Page:Allan Octavian Hume, C.B.; Father of the Indian National Congress.djvu/92

 ment among the irreconcilable section of the dissatisfied intellectuals. The danger is enhanced by the fact that the autocratic power is exercised by a handful of foreigners, alien to the population in language, rao and creed, and belonging to a masterful nation singularl; regardless of the feelings and prejudices of other Consequently the mutterings of the storm are unheede by them, and great disasters, like the Mutiny of 1857, and the tragedies of Cabul, come upon them like a bolt from the blue. To listen therefore to the warnings " the man who knows," like Mr. Hume, is vital to th continuance of British rule in India. History tells similar story. It is true that in Venice oligarchi government lasted for a long term of years, but there the dominion over the people was exercised by mem of their own race, men of singular political insight, who kept themselves well-informed, and dealt skilfully with the beginnings of trouble. Such favourable con- ditions are not enjoyed by the Indian bureaucracy. As pointed out by Mr. Hume, the true historic parallel is to be found in the regime of the Bourbons at the close of the eighteenth century : they had neither eyes to see nor ears to hear, and sudden destruction was brought upon them by the hatred of the intellectuals energizing the dull despair of the peasant masses. No doubt when the crisis comes, the Englishman meets disaster in a fine spirit, and usually comes out more or less victorious in the end. But there is a grievous waste of life and labour involved in this purblind trust in the sad method of " muddling through."

Indian Religious Devotees. Looking to Mr. Hume's experiences in the Mutiny of 1857, as briefliy described in these pages, and the