahabad he inspected, among other things, the works which were in progress for making a railway bridge across the Jumna.

This is (he wrote) in some respects the most interesting of that class
of engineering operations which has been already mentioned: because
whereas in other cases clay has been found beneath the sand, and the
foundation wells have been sunk into it, no bottom has been discovered
to the sand which constitutes the bed of the Jumna; and the wells in
question are required to stand firm in this most unstable of all
foundations.

[Sidenote: Cawnpore.]

From Allahabad Lord Elgin proceeded by railway to Cawnpore; where, on the 11th of February, he took part in the impressive ceremony of the consecration of the Well, and other spots in its vicinity, containing the remains of the victims of the dreadful massacres which occurred at that place in 1857.[1]

He had intended from this point to visit Lucknow: but finding that time would allow of his doing this only in a very hasty manner, which he thought objectionable, he invited some of the principal Talookdars to come over to see him; which they accordingly did, under the guidance of Mr. Wingfield, the Chief Commissioner of Oude.

[Sidenote: Agra.]

From Cawnpore Lord Elgin journeyed, again by rail, to Agra, the 'key of Hindostan.' The following description of his arrival there is borrowed from his private secretary, Mr. Thurlow:[2]--

'Arrived at the railway station, Lord Elgin met with a reception
worthy of the East. The road, thickly lined with native troops,
crossed the Jumna by a bridge of boats, and wound along the river's
bank beneath those lofty sandstone walls; then, mounting a steep hill
and leaving the main entry into Agra Fort upon the right, the Taj
remaining to the left, it led, through miles of garden ground, thickly
studded with suburban villas, to the Viceroy's camp, that occupied
the centre of an extensive plain, where tents were pitched for the
accommodation of the Government of India, and an escort of ten
thousand men. Beyond these were ranked, according to priority of
arrival, the far-spreading noisy camps of those rajas the number of
whose followers was within some bounds; and beyond them again
stretched miles and miles of tents containing thousands upon thousands
of ill-conditioned-looking men from Central India, and the wildest
part of Rajpootana, the followers of such maharajas as Jeypoor, who
marched to meet the Viceroy with an army of thirty thousand strong,
found in horse and foot and guns, ready for the field.'

The six days spent at Agra Lord Elgin was 'disposed to rank among the most interesting of his life.'

Perhaps (he wrote) months of the monotony of a Calcutta existence may
render the mind more sensitive to novelty and beauty; at any rate, the
impressions experienced on visiting Agra at this time have been
singularly vivid and keen. The surpassing beauty of the buildings,
among which the Taj stands pre-eminent; the vast concourse of chiefs
and retainers, combining so many of the attributes of feudal and
chivalrous times with the picturesqueness in attire and gorgeousness
in colouring, which only the East can supply; produced an effect of
fairyland, of which it was difficult to divest oneself in order to
come down to the sterner realities of the present. These realities
consisted mainly in receiving the chiefs at private and public
Durbars, exchanging presents and civilities with them, and returning
their visits. The great Durbar was attended by a larger number of
chiefs than ever before assembled on a similar occasion.'

[Sidenote: Grand Durbar.]

The Grand Durbar, or 'Royal Court,' was held on the morning of the 17th of February: a grander gathering, it was said, than even the great one held by Lord Canning in 1859. The scene was one of remarkable splendour--a splendour alien to the simple and unostentatious tastes and habits of the chief actor in it, but which he knew how to use with effect when taking his place as Suzerain in an Assembly of Princes. To aid us in conceiving it, we must have recourse to the picture sketched at the time in one of the Indian Newspapers.

'It is difficult to describe--without seeing it it is impossible to
conceive,--a scene like that presented at a grand Durbar of this kind.
One may imagine any amount of display of jewels, gold and glitter,
gorgeous dresses, splendid uniforms, and handsome faces. You may see
far more beautiful sights in the shape of court grandeur at our
European palaces, at Versailles and St. James's; but nothing that will
give you an idea of an Indian Durbar. The exhibition of costly jewels,
the display of wealth in priceless ornaments and splendid dresses, the
strange mixture of wealth and poverty, the means of accomplishing
magnificence and splendour enjoyed to such profusion, yet rendered
almost void to this end from want of taste! "Barbaric wealth," indeed,
you behold; barbaric from its extent and profusion, and barbaric in
the hideous use made of it. The host of chiefs, who sat on the right
side of the huge Durbar tent, close packed in a semi-circle, and who
rose as one man when the band outside began "God save the Queen," and
the artillery thundered forth the royal salute, were a blaze of
jewels. From underneath head-dresses of every conceivable form and
structure--the golden crown studded with rubies and emeralds, the
queer butterfly-spreading Mahratta cap, the close-fitting Rajpoot
turban, the common _pagree_ of the Mohammedan Chief, ordinary in shape
but made of the richest material--from under each and all there are
peering dark faces, and bright glancing eyes, eager to catch the first
view of the great Lord Paramount of Hindostan. What a multitude of
different expressions one notices while scanning that strange group of
princes of royal descent, whose ancestors held the very thrones they
now hold far back beyond the range of history. The scheming
politician, the low debauchee, the debased sensualist, the chivalrous
soldier, the daring ambitious descendant of a line of royal robbers,
the crafty intriguer, the religious enthusiast, the fanatic and the
sceptic side by side, you can trace in each swarthy face the character
written on its features by the working of the brain within.'

'In the midst of such a scene, seated on a massive gold throne, with crimson velvet cushion, two lions of the same precious metal forming the arms; the whole standing on a square platform raised about ten inches from the ground, covered with a carpet of gold,' Lord Elgin addressed his princely audience; his voice 'clear and distinct, so that he could be heard easily at the further corner of the tent; every word seeming to be weighed and uttered as if he meant what he said:'

[Sidenote: Vice-Regal speech.]

Princes and Chiefs.--In inviting you to meet me here, it was my wish
in the first place to become acquainted with you personally, and also
to convey to you, in obedience to the gracious command which I
received from Her Majesty the Queen, upon my departure from England,
the assurance of the deep interest which Her Majesty takes in the
welfare of the Chiefs of India. I have now to thank you for the
alacrity with which, in compliance with my request, you have, many of
you from considerable distances, assembled at this place.

Having received, during the course of the last few days, many of the
principal personages among you in private Durbar, where I have had the
opportunity of communicating my views on matters of interest and
importance, I need not detain you on this occasion by many words.

Before taking leave of you, however, I desire to address to you
collectively a few general remarks upon the present state of affairs
in India, and upon the duties which that state of affairs imposes upon
us all.

Peace, I need hardly remind you of the fact, now happily prevails
throughout the whole extent of this vast empire; domestic treason has
been crushed; and foreign enemies have been taught to respect the
power of the arms of England.

The British Government is desirous to take advantage of this
favourable opportunity, not to extend the bounds of its dominions, but
to develop the resources and draw forth the natural wealth of India,
and thus to promote the well-being and happiness both of rulers and of
the people.

With this view many measures of improvement and progress have already
been introduced, and among them, I may name, as most conspicuous, the
railway and electric telegraph, those great discoveries of this age
which have so largely increased the wealth and power of the mightiest
nations of the West.

By diffusing education among your vassals and dependents, establishing
schools, promoting the construction of good roads, and suppressing,
with the whole weight of your authority and influence, barbarous
usages and crimes, such as infanticide, suttee, thuggee, and dacoitee,
you may, Princes and Chiefs, effectually second these endeavours of
the British Government, and secure for yourselves and your people a
full share of the benefits which the measures to which I have alluded
are calculated to confer upon you. I have observed with satisfaction
the steps which many of you have already taken in this direction, and
more especially the enlightened policy which has induced some of you
to remove transit and other duties which obstructed the free course of
commerce through your States.

As representing the Paramount power, it is my duty to keep the peace
in India. For this purpose Her Majesty the Queen has placed at my
disposal a large and gallant army, which, if the necessity should
arise, I shall not hesitate to employ for the repression of disorder
and the punishment of any who may be rash enough to disturb the
general tranquillity. But it is also my duty to extend the hand of
encouragement and friendship to all who labour for the good of India,
and to assure you that the chiefs who make their own dependents
contented and prosperous, establish thereby the strongest claim on the
favour and protection of the British Government.

I bid you now, Princes and Chiefs, farewell for a time, with the
expression of my earnest hope that, on your return to your homes,
health and happiness may attend you.

[Sidenote: Muttra.]

Proceeding northwards from Agra, up the valley of the Jumna, they arrived, after three days' march, at Muttra.

The mornings (he wrote) are cool, almost cold; and were it not for
clouds of dust, the marching would be pleasant, although the country
traversed is flat, and not very interesting.... Muttra itself is
interesting from the sanctity which the Hindoos attach to it. Special
blessings are earned by those who bathe in the river here; and the
town is consequently largely resorted to by pilgrims. A great many
fairs are held at Muttra during the year, which enables the Hindoos
who resort thither to combine devotion and business. To ride through
the narrow streets of the sacred town on an elephant, and find oneself
on a level either with the upper stories of the houses which are
frequently decorated with elaborately carved oriel windows, or with
the roofs on which holy monkeys in great numbers are disporting
themselves, is a very curious spectacle.

[Sidenote: Delhi.]

On the 23rd of February the camp left Muttra; on the 3rd of March it was pitched under the walls of Delhi--'unquestionably the place of greatest interest' visited in this part of the tour.

The approach to it through ten miles of a desolate-looking campagna,
thickly strewn with funereal monuments reared in honour of the
sovereigns and mighty men of former dynasties, reminded me of Rome.
The city itself bears traces of more recent calamities. The Palace has
been a good deal maltreated, and the Jumma Musjid (Great Mosque), a
magnificent building, has only just been restored to the worshippers.
Beyond the town, and over the place where the camp was pitched, lay
the heights which were occupied by the British troops, and signalised
by so many deeds of valour, during the eventful struggles of 1857.

[Sidenote: Hurdwar.]

After resting for two days at Delhi, he pursued his course north-eastward, through Meerut to Hurdwar, on the Ganges--

a sacred place, near the point at which the great Ganges Canal leaves
the river; resorted to by pilgrims, in vast crowds, from the Punjâb,
Rajpootana, and other extensive districts in India. The Sikhs, who are
a reformed Hindoo sect, hold Hurdwar in especial reverence. To this
spot was conveyed, in order that it might here be cast into the sacred
water of the Ganges, what remained, after its cremation, of the body
of the great Sikh Chief, the Maharaja of Puttialla, whom Lord Canning
placed in the Council of the Governor-General.

In another letter, written from the immediate neighbourhood of this place, he took a more practical and utilitarian view of its capabilities and prospects:

Hurdwar, where I have been spending two days, is a most interesting
place. It is curious to see the old Faith, washing itself in the
sacred waters of the Ganges, and the new Faith, symbolised in the
magnificent works of the Ganges Canal. One regrets that these canals
should be so little used for navigation purposes, or as sources of
mechanical power; but there is some difficulty in combining navigation
with irrigation works. Moreover, in passing through districts which
are dependent on irrigation, one cannot help being deeply impressed
with a sense of the danger which will ensue if canals are entrusted to
private companies, unless they are bound by the most stringent
conditions to keep their works in good order, and to supply water at
reasonable rates. In the absence of such precautions, the population
of whole districts might be, especially in famine years, entirely at
the mercy of those companies.

[Sidenote: Umballa.]

From this point the vast camp took a north-westerly direction towards the military station of Umballa, which was reached on the 27th of March. On the following day Lord Elgin received in private Durbar a large number of influential Sikh chiefs, at the head of whom was the young Maharaja of the neighbouring state of Puttialla, the son and heir of the prince above mentioned. In addressing these chiefs, he showed his usual tact in adapting his words to the character and disposition of his hearers:--

The Sikhs (he afterwards wrote) are a warlike race, and the knowledge
of this fact gave a colour to the advice tendered to them. It was my
wish to recognise with all due honour their martial qualities, while
seeking to impart a more pacific direction to their energies. The
capture of half the capitals of Europe would not have been, in the
eyes of the Sikh, so great an event, or so signal a proof of British
power, as the capture of Pekin. They are proud of the thought that
some of their race took a part in it; and more inclined than
ever--which is an important matter--to follow the British standard
into foreign lands, if they should be invited to do so.

He was careful also to make as much as he could of some feeble indications of a disposition to educate their sons, and even their daughters, which had been exhibited by the Sirdars in some parts of the Punjab; thinking that 'if an impulse in this direction could be imparted to the ruling classes among the natives, great results might be anticipated.'

The text of this address--the last address which he delivered--is as follows:--

[Sidenote: Address to the Sikh chiefs.]

Colonel Durand,--I beg that you will express to the native gentlemen
who are assembled here my regret that I am unable to address them in
their own language, and inform them that I am charged by Her Majesty
the Queen to convey to them the assurance of Her Majesty's high
appreciation of the loyalty and devotion to Her Majesty's person and
Government which has been exhibited on various occasions by the Sikh
rulers and people. Not many days ago it was my pleasing duty to
determine that the medal granted to Her Majesty's troops who were
engaged at Delhi in 1857, should be conferred on the followers of the
Sikh chiefs who took part in the noble achievements of that period;
and I can personally bear testimony to the good services of the
officers and men of the Sikh regiments who, in 1860, co-operated with
the British troops in placing the British flag on the walls of Pekin,
the capital of the vast empire of China.

But, in order to be truly great, it is necessary that nations should
excel in the arts of peace as well as in those of war.

Look to the history of the British nation for an example. Most
assuredly the British people are powerful in war, but their might and
renown are in a great measure due to their proficiency in the works
which make a time of peace fruitful and glorious.

By their skill in agriculture, they have converted their country into
a garden; by their genius as traders, they have attracted to it a
large share of the wealth of other lands.

Let us take advantage of this season of tranquillity to confer similar
benefits on the Punjâb.

The waters which fall on your mountain heights and unite at their base
to form mighty rivers, are a treasure which, duly distributed, will
fertilise your plains and largely augment their productive powers.
With electric telegraphs to facilitate communication, and railways and
canals to render access to the seaports easy and expeditious, we shall
be able to convey the surplus produce of this great country to others
where it is required, and to receive from them their riches in return.

I rejoice to learn that some of the chiefs in this part of India are
taking an interest in these matters, which are of such vital
importance to the welfare of this country and the prosperity of the
people. It affords me, moreover, sincere gratification to find that,
under the able guidance of the Lieutenant-Governor, the Sikh Sirdars
in certain districts of the Punjâb are giving proof of their
appreciation of the value of education by making provision for the
education of their sons and daughters.

Be assured that in so doing you are adopting a judicious policy. The
experience of all nations proves that where rulers are well informed
and sagacious, the people are contented and willingly submissive to
authority. Moreover, it is generally found that where mothers are
enlightened, sons are valiant and wise.

I earnestly exhort you, therefore, to persevere in the course on which
you have entered; and I promise you while you continue in it the
sympathy and support of the British Government.

At Umballa Lord Elgin left the camp with which he had been travelling, and struck up, nearly due northwards, into the Hills. The 1st of April found him at Kussowlie, from which point he visited two places which greatly interested him--the 'Lawrence Asylum' and the Military Sanitarium at Dugshai.

[Sidenote: Lawrence Asylum.]

The 'Lawrence Asylum' (he wrote) is an institution originally
established and endowed by the late Sir Henry Lawrence, but now
transferred to Government, and maintained on an enlarged scale. It
receives and educates the children of European soldiers, both male and
female; and, considering what they are exposed to while they remain
with the regiments, or are left as orphans, it is an immense boon to
them, physically and morally. I found about 600 children at the
institution; and, so far as I could judge on a transient inspection,
the condition of things generally seemed satisfactory. Looking to the
returns, however, it did not appear that the sanitary state of the
school was quite as good as it might be, considering the fineness of
the climate; and I desired that some inquiries might be made on this
head. It is probable that the children may in many cases bring bad
constitutions with them; but it also appeared that the dormitories
were somewhat crowded, and that the uneven character of the surface
rendered it difficult to provide playgrounds--both of which
circumstances may be unfavourable to the health of the children.

[Sidenote: Dugshai station.]

The Military Station of Dugshai is situated on the pinnacle of a
mountain about 7,000 feet high. It looks bare and bleak, from the
total absence of trees; but the 42nd Regiment, now quartered there,
had all the appearance of health, and there were few men in the
hospital. The bad cases were those of men who had contracted at Agra,
when they were stationed in the plains, dysentery and fever of a
serious type, which were constantly recurring. The troops quartered on
these hills not only enjoy a congenial climate, but are also kept out
of the way of much mischief which they encounter on the lowlands. On
the other hand, it appears that they suffer a little from want of
occupation. It is curious to hear that hunting for butterflies is a
favourite pastime of the British soldier at Dugshai. The colonel,
however, informed me that the library and reading-room were much
frequented by the men; he observed also that many of the patches of
flat ground which lie scattered among the precipitous crags on which
the station is perched, had been converted by them into gardens.

[Sidenote: Simla.]

On the 4th of April,--Easter Eve--he reached Simla, which was to be his home for the next five months. His impressions of this 'paradise of Anglo- Indians' were given shortly afterwards in the following words:--

The houses which form the settlement are situated on three or four
heights, which are the crest of a mountain that lies among other
mountains of about the same elevation, scattered around it in groups
and rows, intersected by valleys, and closed in on the north by a
range covered with everlasting snow, and glittering from morning to
evening in the rays of a tropical sun. The hills on which Simla stands
are well clothed by trees, not of great stature generally, though of
much beauty; ilexes of a peculiar kind, deodars, and rhododendrons
being conspicuous among them; but there is little wood on the
surrounding mountains. No doubt the special charms of Simla are
enhanced by this contrast: and perhaps also by the character of the
scenery which the traveller meets on the whole route from Calcutta.

Nothing can he well imagined more uninteresting. On leaving Lower
Bengal, even the luxuriant tropical vegetation which distinguishes
that part of India disappears,--and the rest of the journey is
performed through a country perfectly flat, and apparently barren; for
notwithstanding occasional groups of trees, and good crops here and
there, the wide-spreading dusty plains give but faint indications of
the fertility which cultivation and irrigation can no doubt evolve
from them. Even when the mountains are approached, and the ascent
commences, the same character of barrenness attaches to the scene, for
their sides are almost bare of trees, and there is little to relieve
them, except the patches of vegetation which lie snugly in the
valleys, or creep in terraces up the slopes.

No doubt the greater luxuriance in foliage and vegetation which adorns
Simla is in some measure due to the presence of the European visitors
who prevent the trees from being cut, and protect in other ways the
amenity of the place.

But the climate and soil have also, it may be presumed, a good deal to
do with it. For the trees at Simla are not only more abundant, but
also different from those which are met with on the mountains nearer
to the plains. This probably accounts for what otherwise seems
strange,--namely, that Europeans, wishing to escape from the heat of
the lowlands, should have fixed on a spot among the Hills so distant
from the plains. It is not as inaccessible now as it was in former
days, because a road has been made which is practicable for carts. But
by this road the distance from the foot of the Hills to Simla is
fifty-six miles, and the journey for most people occupies three or
four days; whereas we ascended from the foot of the Hills to
Kussowlie, which is at an elevation nearly as great as that of Simla,
in a little more than two hours. It used to be supposed that mountains
overhanging the lowlands were less healthy than those farther removed
from them, but whether this be the case or not may be doubtful.
However, whatever may have been the reasons for the original selection
of Simla, it certainly has now greater attractions as a residence than
any spot lying between it and the plains.

In this pleasant retreat, with its 'dry climate, and temperature from 60° to 70° in the shade,' he resumed with fresh vigour his ordinary official work; corresponding constantly with the Secretary of State, with the subordinate Governments, and with the members of his Council, gathering ever fresh stores of information, and forming ever clearer views of the problems that lay before him; looking forward to the great meeting to be held next spring at Lahore, not only as an important experiment, but also as in a manner the real commencement of his reign. Some extracts from his letters of this period are subjoined.

_To Sir Charles Trevelyan._

Camp, Jeyt: February 23, 1863.

[Sidenote: Supply of labour.]

No doubt there is a deficiency of labour in some parts of India, and
an excess in others. Moreover, there are moral and physical obstacles
which put difficulties in the way of the transfer of labour from
places where it is redundant to those where it is wanting. But to
affirm generally of a country where labour-saving machines are, in
consequence of the cheapness of labour, as little used as in India,
that there is a 'want of labour' seems to me to be a paradox.

I will give an example:--If, in America, the climate made it necessary
that every private white soldier should have a punkah pulled over him
day and night, do you think that no agency but that of the human hand,
in its rudest and most direct application, would be employed in this
task? And why is it otherwise in India? Because labour is so cheap
that necessity, the mother of invention, does not stimulate the
ingenuity of man here as it does there.

Far from deprecating the introduction of capital, I should be
delighted to hear that the amount to be spent in India this year was
to be three times what it promises to be. I do not say to be spent by
Government, for to this there are objections, altogether irrespective
of the question of the amount of labour available.

The first effect of this enlarged expenditure would no doubt be to
raise the wages of labour. This would be in itself a blessing, for
which I should thank God.

But its second and more permanent effect would be to increase the
number of the class of skilled labourers, which the patient, sober,
and ingenious population of India is fitted to supply in so great
abundance, if due encouragement be given; and further, to drive
capitalists to the substitution of machinery for brute human labour to
a greater extent than is the practice now.

The ultimate result would, therefore, be to render the existing
stock of labour doubly productive; the fruits of this increased
productiveness being divided in proportions more or less equitable
between the labourers and capitalists.

I believe that the Railway expenditure is already exercising a
sensible influence of this salutary character. Bodies of navvies are
becoming attached to the companies, who follow them from place to
place, and render them comparatively independent of the local supply
of labour; and above all, by calling forth native talent in the form
of skilled labour, they are imparting that kind of education which
will, I believe, do more for the elevation of the masses than any
other which we can provide in India.

* * * * *

_To H. S. Maine, Esq._

Camp, Hodul: February 25, 1863.

[Sidenote: Special legislation.]

While I entirely concur in the opinion that the _onus probandi_ rests,
and rests heavily too, on the proposers of exceptional or particular
legislation, an assumption runs through ------'s letter to you which I
am by no means prepared to admit. He assumes that in such matters as
those with which we are now dealing, this _particular legislation_
must be in the exclusive interest of the landlord, and calculated to
increase in his hand powers which may be abused, and the abuse of
which is restrained by moral influences which operate less strongly
where landlords and tenants are of different races than where they are
homogeneous. He cites, strangely enough, Ireland, where these moral
influences, which are of themselves generally sufficient in England
and Scotland, are supplemented by wholesale evictions on one side and
murders on the other. But the law of landlord and tenant is, I
believe, the same in Ireland as in England, and it is quite possible
that a little _particular_ legislation, which would have given either
of the parties the protection of positive law against injuries which
can now be redressed only by a rude process of reprisals (one outrage
balancing another until the account is squared), might have proved
ultimately a benefit even to the party against which this particular
legislation seemed to be, in the first instance, directed.

The planters say, we have a grievance attributable to special
circumstances arising out of our relations with our ryots; unless you
give us a special remedy to meet our special grievance, we fall back
on our general powers as landlords. Are we quite sure that in refusing
the special remedy, we are consulting the interest of the weaker
party, viz. the ryot?

Of course, this is all general. There will remain the questions: Is
there a grievance at all? Is it one which has any claim to a special
remedy? I quite agree that the _onus_ of answering these questions
satisfactorily rests on the advocate of special legislation.

* * * * *

_To Sir Charles Wood._

Roorkee: March 19, 1863.

[Sidenote: Duty of officials in missionary matters.]

The religious question is, no doubt, a very difficult one; and I am
glad that you approved of the course which I took with reference to
the great missionary gathering at Lahore. I spoke to Sir R. M---- on
the subject when I met him at Delhi. He seemed to think that it had
done more harm than good to the missionary cause, as the presence of
high officials was sure to raise suspicions in the minds of the
natives. I told him that as regarded the acts of officials in such
matters, my opinion was this:--If an official says to me, 'I think
that I may, with perfect propriety, in my character of official, do so
and so, or take such or such a part in furtherance of an object which
I believe to be right,' I am quite ready to meet him on this ground,
and to join issue with him if I differ from him on the particular
point raised. But if he says to me, 'I know that it would be wrong in
me to do this as an official, but I do it in my private character,' I
can have no discussion with him; because I deny that it is possible to
establish any such distinction in the East, and I am inclined to
distrust either the honesty or the intelligence of the man who
proposes to act upon it.

* * * * *

_To Sir Charles Wood._

Simla: March 19, 1863.

[Sidenote: Financial credit.]

I am as desirous as you can be, perhaps even more desirous, to give no
excuse for the charge of cooking accounts, or making things look
pleasanter than they ought, because I am quite confident, that if we
can keep the peace and show an unimpeachable balance-sheet, we shall
soon have more capital sent to India than we know what to do with. I
could not help giving, a few days ago, a hint concerning my Canadian
experience on this point. When I was appointed to Canada, the first
Canadian official to whom I was introduced was the Finance Minister,
who was walking about the streets of London with £60,000 of Canadian 6
per cent. debentures in his pocket, which nobody would take. In 1849,
two years later, the Montreal merchants drew up an elaborate address
recommending annexation to the United States, alleging as one of their
principal reasons that so long as they remained colonists, they could
obtain no credit in England for public objects, and citing, in proof
of this allegation, the fact that in the United States several
thousand miles of railway had been constructed, in Canada only thirty
miles. Within three years from the date of this address, we had 2,000
miles of railway in Canada in course of construction, and our
Government debentures (6 per cent.) were selling in London at 119,
higher than those of the United States Government; in fact, we had
more credit than we could always employ properly. Now, how was this
change effected? Simply by showing a good balance-sheet, an improving
country, and a contented people, and leaving capitalists to draw their
own inferences from these phenomena. I do not despair of seeing a
similar state of things in India; and it was with the view of giving
an impulse in this direction that I stated publicly, at Benares the
other day, that we must look for the further development of our
railway system to _bonâ fide_ private enterprise, aided, perhaps,
where circumstances required it, by Government, but not to the
extension of Government guarantees. Unguaranteed companies cannot get
money while guaranteed companies are competing with them as borrowers.
Therefore, if we intend to encourage the former, we must let
capitalists know that a limit will be put on the operations of the
latter.

[Sidenote: Seat of Government.]

As to the seat of Government question, I am strongly of opinion that
the proper thing to do at present is to give practical effect to the
provision in the Indian Councils Act, which authorises the Governor-
General to call his Council together in other parts of India besides
Calcutta. This would give to the Supreme Government a more catholic
character than it now possesses, and perhaps in some degree diminish
the jealousy of Calcutta influence which obtains so extensively.

I do not see my way towards recommending the entire abandonment of
Calcutta. It is an important place, and has certain traditional claims
which it is not quite easy to set aside. Moreover, although the
Calcutta community may have its faults and wayward tendencies, it is
an influential element in our body corporate and politic, and a
Government which knows its duty may effect a great deal of good, and
derive no little benefit, by coming into contact with it For the
present, therefore, I think that Calcutta should continue to be the
headquarters of Government; but that we should meet from time to time
at other places for Legislative purposes, so as to qualify Calcutta
local associations with other local associations. This plan will be
attended of course with some trouble and expense. I intend to make
some inquiries to ascertain what the latter is likely to be. I do not
see why we should not legislate in camp, if there be difficulty in
providing house accommodation.... I should like, if possible, to hit
upon a plan which would give us a sufficient range in choosing and
varying our places of meeting. More on all this hereafter.

* * * * *

_To Sir Charles Wood._

Roorkee: March 19, 1863.

[Sidenote: Value of training at headquarters.]