rh Aes is THEODORE o HOPE, Se CLE. aay te) tas te aay C.5 4% JOREN eprtns Sree, E, Gi : , Cro RCELSAND “STATE IN ENDIA. it ii f ' - fie Po. ete HORACE Aah it iy . MY TU Oy Mein) SY nee HART, PRINTER TO THE hae ethan : i We . GHURCH AND STATE IN INDIA. BY SIR THEODORE Ce HOPE -.CS.1. CLE FORMERLY ORDINARY MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL OF THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA. PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE TRACT COMMITTEE, LONDON: SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE, NorTHUMBERLAND AVENUE, W.C.; 43, QUEEN VicTorIA STREET, E.C, BRIGHTON: 135 Nortru STREET. NEW YORK: E. anp J. B. Younc anp Co, 1893. Py sa 'ES at? = aes “i nae “he i CHURCH AND STATE IN INDIA. INTRODUCTION. Tue Census of India taken in 1891 has disclosed the fact that the Christians in our Empire are not only a much larger, but also a more growing body than had hitherto been supposed. Periodi- cally, indeed, the attention of Church-people in England has been aroused to the interests of Christianity in our great dependency, and notable results have ensued. The deportation of missionaries and the State protection of Jagannath directly led to the foundation of the See of Calcutta, and of the Anglican Church as a body, in 1813. The next thirty years saw, on the one hand, a vast extension of missionary enterprise by the great Anglican and Nonconformist Societies, and on the other, a steady increase in State-paid establishments, Roman Catholic and Pres- byterian as well as Church of England, together with many struggles of the last-named towards organisation and discipline, crowned by the foundation of the Sees of Madras and Bombay in 1833. Another quarter of a century passed away in the quiet strengthening of the foundations of religion—of devotion in the European, of intelligent faith in the Native, and of realisation by both of their fellowship in the Church of God—when the cataclysm of the Mutiny supervened, introducing a new era. The re-establishment of our rule brought with it a largely in- creased and ever-growing European population, for the army, railways, telegraphs, new agricultural and manufacturing indus- tries, expanding trade and commerce, education, science, art. It brought also a deeper sense of their responsibilities in those in power on the spot, and a wider and less spasmodic interest in Indian affairs on the part of their fellow-countrymen in England. Missionary effort has been redoubled by both the Church and other agencies, marked by the novel feature of Communities of ~ clergy, and of women, devoting themselves to evangelisation, and has been rewarded at length by returns a bundredfold. Following this indication, the wise encouragement of autonomy and the free bestowal of Orders are establishing the Native Christian Church upon a broad basis. Again, the rapid increase of the European and Eurasian official and non-official population has called into being “Additional Clergy” and Middle Class Schools, principally supported by voluntary contributions, while from the same sources the Anglican organisation has been strengthened by three new Bishoprics in 1877-79, and two more between 1890 and the present date. Accompanying these encouraging features of the past thirty years, however, must be noted the rise of hostile influences. The State, partly from financial and partly from less creditable motives, has become loth to afford aid at all commensurate with the increased demand for religious ministrations, and has even evineed some readiness to yield to attacks on its ecclesiastical establishments, directed by the animosity of certain sections of Nonconformists in England, and supported by the race prejudice and indifferentism of the newly educated class of Natives in India. Difficulties of this nature, which came to a crisis in 1882, were fortunately tided over, but the same causes are still at work, and in these days, when Disestablishment is in the air in England, they cannot safely be ignored. I trust, therefore, that no apology is needed for the following endeavour to promote a fuller acquaintance than is generally possessed by English people with the relations between Church and State in India, and the justification for the aid of Christianity from the public revenues in the case of Kuropeans and Hurasians. In view of the vast importance of the issue, no less than of the necessity, in order to its due consideration, of bringing together into an accessible form the mass of information relevant to it which is buried in the records of the Government, I propose to deal with it at some length, offering, first, a sketch of the exist- ing system; next, a comparison of it with the reasonably under- - stood obligations of the Government; thirdly, a discussion of the ‘ principal objections which have been made to it; fourthly, an exposition of its disadvantages and shortcomings; and, lastly, some suggestions as to the course which appears desirable for the future 1. ' Much of what follows, though by no means all, has already been to a limited extent before the public. See the ‘‘ Parliamentary Return, East India Ecclesias- tical Grants, No. 71, March 6, 1884”; also the “‘ Minute,” edited with a preface and notes by the present Bishop (then Archdeacon) of Lahore, Rivingtons, 1885 ; and the’ “Indian Church Quarterly Review,” January, 1892. The Parliamentary Re- turns, Nos. 514 of 1871 and 37 of 1880, obtained by Mr. Miall and Mr. Baxter, are also suggestive. 7 SKETCH OF THE EXISTING SYSTEM. The population of India, in the British Provinces and the Native States, is found by the Census of 1891 to be divided, according to religious beliefs, in the manner stated below :— British Provinces. Native States. Totals. Hindus 155,171,943 52,559,784 207,731,727 Musalman 49,559,491 4,770,073 57,321,164 Animistic 5,848,427 3)4.32,040 9,280,467 Buddhist . 7,095,398 35,903 7,131,361 Christian . 1,491,458 792,714 2,284,172 Sikh 1,407,968 499,865 1,907,833 Jain 495,001 921,637 1,416,638 Zoroastrian 76,952 12,952 89,904. ED eee eee 14,669 2,525 17,194 Minor and Unspecified 20,645 22,326 42,971 rand Total 221A57 2,052. .: 66,050,479 287,223,431 These figures show that Christians have increased by 316,033 in the Provinces and 105,713 in the States, total 421,746, since the Census of 1881, and that their advance has been 22-65 per cent., compared with a growth of only 13-1 per cent. in the entire population. Even after allowing for a somewhat stricter registration on the present occasion, the result remains very re- markable. The Christians of India outnumber the Sikh nation. The Christians are found in the several Provinces and States in the undermentioned proportions :— BRITISH PROVINCES, NATIVE STATES. zu nd ndia. Assam i ; 16,820 | . ‘ : : f 16,820 Burmaand Andamans. 121,223|Shan States . : 154 121,377 Bengal ‘ . + 190,816 | Bengal States 1,655 192,471 North-West Provinces. 58,424 | North-West Provinces States . . F ay 58,501 Punjab and Quetta 56,582 | Punjab States and Cashmer ; ; 539 57,121 Ajmer-Merwara . : 2,683 | Rajputana . ‘ 1,855 4,538 Bombay, Sindh & Aden 161,766 | Bombay States and Baroda , . 8885 170,651 Central Provinces . 12,970 | Central India and C. P. States . 6335 19,305 Berar . é ; 1,359 | Hyderabad 20,429 21,788 Madras & Coorg 868,815 | Madras States . » 714,051 | 1,583,466 ‘ : 5 ‘ Mysore 38,134 38,134 | Totals 1,491,458 792,714 2,284,172 Thus, 1,814,149 out of the whole number are domiciled in Bom- bay and to the south of it. 8 The distribution of the Christian population according to race is shewn in the table opposite’, and also that by denomination, but in the latter case some uncertainty remains, owing to a considerable number of persons having either vaguely described themselves as “ Protestants,’ or omitted altogether to state the denomination to which they belong. I much regret presenting to my readers such a dry statistical exordium, but feel that it is indispensable to a full grasp of the interesting problems which lie beyond. I would crave indul- gence while drawing further on their forbearance,in this respect. It will now be clear that, speaking broadly, about two millions of the Christians are natives of India, and only a quarter of a million are Europeans and Eurasians. Again, of the native Christians, nearly two-thirds live in the British Provinces and fully one-third in the territories of native Princes. In the case of the latter, our responsibilities may be deemed to be different, and less onerous, than in the case of the former. Finally, of the native Christians, two-thirds belong to the Roman Catholic and Syrian (Jacobite) Churches, one-third to the Church of England or Churches in communion with her, and to Protestant Bodies of various denominations. The next point for notice is that the whole of the religious establishments of this great body of native Christians, eight- ninths of all Christians in India, may be broadly described as self-supporting, and unconnected with the State—indeed prac- tically ignored by it. Before passing on to the relations of the State with European and Eurasian Christians, a few particulars regarding these independent native Christians may be interesting and not out of place. Taking first the Syrians, they are located entirely in the native States of Travancore and Cochin, and number about 200,0c0. They have their own Metropolitan, Bishops and clergy, and now own allegiance to the Jacobite Patriarch of Jerusalem. They possess churches, and “lands and funds” to a limited extent, but how far the latter may be free from State assessment does not appear. The native government does not interfere in any way with their affairs. The Roman Catholics, among whom may be reckoned at least 100,000 Syrians whose submission to Rome dates back to days * The designations used are in all cases those by which the individuals have described themselves. The totals of each group comprise all who have returned themselves under the sub-heads named, with, in addition, such of the “ Protestants” and*“ Unspecified” as could be pretty clearly recognised by their locality as belonging to that group. For this table and the two preceding ones I am indebted to the courtesy of Mr. J. A. Baines, the Indian Census Commissioner. zLitgz‘z | zS¢'6 €1z‘F1 Corr T 9£6‘0S Sob‘69 6g4'394 | ogofole‘r efor | ghg‘c ot 6g4'€ 9 Speer 69h! ¢ go 4511 9¢g 6g0‘L9 FLPs gt6‘ez 1096 ozS ‘961 998 o1r‘z€é $ €Sz QSeo61 160°z clgigh | 459%194 ozh6E | gz1°ggI Soe *SIDUINOAT *SOA19 NT €zlilvz 19h ‘z 060‘2 giz mes ogh‘r Lis, 6S25S GLof€y 1001 QI FEL‘ 12 Loo'€€1 “UDISDALN TT pun unadoung “(RIOD goS‘g | gfe‘ €Sz Gog gir FEO‘ I LE fol Zour gr Ly I€V g16'T 601 Chz‘z For glee 4 olz Sia “ grgé | Ebz'z€ bz | 96L‘oz nee *SIDUINONT *SUBISUINGT ‘HOVY AC NOILAAIULSICE oSk‘gt ICS ‘6+F1 €o9 oorst gota Sj edb’ 6 691 chr 66z‘z ce eae"r o+6 cehy gg ore. gl cSg°6 6z L69 he GI ge Lie Lo6‘1€ 61911 | 9z$‘16 he oie *$9DULQOA ‘suvodoma . . . ° ° . . . pe yroodsuy 8}UBS9JOIT systydeqeuy ‘sqstuoneares ‘usrqjorgq uadg ‘spustig jo Ayatoog ‘sroyenty ‘orjoysod wz o1joyyeo : GioTustLIe [AON ‘suUBLOLOqUOpe MG ‘UaIyJoIg Ynow ATT ; * SYSTULA[BO YSTP M ‘SYSTULATBO ‘suepLIN J ‘SLAY WASSI(] ‘S}SLUILOJWOOUO NY ‘SUBITEZDIST.) sabe iy a ‘HOISSIJ, WOpuory ‘sa1]BuoNyese1500) : ? * —-younyO peusojexy ‘uo el arpa -ueAT “yomnyO ystpSueaq ‘speorpSueagq ‘qomyO eeuttey) ‘SUBIAVIOP, ‘SUVILSUIMZ AO PouLtoy Su syaTaTG TPTpoaS we uvULIOX) ‘suBIOy NT 3 * suRyslIyO e[qrq ‘suvipedoostdg ystpoyyy ‘sistpoyyOPT oatgtUTIIg ‘sqsIpoyJeTT «= ‘S¥StpoujopT uedopsoq, ‘sueAsTso AQ ° . . . . ° * . . systydeq MWOIsstp, Ueto, Aqserg ystay ‘suvseyAqseig Ysliy pue uvolroury ‘suite, -Aqse1g powsojay ‘suviieydqse1g pou ‘suvise} -Aqseig ‘(021g pure poyst(qeysy) puvpyoog jo Ut) ‘ Ae EEE) uvtuisshq Vy pur ‘uermeuIy ‘90.14 : ; : ones SAC ay ae wets : : : : * emoYy jo YornyO suvredoosidq puv ‘yornyO uvolpouy “eolieury pue ‘puvjery ‘erpuy jo soyoanyyD yy ‘puepoug jo younyo . ° e 2 . e * . “NOLILVNINONAC Ad NOILONATULLSIC 10 of Portuguese supremacy, number a million and a quarter, of whom 550,000 are in the Madras British Provinces, and nearly half a million in the Madras Native States—chiefly Travancore and Cochin. The bulk of the remainder are in Bombay and Bengal. With the exception of a few grants which have sur- vived from preceding Portuguese or other Governments, the State gives no support of any kind, unless grants in aid for secular education in their schools may be deemed such. The Church establishment comprises 6 Archbishops, 21 Bishops, and 2 Prefectures Apostolic; also about 1400 Priests, aided by not less than 525 men and 1160 women who are members of religious communities, and a body of Catechists of whom no record is available. By these are served fully 2,500 churches and chapels, with some 1500 schools containing fully 80,000 Christian pupils. To meet the cost, about £26,000 from the Association for the Propagation of the Faith and £15,000 from the Society of the Holy Childhood, with minor grants from other Roman Catholic organisations in Europe, are received annually, and largely sup- plemented by local contributions. | The Church of England, and Churches in communion with her, have about 207,546 adherents, according to the census, but the proportions shewn below are claimed by her two great Baptized. | Catechumens. Total, es Ce Church Missionary Society . | 102,294 13,245 115,539 28,913 Society for the Propagation of the Gospel . : : 78,178 14,307 92,485 26,905 180,472 27,552 208,024 55,818 Societies, according to their Reports of 1891. Those Societies then employed 210 European and 266 native ordained clergy, aided by 91 European and 3424 native Lay teachers. ‘Their re- spective outlay was £86,000 and £36,000 raised in Europe, with not less than Rx15,000! each of local contributions in addition, making a total of 152,000, in sterling and tens of rupees. In addition to this, the Oxford Mission, the Society of S. John the Evangelist, and various Sisterhoods, the contributions of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, of the “ Bible,” and other Tract and Book Societies, and various minor agencies, * “Rx” indicates tens of rupees. When exchange was at two shillings per rupee Rx1o was equivalent to £1 sterling, but at present, with a rate of 15d., it is only equal to 12s. 6d. 11 \ must not be overlooked. In this case, as in that of all the others, the bulk of the work lies in the Madras Presidency. Regarding the Protestant Bodies, statistics have lately been Native Native Churches or Christians. Communicants. | Congregations, Baptist Group iy ; : ; 214,027 84,447 1,084 Lutheran Group . : : : 79,035 33,448 608 Congregational Group . . : 77,466 13,775 625 Presbyterian Group. ‘ : 40,452 § 12,931 287 Wesleyan Group . 32,519 15,856 618 Moravian and Miscellaneous Gr oup 5,030, 695 13 | 449,429 161,152 35235 published in connection with the Decennial Missionary Confer- ence, which has just taken place at Bombay. They afford the results given above, and shew also that the Missions therein comprised are worked by 1463 ‘ Ordained Agents” (including ladies), of whom 687 are Natives, and 3310 Lay Preachers, of whom all except 146 are natives. These do not include teachers in schools. These figures indicate a somewhat larger number of Christian adherents of these Groups than those derived from the Cerfsus, and shewn at page 9, but the difference probably lies in the method of estimating the total at 25 times the communi- cants, which has in some cases been adopted. It would have been interesting to know the cost of these Missions, and the native contributions towards them, but~such particulars are as impossible to obtain with any approach to accuracy in this as in the other cases. These particulars regarding the native Christians may be Total Ordained Lay Christians. Clergy & Agents. Agents, Syrian Jacobites . : : ; 200,467 | not known | not known Roman Catholics . : : ; 1,243,529 1,400 1,685 Church of England : ‘ . 208,024 476 ° 3,515 Protestant Bodies . ; : ; 4495429 1,463 + 3,310 ' Including about 434 ladies. 2,101,449 summed up as above. If we allow about 700,coc for Syrians and Roman Catholics of earlier days, the whole of the remainder may be attributed to missionary effort during a century of British rule. It does not seem possible to make any comparison of either 12 the stations or the pupils in schools, owing to the variety of prac- tice as to counting out-stations, in the one case, and as to includ- ing non-Christians, in the other. eege I now proceed to deal with the main subject I have In view, namely, the case of the European and Eurasian Christians, whose religion is recognised, so to speak, by the State, and on whose behalf it maintains, or helps to maintain, a certain number of clergy. The distinction thus observed by the Government be- tween these Christians and the natives, or at any rate those of the latter Christianised since our occupation of India, is well defined and intelligible. The conditions of our rule were, whether by agreement or de facto, an absolute non-interference with the existing religions of the people. As we found them, State-aided or endowed, or not, so we unavoidably left and have left them to the present day. To afford Christian religious ministrations to our Christian servants imported from Europe, and to the Christian population directly attributable to our administration, was at once obligatory on us as Christians, and politically un- objectionable in us as rulers. But to have supported a missionary propaganda among our native subjects would have been inad- missible equally, because contrary to safe policy as well as to our engagements, whether the Christian, the Hindu, the Mahometan, or any other creed were so favoured. In short, the relations of Church and State in India rest, and must rest until (if ever) complete changes develope themselves in the currents of Oriental religious thought, upon the basis of wz possidetis in respect of the whole native population, and of equal, that is, neither more nor less favouring treatment, in respect of the foreign European ele- ment and its direct derivations. What this element is, we may now proceed to examine. We have seen above that the Europeans and Eurasians number Europeans. Eurasians. European troops ; : ; . : . 70,053 O_ European Officers with native troops : ‘ 3,017 ° Civil Establishments : ; : : : 10,524 8,190 Railway Establishments . 3 : . ‘ 6,093 9,093 Non-officials . ; ‘ ' ’ ; , 76,813 62,559 168,000 79,842 about a quarter of a million, of whom the Eurasians are, speak- ing roughly, nearly one third. The proportions of these em- 13 ployed in the public service, and otherwise, are now given, together with their families. To pursue the enquiry further, into the condition of the non-officials, is not possible with any accuracy, since the census returns of “occupations” are not classified according to race, but it may be safely assumed that nearly the whole of the non-official Europeans are mer- chants, tradesmen, artificers, clerks, and the like, earning a com- petence in one way or another, while the Eurasians are almost entirely on a lower level, and to a large extent in an indigent condition. A recent Government investigation into the condi- tion of about 21,000 Europeans and Eurasians in Caleutta shewed that 8 per cent. of the former and 22 per cent. of the latter were paupers, “actually traced out as in receipt of charitable relief of one kind or another.’ These percentages are about one half greater in the case of the former, and three times greater in that _ of the latter, than what have been recorded in the poorest county in England in mid-winter. This European and Eurasian community is classified as follows by Archdeacon Baly (Calcutta), in a very valuable letter (with elaborate appendix) addressed to the Metropolitan on the 28th April, 1882, and among the papers in the Parliamentary Return, No. 71 :— A, British soldiers of all grades, both regimental and on staff employ. B. European Civil Servants of Government, Covenanted and Un- covenanted. C. Europeans and Eurasians, born and settled in the country, employed in a subordinate capacity by Government, as clerks, &c., or being the children or descendants of those who are or have ‘been 80 employed. D. European employés on the State and Guarantged Railways. #. Europeans and Eurasians, unconnected with Government service, and fairly well-to-do, as merchants, tradesmen, planters, &c. Ff, The very poor European and Eurasian population, found prin- cipally in the larger cities and stations, and in great part. the children and descendants of European workmen, soldiers, and clerks. They are unemployed, living a precarious hand-to-mouth kind of life, and generally helpless and thriftless. As to such of these persons as belong to the Church of Eng- land, the Archdeacon points out that almost all congregations are composed of more than one class, and may be distinguished as under :— I,—Congregations principally, in some cases almost entirely, military. The latter are found only in great stations having a separate military 14 church and chaplain, such as Allahabad, Lucknow, and Meean Meer. The civil element in military congregations is comparatively very small, and drawn generally from classes B and C, with a small admixture of £. TI.—Congregations principally civilian, and composed generally of classes B, C, #, and /. With a few exceptions, the great majority in civil congregations are directly or indirectly connected with the Government service, and there is in all of them a small military element, chiefly of officers on the Staff; but in some the proportion of such military is considerable. TII.—Railway congregations composed almost entirely, or chiefly, of class D. IV.—Mixed eongregations, in which the proportions of civil and military are nearly equal. The Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, and Wesleyan congrega- tions are found only at the centres of Government, or other stations where the number of European Government servants is sufficient to enable salaries or allowances to be obtained from Government according to a prescribed scale. Regarding the relative numbers of these congregations no accurate statistics are available. The returns laid before Parlia- ment in 1880 were useless, as they excluded, under a strict inter- pretation of the order, not only the families of the higher civil and military servants, but the whole body of inferior Government clerks, pensioners, and servants of municipalities, as well as the entire non-official population, although the clergy are officially required to provide ministrations for all such within their limits. The totals were further reduced by the absence of a large portion of the army in Afghanistan. But in 1873 it was approximately ascertained that the average number of Europeans under a chaplain’s charge was above 700, and under the other clergy from 200 to 300. For these congregations the State employs, as Archdeacon Baly remarks— “in the proportion which it considers reasonable, the clergy of the three great denominations of English Christianity, viz., of the Anglican, Roman, and Presbyterian Churches, because by far the greater num- ber of Christians belong to one or other of them. It does not, as a rule, employ the clergy of other Protestant denominations, Wesleyans, Baptists, or Congregationalists, partly because they number too few members in any one place to demand a special clergyman, partly- because they differ so slightly from one or other of the two Protestant Churches whose clergy are employed, that the cases are very few ‘ 15 indeed in which there is a conscientious difficulty of communion with either the Anglican or the Presbyterian Church.” The numbers of the clergy so employed in the year 1891 are believed to have been as shown below. The Church of England Denomination, Chaplains, Aided Clergy. Total. Anglican . : ; : - 156 orks 59 ai 215 Roman Catholic . : : , 72 ae 4 eo 76 Presbyterian. : : : 13 Be as 9 Was 22 Wesleyan, &c. . ‘ : : ° abr 28 ida 28 Total 241 100 341 and Presbyterian chaplains form a regular service, with rights to furlough and pension, and the numbers quoted comprise a percentage for absentees. The aided Church of England clergy either are partially supported by general subscriptions or belong to missionary stations where services for Europeans can be held in addition to the ordinary work. The Roman Catholic clerey are on a different footing. They are not Government servants, and are subordinate to their own ecclesiastical superiors only, but in stations where there are European regiments, or not less than 100 European Roman Catholics in the service of Govern- _ ment, they receive salaries of from Rx20 to Rx30 per mensem, according to length of service, and allowances for petty establish- ments, as also travelling allowances for visiting out-stations where there are not less than 20 European Roman Catholic Government servants. Finally, Presbyterian and Wesleyan ministers obtain capitation grants, and travelling allowances if necessary, where there are British troops requiring their services. The statistics as to the number of congregations thus served are not very complete or clear, but they would seem to be approximately 617, as indicated below, exclusive of a few out- stations of the Church of Rome and Presbyterians which cannot Denomination. Stations. Out-stations, Total, Anglican . i : ‘ ; 182 aa ee cela ae 475 Roman Catholic : : ; 76 nies ° any 76 Presbyterian. : ; : 22 a ° cals 22 Wesleyan, &. . ; : é 28 ee 16 ater. 44 Total 308 309 617 be traced. The out-station system is explained in the following extract from a letter from the Metropolitan dated 25th January, 1881 :— “The chaplains are stationed at the more important stations, and 16 they receive from me visiting orders, of which the following is’ & specimen :—‘ The Chaplain of Dacca will visit Comilla four times a year, Mymensingh three times a year, F urreedpore twice a year, and Sylhet four times a year’: and in some instances the orders are to visit such and such a station once in six months, or even, in the case of very out-of-the-way stations, once in twelve months. It should be borne in mind that these visits to out-stations involve often a most serious amount of travelling, the distances being some hundreds of miles, and the travelling being by all sorts of modes of conveyances.” His Lordship also points out that in most cases the clergy have other special duties, such as the charge of jails and hospitals ; and that as regards clergy ministering to congregations under Class IJ, the wealthy coming under their charge are far out- numbered by those of small means or quite poor, and much the larger portion of their pastoral work lies among the latter, in relieving their poverty and giving them instruction, guidance, and encouragement. Besides the stations and out-stations specified, there are many containing numerous Europeans and Kurasians, official as well as non-official, which are served by Anglican and Roman clergy supported by local subscriptions and Societies, and many more which receive no religious ministrations at all. In some cases the neglect is very marked, in others the stations are of small size. But it is obvious that even the 617 which are nominally provided for can be but imperfectly served by their small band of 341 clergy, much of whose time is taken up by long journeys or independent work. For 168,000 Europeans and 80,000 Eurasians only 341 ! Episcopal supervision is provided, in the case of the Church of Rome, for the priests ministering to state employés, as one of the incidental duties of the great Hierarchy which she has con- stituted, as we have seen, for the regulation of her native Indian Church. For the Anglican Church, the position is reversed. Having risen in natural connection with British rule from its very foundations, the links between them have gradually become a chain, binding her heads to the interests and service of the State, and restraining them from furthering her true vocation as mother of all the children actually or potentially in her com- munion. ‘The three Bishoprics constituted by ancient Acts of Parliament have long since become unsuited, by delimitation and excessive extent, to the requirements of the day, but legal difficulties and financial needs stand in the way of that free adjustment and multiplication of Dioceses which is now urgently demanded, while the political position of State functionaries 17 prevents the unification of interests and action between those who should be one body in fact as well as in name. As to churches, those of the Church of England appear from the “ Indian Gharch Directory” to be 386, Resides many tem- porary buildings, rooms, &c., used for Divine service. Excluding all such of these as are the propetty of missionary societies, the remainder (about 265) are deemed to belong to the State, and are maintained by it, though in many instances largely constructed by private subscription. Statisties for all India are not forthcoming, but it appears from reports on the Church Building Fund and other sour¢es that in the dioceses of Cal- cutta (including Lucknow and Chota Nagpore) and Rangoon there are 195 Anglican churches, which cost Rx350,000, and that Rx1g0,000 out of this sum was raised by voluntary contri butions. Out of the balance of Rx160,000 borne by Government, Rx60,000 was for strictly military churches. Of Roman Catholic churches the large number has already been mentioned, but the Government is not known to have contributed to more than a very few of those which are now used by its servants in the great stations. ‘There are twelve Presbyterian churches belonging to Government. | | The cost of these ecclesiastical establishments, on an average of six past years’ accounts, and as estimated for the present time, is given on the next page. It may be remarked that the propor- tions of the Anglican and Roman outlay vary according to the ~ preponderance of soldiers belonging to one church or the other who may happen to be in India from year to year, and also that absences, vacancies, &c. usually cause savings of actual outlay compared with the authorised standard. The expenditure, being all in India, is shewn in tens of rupees or “ conventional sterling.’ ” But there is in addition a charge for pensions in England which {with minor items) amounted in 1887-88 to £45, 078 for 146 Anglican and Presbyterian clergy. This is equivalent, at our exchange of 15¢., to Rx72,000. The whole charge may thus be stated in round numbers at Rx300,000, or at £187,500 by conversion into sterling at the above rate. This sketch of the existing system would be incomplete without drawing attention to the large amount of voluntary subscriptions for religious and charitable work, other than missions to the heathen, which supplement the ecclesiastical grants of the State. The outlay through the Church of England is stated by Archdeacon Baly to have been in 1880 about Rx5,759 per annum in known items raised in India, including Rxg67 interest from invested funds; but in addition to this B 18 he teminds us that contributions in India and England now provide altogether, or in greater part, for above 50 clergymen, Present ion Denomination, Wahtenaté, 1876 mare a Rx. Rx. Rx. Anglican Diocesan Officers 13,080 Chaplains 115,340 few ie ” Aided Clergy 9,130 ( 743748° 20573 » Petty Establishments . | 5,880 Roman Catholic Chaplains 19,460 » Aided Clergy 2,940 > 24,330 33,753 », LHstablishments 1,930 Presbyterian Chaplains 11,030 , Establishments ; 600 Presbyterian and Wesleyan Tai800 eos Aided Clergy . . 2,230 Unapportioned items : Houserent, conveyance, travel- ling and contingent allow- . ances . . : : : — 27,870 12,517 Cemetery maintenance charges . “SS 4,020 3,940 Less: probable savings . — 13,770 Totals 199,740 187.988 Church and cemetery construc- tion and repair 30,000 28,333 Grand Totals Rx. 229,740 216,321 ministering to European and Eurasian congregations for which no chaplain is provided by Government, for many thousand boys and girls of European descent educated in schools and orphanages, for most of the relief of the European and Eurasian poor, as well as for the minor current expenses of the churches. The Roman Catholic Church and the Presbyterian and other Protestant bodies are in no way behindhand in well-doing of this sort, and their contributions, though they cannot be specified, are known to be very large. | The resources for the maintenance of Christian worship in India are thus shown to be of three kinds—(1) endowments to Roman Catholics by the old Portuguese Government, which boldly recognised its duties in this respect; (2) annual cash grants by the British Government, of which Europeans and Kurasians derive practically the entire benefit ; and (3) voluntary subscriptions raised by Christians in India and England. Taken as a whole, the State aid certainly does not cover half the total 19 expenditure incurred on behalf of the European and Eurasian community, nor is that total at all adequate to their neces- sities. Existina State AID COMPARED WITH OBLIGATIONS. Insufficient as the funds available for maintaining the Chris- tianity of our countrymen in India has thus been shewn to be, there have not been wanting: those, already alluded to, who have objected to such aid as the State affords, and have advocated its withdrawal. In consequence of inquiries on the subject, the Government of India in 1879-81 furnished to the Secretary of State for India full information as to the nature of the religious ministrations paid for by the State, with the opinion of the Anglican ecclesiastical authorities that no chaplains were ap- pointed where they were not really required. But the Secretary ’ of State replied that the question was, whether the number of chaplains went “ beyond the obligations of Government, reasonably understood”? This question must now be considered, at some unavoidable length (see the Return No 71). The obligations of the State may be described as of three kinds—documentary, moral and religious, and political. Under- lying them all is the obvious qualification that they can only be held operative within reasonable limits, so that, for instance, while, on the one hand, the nature of the duties which both civil and military officers have to perform so scatters them over India that ministrations are justly due to smaller bodies of them than would be a clergyman’s full charge in England, no claim ean, on the other, be set up on behalf of isolated knots of half a dozen or so. The first document on record. to which attention was invited Documentary by the Secretary of State, is the charter granted by Obligations. William III to the East India Company in 1698. This requires them to provide a minister approved by the Arch- bishop of Canterbury or Bishop of London, and a proper place, set apart for divine service only, in “every garrison” and “superior factory,” and in every ship of 500 tons burden or upwards, maintained by them within their limits. It is obvious that any formal document of this kind may become obsolete through changes of circumstances and views. But lapse of time . does not appear to have yet wrought very material effects in this instance; for we find that its essential requirements of Christian clergy, under due ecclesiastical control, for civil (fac- tories) as well as military servants, subject to the reasonable B 2 20 limit of the factory (or ship) being of a certain size, have been acted on, and are applicable, up to the present day. In 1813 the growth of the Company’s dominions led to the making of more adequate provision for “a Church establishment ”’ by appointing a Bishop and three Archdeacons (53 Geo. III, cap. 155, sections 49-53). The broadness of the phrase quoted * is noticeable in connection with the next step which occurred, namely, the appointment of Presbyterian Chaplains in 1822, and with the still more important advance, on a liberal basis, which was made in 1833. I have not yet been able to trace back to its origin the grant of stipends to Roman Catholic clergy for ministrations to the troops; but I find that such existed in 1828. | In 1833 (3 & 4 William IV, cap. 85, sections 89-102), on the occasion of the renewal of the Company’s Charter, the Episcopate was enlarged by Bishopries for Madras and Bombay, the Bishop of Caleutta being constituted Metropolitan, but two further measures of the highest importance were also enacted— first, provision was made for Chaplains of the Church of Seot- land who were to be subject, on the analogy of the Charter of 1698, to the “spiritual and ecclesiastical jurisdiction in all things of the presbytery of Edinburgh”; and secondly, the power was given to the Governor-General in Council of— 66 granting from time to time, with the sanction of the Court of Directors and of the Commissioners for the Affairs of India, to any sect, persuasion, or community of Christians not being of the United Church of England and Ireland, or of the Church of Scotland, such sums of money as may be expedient for the purpose of instruction or for the maintenance of places of worship.” The history of this clause is remarkable. It was conceded by the Government in lieu of a clause proposed by Mr. Shiel, who protested against the provision, which the Bill then con- tained, in favour of the Churches of England and Scotland only. It was preceded by debates, originating with Mr. O’Connell, who urged that in India “they could not have a dominant Church,” and that “all Christians should be put upon an equal footing.” In these debates the whole question of State aid to religion was gone into. The allegation that it was unjust to support Christianity out of revenues derived from Hindus-and Mahometans was refuted by Mr. (afterwards Lord) Macaulay and others; the necessity of religious ministrations for Chris-. ' This broadness was made a ground of argument in 1833 by Mr. Shiel (Hansard, 3rd Series, vol. xx, p. 44). 21 tians. was vindicated; and Lord Morpeth, on behalf of the Dissenters, disclaimed all objection to the provision for the Churches of England and Seotland. Moreover, Mr. Charles Grant, the President of the India Board, made on behalf of the Government the following declarations :— “This-country had no right to send its subjects abroad without giving them the religious advantages they enjoyed at home; and it was bound to place within the reach of its Indian subjects the means of attaining the blessings of Christianity. Niohy mipees eR OCL not like the idea of connecting domination with tay Church. It was with the intention of providing religious instruction for the officers who were sent to govern India that he had proposed the resolu- tion. : : The Government would neither establish nor promote in India anything which was unfair or intolerant to any religion, meaning certainly only to do honour to the English name, and to the principles of Christianity. : ; t He knew that there was a very large Roman Catholic community in India, who deserved the peculiar regard and consideration of the Govern- ment; and although they were not prepared to state in what mode or to what extent and under what form their claims would best be satisfied, the Government undertook to apply themselves fairly and sincerely to the task.’—(Hansard, 3rd Series, vol. xix, pages 800, 1020, and 1032; and vol. xx, pages 14, 29, and 44.) It should here be noted that in the Statute no limitation to Government servants occurs, nor is there in the declarations more than the allusion to them just quoted, whieh eannot avail against the broad terms in which they and the debate generally are couched, and the references to a “ community.” Thus was constituted for India in 1833 a Christian Chureh system in the broadest and most comprehensive sense of the term, a system comprising the whole body of Christians— Anglican, Roman, and Nonconformist——equally eligible for State aid, yet not on any more favoured footing than the other reli- gions recognised and State-aided in India. The policy of the equality of all creeds before the State, which had already been acted upon by the Company’s Government with equal emphasis and success in the ease of the faiths of the but lately conquered Mahometan and Hindu, was applied to the several phases of the Christianity of their rulers. ‘This policy has never yet, that I am aware of, been authoritatively changed. Whatever dis- . cussion has since arisen has turned upon comparatively sub- ordinate points, relating to the form which the guaranteed aid to. the several denominations should .assume, and the extent to 22 which, in. view of financial or other considerations, it should proceed. a The next authoritative utterance on the subject which I have come across is contained in a Despatch from the Court of Directors in 1840 (No. 1, dated 17th March), in which a lakh and a half of rupees are granted for a new Cathedral at Calcutta, on the ground that— “the present church accommodation at Calcutta is clearly insufficient, and it has been admitted by us to be the duty of Government adequately to provide for its civil and military functionaries the means and services of our religion. Consistently with this principle, and ; we authorise the expenditure,” &c. Somewhat later, in 1844, the increase of the Christian popu- lation of various classes throughout Bengal and the North- Western Provinces led to the support by the Government of India of a proposal by the Metropolitan for increasing the number of the clergy by appointing Eurasians and Natives to be Uncovenanted Sub-Assistant Chaplains. That the Govern- ment at that time contemplated ministrations to the non-official community is attested by the following remarks on the proposal in a Minute by the Hon. W. W. Bird :— “Tt has long been my opinion that the services of such a class of persons are urgently required for the lower orders of Christians belonging to the Established Church with whom this part of India now abounds. . : ; The fact is, that the lower orders of Christians above referred to, both European and Native, are grievously neglected. .- 1 : ; The Ecclesiastical, like all other De- partments, must go on increasing with the increase of civilisa- tion. ; é : It will enable us to provide, which no in- crease of chaplains educated at home will ever do, for the religious wants of an increasing Christian population, half English, half Native, to which our position in this country unavoidably gives rise, and which, unless those wants are provided for, will, like the Portuguese, rapidly degenerate and become an everlasting disgrace to the British Government.” And that ministrations even to Native Christians were not in those days considered beyond the scope of the Government policy, appears both from the above remarks and from the following passage in a Minute by the Hon. F. Millett :-— “Nor am I aware of any place, excepting perhaps Calcutta, where there is a congregation of Native Christians sufficiently numerous to warrant the entertainment of an ecclesiastical establishment at the expense of Government. é : . Where circumstances are 23 favourable, I should equally advocate the employment of Natives in the manner proposed.” The Court of Directors, in their reply (No. 2 of 11th March, 1846), objected to “introducing a lower grade of persons into the sacred office,’ but made the following remarks :— “ We admit it to be our duty to provide the means of spiritual in- struction according to the principles of our National Church for the Christian servants of the State and their families. In view to the accomplishment of that important object, the number of chaplains has of late years been largely increased, and we should be prepared to consider any proposition which you might, after due inquiry, bring before us for a further augmentation founded on a clearly ascertained exigency of the public service.” In 1851-52 a discussion arose as to the selection of stations for Government chaplains, in the course of which Mr. (afterwards Sir) John Peter Grant, then Secretary to the Bengal Govern- ment, wrote as follows :— “T have always understood that the old principle, which I have never heard has been authoritatively abandoned, in the distribution of the Company’s chaplains, was, first, to provide fully for the European troops ; secondly, to provide adequately for the Presidency town, where large numbers of Protestant servants of Government of all classes are congregated, and where this benefit has been allowed to all the Protestant residents from very early times; and thirdly, to dis- tribute all that remains of the strength of the establishment, so as best to provide for the easily combined objects of supplying chaplains to the principal stations for civil officers and Native troops officered by Europeans, and of leaving no very layge tract of country, in which European public servants and private persons are scattered, wholly without the benefit of a resident clergyman. This principle is in- telligible and definite,” &c. The Government of India, while declining to lay down any positive rule as to what places should have a chaplain, stated that the principle laid down in Mr. Grant's note appeared sound and proper. The Metropolitan similarly accepted the principle, but complained that there never had been chaplains enough to carry it into effect. Upon this, a further discussion took place, in which much the same views were expressed, Lord Dalhousie endorsing Mr. Grant’s principle as ‘sound and proper.” The Court of Directors, to whom these proceedings were reported, approved, in their reply (No. 4, dated 2nd August, 1853), of the © decision to lay down no rule, and took no exception to the prin- ciple thus recognised. 24 “In the proceedings summarised in the preceding paragraphs two opposite tendenciés will be observed.. The Government of India, in harmony with the practice commencing from the times when non-officials were admitted to India, and with the absence of any restriction to officials in the Statute and De- clarations of 1833, persistently counted non-officials among those to whom ministrations of clergy were to be extended. At the same time, they made their public servants of all grades the basis of their distribution of chaplains, and did not admit any liability for “ miscellaneous congregations of Christians wherever they may grow up in this vast territory.” The Court of Directors, on the other hand, unwilling, as it would seem, to give formal recognition of the existence of non-officials, would allude only to the needs of officials, civil as well as military, and their families, while the increased grants they gave were in reality based to a considerable extent upon the needs of both. I may here remark, parenthetically, that it does not seem that any limitation of support to the Church of England can be in- ferred from the use of the term “ our National Church” in the Despatch of 1846, in face of the Statute and Declarations of 1833, coupled with the fact that Presbyterians were in receipt of State support as early as 1822, and Roman Catholics at some date prior to 1828. Moreover, the phrase itself appears to have been merely echoed from the despatch of the Government of India, No. 10 of 17th August, 1844, into which it entered through having been used by the Metropolitan in describing his own pro- posals. Some further steps may now be noticed, occurring after the transfer of India to the Crewn. In 1859 another permanent addition to the chaplains was sanctioned by Sir Charles Wood (despatch No. 23 of 4th November, 1859), after a discussion in which the subscriptions of the Caleutta general community to the Additional Clergy Society and charitable objects were ad- mitted as’a ground for not pressing them to pay for certain of the chaplains in that city. In 1863 the system of grants-in-aid to the Additional Clergy Society for services of their clergy at stations where Government chaplains were required but not available, which had been introduced in 1855, was largely de- veloped. In 1869 the system was extended fo the Church of Scotland with reference to Presbyterian soldiers, and in some other cases. I may here remark that throughout the period under review the Churches both of Scotland and of Rome from time to time pressed their claims for increased support under the declarations of 1833, and made them good to some extent in the P) 25 face of considerable opposition, chiefly on financial grounds. The last material increase I know of was obtained by the Roman Catholics in 1876. I must now notice a tendency adverse to the principle of State support of the Christian religion which has displayed itself during the last few years, though it has not yet led to much practical result. In 1870 the desire to improve the finances by economy in all departments raised a discussion, which continued till 1874, on the first principles on which ecclesiastical establish- ments in India should be regulated. Sir Richard Temple con- tended that the existing s system of State aid should “not only be continued but if possible extended,” and that the ecclesiastical expenditure was “reasonable, and even susceptible of moderate increase, provided only that the money be spent to the best possible advantage’.” Some of his colleagues advocated various degrees of withdrawal from existing obligations. This important discussion was dropped without any practical conclusion, and it does not seem to have been even before the Members of the Government in 1876, when, in the course of a despatch recom- mending the increased allowances to Roman Catholic chaplains above alluded to, the following passage was inserted :— “There is no ecclesiastical establishment in the sense of a State Church in India. The Government of India recognise the duty, within reasonable limits, of providing the ministrations of religion for British- born European servants of the Crown, and especially for soldiers and their families.” This passage involves the repudiation of all claim to con- sideration on the part not only of the non-official community but of all servants of Government not British-born, and of the families of all British-born servants except soldiers. The despatch has, consequently, been deemed to be the distinct enunciation of a new policy on the subject of State aid to the Christian Church in India. But I cannot admit its title to any such position,—as it appears to have been issued without any discussion of the vast change involved, as it does not seem to have ever been confirmed by Her Majesty’s Government, as it has been followed by no definite action, and as it appears to me to be at variance with both the Statute and declarations of 1833, and the principles upon which the ecelesiastical establishment has been regulated up to the present day. 1 The soundness of this opinion has since been illustrated by the rapid exten- sion of State Railways, which has taxed to the utmost the resources of te Additional Clergy Societies. yea : 26 To sum up this branch of my subject, I consider the docu- mentary obligations of Government to be shewn to extend, within the reasonable limits already indicated—(1) to adequate provision for all Christian civil and military servants of the State, of whatever grade and race, and their families and de- pendents ; and (2) to a certain limited aid to the Kuropean and Eurasian non-official community, wherever it is located within the same general range as the servants of the State. The case of native non-official Roman Catholics is partly met by their old State endowments (page 10), and partly by the fusion of State and voluntary aid already alluded to at page 18. The moral obligation may be first considered. ‘Those who Moral ang Would cut down our obligations to the utmost Religious admit that we are bound to provide religious Obligations. ministrations for those of our public servants who come out from England, though not for such as are engaged in India, and still less for the descendants of the latter. For this distinction I fail to see any reasonable ground. Such ground cannot lie in mere contract, for nothing would be ‘easier than to notify to every person entering the civil and military services in future that the State would make no re- ligious provision for him, and the supply would, I fear, remain unaffected thereby; nor can it lie in the relative inability of those who come out from home to pay for their own religious ministrations, since the superior civil and military servants from home are unquestionably better off, as a class, than the superior servants engaged in India, while the lowest, the soldiers, are just as able (or unable) to pay as are the half-starving classes from whom our inferior Indian-born clerks, &c. are drawn. If, however, the admission that public servants coming out from home ought to have religious ministrations at the public expense is based merely on the belief that such ministrations are for their moral or spiritual good, then the argument applies just as much to those who do not come out from home as to those who do. Possibly it may be said that we have no moral right to tempt men to come from home without providing what their conscience and training leads them to believe to be for their eternal good. If so, then where is the application to stop, for the children and descendants of those whom we have so tempted out have as good a claim on us as their fathers, if not better, for it is owing to our original action that they find themselves helplessly stranded in a foreign and heathen land. In fact, the whole European and Eurasian class, excepting such small, though growing, portions of it as have come out for commercial pur- 27 poses, owes its existence to our original action as employers of labour. The moral obligation of, such employers to provide religious ministrations is amply and nobly recognised in Eng- land, and the line is not there rigidly drawn, as some would draw it in India, at the employed personally, excluding their dependents, and even their wives and children. It may be said that the line there is drawn at those who are unable to provide ministrations for themselves. Granting this, it is only the measure, not the ground of the admission of the obligation ; and on applying it in India, it will embrace the whole large body to whom I plead that our obligations extend. To sum up the argument under this head, I contend that the Government is under a moral obligation to provide religious ministrations for the European and Eurasian Christian com- munity, who have been, with comparatively small exceptions, placed in India by its direct or indirect action ; that there is no basis in logic or reason for distinction between those who have come direct from home and those who have not, and that there is to this obligation in India, as in all other countries where State aid to religion is recognised, the reasonable limit that those who are well to do, whether directly in the service of Government or not, shall relieve the general taxpayer by volun- tary contributions. The obligation in respect of Christians generally rests not on moral, but on more general civil grounds, which will be touched upon presently. I now turn from the moral to the religious obligation. Here no lengthy argument is needed. Upon those who do not recognise that neither individuals nor nations can get on in the world without a god, and that god, the Christian God, my words must produce no effect; for those who do, demonstration would be superfluous. I will therefore take my stand simply upon fact and precedent. The fact I assume is, that England is still a Christian country, and that the British power in India is still a Christian power, possessing obligations as such to the Christians beneath its rule. Mr. Gladstone has long ago taught us that the State should recognise, and support some religious expression of the com- munity; that those who hold supreme power in a State are bound to support the religion which they believe to be true; and that it is the right and duty of Christian rulers to use their power, influence, and means to maintain the Christian religion. | The mode in which, and the extent to which, it may be suitable to support and maintain it, under distinct or varying conditions, is of course a matter of detail. 28 The precedent which I quote is that of those who have pre- ceded us as rulers of India throughout the long chain of cen- turies, extending back beyond. the Christian era. No preceding Government possessing a distinctive faith has failed to mark its accession to power by providing for that faith from the resources of the State. Persecution of rival creeds may have been at times the accompaniment of such provision. But when we look around upon the vast extent and variety of non-Christian en- dowments, of every age from the most ancient to the most modern times, we see a striking monument of the bold expres- sion by successive dynasties of their own convictions, coupled with their enlightened toleration of the convictions of others. Can a Christian Government repudiate its own similar obliga- tions? shall it dare to do nothing for the religion of the Cross ? The obligations of the Government in their political aspect Polttical way next be considered—that is, the duty of the Obligations. civil ruler to govern wisely, or with prudence and equity, as applied to this matter. It has been said by Gibbon, in a well-known passage, that at the time when Christianity presented itself to the Roman Empire for serious consideration,— ‘the various modes of worship which prevailed in the Roman world were all considered by the people as equally true; by the philosopher as equally false; and by the Magistrate as equally useful.” —(Decline and Fall, Chapter II.) The Indian statesman, while holding with the Roman philosopher as to the falsity of the religions of an overwhelming majority of those over whom he is called to rule, can hardly refuse to concur with the Roman statesman m what has been happily termed “the sound view that every religion, so far as it does not circulate doctrines inconsistent with morality or dangerous to the State, tends to make better men, and therefore better citizens.” I shall not waste time in enlarging upon the fact, which does not seem to be denied, though it is often ignored, that the poor Kuropean and Eurasian population in India are in very special need of the “moral police” which religion supplies, Living often from hand to mouth, surrounded by every temptation to intemperance and vice, scattered so as to be relieved from the pressure of the public opinion of their fellows, they are too often on the verge of falling into debauchery, violence, and crime, and of becoming a source of danger to the native population and a public scandal to the British name. The extent of their pauperisa- tion in Calcutta has already been mentioned. Our strict Indian 29 laws for dealing with European vagrants are founded tipon this fact, but they aim at summary cure rather than prevention, which can only grow out of gentler and higher influences. It is no reply to pleas for this moral police for the special benefit of the Euro- pean and Eurasian poor to remind us that the State has equal obligations in respect of its non-Christian subjects. We may readily admit the theoretical liability, and offer the twofold reply, that it is partly met by our subsidies to their religions (infra, p- 35) and partly minimised by the fact of the decency, domestic order, and thrift of Oriental populations. As to the good in- fluences of religion upon the more well-to-do, and even the higher classes, their proof is involved in the maxim of the Roman statesman, and recorded in the history of the civilisation of Europe. More serious notice must, however, be accorded to the conten- tion that all these good influences might be as well, if not better, secured by religious institutions unsupported by the State. It may be readily conceded both that, as long as funds are sufficient, the source from which they are derived is immaterial, and that State control is no advantage, but the reverse, to religious insti- tutions. But the real question is one of faet, whether the with- drawal of State aid (leaving out of view its injustice) would lead in India to the filling of the pecuniary void from other sourees. I venture to think that few who are intimately aequainted with the circumstances of Europeans in India would answer this in the affirmative. The great body of Europeans in India are extremely poor; the class above them are in by no means affluent cireumstances, straitened by the falling exchange, and harassed by the ealls which the education of their children in England or the failing of health thrusts upon them; while those who can really afford to give largely for the most part already do so, but are very few in number. I entirely agree with the following statement by Archdeacon Baly :— ) “Owing to the frequent transfers in the course of service, the necessity of living in small and scattered communities, or to poverty, the condition of by far the greater portion of the European population is such that it is unable to procure for itself either a medical or clerical staff adequate to its bodily and spiritual needs. } * ‘ “Tf the religious grant were entirely withdrawn, the Christian com- munities, both civil and military, in nearly all the mofussil stations would be at once deprived of Christian ordinances. No doubt the Additional Clergy Society and other voluntary agencies would endeavour to supply the. want; but at best it could only be done by slow degrees and to a partial extent, and the money applied to this 30 purpose would be diverted from other necessary objects—education, the relief of Christian poverty, &c. The only places, as a rule, where the European congregations are permanent, large and wealthy enough to provide for their own religious needs from their own resources would be the seats of the Provincial Governments, and some of the hill stations. But these are precisely the congregations which con- tribute now most largely to the religious, charitable, and educational institutions of the country, and carry on work both in their own stations and elsewhere, which otherwise must be left undone or be paid for by the State. It must be considered also that such congrega- tions are very far from being composed entirely of wealthy persons, official or unofficial.” Supposing State aid to be confined exclusively to the troops and State Railway servants, the result would be little different. All the smaller stations would still suffer, and the partial relief to a few of the larger or middle-sized would not make good the loss. It has been suggested that resources in England might be drawn upon. But we have seen that England is largely drawn upon already, and as the proselytising spirit accounts for most of this, it may be doubted whether a call to send money away from where it is more legitimately applicable in order to support a local church for Europeans in India.would meet with much sympath or response. Upon the whole, therefore, I cannot doubt that the result of withdrawing any of the existing State aid would be disastrous in the extreme. Independently of the actual ultimate results of any policy proposed to him, however, the statesman cannot ignore its prob- able effect upon the minds of the people. Sentiment, it need scarcely be said, is an important element in human affairs. There can be little doubt that the withdrawal of State aid from religion would arouse a general and very bitter feeling of resentment among Europeans in India, to which the Press would ‘give effective expression, exposing without reserve the influences to which they might fancy the measure attributable. This feel- ing would certainly command much sympathy in England, not merely from the religious world, but from large sections of both political parties, who are friends of religious equality, or concur- rent endowment, or the maintenance of the British reputation in the East. On this subject Sir John Strachey has observed :— “Jn all our proceedings it must be remembered that we are dealing with subjects which closely touch the religious feelings of a very large number of our countrymen. Although the present proposals will be in complete accordance with the views of that important section of the Christian community which objects to any interference of the State in 31 such matters, there can be little doubt that the opinions of a still larger number will be different, and that the withdrawal of the aid of Government will be looked upon as a serious discouragement to the cause of religion. Whether the latter views be right or wrong, they ought to be treated with tenderness and respect.” Upon the native mind, on the other hand, the effect will be that of wonder, contempt, and suspicion. I have not served for five and thirty years in intimate association with Orientals, without being convinced that they have a very strong ap- preciation of religion in itself, evidenced by their habits, cere- monies and austerities, and that they invariably respect those who show similar feelings, while they wonder at and despise those Europeans who are conspicuous for their indifference in such matters, As to the absence of any real grievance in State aid to Christianity, and the hollowness of complaints which occasion- ally appear in native prints, there can be no doubt. The view I maintain was well expressed by members of the Straits Legis- lature, in a debate on the proposal to disendow the local Christian Church, from which I make the following extracts :— Mr. Currie— As a dissenter, and a member of an unendowed Church, I extremely regret the decision, the immediate effect of which will be, I think, to curtail the revenues of those Churches which are dependent for their support on voluntary contributions ; nor can it fail to check the outflow of that private charity which has always so generously responded to the frequent calls upon it. But, Sir, I also maintain that it is the duty of this Government to make provision for the religious instruction of those who are unable to provide it for them- selves. 5 ; But I go further. I hold it is the duty of a Christian Government i in the midst of an overwhelmingly large anti- Christian population to give visible expression to its faith. The connection between Church and State is familiar to all Eastern nations. : ; Surely then to them it must appear both right and fitting that we should dedicate a portion of our revenue to the support of that religion to which we owe so much.” Captain H, LH. McCallum, R.E.—“I only wish to point out that this Government has been founded, that this Government exists, amongst nations which are imbued with strong religious beliefs; that . they have been accustomed to regard the profession of our faith, the support of our ministers, and the maintenance of our Church build- ings, as part and parcel of our rule, and they have seen that faith up- held and reverenced as that cherished in our mother-country. What then will be the feelings of these people, many of them almost fanatics _ in religious matters, when they learn that the Government un- invitedly abandons her Church ? , ; : What guarantee have they that a Government who would thus ruthlessly undermine the 32 foundations of its own religous fabric will not, sooner or later, interfere with those rites which are as dear and sacred to them as is our Church to us'?” But, besides wonder and contempt, those who would deprive Christianity in India of State aid have to reckon with suspicion. To the thinking portion of the Native community it must inevitably be apparent that the arguments which are used to justify the withdrawal apply with equal force to the confiscation of their own religious endowments. And they will know like- wise that change of circumstances and change of views have been held to warrant, in the eases of Ireland, of Ceylon, of English burial-grounds, the abrogation of treaty guarantees, legislative enactments, and even private trusts. How can they doubt that a Government which has just destroyed its own religious in- stitutions will, sooner or later, adopt a similar course with theirs? And such ideas among the educated may at any time take among the ignorant the form of rumours of definite intention. If an absurd faney about a cartridge set India in a blaze, what may not an obviously reasonable and logical inference effect? The Court of Directors in 1832 stopped an innocent statistical enquiry regarding religious endowments for fear of its political con- sequences. And are we, in our maturer wisdom, to throw away the good moral effects of religion, to stir up stmfe within and create danger without for—what?