which has been cast on them, I leave to the public to judge. The prohibition against purchasing land was first directed against the Company's own servants, for fear they should take advantage of their situations, and become possessed of a great portion of the landed property of the country. On the introduction of European residents, it was absolutely as necessary to extend the prohibition to them; but of late years, as the natives have become more firmly seated in their estates, and better able from their general knowledge to resist encroachment, permission for Europeans to hold lands on lease, for the cultivation of coffee, cotton, sugar, &c. has been granted; and of late years the Bengal government has extended the period of lease to I think eighty years; the Court of Directors, as I hear, have however, in conformity with the humanizing policy heretofore pursued, restricted the term to twenty-one years.

That this period is quite sufficient for the objects contemplated, will be seen by the evidence of Mr. Harris (21st May 1821, Lords), who cultivated for many years 36,000 beegas of land; and of Mr. Dunlop, who occupied about 25,000 beegas, or 12,000 acres of land.

Mr. Harris was thus questioned :

"4248. Do you apprehend, that if Europeans generally were enabled to hold leases, the production and manufacture of indigo would be increased?-I should think not much; all the lands fitted for it almost are in cultivation; a certain quantity of land must remain to cultivate rice, and other necessaries of food. A certain proportion only of the ryot's land can be put into cultivation for indigo.

"4249. Must not the amount of indigo produced depend upon the demand for it ?—Yes.

"4250. That demand would not be increased by the Europeans holding lands?—No.

"4251. Therefore neither the cultivation of indigo, nor its manufacture, would be at all increased by an alteration of the law?—I do not see that it would be increased by an alteration of the law."

Q

Mr. Harris a gentleman of great experience, here distinctly states that neither the quantity of indigo produced, nor the demand for it, would be increased by Europeans being enabled to hold lands; and Mr. A. C. Dunlop admits, that Europeans have the same facility for engaging in the cultivation and manufacture of sugar, as they have for engaging in the culture and manufacture of indigo." (Lords 611.)

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Mr. Harris say, that he thinks" a twenty-one years' lease would be sufficient to enable the European speculator to derive the full benefit from the employment of his capital." P. 581.

There is one thing certain-colonization cannot be instantaneous; it is therefore necessary to enquire what would be the immediate, and what the remote effects thereof.

Satisfactory conclusions may be arrived at by reasoning from local experience and analogy. The following opinion of Mr. Chaplin, is in unison with that of many other individuals, who have a thorough knowledge of the natives of India. See evidence of Mr. Chaplin, 4th Oct. 1831, as follows:

"5302. What would be the effect, in your opinion, of allowing Europeans to resort to India, and reside there without restraint ?--If totally unrestricted, I should think the measure an extreme dangerous one, and one that would tend eventually to shake the whole fabric of our government. Everybody is aware of the tenacity with which the Hindoos adhere to their customs and prejudices, and I fear if Europeans of the lower, or even middling order, were unrestrictedly allowed to reside in the interior of India, those prejudices and customs would be constantly liable to be invaded.

"5332. You state that you think the government might be brought into contempt; what do you mean by bringing the government into contempt ?-I allude generally to the lower orders of Europeans, who unquestionably would be in frequent collison with the natives of the country. The vast difference in their habits and customs would often give rise to broils between them, and these would lead to popular tumults,

and eventually perhaps to insurrection, in which the native army would join, and there would be an end altogether of our Indian empire.

“5333. From what you know of the Deccan, do you conceive it possible that an individual of dissolute habits could continue in that country for one month ?-No; but we know they constantly do attempt it.

“5334. The upshot of your opinion is, that if individuals were established generally in that part of the country, some increased police or magisterial power would be necessary?—I think we should require a magisterial power in every village. The lower orders look upon the natives with the greatest contempt, and usually evince that contempt by calling them damned black fellows.

"5335. What are the lower orders of whom you now speak?—I am alluding to the allowing Europeans of the lower orders to go there and colonize.

"5336. You say that the lower orders are in the habit of speaking with contempt of the natives?-Europeans, even of the middling orders, on their first arrival, look upon the natives with great contempt, and not unfrequently apply to them the appellation I have stated, of damned black fellows."

Mr. Chaplin's sentiments are re-echoed by Rajah Rammohun Roy; and Mr. Rickards himself makes the admission of Europeans contingent on " adequate protection to the persons and property of the natives:" (Lords 14th May 1830.) But the difficulty of Europeans purchasing lands any where, except perhaps where the territory is under the zemindarry system, will be apparent, on considering the village corporations which exist throughout the far greater part of India, and which are thus described by the intelligent Colonel Briggs, author of an able work on the land tax of India:

"I find in all villages three classes of cultivators: one cultivator, who has a right of selling his land and of paying a certain fixed sum to government; another cultivator, who has not a right of selling his land, but a right of occupancy ad infinitum, so long as he pays a certain sum to government, and a certain portion also in fees to the first description of cultivators; there is also a third cultivator, who comes from other villages, and cultivates by agreement, from year to year. Those persons have quite distinct rights; and I think any ryotwarry

settlement which gave to all classes the same rights, would be doing injustice to other parties.

"4079. Where such a variety of rights exists in the village, would it not be very inconvenient for an European to obtain a lease of any large portion of land thus circumstanced?—I do not know how any Europeans could occupy lands in India, unless the government were to give up the waste lands, which they now claim under the zemindarry settlement, or in places where zemindarry settlements have been made, and the whole of the land had been made over to the zemindars as proprietors, in the permanent settlement of Bengal.

"4080. Do you conceive it would be possible for either of the classes of cultivators you have alluded to, to lease to any others? - No.

"4153. Does the same jealousy as you have described in the Rajah, with respect to the acquaintance with English literature or English habits, extend to other chiefs and persons of an inferior description?—I think, generally, to the upper class.

"4154. Not to the lower?-Perhaps not to the lower; they do not much think of it.

"4155. Does the potail appoint the inferior officers, or are they elected by the natives?—I had not an opportunity of knowing that, from seeing any village newly created, but the impression on my mind is that they were. In most parts villages appear to be divided into six, eight, ten, or twenty original shares; those were probably the original proprietors of the whole land; these divisions have become minutely subdivided, the entire shares being still recognized, and are called after the names of the original proprietors. Those proprietors probably appointed the village officers, such as the carpenter and blacksmith, and other village officers known to exist in every village. In India they have a curious mode of retaining the knowledge of the limits of villages, by apportioning lands for domestic officers on the borders of the village, beyond the ordinary course of cultivation. This being the case in all villages, it is very easy to recognize them, for each man knows which is his particular field.”Lords, 18th May 1830.

Now, let us inquire what are the advantages to be derived from upsetting the whole system of policy by which India has been hitherto so safely and so beneficially governed. Mr. Crawfurd, and the herd who follow like a pack whatever their leader tells them, says, "Oh, look what the free-trader has done! He has introduced lac dye into England since 1814; (for a refutation of this, vide chapter

on Free Trade ;) and since the throwing open of the trade, he cultivated one article to an immense extent-indigo."It is almost a pity to demolish this hobby.

Even if it were true that we are indebted to the freetrader and settler for indigo, it would rather make for, than against, the Company, by shewing that the restrictions which state expediency and humanity impose are not of so rigorous a nature as to impede commerce; but, waiving that point, I ask Mr. Crawfurd why he forgot to tell his constituents that indigo has no tax imposed on it, but that East-India sugar has not only a heavy duty, but 12s. a cwt. more laid on it than on West-India sugar? When Mr. C. boasted of the rapid extent of sugar cultivation at the Mauritius, why did he forget to state, that it was consequent on the reduction of the duty from the East-India rate to the West-India rate ?* Why did he omit to state with Mr. Harris, that the same facilities existed for the cultivation of sugar as for that of indigo? And, in fine, why has he not stated whether the supply has not been greatly in excess of the demand, and that many thousand chests of indigo are now rotting in the London stores for want of a purchaser? And now as to the merit of the introduction of indigo being due to the free-trader since 1814. Edmond Terrey, chaplain to Sir Thomas Rowe, published a work in 1655 (after spending with his master upwards of two years at the' court of the Great Mogul), in which he states: "the most staple commodities of the empire are indico and cotton-wool;" and in a manifest of the cargoes of the ships Welcome,' 'Christopher,' and 'Allome,' in 1655, it is noted that there were on board, among other

*The author was at this island before, and subsequent to, the reduced duty; the change almost immediately caused by the measure was truly wonderful.