Page:On the education of the people of India (IA oneducationofpeo00trevrich).pdf/35

Rh one point on which all parties were agreed: this was, that the vernacular languages contained neither the literary nor scientific information necessary for a liberal education. It was admitted on all sides that while the instruction of the mass of the people through the medium of their own language was the ultimate object to be kept in view, yet, meanwhile, teachers had to be trained, a literature had to be created, and the co-operation of the upper and middle classes of native society had to be secured. The question which divided the committee was, What language was the best instrument for the accomplishment of these great objects? Half the members contended that it was English, the other half that it was Sanskrit and Arabic. As there was no dispute about the vernacular language, no mention was made of it in the resolution of the 7th March 1835, which contained the decision of the government. This omission led many, who were not acquainted with the course the discussion had taken, to fear that the point had been altogether overlooked; and in order to obviate this misapprehension the committee made the following remarks, in the first annual report submitted by them to the government after the promulgation of the resolution referred to:—