MRS. BESANT AND INDIAN REFORM.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOB."1 SIR, —I think it necessary to point out to your readers on the subject of Indian Reforms that these are being supported by individuals whose name and personality should be reviewed u ith the greatest circumspection.
Mrs. Besant is a leader among such individuals. She was the wife of an excellent Church of England vicar (a brother of the well-known novelist). After sixteen years of married life she parted from Mr. Be.sant and the Anglicanism which she had hitherto professed. She joined forces with Bradlaugh. At the age of fifty she had a new departure. She went to India and preached a strange system of theosophy. She had learnt it from Mme. Blavatzky, whose fame, connected with discovering teacups in the ground at fashionable tea-parties, and influencing Mr. Sinnett, of the Pioneer, was investigated and reported on by a Committee of, I think, the Society for Psychical Research.
In India her eloquence, ready to he poured out in public nreatings (which are her strong point), gained her many strong followers among people so impressionable as the Indians. She became the President of the National Congress, a very strange post to be held by an English lady. This fact alone gives one furiously to think. Imagine the leader of a national cause in India being an Englishwoman, and judge therefore of the genuineness of the movement. Some people say that she gained her position by running down her fellow-countrymen. There is nothing in India easier than this method, nor any more absolutely certain of extreme popularity. Fortunately it has been very rarely resorted to by people of English blood. Were this form of public action freely practised, it would be the death-knell of English rule in India.
The real Indian leaders of opinion have found out Mrs. Besanr, and actually have the courage to say that they will not have her for an ally in their projects. At her meetings in England her Indian chairmen—men like Lord Sinha—feel hound to protest against her one-sided statements. How people like Mr. C. H. Roberts, the young, enthusiastic exUnder-Secretary of State for India, who is to be seen at her meetings, can stand her, passes comprehension.
In this ridiculous, theatrical business there stands out the amazing fact, as I am credibly informed, that the MontaguChelmsford Report was submitted to Mrs. Besant for criticism before it was published. And further it is reported that even she teas shocked at the extreme character of the Report.
Ichabod! Iehabixl! How have we fallen -since the days of a John Stuart Mill representing the India Office. If only we had a Sir Alfred Lyall to help the Joint Committee in their labours, time would not be wasted on elementary caste questions.
Many people, including old Indians, say : It is now a time to do something drastic; we do not understand these mysterious Indian reforms, but India has been loyal, and we feel that concessions should he made. They are to be paised by Parliament,and therefore are probably safe. Towhom I should reply: Give the concessions recommended in the Appointment Committee's Report. Make such alterations as the Morley reforms, judged by experience, seem to require, and for the rest present a firm front to the agitators. Act in the same way as Sir John Shore, afterwards Lord Teignmouth, acted in settling a crisis in Oudh. Lord Teignmouth neither feared assassination nor the shock to the British power that such an event would have caused. Let me briefly remind you of the story.
Lord Teignmouth, an Harrovian, an Indian civilian, lived in Bengal all his days, and was Governor-General from 1793 to 1795. The Nawab of Oudh died suddenly, and the succession of his reputed son, Vizier Ali, was ratified according to rule. " But Lord Teignmouth subsequently received information," says Maishman the historian, "of Vizier Alis spurious birth !Ind violent character, and from that feeling of conscientiousnesswhich had always guided his , conduct, proceeded to Lucknow to investigate the case. He then learnt that Vizier All was not even the son of the late Nawab and that the succession belonged of right to a brother of the Nawab's, Sadat Ali."
After full inquiry, Lord Teignmouth determined to remove Vizier Ali and to appoint Sadat Ali. He camped close to turbulent Lucknow, with its 800,000 inhabitants. He was exposed to no little peril from Vizier Ali, who was surrounded by bands of desperate men who openly talked of assassinating Lord Teignmouth. Lord Teignmouth maintained the utmost calmness and composure, and his conduct exhibited a pattern of courage and resolution. Finally he triumphed, and Sadat Ali got the throne. The Revolution was hailed by the Indians as an act of justice, and the general feeling in Oudh was that " the right had come to the rightful." Mr. Montagu should take his courage-in both hands and act in the same way.
The present writer has himself volunteered to give evidence before the Joint Committee to show that the Indian Civil Service cannot be thrown over as Mr. Montagu proposes, and that all his hopes in fancy Constitutions are illusory. President Grant, after visiting India, is reputed to ha se said that the Indian Civil Service is the eighth wonder of the world. This is, of course, exaggeration; but, stung by the tone in which I had heard Mr. Montagu in the House of Commons speak of that Service, by the freely expressed indignation of old Indian friends, and especially by the despair of the young serving generation, I wrote out my qualifications as a witness, such as special work in India and the headship of the Calcutta Municipality, and service in England on the London School Board and the Education Committee of the L.C.C.
The Joint Committee have been most polite to me. They say they were very anxious to have me as a witness before them. My evidence in their opinion would be of great interest and value. But for certain reasons they could not call me.
Now, Sir, I have always held that Mr. Montagu should not have been a member of the Joint Committee. I can only conjecture what has passed, but I surmise that his influence has been against me, and that he has no intention of letting views such as mine get a hearing. Haman suffered from megalomania and had a great fall. Mr. Montagu might with advantage take a hint from Haman.—I am, Sir, &c.,
The Athenaeum, Pall Mall, S.W. 1. GERALD RITCHIE.
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