tions of a barbarous age will not satisfy a people whose eyes have been opened, and who are craving after true knowledge.

After the committee had confessed that " a taste for English had been widely disseminated, and independent schools, conducted by young men reared in the Hindu college, were springing up in every direction *," it might have been expected that they would have modified their plan of proceeding. It was admitted, that to give instruction in European science was their ultimate object; it also appears from their report that this was the only part of their operations which was propagating itself, and proceeding with an independent spring of action; why, therefore, was scope not given to it?

For some time after this, however, we continued to prop up barbarism by the power of civilization, and to avail ourselves of the enormous influence of the English government to press on the people decayed and noxious systems, which they themselves rejected. That we did not succeed in giving to those systems a more effectual impulse was not owing to any want of exertion on our

* See the whole extract at page 8.

part. We pushed them as far or farther than they would go, and it was only because the natives would not buy the books printed by us, or read them without being paid to do so, that a change was at last resolved on.

CHAP. IV.

Objections answered. · Construction of the Charter Act of 1813.-Change in the Employment of the public Endowments for the Encouragement of Learning. — Abolition of Stipends. — Probability of the Natives being able to prosecute the Study of English with effect. The alleged Necessity of cultivating Arabic and Sanskrit for the sake of improving the vernacular Languages.-The Plan of employing Maulavees and Pundits as our Agents for the Propagation of European Science.—Whether or not it is our Duty to patronise the same Kind of Learning as our Prede

cessors.

I SHALL now proceed to reply, with as much brevity as circumstances will admit, to the objections which have been urged to the change in the committee's plan of operation made in accordance with the resolution of the Indian government, dated the 7th March 1835; and as my object is not to write a book of my own, but to put this important subject, once for all, in a clear point of view, I shall continue to avail myself of the writings of others whenever they express what I have to say better than I could express it myself.

The heads of objection will be taken from an article by Professor Wilson, entitled "Education of the Natives of India," published in the Asiatic Journal for January 1836, which contains the most complete statement which has yet appeared of all that can be said on the oriental side of the question.

The first in order relates to the construction of that part of the charter act of 1813 by which a lac of rupees a year was assigned for the education of the natives of India. The opponents of our present plan of proceeding contend that it was not the intention of parliament, in making this assignment, to encourage the cultivation of sound learning and true principles of science, but to bring about a revival of the antiquated and false learning of the shasters, which had fallen into neglect in consequence of the cessation of the patronage which had in ancient times been extended to it by the native Hindu princes. To this argument the following reply has been made:

"It does not appear to me that the act of parliament can by any art of construction be made to bear the meaning which has been assigned to it. It contains nothing about the particular languages or sciences which are to be studied. A

sum is set apart for the revival and promotion of literature, and the encouragement of the learned natives of India, and for the introduction and promotion of a knowledge of the sciences among the inhabitants of the British territories.' It is argued, or rather taken for granted, that by literature the parliament can have meant only Arabic and Sanskrit literature; that they never would have given the honourable appellation of a 'learned native' to a native who was familiar with the poetry of Milton, the metaphysics of Locke, and the physics of Newton; but that they meant to designate by that name only such persons as might have studied in the sacred books of the Hindus all the uses of Cusa-grass, and all the mysteries of absorption into the deity. This does not appear to be a very satisfactory interpretation. To take a parallel case: suppose that the pacha of Egypt, a country once superior in knowledge to the nations of Europe, but now sunk far below them, were to appropriate a sum for the purpose of reviving and promoting literature, and encouraging learned natives of Egypt,' would anybody infer that he meant the youth of his pachalic to give years to the study of hieroglyphics, to search into all the doctrines disguised under the fable of Osiris, and to ascertain with all possible accuracy