of society, its peace and good order.......Faults they certainly have; they are the lot of humanity: theirs are such only as can be supposed to subsist in the presence of so many opposite qualities. Among these, I have omitted to mention one, which is not a general, but a universal trait of their character; their temperance is demonstrated in the simplicity of their food, and their total abstinence from spirituous liquors and other substances of intoxication.”

As this representation is on several points at utter variance with the character of the Bengalees, and Mr. Hastings could not be ignorant of the fact, it must be inferred, that he did not mean to include in the description, the inhabitants of Bengal or the worshippers of Kali; although it is not a little singular, that he should give upon oath a testimony so unguarded and indefinite in its application.

Sir John Malcolm, in his evidence given before the House of Commons, in 1813, thus adverts to the difference of character which is exhibited by the various classes of Hindoos. "The character of the different classes of Hindoos, which compose a great proportion of the population of the subjects of the British Government in India, varies in different parts of that empire, perhaps, as much as, if not more than, the nations of Europe do from each other. Under the Bengal establishment, there are two descriptions of Hindoos, of a very distinct race. Below Patna, the race of Hindoos, called Bengalese, I consider to be weak in body and timid in mind, and to be in general marked by the accompaniments of timidity, which are fraud and servility. I think, as far as my observation went, this class appeared to diminish, both in their bodily

* Hansard's Parl. Deb., vol. xxv. p. 553, 4.

strength and mental qualities, as they approached the coast; and those below Calcutta, are, I think, in character and appearance, among the lowest of all our Hindoo subjects. But, from the moment that you enter the district of Bahar, or rather the district of Benares, throughout all the territories in that quarter subject to the Company and their dependent ally, the Nabob of Oude, and the Duab, the Hindoo inhabitants are a race of men, generally speaking, not more distinguished for their lofty stature, which rather exceeds that of Europeans, and their robust frame of body, which, in almost all, is inured to martial toil by exercises, (I speak more particularly of the Rajpoots, who form a considerable proportion of this population,) than they are for some of the finest qualities of the mind. They are brave, generous, and humane; and their truth is as remarkable as their courage. The great proportion of the army of the Bengal establishment is composed of these men; and it is remarkable that there are few corporal punishments in that army, the slightest reproach being felt as the greatest punishment is among other nations.

"I have spoken more to the military class of the Hindoos, than to the others, because I am more acquainted with them; but, from all I ever heard of those who follow civil pursuits, it is much the same, allowing for the difference of the habits of life, as that of the Bengal sepoys.* On the coast of Coromandel, the Hindoo is a weaker man than the Rajpoot; but still, there are among them many classes who are highly respectable. On the other side of India, under the Presidency of Bombay, the Hindoos, inhabitants of Gujerat, are chiefly Mahrattas; and from all I have

*The Bengal sepoys are not Bengalees.

heard or seen of them, are much superior to the inhabitants that I have described along the coast of Bengal, and even to those along the coast of the Carnatic."

It may be observed generally, that the opinions of our military officers with regard to the character of the Hindoos, are far more favourable than those of our Anglo-Indian civilians and magistrates. And this is easily accounted for.+ The above testimony of Sir John Malcolm will help to reconcile, in some degree, the conflicting statements which have been advanced with regard to the Hindoo nations. The Bengalees, the Hindoos of the Upper Provinces, the Mahrattas, the Rajpoots, the Mysoreans, and the Tamul tribes, although united by a common religion, and receiving from their customs and institutions something of a family character, might be expected to differ not less widely than the different Catholic nations who are comprised under the name of Europeans; not less than the Portuguese from the Italian, the Spaniard from the Frenchman. If the Bengalees be a feebler race, and, owing to their political circumstances and other causes, the most degraded, it does not follow that they are the least capable of virtue. With regard to their moral condition, it would seem to be, at all events, not more

* Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, vol. xxv. pp. 568, 9.

The Hindoos make excellent soldiers, and the following statement will illustrate Mr. Hastings's panegyric on their religion. "The Hindoo artillery-man at all times regards the gun to which he is attached, as an object of superstitious reverence, and usually bestows upon it the name of some deity. During the Doorga festival, the cannon belonging to the army are painted, praised, invoked, and propitiated by every species of offering....The adoration of the Hindoos appears to increase with the size of the gun." Sir John Malcolm, in Bombay Transactions, vol. iii. p. 82.

corrupt than that which the Abbé Dubois has, in his work on the Manners and Customs of the People of India, attributed to the natives at large. The Abbé resided chiefly in the Mysore, living among the Hindoos " as one of themselves ;" and his authority has been appealed to as decisive by the enemies of Christian Missions. Whatever may be thought of his integrity by those who are aware of his subsequent tergiversation, the testimony contained in his first elaborate work, claims attention as collateral evidence of the correctness of the preceding statements.

"Provided that the Hindoo has just enough to support the vanity and extravagance of the day, he never reflects on the state of misery to which he will be reduced on the morrow, by his ostentatious and empty parade. He sees nothing but the present moment, and his thoughts never penetrate into an obscure futurity. From this want of foresight chiefly proceed the frequent and sudden revolutions in the fortunes of the Hindoos, and the rapid transitions from a state of luxury and the highest opulence, to the most abject wretchedness. They support such overpowering shocks of fortune with much resignation and patience. But it would be erroneous to ascribe their tranquillity under such circumstances, to loftiness of spirit or magnanimity; for it is the want of sensibility alone that prevents their minds from being affected by the blessings or miseries of life. It was, probably, with an intention to make some impression on their unfeeling nature, and to stimulate their imagination, that their histories, whether sacred or profane, their worship, and their laws, are so replenished with extraordinary and extravagant conceits. We must also ascribe to their phlegmatic temper, more than to any perverseness of disposition, that want of attach

ment and gratitude with which the Hindoos are justly reproached. No where is a benefit conferred, so quickly forgotten as among them. That sentiment which is roused in generous minds by the remembrance of favours received, is quite a stranger to the native of India."

"What is a Brahman?' I was one day asked, in a jocular way, by one of that caste, with whom I was intimately acquainted: he is an ant's nest of lies and impostures.' It is not possible to describe them better in so few words. All Hindoos are expert in disguising the truth; but there is nothing in which the caste of Brahmins so much surpasses them all, as in the art of lying. It has taken so deep a root among them, that, far from blushing when detected in it, many of them make it their boast."† general, the reserve of the Hindoos, in all the circumstances of their lives, makes it very difficult to discover what is at the bottom of their hearts; and the skill which they possess in counterfeiting what best suits their interest, takes away all confidence in their most solemn protestations." ‡

"In

"One of the principal ties that bind human creatures together, the reverence we feel for those from whom we derive our existence, is almost wholly wanting among them. They fear their father while they are young, out of dread of being beaten; but, from their tenderest years, they use bad language to the mother, and even strike her, without any apprehension. When the children are grown up, the father himself is no longer respected, and is generally reduced to an absolute submission to the will of his son, who becomes master of him and his house. It is very un

* Manners and Customs, pp. 202, 3. † lb. p. 177. ‡ Ib. p. 189.