23 OCTOBER 1875, Page 3

The Times makes, we fancy, a curious mistake about one

item in the Indian census. No less than 103,000 persons are put down in the tables of occupations as "guests," and the Times thinks they may be representatives of the ancient "parasites." No,— they are all, we believe, poor relations. A respectable native with nothing to do and nothing to get goes to live with better-off re- lations, and frequently remains for life, paying for his board and lodging only in little offices, and general deference towards the head of the house. The system is injurious, because it creates idlers, but it is not unkindly, and among natives is considered indispensable. No claim of the kind is ever disregarded, though, no doubt, the bread is sometimes made bitter.