often appears, for years before he comes to the rocky précipice which overhangs the Nerbudda, like a man haunted by his destiny. There is a tradition, supported by popular belief, that it is incumbent to make a person whose life is saved after the tremendous fall over the rock, (which is more than one hundred and twenty feet,) Raja of the place; and it is farther stated, that this petty principality was thus obtained about one hundred and fifty years ago. To prevent, however, the possibility of the recurrence of such a succession, poison is mixed with the last victuals given to the devoted man, and its action is usually increased by stimulants before the dreadful leap is taken. There however, as at the pile of the Suttie, retreat is not permitted, and armed men are ready to compel the completion of the scene, as well as to finish any remains of life that may appear after the fall. Women sometimes, but rarely, sacrifice themselves in this manner.'-vol. ii. p. 211.

The belief in witchcraft, common throughout India, prevails in an extraordinary degree in Central India, from the Brahmin to the lowest Bheel, and is generally fatal to those who are its objects and victims. The Dhakeens, or witches, are generally wrinkled old women, who, by the aid of their Bheer, or familiar, and by certain incantations, are empowered to inflict pains, diseases, and death, upon such as may have incurred their resentment. Their power exists only on certain days and at certain periods of the year: on the nights of these days, they are to be seen with their eyes glaring red, their hair dishevelled and bristled, their heads rolling about, riding upon tigers and other wild beasts. It is enough to incur the suspicion of being a witch, if a woman be old and haggard, or bad tempered; and if sickness attacks a family, or the cattle be stolen or die, such a one is almost sure to be seized, and to have red pepper stuffed into her eyes:-if this does not produce tears, the unfortunate creature is condemned to die. Sometimes the witch is tied in a bag and thrown into a pool, where, as not long ago with us, sinking is the only proof of her innocence. If by her struggles she keeps afloat, she is condemned to drink the water used by the leather-dressers, which is a degradation from caste, or to have her nose cut off, or to be put to death. Sir John Malcolm says that, within the last thirty years, above a thousand women have been put to death as witches in Central India, and chiefly by the ruling powers, all of whom are childishly superstitious on this point. He entertains sanguine hopes, however, of eventually crushing this inhuman practice. Mr. Wellesley, the resident at Indore, insisted on the accusers undergoing the same ordeal as the accused, which so amused and instructed the Dewan of Holkar that, though strongly imbued with this superstition, he determined to follow the same plan on all occasions.

As an instance of the extraordinary effects produced upon the inhabitants

inhabitants by persons desirous of working upon their passions and prejudices, Sir John relates the following anecdote.

'The war with the Pindarries was then (1818) over, and the country was in a state of tolerable tranquillity, when a sudden agitation was produced among the peaceable inhabitants, by a number of cocoa-nuts being passed from village to village with a mysterious direction to speed them to specific destinations (usually to the chief local authority.) From beyond Jeypoor North to the Deckan South, and from the frontier of Guzerat to the territories of Bhopal, this signal flew with unheard-of celerity. The Potail of every village where these cocoa-nuts came, carried it himself with breathless haste to another, to avert a curse which was denounced on all who impeded or stopped them even for a moment. No event followed to throw any light upon this extraordinary occurrence. Every inquiry was instituted, and persons were sent who traced the route of the signal for several hundred miles; but no information was obtained; and a circumstance which produced, for upwards of a month, a very serious sensation over all Central India, remains to this moment a complete mystery.'-vol. ii. p. 217–219.

Having taken this hasty sketch of the component parts and habits of the population of Central India, we proceed to the last and most important chapter in Sir John Malcolm's work, on the • Condition and Administration of the British Power,' which is applicable more or less to our possessions and influence in every part of India, on the general tranquillity of which our dominion must rest, as its only secure basis. He commences by observing

'Our present condition is one of apparent repose, but full of danger. With the means we had at our command, the work of force was comparatively easy: the liberality of our government gave grace to conquest, and men were for the moment satisfied to be at the feet of ge nerous and humane conquerors. Wearied with a state of continued warfare and anarchy, the loss even of power was hardly regretted; halcyon days were anticipated, and men prostrated themselves in hopes of elevation. All these impressions, made by the combined effects of power, humanity, and fortune, were improved to the utmost by the character of our first measures. The agents of government were generally individuals who had acquired a name in the scene in which they were employed: they were unfettered by rules, and their acts were adapted to soothe the passions, and accord with the habits and prejudices, of those whom they had to conciliate or to reduce to obedience. 'But there are many causes which operate to make a period like this one of short duration; and the change to a colder system of policy, and the introduction of our laws and regulations into countries immediately dependent upon us, naturally excite agitation and alarm. It is the hour in which men awake from a dream. Disgust and discontent succeed to terror and admiration; and the princes, the chiefs, and all who had enjoyed rank or influence, see nothing but a system dooming them to immediate decline and ultimate annihilation.'-vol. ii. pp. 264, 265,

This view of the subject he considers as applicable only to the countries under our immediate sway. That system of influence and controul, which our condition compels us to exercise over many of our allies and dependents, presents far more serious difficulties. So long as we govern through the agency of native princes and chiefs, he considers it the best policy to employ all our moral influence and physical power to strengthen, instead of weakening, these royal instruments of government; and if compelled by circumstances to depart from this course, he deems it obviously more prudent to assume at once and exercise the immediate sovereignty of the country, than to leave to such weak and degraded instruments any means of avenging themselves on a power, which has rendered them the debased tools of its own rule. The speediest death of such government is, we agree with him, the best for all parties. But this, it must at the same time be admitted, is the very greatest evil against which we have to guard. Increase of territory,' says Sir John, will, in spite of all our efforts, come too rapidly; but to be at all safe, the march must be gradual towards a crisis, which cannot be anticipated without alarm.' We have no retreat, as he justly observes, whenever our authority is in question; en avant! must here be our motto. We have no natural root in the soil, unassociated as we are in language, prejudices, habits and religion, with the people we have to govern. The foundation of our authority rests on opinion, and this compels us, at all hazards, to carry through every dispute and contest with the natives, whether of our own provinces, or of those under our protection, for our ascendancy cannot long exist if our strength be ever doubted.

The restoration of tranquillity to Central India, by our means, was at first recognized by all classes as a real blessing; but symptoms of jealousy have since occasionally shown themselves; and serious apprehensions as to the permanence of their present condition are predominant, from the first princes to the potails of villages. The very prosperity of the country may be expected to stimulate into action some of that restless spirit which has been repressed but not destroyed; an increased cultivation and improving trade will present objects of plunder, which had ceased

to exist.

It requires, therefore, on our part, a delicate line of conduct, and wise and vigilant measures for the preservation of peace, and of that confidence in the well-disposed portion of the community, which an uniform system of easy comprehension, a clear and explicit avowal of our views and objects, a never ceasing exertion to calm and tranquillize the minds of the numerous princes and chiefs, and a rigid adherence to good faith, can alone inspire.

It is upon the tone,' says Sir John, of those whom we employ, and upon the character of the intercourse we maintain with the rulers and people, that their tranquillity and prosperity will chiefly depend.' It was under a conviction, he tells us, that there is more to fear from a redundant zeal and activity, than from apathy or indolence,' that he wrote his Notes of Instructions' for the assistants and officers acting under his orders, respecting the manner to be observed towards the natives in their official and private intercourse, the regulation of their conduct in all points where their interference may be necessary, the respect and indulgence to be observed towards their peculiar habits and customs, their superstitious and religious prejudices. If Sir John Malcolm had written nothing more than these Instructions,' we should have set him down as a man gifted with a comprehensive and superior mind. They evince so thorough a knowledge of the human heart, as well as of the singular people to whom they relate; they embrace such excellent rules and advice for the guidance of those who have the management of those people, that, in our opinion, the directors of the East India Company could not perform a more effectual service to themselves and their constituents, as well as to their servants in India and the inhabitants at large, than by making them the basis of a general system of instruction to all their residents at the various courts of the native princes. They are indeed most admirable in every part, but we have room only for the concluding paragraph.

4 There are, I fear, many omissions in these notes of instructions, but an anxiety to render them complete has already made them far longer than was at first intended. One of my chief objects has been to impress in the most forcible manner the great benefits which are to be expected from a kind and conciliating manner, and a constant friendly intercourse with those under your direction and control. It is the feelings and knowledge which such habits on your part will inspire, that can alone give effect to the principles of action that have been prescribed for your observance. You are called upon to perform no easy task: to possess power, but seldom to exercise it; to witness abuses which you think you could correct; to see the errors, if not crimes, of superstitious bigotry, and the miseries of misrule, and yet forbear, lest you injure interests far greater than any within the sphere of your limited duties, and impede and embarrass, by a rash change and innovation that may bring local benefit, the slow but certain march of general improvement. Nothing can keep you right on all these points but constant efforts to add to your knowledge, and accustoming your mind (as I have before urged you) to dwell upon the character of the British power in India, and that of the empire over which it is established. The latter, comprehending numerous tribes and nations, with all their various institutions and governments, may truly, though metaphorically, be viewed as a vast and ancient fabric, neither without

shape

shape nor beauty, but of which many parts are in a dilapidated state, and all more or less soiled or decayed; still it is a whole, and connected in all its parts, the foundations are deep-laid, and to the very summit arch rests upon arch. We are now its possessors, and if we desire to preserve while we improve it, we must make ourselves completely masters of the frame of the structure to its minutest ornaments and defects: nor must we remove the smallest stone till another is ready, suited to fill the vacant niche, otherwise we may inadvertently bring a ruin on our own heads and those of others, on the spot where we too eagerly sought to erect a monument of glory.'—vol. ii. pp. 474, 475.

In the government of Central India, so important to the peace of the whole peninsula, we accord entirely with Sir John Malcolm's views of placing there a person of high rank and known talent, as Lieutenant-Governor, with such powers and authorities (under the direction of the superior government) as would enable him to keep the machine in good order to act with decision and promptitude-to proceed with calmness and patience in the reform of abuses-to view the habits of ignorance and error with indulgence-and, to use his own words, to exercise a controul which is most efficient when it is least seen, and which, in its operation, makes princes and chiefs regard with reverence and attachment a power that elevates when it has ample means of depressing, and which is so constituted that it can only be conciliated by their good or offended by their evil actions:'-and, as he justly observes, these objects may be attained through the operation of one authority; but they cannot through a multiplicity of agents.' The rank and high name of the person by whom power is exercised always mitigates a sense of subjection; and they are peculiarly adapted to gratify the pride and prejudices of the natives of India. But the grand object to be obtained by vesting authority in one high and responsible officer, is the uniform and consistent system of government to be expected from him, and without which we cannot hope to tranquillize the minds of princes trembling for their sovereignty, of chiefs doubtful of continued independence, of the guardians of religion alive for the inviolability of their ancient rites and superstitions, and of all ranks and classes who may dread further encroachment and innovation. We entirely agree with Sir John Malcolm's position, as a first principle of government, that no system can be good that is not thoroughly understood and appreciated by those for whose benefit it is intended;' and that if founded on principles they do not comprehend, requiring forms and usages adverse to their habits and feelings, we shall experience no adequate return of confidence and allegiance.' As we never could have conquered India without the assistance