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250 THE 1EADEB, [Satiirpay , —— ¦¦ -¦¦¦^...
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ANARCHY FROM AN " UNKNOWN TONGUE/' On th...
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CONFEDERATION OP POPULAR INSTITUTES. Tub...
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SOCIAL REFORM. A NEW SOLUTION OP THE SOC...
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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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An Iri3h Amnesty. A Movement Is Going On...
seek in America the natural refuge of their family ; or if they did return , they would more probably redeem their good fame in peaceful avocations for which their abilities fit them ; but in any case , England ought neither to fear them , nor bestow a grudging boon . It should be given fully and freely , out of . the magnanimity of strength , for kindliness to Ireland , and in friendly deference to the wishes of the ally peace-maker —America .
250 The 1eadeb, [Satiirpay , —— ¦¦ -¦¦¦^...
250 THE 1 EADEB , [ Satiirpay , —— ¦¦ - ¦¦¦^ . ¦¦ - i i ¦ i ^— * ^ _ — ^ ^ mmmmm ^ Ml ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^— - . i ¦ _ . . ¦ . ¦ - .: .. '" ¦' . '¦ ' . ' " . ¦¦"''' . ' ¦ . " " .. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ " ^¦ ^¦ Pii ^^^ E ^^^^* -
Anarchy From An " Unknown Tongue/' On Th...
ANARCHY FROM AN " UNKNOWN TONGUE /' On the eve of parliamentary inquiries and debates on the East India Company ' s government of India , arid on the question of the renewal of their Charter , a frightful exposure of a longcontinued system of corruption , bribery , plunder of the public funds , and oppression of the peasantry , has been made in the Madras Presidency , which we trust will not escape the notice of those of our legislators who espouse the cause of the native population . A mere outline of the facts which , nave as yet come to light during the inquiry now in progress will be sufficient to indicate the nature of the evil and its causes . Mr .
Uichard Tindal Porter had been fifteen years in the Madras civil service , when he was appointed , in 1842 , collector of revenue and magistrate of the zillah , or district , of Masulipatam , an office of great importance , the collector being , in fact , the supreme executive and administrative officer of his zillah , responsible only to the Government at the Presidency . Mr . Porter ' s previous experience had been gathered entirely in districts where the Tamil language is spoken ; nearly the whole of his service , indeed , having been passed
at Madras , as Secretary to the Board of Revenue . In the Masulipatam zillah , no language is spoken but Teloogoo , which is as distinct from Tamil as Norwegian is from Spanish . But in distributing appointments to the English civilians , the governors of India pay no regard to ~ such trifles , and naturally the officials themselves are not more scrupulous than their superiors . And so Mr . Porter went to take charge of his district , without being at all acquainted with the language of its inhabitants . He was there for nine years , and at this moment he can neither speak nor write
Teloogoo . But what did it matter ? The Sheristadar , or chief native officer of revenue and police , was a delightful man , quite a master of English , and took the entire work in every department so entirely into his own hands , that Mr . Porter , the representative of British justice and purity , enjoyed life without care or anxiety , and remained m a state of blissful ignorance , while the police , for the purpose of extorting " black mail , " got up hundreds of cases against men innocent of crime ; and while the revenue officers
extorted from the farmers and shopkeepers , on various illegal pretences , money which , never found its way into the public treasury . The people , poor dumb wretches , never audibly complained . They petitioned now and then , particularly at first ; but the force of their prayers always evaporated in the translation . At length , a wholesalo deficiency in ono item of the revenue , and the accidental interception of a large bribe , sent to induce a native official to " make things pleasant" a little while longer , broke the spell , and inquiries wore instituted . Two civilians of rank , Mr . Lushington and Mr . Bird , were sent
as commissioners to the district , and every day fresh enormities were disclosed , One fact will give some faint idea of what tho administration of this district must have been : it has been proved before the commission of inquiry , that within the last fow years the people have emigrated by thousands into tho Nizam ' s dominions ; unable to endure the extortion and tyranny of the British rule , they fled for shelter to the territories of that prince who will some day , perhaps very shortly , bo deposed by tho Honourable Company for ignorance of tho science of govornmont .
Mr . Porter is now under suspension at Madras : there is not the least ground for . a charge of corruption against him . But if wo admit his freedom from dishonesty , how absolute appears to have been his srtpino inactivity I Could ho not learn a language in nino years P Had he been able to read a Toloogoo petition , or to listen to a statement of grievances — had ho cared to go abroad amongst tho inhabitants of his districttho miseries of tho people , tho crimes of his subordinates , his own disgrace , perhaps ruin , might all have been nvpidod . Pay by day tUo
elements of prosperity were escaping under Jus very eye . The revenue declined , wealth vanished , industry decayed , and at last the population disappeared . They fled from the rule of a man who is described as honourable , amiable , and gifted with good natural abilities . Placed in situations for which his acquirements rendered him fit , Mr . Porter had formerly , and , doubtless , would have still , performed his duties with credit to himself and advantage to the public ; but by the deplorable mismanagement of tjie Madras helless
Government , the clever man was made a p tool , and the benevolent man was made to play the part of a tyrant and an extortioner . We need make no remark on the stupid carelessness of sending a man to govern a district with the language of which he is unacquainted . There is something wrong , too , in the absence of all stimulus to exertion and improvement , caused by the monopoly of the most lucrative offices enjoyed by the " covenanted" civil service , appointments to which are made by seniority , without regard to qualifications or merit . The
first of these defects admits of immediate abolition ; the second need not wait long for a remedy , and any improvement is a great gain . But the root of the evil does not lie in either of them , although they have in this case proved the exciting cause . There are other public officers as unsuitably placed as Mr . Porter was , and we cannot avoid fearing that some other districts may be as misgoverned ; but it is well known that the Indian civil service contains a large proportion of accomplished and energetic men , and
that they perform their arduous duties in a highly efficient manner . But they all acknowledge that a system of corruption and perjury pervades every branch of the public service , which they find it impossible to destroy , and very difficult to cheeks The people , degraded by a thousand years of changing slavery and permanent superstition , have no regard to private truth or personal honour , while anything that can be called public opinioordoes not exist , The natives make but little use of the free press—that strange
anomaly under a despotic and alien , rule—and the few newspapers in the Indian languages only circulate among the richer classes at the three Presidencies , and seldom contain original matter . Although some honourable and well-paid offices , in both the judicial and revenue departments , are filled by natives , yet none of the higher appointments are open to them , and they are in no manner admitted to take part in the real government of the country . Can nothing be done to render them fit for a share in the work which is now done entirely by Englishmen P Why should there not be a municipal council in every zillah , were it only for consultation and
for the information of the collector , elected by the inhabitants , and , as far as possible , independent of Government influence ? Would it not prove to the people that at least the proceedings of the Government were fair , and . aboveboard , and open to inquiry and inspection ? Would it not prevent the possibility of such horrors as we have described being- carried on for a series of years without any complaint being hoard P Would it not open a career to the best men of tho country , and tend to raise tho solfrospect of all P
Confederation Op Popular Institutes. Tub...
CONFEDERATION OP POPULAR INSTITUTES . Tubee schemes , tending concurrently towards the same end , the recognition and adoption of the principle of Concert , are before tho public . First , we observe that there is a call for the development of tho Government Schools of Design , by tho gentlemen who have superintended tho practical working of those institutions , and who complain of tho insufficiency of tho moans and appliances at their disposal to moot tho demands made upon thorn by tho public , for instruction . Tho appointment of Mr . Henry Colo to tho department of what is called Practical Art , points to a moro comprohonaivo organization than has hitherto been attempted , and is , of itself , suggestive of vast improvements in that direction .
Tho next is tho proposition lately wo do < o consolidate tho Mechanics' Institutions through ^ out tho country , and place thorn under the direction of tho Socioty of Arts . If tho adoption of this proposition would impart unity and vigour to tlioso unsatisfactory media for amusing and instructing tho working class , it , would bo Tory twneflcuU ; as it h && already proyod . in tho
consolidation of the ( Mechanics' Institutions in Yorkshire . There is a certain taking air about the proposal which will b «» seductive to manv * but , regardless of that , and without expressing any opinion whatever on the utility of the scheme , we may cite it as an involuntary testimony to the unconscious tendency of the time towards concert in endeavour after public advantages . The third sphenae is far vaster and , more novel among us than either of the others , but it illustrates the same fact . It is sketched out in- a pamphlet , printed for private circulation , and entitled Notes on the Organization of an Industrial College for Artisans . The writer has studied the subiect for many years ; both in England anA
on the Continent . He proposes to establish a college wherein artisans may graduate in their respective trades , and take degrees for proficiency both in theoretical knowledge and manual skill . He would have it governed autocratically by a rector , and officered by working professors , the students to be under strict discipline . We purposelyrefrainfromentering on details which , in t he present stage , are far from mature , though sufficiently advanced for discussion . There is much to be said on both sides . Meanwhile , the value of this , as of the other schemes , for us , is the evidence it affords of the truth of our views on the great question of social reform : being an involuntary admission of the superiority of organized and trained labour , and of the advantages of Concert .
Social Reform. A New Solution Op The Soc...
SOCIAL REFORM . A NEW SOLUTION OP THE SOCIAL PBOBLEM . American writers are commonly such lovers of hyperbole , that you would suppose there was some democratic law against soberness of speech , or that it was regarded on the other side the Atlantic as a want of patriotism to observe moderation . To aspire after Perfection is not enough : your genuine American theorist reaches that point— -nay , he does more—he turns the corner —he is considerably " ahead" of Perfection itself . It is , therefore , presumptivfi evidence that
something of practical value has been discovered when an author in New York announces , in temperato language , that he has found out the means of solving the social problem that so perplexes the wisest heads . Mr . Stephen Pearl Andrews makes a revelation of this kind to the public . Some months ago , I acknowledged the receipt from Mr . Andrews of two volumes , in which he states his case to tho
American public . The first publication is upon the Constitution of Government . The second is entitled , Cost , the Limit of Trice ; and these words , indeed , constitute the formula in which the discovery is expressed . Cost , the Limit of Price , is the " great" principle on which , in Mr . Andrews opinion , a new world might , with advantage ,
turn , . Mr . Josiah Warren , formerly of Cincinnati , recently a resident of Indiana , is the person said to be entitled to the honour of discovering tnia principle , of which Mr . Andrews is tho ardent expounder . Twenty-four years of continuous experiments have been made by Mr . Warren in working out this principle and its consequences . realization ot tno
The " practical details" for the Cost principle are not yet before the public , ana what tho scheme is , as applied to the education ot a family , to social intercourse , and tho complex affairs of a village and town , ( a town , wo arc torn , has grown up under its influence , ) we arc not yofc awaro . Tho work , we believe , w not yet published . The experiences of " Trialvillo , tno modest name under which Mr . Andrews spearo \
of this now experimental Community , w" " awaited with interest by Social Reformers-Beyond tho short notice of this sooietarian aw covory , which appeared in this journal aUhou " previously referred to , no account , 1 beil ?? ° , boon publishod in England . A casual mention * made of tho appearance of Mr . Andrews « on « in the American article of tho last *» f £ Review . It is not possible to condense m ¦ ^ place so mtich of tho exposition as wiJJ \ S ; ' " idea of this now scheme of " Equitable ^( mr ^^ r an understood by its originator and cjpou For that wo must refer tho reader to tno y » thomsolvos , which Mr . Chapman has ; 01 is w
to import . Mr . Androws says : —¦ , , f i \\ ui \ t " Tho counter principle to that of ° oflT ' '; nlll j ,, ( . < l , of price , ' upon which all ownership is now inw' ^ fc ]| llt ftiul oil commerce tnuisncted in the worni , _ VmIuo }» the limit of price / or , an tho pnncipjo t »
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), March 13, 1852, page 14, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_13031852/page/14/
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