the life of william carey-第12章

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ensive　than　that　of　Rome。　He　was　a　peasant　craftsman；　who　had　taught　himself　with　a　skill　which　Lord　Wellesley；　their　successor　almost　as　great　as　themselves；　delighted　publicly　to　acknowledgea　man　of　the　people；　of　the　class　who　had　used　the　Roman　Empire　to　build　out　of　it　a　universal　Christendom；　who　were　even　then　turning　France　upside　down；　creating　the　Republic　of　America；　and　giving　new　life　to　Great　Britain　itself。　　The　little　Englishman　was　about　to　do　in　Calcutta　and　from　Serampore　what　the　little　Jew；　Paul；　had　done　in　Antioch　and　Ephesus；　from　Corinth　and　Rome。　England　might　send　its　nobly　born　to　erect　the　material　and　the　secular　fabric　of　empire；　but　it　was　only；　in　the　providence　of　God；　that　they　might　prepare　for　the　poor　village　preacher　to　convert　the　empire　into　a　spiritual　force　which　should　in　time　do　for　Asia　what　Rome　had　done　for　Western　Christendom。　　But　till　the　last；　as　from　the　first；　Carey　was　as　unconscious　of　the　part　which　he　had　been　called　to　play　as　he　was　unresting　in　the　work　which　it　involved。　　It　is　no　fanatical　criticism；　but　the　true　philosophy　of　history；　which　places　Carey　over　against　Clive；　the　spiritual　and　secular　founders；　and　Duff　beside　Hastings；　the　spiritual　and　secular　consolidators　of　our　Indian　Empire。

Carey's　work　for　India　underlay　the　first　period　of　forty　years　of　transition　from　Cornwallis　to　Bentinck；　as　Duff's　covered　the　second　of　thirty　years　to　the　close　of　Lord　Canning's　administration；　which　introduced　the　new　era　of　full　toleration　and　partial　but　increasing　self…government　directed　by　the　Viceroy　and　Parliament。

Carey　had　been　sent　not　only　to　the　one　people　outside　of　Christendom　whose　conversion　would　tell　most　powerfully　on　all　Asia；　Africa；　and　their　islandsthe　Hindoos；　but　to　the　one　province　which　was　almost　entirely　British；　and　could　be　used　as　it　had　been　employed　to　assimilate　the　rest　of　IndiaBengal。　　Territorially　the　East　India　Company　possessed；　when　he　landed；　nothing　outside　of　the　Ganges　valley　of　Bengal；　Bihar；　and　Benares；　save　a　few　spots　on　the　Madras　and　Malabar　coasts　and　the　portion　just　before　taken　in　the　Mysore　war。　　The　rest　was　desolated　by　the　Marathas；　the　Nizam；　Tipoo；　and　other　Mohammedan　adventurers。　　On　the　Gangetic　delta　and　right　up　to　Allahabad；　but　not　beyond；　the　Company　ruled　and　raised　revenue；　leaving　the　other　functions　of　the　state　to　Mohammedans　of　the　type　of　Turkish　pashas　under　the　titular　superiority　of　the　effete　Emperor　of　Delhi。　　The　Bengali　and　Hindi…speaking　millions　of　the　Ganges　and　the　simpler　aborigines　of　the　hills　had　been　devastated　by　the　famine　of　1769…70；　which　the　Company's　officials；　who　were　powerless　where　they　did　not　intensify　it　by　interference　with　trade；　confessed　to　have　cut　off　from　ten　to　twelve　millions　of　human　beings。　　Over　three…fifths　of　the　area　the　soil　was　left　without　a　cultivator。　　The　whole　young　of　that　generation　perished；　so　that；　even　twenty　years　after；　Lord　Cornwallis　officially　described　one…third　of　Bengal　as　a　jungle　inhabited　only　by　wild　beasts。　　A　quarter　of　a　century　after　Carey's　language　was；　as　we　have　seen；　〃three…fifths　of　it　are　an　uncultivated　jungle　abandoned　to　wild　beasts　and　serpents。〃

But　the　British　peace；　in　Bengal　at　least；　had　allowed　abundant　crops　to　work　their　natural　result　on　the　population。　　The　local　experience　of　Shore；　who　had　witnessed　the　horrors　he　could　do　so　little　to　relieve；　had　united　with　the　statesmanship　of　Cornwallis　to　initiate　a　series　of　administrative　reforms　that　worked　some　evil；　but　more　good；　all　through　Carey's　time。　　First　of　all；　as　affecting　the　very　existence　and　the　social　development　of　the　people；　or　their　capacity　for　being　educated；　Christianised；　civilised　in　the　highest　sense；　there　was　the　relation　of　the　Government　to　the　ryots　（〃protected　ones〃）　and　the　zameendars　（〃landholders〃）。　　In　India；　as　nearly　all　over　the　world　except　in　feudalised　Britain；　the　state　is　the　common　landlord　in　the　interests　of　all　classes　who　hold　the　soil　subject　to　the　payment　of　customary　rents；　directly　or　through　middlemen；　to　the　Government。　For　thirty　years　after　Plassey　the　Government　of　India　had　been　learning　its　business；　and　in　the　process　had　injured　both　itself　and　the　landed　classes；　as　much　as　has　been　done　in　Ireland。　　From　a　mere　trader　it　had　been；　more　or　less　consciously；　becoming　a　ruler。　In　1786　the　Court　of　Directors；　in　a　famous　letter；　tried　to　arrest　the　ruin　which　the　famine　had　only　hastened　by　ordering　that　a　settlement　of　the　land…tax　or　revenue　or　rent　be　made；　not　with　mere　farmers　like　the　pashas　of　Turkey；　but　with　the　old　zameendars；　and　that　the　rate　be　fixed　for　ten　years。　　Cornwallis　and　Shore　took　three　years　to　make　the　detailed　investigations；　and　in　1789　the　state　rent…roll　of　Bengal　proper　was　fixed　at　？；858；772　a　year。　The　English　peer；　who　was　Governor…General；　at　once　jumped　to　the　conclusion　that　this　rate　should　be　fixed　not　only　for　ten　years；　but　for　ever。　　The　experienced　Bengal　civilian　protested　that　to　do　that　would　be　madness　when　a　third　of　the　rich　province　was　out　of　cultivation；　and　as　to　the　rest　its　value　was　but　little　known；　and　its　estates　were　without　reliable　survey　or　boundaries。

We　can　now　see　that；　as　usual；　both　were　right　in　what　they　asserted　and　wrong　in　what　they　denied。　　The　principle　of　fixity　of　tenure　and　tax　cannot　be　over…estimated　in　its　economic；　social；　and　political　value；　but　it　should　have　been　applied　to　the　village　communities　and　cultivating　peasants　without　the　intervention　of　middlemen　other　than　the　large　ancestral　landholders　with　hereditary　rights；　and　that　on　the　standard　of　corn　rents。　　Cornwallis　had　it　in　his　power　thus　to　do　what　some　years　afterwards　Stein　did　in　Prussia；　with　the　result　seen　in　the　present　German　people　and　empire。　　The　dispute　as　to　a　permanent　or　a　decennial　settlement　was　referred　home；　and　Pitt；　aided　by　Dundas　and　Charles　Grant；　took　a　week　to　consider　it。　　His　verdict　was　given　in　favour　of　feudalism。　Eight　months　before　Carey　landed　at　Calcutta　the　settlement　had　been　declared　perpetual；　in　1795　it　was　extended　to　Benares　also。

During　the　next　twenty　years　mismanagement　and　debt　revolutionised　the　landed　interest；　as　in　France　at　the　same　time；　but　in　a　very　different　direction。　　The　customary　rights　of　the　peasant　proprietors　had　been　legislatively　secured　by　reserving　to　the　Governor…General　the　power　〃to　enact　such　regulations　as　he　may　think　necessary　for　the　protection　and　welfare　of　the　dependent　talookdars；　ryots；　and　other　cultivators　of　the　soil。〃　　The　peasants　continued　long　to　be　so　few　that　there　was　competition　for　them；　the　process　of　extortion　with　the　aid　of　the　courts　had　hardly　begun　when　they　were　many；　and　the　zameendars　were　burdened　with　charges　for　the　police。　　But　in　1799　and　again　in　1812　the　state；　trembling　for　its　rent；　gave　the　zameendars　further　authority。　　The　principle　of　permanence　of　assessment　so　far　co…operated　with　the　splendid　fertility　of　the　Ganges　valley　and　the　peaceful　multiplication　of　the　people　and　spread　of　cultivation；　that　all　through　the　wars　and　annexations；　up　to　the　close　of　the　Mutiny；　it　was　Bengal　which　enabled　England　to　extend　the　empire　up　to　its　natural　limits　from　the　two　seas　to　the　Himalaya。　　But　in　1859　the　first　attempt　was　made　by　the　famous　Act　X。　to　check　the　rack…renting　power　of　the　zameendars。　　And　now；　more　than　a　century　since　the　first　step　was　taken　to　arrest　the　ruin　of　the　peasantry；　the　legislature　of　India　has　again　tried　to　solve　for　the　whole　country　these　four　difficulties　which　all　past　landed　regulations　have　intensifiedto　give　the　state　tenants　a　guarantee　against　uncertain　enhancements　of　rent；　and　against　taxation　of　improvements；　to　minimise　the　evil　of　taking　rent　in　cash　instead　of　in　kind　by　arranging　the　dates　on　which　rent　is　paid；　and　to　mitigate　if　not　prevent　famine　by　allowing　relief　for　failure　of　crops。　　As　pioneering；　the　work　of　Carey　and　his　colleagues　all　through　was　distinctly　hindered　by　the　treatment　of　the　land　question；　which　at　once　ground　down　the　mass　of　the　people　and　created　a　class　of　oppressive　landlords　destitute　for　the　most　part　of　public　spirit　and　the　higher　culture。　　Both　were　disinclined　by　their　circumstances　to　lend　an　ear　to　the　Gospel；　but　these　circumstances　made　it　the　more　imperative　on　the　missionaries　to　tell　them；　to　teach　their　children；　to　print　for　all　the　glad　tidings。　　Carey；　himself　of　peasant　extraction；　cared　for　the　millions　of　the　people　above　all；　but　his　work　in　the　classical　as　well　as　the　vernacular　languages　was　equally　addressed　to　their　twenty　thousand　landlords。　　The　time　of　his　workbefore　Bentinck；　and　the　centre　of　itoutside　the　metropolis；　left　the　use　of　the　English　weapon　against　Brahmanism　largely　for　Duff。

When　Cornwallis；　following　Warren　Hastings；　completed　the　substitution　of　the　British　for　the　Mohammedan　civil　administration　by　a　system　of　courts　and　police　and　a　code　of　regulations；　he　was　guilty　of　one　omission　and　one　mistake　that　it　took　years　of　discussion　and　action　to　rectify。　　He　did　not　abolish　from　the　courts　the　use　of　Persian；　the　language　of　the　old　Mussulman　invaders；　now　foreign　to　all　parties；　and　he　excluded　from　all　offices　above　？0　a　year　the　natives　of　the　country；　contrary　to　their　fair　and　politic　practice。　　Bengal　and　its　millions；　in　truth；　were　nominally　governed　in　detail　by　three　hundred　white　and　upright　civilians；　with　the　inevitable　result　in　abuses　which　they　could　not　prevent；　and　oppression　of　native　by　native　which　they　would　not　check；　and　the　delay　or　development　of　reforms　which　the　few　missionaries　long　called　for　in　vain。　　In　a　word；　after　making　the　most　generous　allowance　for　the　good　intentions　of　Cornwallis；　and　conscientiousness　of　Shore；　his　successor；　we　must　admit　that　Carey　was　called　to　become　the　reformer　of　a　state　of　society　which　the　worst　evils　of　Asiatic　and　English　rule　combined　to　prevent　him　and　other　self…sacrificing　or　disinterested　philanthropists　from　purifying。　　The　East　India　Company；　at　home　and　in　India；　had　reached　that　depth　of　opposition　to　light　and　freedom　in　any　form　which　justifies　Burke's　extremest　passagesthe　period　between　its　triumph　on　the　exclusion　of　〃the　pious　clauses〃　from　the　Charter　of　1793　and　its　defeat　in　the　Charter　of　1813。　　We　shall　reproduce　some　outlines　of　the　picture　which　Ward　drew：7

〃On　landing　in　Bengal；　in　the　year　1793；　our　brethren　found　themselves　surrounded　with　a　population　of　heathens　（not　including　the　Mahometans）　amounting　to　at　least　one　hundred　millions　of　souls。

〃On　the　subject　of　the　divine　nature；　with　the　verbal　admission　of　the　doctrine　of　the　divine　unity；　they　heard　these　idolaters　speak　of　330；000；000　of　gods。　　Amidst　innumerable　idol　temples　they　found　none　erected　for　the　worship　of　the　one　living　and　true　God。　Services　without　end　they　saw　performed　in　honour　of　the　elements　and　deified　heroes；　but　heard　not　one　voice　tuned　to　the　praise　or　employed　in　the　service　of　the　one　God。　Unacquainted　with　the　moral　perfections　of　Jehovah；　they　saw　this　immense　population　prostrate　before　dead　matter；　before　the　monkey；　the　serpent；　before　idols　the　very　personifications　of　sin；　and　they　found　this　animal；　this　reptile；　and　the　lec