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February 2, 1856.J THE LEADEB, 103
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MISOELLANEOUS. Sta.tk oti 1 Trade.—Tho s...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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The Karens. (From N Private Corresponden...
people might afford , and their greatest fear now is , lest we should again give up our conquest as we did once before , and again abandon them to the tender mercies of their quondam masters . They remember to this day , with horror , the frightful cruelties exercised upon them by the Burmese in 1827 , in vengeance for their having dared to rejoice at our successes , although on that occasion they had given us no other aid worth speaking of beyond their good wishes . Even in India , the Karens have not yet obtained that degree of notice to which their importance entitles them , and in England , probably , the very name is all but unknown . Yet this people is likely to prove one of the most effectual instruments in the civilisation of the East , and one o the most sturdy props of the British empire in India , as the statement of a few facts con-/ wmina- tViATn will rleai'lv demonstrate . The
Burmah . Yet it is but twenty years since even an alphabet was formed for them , for they had no written character of their own . They have shown great eagerness to acquire knowledge , a very large proportion , heathens as well as Christians , have learned to write and read ; many of them are good arithmeticians , understand land surveying , and some even read and write English fluently . Twenty years ago there was no book learning of any sort among the whole race I These are facts ; account for them how you like . The people were not ill-prepared to receive the white man ' s religion ; they had no caste , no prejudices to contend with ; their own creed was very simple , they had no priesthood , nor any elaborate system of ceremonial to take hold of their imaginations , and bind down their maturity in the associations of their youth . T » ipw alsn looked unon us as deliverers rather
Karens of British Burmah , who form actually the numerical majority of the population of the province , are yet but one branch of the Karen race—a race which extends along the entire hill country from the Isthmus of Malacca to the frontiers of China and Thibet—a country twenty-five degrees of latitude , or 1 , 500 geographical miles in length ; speaking the same soft musical language , using the same customs , and bound together by the bonds of fraternity . These Hill Karens have maintained their independence against all aggressors for ages . In 1265 Marco Polo , the Venetian traveller , found them in the very same countries which they occupy still , and living apparently the same sort of life . contains irom tnirtto
than as conquerors , and so were the better prepared cheerfully to welcome our " ways . " I am not one of those who are ready to cry out " miracle" on all occasions . I believe the work of Providence is carried on by human means ; special intervention in this case or any other 1 wish not to infer ; but the fact is indisputable , that a marvellous progress in education and religion has been made among these said Karens , and continues still to advance with rapid strides . In the town , of Hewzadah alone , nearly ore hundred converts have been baptised within the last eleven months , and at the Normal school established within this current year \> y lor iramu
A Karen village y eignty families , and consists almost invariably ( in the hill districts ) of one large barrack , built of bamboos , in the form of three sides of a square . The inhabitants are a community among , themselves ; they weave their own cloth , and are sufficiently skilful blacksmiths to construct all their own tools and implements ; they keep vast herds of cattle , and cultivate their fields ; no one is allowed to be idle ; in fact , a Karen village is a model Phalanstery . Their government is patriai'Chal , each , ¦ village having l ¦ . _ . ¦ _ ¦ ^ ¦ . 4 j J _ ¦ - ' I _ __ . lI '~ ^ m — «^ &^ j *^^ a i ~ i ¦ i ^^«*^^ I 1 % ^ v its iu
a missionary at wewzaaan , me . of Karen teachers ( the education including ; arithmetic , mensuration , and geography , as well as the Bible ) , thirty young men have become regular pupils . Tet Hewzedah is neither the spot in Burmah where Karens most do congregate , nor where the greatest pains have been takenJ with them . y : ¦ /»• • ' Now let me recapitulate a few of the main points . The Karen race , numbering at least 10 , 000 , 000 , extends throughout the hill country , _»*• . ¦ . 1 f . Tl T _ 1 _ _ —*» 14- -m «^* - » ci . liV \ irom ± \ ± ixua
_ — ^ . ^^ ^^ , own cmei—tuey autujuwieuge uu gcuu ucou , but all the communities are federalised for mutual protection ; and , in case of war , if a leader is required , he is selected for the occasion . Their manners are remarkably simple ; the chastity of their women , arid the honour in which that sex is held , remind one of the account of the ancient Germans given by Tacitus . They are peaceable and gentle , though they have shown themselves capable of heroism on occasion — and * \\ a mrwA r \ f -a TiTai'on m » n ( rpnprilliv \\ P . frril . st . Pfl
* . l , oUU miles norm amu « ja .. . xu * ^ r j like a breakwater between the idolatrous or Bo-qdhist peoples of Burmah , Assam , Bhotam , and Thibet , on the one side , and Siam , Tonquin , Yunau , and China , on the other . It is hereditarily hostile to most of these peoples , and it is favourably disposed towards us . It is peculiarly open to conversion , Christianity has already made considerable progress among these hill tribes , and as the number of teachers increases will unquestionably make
Their religion is simple enough : they believe in one God , but acknowledge the existence of demons both good and evil , who , however , are not objects of worship . Neither Boodhism nor Hindooism has made the smallest progress amongst them . The dress of the men consists of a cloth round the loins , and a loose collarless shirt with short sleeves .
surrounded with many allurements ; it carries with j it knowledge before unknown—not as in India , antagonistic to an old national system , hallowed with the reverence of ages—but absolutely new , and eagerly sought for by an intelligent race which had no prejudices to oppose it- Protection from n ^»; av > 4- tnrnnnv . rfiflfimntion from bondage ,
eleva-The women wear a very full petticoat , and over it a shirt like that of the men , usually of dark blue colour with scarlet trimmings ; a crimson handkerchief is usually tied round the head . The said women are wonderfully pure in morals , and polygamy is unknown . The personale of the Karen shows the usual features of the Mongol stock , of ccrtami
tion in the social scale , all these have been the concomitants of Christianity to the Karens ; no j wonder , then , that they receive it kindly . Now suppose this body of men converted , and then imagine the effect " of such a wedge of Christianity on the future of South-eastern Asia ! Our subjects or our allies they must be , they mnst rest upon us
which lie is probaoly tne original , y me purest type ; face round ami rather flat , long almond-shaped eyes , slightly diagonal in position , the inner angles being lower than the outer , luxuriant black hair , but cither no beard or very little . The expression is pleasing , simplicity and good humour the most marked characteristics ; in stature they arc shorter than the majority of the people of II imloostan , but broad-shouldered and sturdy , and me said to be capable of great endurluu iuvuh
for protection , and we in return may eonhcle in tucm for fidelity , by the " material guarantee" of mutual interest . " Their country is healthy , fertile , and would be impregnable if scientifically defended : funcy wlint a bulwark it would make , what a splendid natural boundary for our Eastern frontier ! 1 believe I have said enough to indicate the importance of this most interesting race , and to show liow valuable an aid we may derive from it for the consolidation of our empire and the progress of civilisation in the East .
auCG . WHO Ulliucu 01 me riiuc , avcu jv , are semi-nomadic in their habits ; they build themselves a barrack in the jungle , clear away a . space , and cultivate it till the soil appears less productive , and then " lipstick " and away , to " squat" upon some fresh locality . The whole race , hill tribes , Rod Karens , and all , cannot amount to less than ton or twelve millions ; and all these arc in strict alliance with each other , and pass intelligence along with marvellous celerity . Now one of the most remarkable facts concerning this people , and the one on which their probable influence on the future of the East most specially hinges , is , that they have evinced an extraordinary aptitude , for receiving Christianity . There are at present one hundred thousand Christian Karens ( in round numbers ) in British
February 2, 1856.J The Leadeb, 103
February 2 , 1856 . J THE LEADEB , 103
Misoellaneous. Sta.Tk Oti 1 Trade.—Tho S...
MISOELLANEOUS . Sta . tk oti Trade . —Tho state of trade in tho manufacturing towns during tho week ending last Saturday lias shown no alteration . At Manchester , business lias boon steady and pricos firm ; but tho suspension Im 8 boon anuouucod of Messrs . Kelly and Gilmouv , < iotton- » pmnors , with rath or hoavy liabilities . Tho Birmingham iron-market ifl fairly mniutainod , uud in tho general occupations of tho plaoo ttaoro is inoroasod employment . At Nottingham , tho trimsixoUoiin both in hosiery and laco hnvo boon of a moderate , but ; Hiitinfaofcory , cha-raotor . In tho woollen diHtrictn , tho oponit , ion » lm * vo boon to an avorngo oxtonh ; and , in . tho Irish linen markets , quotations have exhibited iu » upward tomlonoy . — Times . TlllS JOWK ' IT CONTIIOVICUSY . — Tho lvOS ' . C 1 .
Golightly , "who was first to call the attention of the Oxford authorities to the alleged " unsoundness " of Professor Jowett ' B opinion , has just addressed a letter to the Master of Balliol College , solemnly appealing to the conscience of the latter dignitary " as to that of one the soundness of whose views and the sincerity of -whose piety are unquestionable , " whether it can be right to uphold Mr . Jowett in the position of a -tutor of Balliol College . The professor , it is known , has signed the articles , and warmly declares the charge of ^ heterodoxy to be a false accusation . An ABGtrMENTAPrvE Cabman . —The metropolitan magistrates recently decided that a cabman cannot charge extra for a child under ten years of age . A cabman on Monday was summoned at Westminster before Mr . Arnold—one of the principal instigators of that decision—for l-efusing to take a child under ten years of age into his cab in company vrith . two gentlemen ; and he justified himself "by saying that children do a great deal more mischief than adults , and that , as he could not charge for them , he would not carry to
them . Mr . Arnold said that ne migtit reruse carry luggage "by the same rule ; on which the cabman answered , " I am bound to carry the boxes for nothing if I have only one or two persons in the cab , because the law says I am to do so ; and if the child is put in a box , I'll carry it by act of Parliament . " Mr . Arnold having again asked him why he refused to carry the child as a third person , he replied : — " Because a child is not a person ; it is not a person by your worship ' s own decision ; 'because , if it is a person , a cabman has a right to charge , for it as an extra , and , if he cant charge for it , why then it can't he a person . Mr . Arnold : "It is nonsense to assert that it has been decided a child is not a person . " Cabman : " It has been decided that two is a person , and that one isn't . Under vour decision , a child under ten years of it isn t
| age don't constitute a person , and therefore , as a person , I refuse to cany it . " Mr . Arnold : "It was your duty to take the child , and , if there had been a refusal to pay for it , to bring the matter before me . Cabman "It has been decided by you that it was not to be paid for , and I should therefore have carried '' the ¦ child for nothing . " The case was adjourned , that the cabman might have legal advice . ¦ . Homoeopathic Revelations . ^ —An action has been . ! brought in the Court of Exchequer by Mr . Jones , a I hoineeopathic doctor , for £ 58 due to him foi- atteni dance on a patient . His prescription boo ^ exmedical ^
hibited to a witness , a man , wnu sum « " ^ ¦ could . not understand the prescriptions . Mr . £ <>? es said that it consisted of -aconite , four ounces ; belladonna , four ounces ; and an ordinary lotionot silica . He explained that this was what horuceopataists call silica—that is , flint-water . Mr . James , counsel tor the defendant , observed , " That , I suppose , you would call aqua -pimpac / enis . " Mr . Jones said , Mb mignt I be so . "We give it internally to allay pain , and as a I curative . It raiglit be termed a tincture of flint oi " ! silesia . " " Then , " said Mr . James , " that lotion ^ is iu ji — —
pump-water - \ vitn a niuLiu . . « - "v """" v —• = > paid . £ 25 into court—all that he admitted he oweda verdict was given in his favour . . Fatal Boiler Explosion . — A boiler has exploded at the village colliery , Standish , near Wigan , killing 1 persons and severely scalding and crushing others . ! The Westminster Impuov . ejient Commission . — : Mr . Nathan ' el Mason , of the Westminster Improvelias written to * i
ment Commission , uw _ * «« - » —""" plain that the statements made against that body ( of which we gave an abstract in last weeks Leader ) arc merely ex pcurte , and incorrect in many Pa THE l REPBESEST « vTios of Midhurst . — Mr . Spencer H . Walnole has signified his intention to retire trona the representation of Midhurst , ' ' having received ivom
numerous applications my ^>^ -y > allow myself to bo put in nomiuatiou as a candidate at the approaching election . " HEM . TU of London . —Tho health of London Is now in a more satisfactory state than it has been usually at this period of the yen-. In the week that ended on Saturday 1 , 029 deaths , of y hlch JM " ^ sa- ^ ss ^ syi fSSsSa
they wo « . Hoopiu ^ oug h . - ¦ U « xu « j « S ^^ u ^ J--- ^ - ^• T TT ^^ f ^^^^^ - S ^^^ JTE KSb ? . „ ,,, ! ,,.,,,,, of t , li 0 Mouth Bub-diMtrict ol bu . UUena , iu 3 ; ' > aovtl In Wild-court , which ho call * " an u « - r » i rii l ouio " n ,. w in that locality . H «¦ attnbu ^ tho romarkablo diminution of mortality Lo H . mitoij impvovomoutrt offootod in tho court . \\ iia-ooui t ( tno
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 2, 1856, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_02021856/page/7/
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