Page:Allan Octavian Hume, C.B.; Father of the Indian National Congress.djvu/136



EPILOGUE

It would be wrong to close this account of so remarkable a career in the Indian public service without seeking to draw from it lessons for the future wise guidance of Indian affairs. And this seems the more necessary because a Royal Commission has been appointed to consider the requirements of the Indian public service, and to "recommend such changes as may seem expedient." The scope of the reference is a wide one, opening up the whole question of the position and duties of the Indian Civil Service ; and the practical questions to be dealt with are, What are the defects of the present system ? and What are the changes needed to make it conformable to the best interests of the Indian people ?

When we look into the merits of the case, we find that the essential defects of the system belong to its historical origin as a foreign domination, and that these defects have been intensified by the policy of over-centralization, which is the natural development of any purely official organization. As regards origin, we know that England's first connection with India was not based on any altruistic sentiment ; it arose in the earlier centuries out of primitive impulses, the spirit of adventure and the pursuit of gain. Coming originally as traders, the servants of the East India Company became administrators by the force of circumstances, as the only means of evolving order out of the anarchy which prevailed