Page:Isvar Chandra Vidyasagar, a story of his life and work.djvu/128

Rh of Civil Servants was made by nomination, only descendants of high families came out to this country as Civilians. They were born of noble families, and were naturally imbueb with generous feelings. They looked upon the natives as their fellow-brethren, whom they had come not only to rule, but also to enlighten and educate, so as to be able to help them in the administration of the country. But the present competitive examination, which has replaced the former nomination system, leaves no room to take into account birth or descent in the selection of these officers As a matter of consequence, those, who come from comparatively lower families, being naturally short of generous feelings, look down upon the natives of the soil as mere barbarians and slaves. They do not think that the natives are human beings, creatures of God, like themselves, and bear no love for them. Another opinion is, that the natives of the present day, having obtained a high Western education, and having imbibed notions of equality and independence of spirit from the Europeans, do not treat them with proper deference. On the contrary, they claim from the ruling race some sort of respect. This the Europeans naturally resent. Hence their dislike and hatred for the natives. The Illbert Bill agitation has left a standing mark to bear testimony to this fact. In our humble opinion, both of these opinions are correct to some extent.

During his employment in the Fort William