Page:A General Biography of Bengal Celebrities Vol 1.djvu/90

 - TOE INDIGO CRISIS K* i&GO. : 9% leader of the Native Press at' the time took the side of the down-trodden peasantry and., sometimes wjt& sarcasm," and .at other times with sobriety and sound-sense, irrefragable 4ogic> -and incontrovertible statement of facts, he kept at bay the aggressive hostile party and helped jche £oyernment to judge of the affair in a calm and impartial spirit. Im- possible as it is for us within the: short -compass of this concise general biography, to- quote in tx^ tenso from his marvellous writings on this subject* we remain content with making the following extract from ian article written on the Indigo crisis r by .the subject of our memoir and published in our Life of the Hon'ble Kristo Das Pal. ; " Anarchy in BengdL— They speak what is Jiter* ally a truth who speak of the prevalence of an* archy in some of the districts of Bengal. It is anarchy when a few men, by 'the mere force of the Strong arm lord it over millions, and bar them from the benefits of government The external show .of courts, policemen, and officials^ is a mockery in regions where the oppressed man cannot approach the law but by permission of his oppressor. It is anarchy there where lattialism is an institution for the maintenance of which its patrons openly contend with legislature — where the iron will, the brave heart, and brute force will ensure their posses* sor complete supremacy. And why should it be so ? These districts, the seat of this anarchy, are within eyesight of a Govern- ment the strongest in Asia. The people are a race who require the least amount of government to keep ■■ their society together. It is a country of old tradi- tions, which has known regular laws and courts Of justice for nearly a century. One single tax of four millions is borne by the people themselves -to the public exchequer with. a punctuality not observed by the seasons. Religion reigns in the land with 11