The heavy drain upon the purses of the liberal for
the pur- poses of the war undoubtedly checks the growth of funds like that for the relief of the Indian famine, but we believe there is another check also. The disaster seems too big for subscriptions. Only a great State can keep four millions of famine-stricken people alive, and the inclination of many among the charitable is to leave the State to do it. Under these circumstances, would it not be wise to limit the range of English benefactions to particular classes, say, for example, the children as the class most widely diffused. The children suffer horribly in an Asiatic famine, the general want of stamina showing in them earlier than in the parents, who have been hardened by their toil. A subscription for the children would appeal to thousands, especially among rich women, who cannot fully realise to themselves the woes and the need of brown folk with little clothing. It is a minor recommendation of this suggestion that it would excite intense gratitude. Hindoo fathers and mothers are fond of their children, and although Hindoo thought is commonly fatal to gratitude—your liberality counting to you for merit, and helping you to prosperity in the next stage—Nature has its own rules, which are stronger than speculative thought.
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