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FRENCH CRITICISM ON INDIA.

(From the 'Times.' Oct. 19th.)

- It is a strange thing that, the foreign critics of England should never reflect that rancour and invectives are looked upon by the world as the weapons with which mediocrity is accustomed to attack greatness. So well is this understood that it adds somewhat to a statesman's prestige that he is the mark for the arrows of a disappointed faction, and yet passes on his way disdainful of his assailants. We in this country, with the good sense which the practice of atFairs gives us, are too wise, if not too proud, openly to show our grudges and antipathies. No man with any self-respect, or even with common prudence, would carp at the reputation or exhibit his anger at the successes of his rival. Instinct tells him that he would only draw derision on himself, while he swelled the triumph of the man whose good fortune he envied. But the continental press and its readers are for the most part forgetful of this decorous reserve. The outbreak in India and the presumed fall of the British dominion in the East have been too much for them. While the English people can see with dignified calmness the prosperity or the reverses of their neighbours, and 'would be deterred even by pride from seeming to gloat over their temporary embarrassments, the organs of such public opinion as remains on the Continent make no attempt to conceal their pleasure-at the massacre of our officers and the anarchy which reigns in_ one of the provinces of our empire. Never might an Englishman feel more justly proud of the moral superiority of his race than -when he sees how his foreign rivals will stoop to express the jealousy which its successes inspire. It is certainly not to be denied that certain journals have declared their horror at the atrocities of the Sepoys, their sympathy with the slaughtered women and children, and their hope that'peace may be restored. We will go further, and state our belief that in every country in Europe a minority of educated, thinking, and high-principled men fully sympathize with the EnolUh people, render'due tribute to their Governn ent. and see in the restoration of their authority the triumph of civilization and the best hope for the future. Neither in France

fnor in' Germany, neither in the press nor in society, do these sentiments lack expression, and we may at once record our acknowledgments to those whom neither national nor political differences prevent from doing Justice where it is >due. But it would be affectation to pretend that •on the Continent the embarrassments of this 'country have been seen with displeasure. Indeed, .the French journals which venture to say a few words in our defence are obliged to apologise to their readers for running counter to the public feeling, and openly acknowledge that the total destruction of British power has been anticipated with satisfaction as the result of the late events. Of course] the common sense of mankind prevents more than a few from joining in the extravagancies of the ' Univers' and the 'Gazette de Prance,' but still the fact is undoubted that, so far as public feeling can be discovered and interpreted by the press, we are very far from having the good wishes of the French people. In Germany it would seem that opinions have been more divided. The great nation which follows out with such energy every path of knowledge is not likely to have neglected one of the" greatest episodes of modern history. The conquest of India will appear to every impartial student as an event full <of hope for mankind, and as a step towards that union and regeneration of the world which both reiigion and philosophy lead us to expect. The Germans, again, divided into many States, ■and with no thought of material aggrandizement, can see, without any pang of jealousy, the extended empire of a people which still retains something of kinship with them. Thus, we might expect that from the liberal party in Germany England would receive sympathy and ■goodwill. This we believe to be the case. As far as can be judged from the tone of the press, the British Government is at present exposed only to its ordinary assailants, the partisans of despofcie rule, and the enemies of constitutional forms. The German invectives express apolitical, not a national dislike; in France the ill feeling is both national and political. This is certainly what might have been expected. It is impossible that an island like ours could build up an empire extending over all the five divisions of the earth, and containing 220,000,000 of souls, without attracting to itself envy and dislike. Our neighbours have been for a hundred years endeavouring to convince themselves that we have no great quality, moral or intellectual. Perhaps they retain that opinion now, but one thing they have been obliged to acknowledge,—that we have been successful. England has been the successful na tion, and mankind will forgive anything but success. So for the demonstration of the last few weeks we have not been unprepared. But it is instructive to watch the progress of continental opinion since the revolt became general. We cannot compliment our critics on their discernmeat.orJJie..skill with which they reaarpTssmg events. They seem to have taken much the same measure of our power as the Sepoys themselves, and to have thought that ■directly the army revolted the empire was lost; tso the whole question wa>» who should succeed to the fair inheritance. Should Eussia aunex it to her domain or France claim it in right of prior possession in the last century p ■Others, less pitiless, thought that Europe might restore it to the British Crown under certain conditions which should effectually restrain our selfish ambition. In return for Gibraltar, Malta,* and Corfu the great Powers might be prevailed upon to send an army to the rescue. But as time wears on, and it is found that the islanders, though outnumbered and surrounded by thousands of enemies, still hold their ground, that the tide of rebellion is being rolled back, and that a few months will restore the British Government to all, and more than all, its former power, the tone is changed, and there is nothing to be heard but jeremiads on the woes of the unhappy Hindoo, or edifying homilies on the wickedness of refraining from a national inculcation of Christianity. These charges we may indeed leave to balance each other. The very neglect of conversion, which is blamed by the new.bom zeal of the continental press/the veiy acquiescence in idolatrous practices, sprang from a mistaken feeling of respect for native rights, •which is quite inconsistent with the charge of 4-yranny and oppression. The English Government, indeed, has only erred by adopting too • completely the liberal policy of the Roman conquerors, who guaranteed the religion and even joined in the rites of the races they had subdued. It was, indeed, this over delicate respect for the superstitions of Mussulman and 'Brahmin which encouraged the outbreak, and rthe fault, if fault there were, was one which it xwas natural for a free and high-minded people •to commit

However, it must be plain to every reasonable mftn that Immunity and Christianity are ,jnere pretexts in this case. The French jour■NalsAvliU'.h have assailed ub know well that our •Government has been in an eminent degree enlightened and humane; that India owes to ms all that:it-w and all that it will be; and as to neglect of ft religious propaganda, the objection comes strangely from the countrymen of the Generals who profe«sed themselves |£a,hontedansin Egyptr^-from the nation which still forbids any attempt at conversion in •AJu-i^rs. No; the ' Re-v,Ke dcs Deux Mondes' hap arrived at {:hertg?bt:' sortition. Envy is the true feeling whiehjjiafi prompted all these demonstration)? of s-at\«fection^-all these diatribes on our inhumanity andirreligion; and in a few weeks the feeling will produce ill-concealed irritation .at tl*e of our authority. The 'Eeyuedes Deux Mondes* is conducted by men who are generally honest andsomageous enough to speak the U'uth, and it has had experie nceof French and coutineutai opinion during the

last three months. It speaks truly .of the~lieproval of the Sepoy atrocities by tl'^vpss >. its own country as "an official dut>^»* a debt to humanity and the commonest propriety, and goes on to say that, this duty once performed, popular opinion does not disguise its content. " Let the English nation," it continues, " be well assured that it is not loved in the it is too selfish for its misfortunes to be looked upon by other nations as family misfortunes, and it has been too fortunate not to have provoked immense envy." This is, indeed, the truth from a French point of view. Whether England be selfish or not, there can be no doubt that to her fortune and present prosperity she owes all the invectives which have been hurled against her. For this we are prepared, and, as the writer truly says " the English have theinstinetive consciousnessof the sentiments they inspire, and they confide in themselves alone." Our neighbours, therefore, need not endeavour to deceive either themselves or us. We well understand what suck phrases as " God forbid we should rejoice in these cala- ! mities!" mean when they are followed by half a column about our oppression and perfidy. We care as little for the censures of these journals as we need their pity. The " humiliation " and the " sad spectacle" which they affect to mourn over, while they declare it a judgment on the nation, are now passing away, and will leave the fabric of British power stronger and more imposing than ever. The mutiny of 1857 will then be remembered as the event which gave a new impulse to the career of conquest and civilization which began a hundred years before. j

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/LT18580313.2.5.2

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Lyttelton Times, Volume IX, Issue 559, 13 March 1858, Page 3

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,645

FRENCH CRITICISM ON INDIA. Lyttelton Times, Volume IX, Issue 559, 13 March 1858, Page 3

FRENCH CRITICISM ON INDIA. Lyttelton Times, Volume IX, Issue 559, 13 March 1858, Page 3

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