INDIA.

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume V, Issue 13, 30 June 1858, Page 2

INDIA.

India is a vast empire: it is said to contain a million and a half square miles of territory, and is inhabited by one hundred and eighty millions of people, of whom one hun-

dred and thirty millions are subjects of the Queen of England, The speak eight different languages and many dialects, and profess many religions, but the greater number are Mahometans who believe in a false prophet called Mahomet, and Hindoos, who who worship abominable idols, birds, beasts, «nd fishes, and almost everything under the sun. It is not easy to convey any idea of such a vast country, and such an immense population ; but we may form some notion of the former by knowing that a man on foot would require six months at least to walk from South to North if he travelled every day (Sundays included) at the rate usual in that countrytwelve miles a day. And with reference to the latter we may observe that India contains one hundred and eighty times more inhabitants than Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Tasmania, and New Zealand (Maories and Europeans)—all put together. There are very many great cities in India. Calcutta, where the Governor General reaides, fcsaid to contaiu a million inhabitants: this may be called the European city, though j there arc not more than ten thousand Euro-, peans living in it. Bennres is the chief city of the Brabamins, or Hindoos; Delhi and Lucknow are capital cities of the Mahometans—each of these cities contain nearly half a million of people. * As the Mutiny in India has been confined to that part which is called Bengal, we shall

not here attempt to describe the two other great divisions which are called Madras and Bombay* In Delhi, the descendant of the Great Mogul, or Emperor of Hindostan, reigned as a King until last year. In 1803 a great Maharatta eMef named Sctndhi, with an army of ,200,000 cavalry, 20,000 infantry, and 400 pieces of artillery, conquered the great Mognl, seized bis kingdom and the city of Delhi, and kept the poor King in close confinement. Ia bis distress he appealed fer succour to the English, who sent General Lake to flgbt against Sckidia and his immense army. Sandra's troops were many times more numerous than General Lake's; but the General beat bim in two pitchedbattles and took Delhi. Shah Alum (the great Mogul) was then replaced upon bis throne, and a pension of £120,000 a year was secured to bim and btsdescendantsupon condition of their being faithful to the British Crown. - Thus be exchanged a dark prison and the ill treatment of the Mabrattas for the honour and enjoyment of a throne. Übe English also made the Nawab of Oude, who had been but Lieutenant Governor under the Great Mognl, King of Oude. . Now, it will be asked, how did the English contrive to conquer and govern such a vast number of people? The English have never had more than 50,000 European soldiers In all India, at first tbey had only very

few. But the people i>f India soon found tbat the religion of the Christians made them act very differently from any of the Idolat trous Sovereigns who bad hitherto fuled over their country, and who were constantly fighting one against the other—they therefore frequently invited their interference and assistance, as the great Mogul entreated them to save him fromScindia and the Mabrattas. To be able to do this the English enlisted the Hindoos and Mahometans into, tbeir army, and sent to each regiment a few English officers to lead them and teach them the art of war. These soldiers, called Sepoys, and their English officers became very much attached to each other. The Sepoys were well paid, cared for when sick, and pensioned when old. The English did not in any way interfere with their religion, but left them to choose for themselves—even when tbeir idolatry was of the most contemptible kind. As more people submitted to the English Government or sought its protection the army increased in size until at length it numbered 300*000 Hindoos and Mahometans and nearly 50,000 English. . The army loved the Government under which it was so well treated, and the English were proud of, and attached \o, their native soldiers. For one hundred years the Sepoys bad served faithfully; all India was quiet, and no one could believe it possible that soldiers so treated—who had fought and won hundreds of battles for the English, and who were decorated with medals, and had pensions for their services and wounds—could eyer prove untrue to tbeir salt. (To be combined.)