The Wrongs of Indian Womanhood. By Mrs. Marcus B. Fuller.
(Oliphant, Anderson, and Ferrier. 5s.)—There is, we take it, no doubt about the facts in this matter. Child marriage and compulsory widowhood are the main evils of which Mrs. Fuller complains, and no one, at least of those who regard the matter from the Western point of view, has any difference of opinion about them. But the remedy is in the last degree uncertain. Christianity is that on which Mrs. Fuller relies. But when will India be evangelised ? What can be done in the meantime ? The Congress party might do much, and it does pass resolutions. Unfortunately, the way of least resistance does not lie in this i direction. When it claims the largest possible share in power and office for native races, it has the Indian public behind it. Were it actively to meddle with caste and custom, it would forfeit this support. The powers of Government are rigidly limited. It can put down an open crime such as Suttee, but against custom it is powerless. Even the securing of widows' property to them is a great difficulty. A nation must be governed according to the average of its public opinion,—or, at the best, a little above it. But we are glad that Mrs. Fuller has published this book. IS will do some good.
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