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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 of the most sturdy props of the British empire in India , as the statement of a few facts
con-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 . They also looked upon us as deliverers rather 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 I wish not to infer ; but the fact is indisputable , that a marvellous progress va . 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 one hundred converts have been baptised within
the last eleven months , and at the Normal school established within this current year by a missionary at Hewzadah , for the . training of Karen teachers ( the education including " arithmetic , mensuration , and geography , as well as the Bible ) , thirty young men have become regular pupils . Yet Hewzedah is neither the spot in Burmah where Karens most do congregate , nor where the greatest pains have been taken * with them .
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 , 500 miles north from Malacca . It runs up like a breakwater between the idolatrous or Bopdhist peoples of Burmah , Assam , Bhotam , and Thibet , on the one side , and Siam , Tonquin , Yunan , 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 convention , Christianity has already made considerable progress among these hill tribes , and as the number of teachers increases will unquestionably make
more . Christianity comes among these people j 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 j ancient tyranny , redemption from bondage , elevation in the social scale , all these have been the concomitants of Christianity to the Karens ; no 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 mtist be , they must i * est upon us for protection , and we in return may confide in them for fidelity , by the " material guarantee" of mutual interest . Their country is healthy , fertile , and would be impregnable if scientifically defended : fancy wlint a bulwark it would make , what a splendid natural boundary for our Eastern frontier ! 1 believe I have said enough to indicate the imf > ortunce of this most interesting race , and to show how valuable an aid we may derive from it for the consolidation of our empire and the progress of civilisation in the Kast .
eemmg them will clearly demonstrate . The 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 .
A Karen village contains from thirty to eighty 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 patriarchal , each village having its own chief—they acknowledge no general head , 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 the word of a Karen may generally be trusted . 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 . 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 which he is probably the original , certainly the purest type 3 face round ami rather flat , long almond-shaped eyes , slightly diagonal in position
, the inner angles being lower than the outer , luxuriant black hair , Imt either no beard or very little . The expression is pleasing , simplicity and good humour the most marked characteristics ; in stature they are shorter than the majority of the people of Hindoostan , but broad-shouldered and sturdy , and we said to be capable of great endurance . One branch of the race , the Hcd Karens , are semi-nomadic in their habits ; they build themselves a barrack in the jungle , clear away 31 space , and cultivate it till the soil appears less productive , and then
" upstick " and away , to " squat" upon aomo fresh locality . The whole race , hill tribes , lied Karens , and nil , cannot amount to less than ton or twelve millions ; and all these arc in strict alliance with each other , and pass intelligence alone with marvellous celerity . ISfow one of the most remarkable facts concerning this people , nnU the one on which their probable influence on the future of the East most specially hinges , is , that they Imvo evinced an extraordinary aptitude for receiving Christianity . There are at present one hundred thousand Christian Karens ( in round numbers ) in British
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MISCELLANEOUS . Sta . tk Ol' Trape . — -Tho state of trade in tho luiumfaoturing towns during tho week ondiug last Siiturelay lias shown no alteration . At Manoho « tor , business 1 ms boon steady and pricos firm but tho suspension liau boon anuouucod of Moasrs . Kolly and Qilmour , flotton-wpmnors , with rath or hoavy liabilities , Tho Birmingham iron-markot ifl fairly lnniutainod , aud in tho general occupations of tho plaoo Ihoro is inoroasod employment . At Nottingham , tho triinsnoUonn linth in hosiery and lace havo boon of a niodomto , but ; MitinPuofcory , oharnotor . Iu tho woollen dintrict ; n , tho operation !) hiwo boon to nn uvorngo oxtonh ; and , iu tho Irish linen markets , quotations have exhibited iu » upward touilonoy . — - Times . Tins Jowktt Conthovicksy . — Tho Itov . C . 1 \
Gohghtly , who was first to call the attention of the Oxford authorities to the alleged " unsoundnes s " 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 MJ * . 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 Argxtmentaitve 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 i * 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 them . Mr . Arnold said that he might refuse to > cany 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 yoiu * 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 can't charge for it , why then it Can't be a person . " Mr Arnold : " It is nonsense to assert that it has been
decided a child is not a person . " Cabman : "It has decided a child is not a person . " Cabman : "It has been decided that two is a person , and that one isn't . Under your decision , a child under ten years of age don ' t constitute a person , and therefore , as it isn't a person , I refuse to carry it . " Mr . Arnold : "It was . your duty to take the child , and , if there had been a refusal to pay for it , to bx'ing 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 .
HoxicEOPATHic Revelations . —An . action has been brought in the Court of Exchequer by Mr . Jones , a homebopathic doctor , for £ 58 due to him for attendance on a patient . His prescription book was exhibited to a witness , a medical man , who said that he could . not understand the prescriptions . Mr . Jones said that it consisted of—aconite , four ounces ; belladoniiaj four ounces ; and an ordinary lotion of silica . He explained tha . t this was what hotnoeopathists call silica—that is , flint-water . Mr . James , counsel for the defendant , observed , " That , I suppose , you would call aqua yuMpaganis . " Mr . Jones said , " It might be so . We give it internally to allay pain , and as a curative . It might be termed a tincture of flint 01 silesia . " " Then , " said Mr . James , " that lotion ^ is pump-water with a flint in it . " The defendant having paid £ 15 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 , Standisb , uear Wigau , killing two persons and severely scalding and crushing 1 others . The Westminster Improvement Commission . — Mr . Nathan . ol Mason , of the Westminster Improvement Commission , has written to the Times , to complain that the statements mado against that body ( of which we gave an abstract in last week's Leader ) arc merely ex pcurte , and iucorroot in many particulars . The REPKESEN ' TA / rroN op MiDnunsT . —Mv . Spencer II . "Wnlpole has signified his intention to retire from tho representation of Midhurst , " haviug received , numerous applications from my own University , to allow myself to be put iu nomination as a candidate at the approaching election . " Health of London . —Tho health of London is
now iu a move satisfactory stivto than it has been usually at this period of the your . In the week that ended on Saturday 1 , 029 deaths , of which 500 were those of males and 529 those of females , woro registorecl . Iu the ten corresponding weeks of the years 1840-55 tho avorago number was 1 , 105 , which if raised iu proportion to increase of population , becomes 1 , 282 . The deaths iu tho preaout rotuvu uro loss than the enrrcctod avorago by 253 . Scarlatina haa become loss fatal than it waw two months ago . In Nuvombor the doaths from it wore about 70 in a wook ; luat week ;
thoy wore 45 . Hooping-cough , which has rather , inoroiiBoa lately , carried off 50 children ; lUitUyplms ( whioh appoat-H to provnil to homo extent m tho east districts ) was fatal in H cases . Four of those cases ooourrod in Whitoohaj . ol North ; three of tliomin the workhouHO , ThreoporuoiiH died of iuuuonm ; 10 of cry-Hipolan ; 8 of nyphilH ; 17 of cancer ; 1 . of oavbunole ; 1 of hiloinponmoo ; 2 of delirium tr « mons ; \ from want ; 7 infant-H from want of broaatmilk . Mr . Faulkner , th < re ^ itftrar of t . lu > wouth nub-district of St . Qilen ' a , ro oonU 2 doivtlia in Wild-court , which ho call a " an uu
iiHual ooourrouco " now in that locality . ll « J attnbutoi tho remarkable diminution of mortality to wauHarj iiapvovemoutrt ottootod iu tho court . Wild-oourt ( tin
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February 2 , 1856 . J THE LEADER , 103
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Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 2, 1856, page 103, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2126/page/7/
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