Page:The Land of the Veda.djvu/471

Rh is trying to fulfill there to-day. One feature of the structure of society there will sufficiently intimate this fact. There are in all one hundred and fifty-three Hindoo and Mussulman Princes, governing semi-independent States, under the protection of the paramount power. These communities are less affected by intelligence, and more liable to caste notions and time-honored observances, than the territories directly governed by the British, and their influence has to be considered; then there are as many more Princes, (retired from business,) some of them still bearing royal titles, and drawing royal revenues from the treasury—any number of Maharajahs, Nawabs, and Kings—within the British territories. These have courts, ceremonials, and claims, which are all maintained with a tenacity that, to us of the West, seems simply ridiculous, and which are, and must be, to India's rulers, matters of worry and difficulty; but they have to deal gently with them, and work on in hope that, in the progress of the country toward popular government, these “royal” folk (including the Nawab Nazim of Bengal, the King of Oude, and others) or their descendants will become content, in the interest of the unity of their magnificent land, and its preparation for the popular native government which will one day direct its destinies, to sink title and claim, and accept a position in native society analogous to that of the Peerage of England. The day is past for the continued existence of “three hundred and seventy-four States” in a country that can be but one nation. As Noblemen around their strong Government, these representatives of dead or dying dynasties might do much for their country, as well as opening a way for their own children to be trained and educated for employment in positions of trust and usefulness.

These are but a mere intimation of the peculiar circumstances which English administrators in India have to deal with as they try to guide the interests of that country. The rebellion broke down many of these difficulties, and simplified their task to a great extent, making them more fully the masters of the situation; time, education, and Christianity will do the rest.

Meanwhile the country is progressing rapidly in the right