SIR WILLIAM LEE WARNER.
[To THE Conon or VIZ .Srecrsion..1 Sts,—As one who had special opportunities for learning the sterling qualities of the late Sir William Leo Warner, will you permit me to add a personal tribute to his memory P Very few Indian civilians of his day had such a broad training in the varied spheres of administration. Early in his career he was called upon to superintend public, instruction in Berar, and, later, to serve on an Education Commission and to hold the Directorship of Education in Bombay. The insight thus gained into Indian ways of thought and Indian needs was invaluable, and throughout his life there was no subject which interested him more keenly than that of education. As Private SecretarytoSirPhilip Wodehouse, Governor of Bombay,Under. Secretary to the Government of India, and Political Officer in several important native States, he was brought into direct con- tact with the most fascinating side of the life of India. The native States are the closest links with the distant past, rich in historical associations, and still instinct with the spirit of the East slowly responding to Western influence& In them, the merits and defeats of traditional methods of govern- ment could be studied, and the truest appreciation of Indian characteristics could be formed. The spell of old India penetrated deeply into Lee Warner's mind and maintained its hold to the last. His Protected Princes of India is a mine of authoritative information in regard to the relations arising from treaties, law, and custom between self- governed India and the paramount Power. On his advice I read the book carefully before landing in India, and I derived from it instruction of the greatest value in dealing with the intricate affairs of the very numerous native States under the Government of Bombay. There was no stouter champion of
the rights and dignities of Princes and Chiefs than Lee Warner, and to the delicate political questions which arise from time to time be brought rare knowledge and ready sympathy. As Chief Secretary to the Bombay Government, he saw the working of the central administrative machine and supplemented his district experience ; but, like all good officials in India, lie never confined his activities to his office files, and be was able to find time to initiate and to organize schemes of public beneficence which endure. As an ardent educationist, he was strongly drawn towards the increasing class which receives school and college training—the class upon which the future of India must largely depend. He realized the need of inculcating a sense of civic duty, based upon accurate knowledge of essential civic facts, which systems of public education are too apt to ignore. In The Citizen of India he strove to supply this want. The little work is an excellent compendium of common knowledge which every educated Indian should have by heart, and he felt disappoint- ment that it was not utilized as a general text-book. In some political quarters the object was resented, and for scholastic purposes a division into two or three separate primers would have been an advantage ; but many of the most thoughtful Indians perfectly realized the need which Lee Warner sought to meet, and, following his lead, Indian writers have produced books of the same class. I earnestly endeavoured to add to the State curriculum the teaching which his great experience dictated, and I hope that the want will no longer exist.
Like Sir Alfred Lyall, Lee Warner bad a strong literary bent, which found expression even during the strenuous life of an Indian Civil servant. Later, when a member of the Council of the Secretary of State, he wrote much and well. His Life of Lord Dalhousie—a veritable labour of love—was a serious undertaking for an always busy man. His wide knowledge of Indian history and Indian character here found great opportunities. The sense of injustice to be redressed appealed strongly to his innate chivalry, and he created for us a striking picture of the great Viceroy who was stricken to death in the service of India, and who suffered detraction in silence. The Life of Sir Henry Norman made another notable addition to Anglo-Indian history during critical times, and alike in reviews and on platforms Lee Warner strove to spread knowledge of the land that he loved and of British responsibilities towards the Indian people. He left India in 1902, and I do not believe that anyone, after return- ing to England, can fully realize the changes which even five years now bring about. In our correspondence I felt that his India was not quite that in which I lived ; but his breadth of view and generosity of temperament prevented him from being reactionary, and he always endeavoured to take up the new point of view which I tried to present. Like all men who feel strongly, he expected reasoned opinions from others, and he would never accept without protest what he believed to be wrong. To speak out fearlessly upon occasion is not always the course which commends itself to superior authorities, and there were times when he could not recoil from opposing where a weaker nature would have sought peace in acquies- cence. Yet to seem in conflict with others always troubled him. Sternly upright, be could not conceal his intense dislike of intrigue in any form, and his outspoken condemna- tion may have seemed to indicate a certain hardness of character. But Indians had no better friend, and he was always ready to help and sympathize in their difficulties. He felt deeply for the friendless and tempted students in England, and was largely instrumental in bringing about the improved conditions now existing. Shortly before his fatal illness he accidentally met two young Indian boys to whom his heart warmed. He stopped and questioned them with kindly interest, delighted to find that they came from Kathiawar, the congeries of native States to which he was strongly attached. Latterly be exerted himself on behalf of the fund for educating the children of the domiciled classes and Eurasians, who, he strongly felt, have special claims upon the British people. My long absence from England prevented me from keeping touch with Lee Warner's many- sided activities, and I doubt if the full extent of his private charities and of the help which he readily gave to good causes will ever be known. His earnest life was the practical outcome of deep religions convictions, and his too early death may have been due to excess of brain-work coupled with over- fatigue arising from the constant journeys which his labours for others demanded. In him India has lost a staunch friend with a rare knowledge of her history and characteristics, while those who had the privilege of knowing him are deprived of the inspiring example of a strenuous and steadfast life devoted to the service of humanity.—I am, Sir, dc., STDENHAES.
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