Letters from a Maltratta Camp during the Year 1809. By
Thomas Duer Broughton. With Introduction by Sir M. E. Grant-Duff. (A. Constable.)—This is a volume of "Constable's Oriental Mis- cellany." The writer of the letters was in 1809 in command of the escort of the British Resident at the Court of Scindia,—the "Court" being at that time in the "camp." Sir M. Grant-Duff points out in his introduction, with admirable force, the moral of the volume. Generally, this is,—' See what went on in India, before we "struck up the swords of the combatants and com- manded peace " ! and see also what would happen again if we were to withdraw our moderating power!' Mr. Naoroji the other day spoke of India as suffering from the evils of "an alien domina- tion." The Pam Britanntca is, anyhow, very much better than the state of things revealed in these letters. Nor is the eighteen millions remitted—if that is the right sum—a very high price to pay for it. Here is one picture out of many which Captain Broughton describes :—" All descriptions of people belonging to the army are employed throughout the day foraging in the corn- fields, which are abundant and very luxuriant in the neighbour- hood of the camp. The whole plain is covered with them, loading their cattle, which are allowed to graze about at leisure while their masters are employed in tearing up and destroying ; what they do not require for their own use, they hawk about the camp for sale." And this sort of thing went on most years. Then there was slave-hunting. The writer, who is not in the least surprised by what he sees, tells us how two of his head-servants wanted to buy four girls, how these were brought andeffered for 300 rupees. Where in India is there any other strong hand besides the English that would stop these horrors ?
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