lASII. DJSCUSSION : “On the Contact of European and Native CiYilizations,” HELD AT THE MEETING OK iTluj ^riti.'ih giHSociatioit, IPSWICH, 189 S. WRITERS AND speakers: Prof. \V. M. Flinders Petrie, D.C.L., Lord St.vnmore, Prof. A. C. Haddon. M-.A., Dr. CusT, Dr. H. O. Forbes. Mr. E. F. Im-Thurn, Mr. Darnell Davis, Mr. H. Ling-Roth, Mr. Raynbird. PRICE SIXPENCE. DISCUSSION “On the Contact of European and Native Civilizations,” HKLD AT THE MEETING OF !jhe |Iriiifih ^.‘isoriatioii, IPSWICH, J893. WRITERS AND speakers: Prof. W. M. Flinders Petrie, D.C.L., Lord Stanmore, Prof. A. C. Haddon, M.A., Dr. Gust, Dr. H. O. Forbes, Mr. E. F. Im-Thurn, Mr. Darnell Davis, Mr. H. Ling-Roth, Mr. Ravnbird. PRICE SIXPENCE. f > y V V '• •* i‘ t* t I ..‘-i •I ■■•i-ir, * ox THE CONTACT OF EUROPEAN AND NATIV^E CIVILIZATIONS. The subject was opened in the following passages of the Presidential Address by Prof. \V. M. Flinders Petrie. Besides the theoretical and scientific side of anthro- pology there is also a very practical side to it which has not received any sufficient development as yet. Anthropology should in our nation be studied first and foremost as the art of dealing with other races. I cannot do better thau quote a remark from the address of our previous President, General Pitt Rivers, a remark which has been waiting twenty-three years for further notice. He said, “Nor is it unim- portant to remember that anthropology has its practical and humanitarian aspect ; and that as our race is more often brought into contact with savages thau any other, a knowledge of their habits and modes of thought may be of the utmost value to us in utilising their labour, as well as in checking those inhuman practices from which they have but too often suffered at our hands.” The foremost principle which should be always in view is that the civilisation of any race is not a system which can be changed at will. Every civilisation is the groiviug product of a very complex set of condi- tions, depending on race and character, on climate, on trade, and every minute of the circumstances. To attempt to alter such a system apart from its con- ditions is impossible. For instance, whenever a total change is made in government, it breaks down altogether, and a resort to the despotism of one man is the result. When the English Constitution was swept away, Cromwell or anarchy was the alternative : when the French Constitution was swept away, Napoleon was the only salvation from anarchy. And i if this is tlie case when tlie externals of government alone are altered, how much more is it the case if we attempt to uproot the whole of a civilisation an d social life ? We may despotically force a bald and senseless imitation of our ways on another people, but we shall only destroy their life without implanting any vitality in its place. No change is legitimate or beneficial to the real character of a people except what fiows from conviction and the natural growth of the mind. And if the imposition of a foreign system is injurious, how miserable is the forcing of a system such as ours, which is the most complex, un- natural, and artificial that has been known ; a system developed in a cold country, amid one of the hardest, least sympathetic, and most self-denying and calculating of all peoples of the world. Such a system, the product of such extreme conditions, we attempt to force on the least developed races, and expect from them an implicit subservience to our illogical law and our inconsistent morality. The result is death ; we make a dead-house and call it Civilisation. Scarcely a single race can bear the con- tact and the burden. And then we talk complacently about the mysterious decay of savages before white men. Yet some people believe that a handful of men who have been mutilated into conformity' with civilised ideals are better worth having than a race of sturdy independent beings. Let us hear what be- comes of the unhai)py products of our notions. On the Andaman Islands an orphanage, or training school, was started, and more than forty children were reclaimed from savagery, or torn from a heal i by and vigorous life. These were the results. “'Of all the girls two only h.ave continued in the Settlement, the other survivors having long since resumed the customs of their juiiglo homes. . . . Physically sp aking, training has a deteriorating effect, for of all the children who have jiassed through the orphanage, j)rob!ibly not more than ten are alive at the i)reseut time, while of those that have been married, two or three only have become p.irents, and of their children not one lias been reared.” Such is the result of our attempts on a race of low but perfict civilisation, whom we eradicate in trying to imjirove them. Lot us turn now to our attempts on a higher race, the degenerated and Arabised descendants of a great people, the Egyptians. Here there is much ability to work on, and also a good standard of comfort and morality, conformable to our notions. Yet the jdaut- ing of another civilisation is scarcely to be borne by them. The Euroiieanised Egyiitian is in most cases the more blotting jiapcr of civilisation, absorbing what is most superficial and undesirable. 'I'he overlaying 6 of a French or English layer on a native niiiul pro- duces only a hybrid intellect, from which no natural growth or fertility can be expected. Far the more promising intellects are those trained by intelligent native teachers, where as much as can be safe y assimilated has grown naturally as a development of the native mind. Yet some will say why not plant all we can V what can bo the hai-m of raising the intellect in some cases if we cannot do it in all ? The harm is that you mauu- faeture idiots. Some of the peasanti-y are taught to read ami write, and the result of this burden which their fathers bore not is that they become fools. I cannot s.a}’ this too plainly ; au Egyptian peasant who has had reading aud writing thrust on him is, in every case that I have met with, half-witted, silly, or incapable of taking care of himself. His intellect and his health have been undermined and crippled by the forcing of education. With the Copt this is quite different : his fathers have been scribes for thousands of ye.ars, and his capacity is far greater, so that he c;in receive much more without deterioration. Observation of these people leads to the view that the aver.age man cannot receive much more knowledge than his immediate ancestor's. Perhaps .a quarter or a tenth more of ideas can be safely j>ut into each generation without deterioration of mind or body ; but, at the best, growth of the mind can in the average man be but by fractional increments in each generation, and any large increa.se will surely be deleterious to the average mind, always remembering that there are exceptions both higher and lower. Such a result is onl}^ what is to be expected when we consider that the bmiu is the part of man which develops and changes as races reach a higher level, while the body remains practically constant through ages. To expect the brain to make sudden changes of ability would be as reasonable as to expect a cart- horse to breed racers, or a greyhound to tend sheep. Man mainly develops by internal differences in his brain structure, as other animals develop by external differences in bones aud muscles. What, then, it may be asked, cau be done to elevate other races? How cau we benefit them? Most certainly not by Europeanising them. By real educa- tion, leading out the mind to a natural and solid growth, much cau be done : but not by enforcing a mass of accomplishments and artificialities of life. The general impression in England is that reading, writing, aud arithmetic are the elements of education. They might be so to us, ‘in the foremost tiles of time,’ but they assuredly are not so to other races. The complex ideas ,if connecting forms aud sounds is far 6 too great a step for many brains; and when we suc- ceed, to our delight, in turning out finished readers. Nature comes in with the stern reply, ‘ Of their children not one has been reared.’ Our bigoted belief in reading and writing is not in the least justified when we look at the mass of mankind. The exquisite art and noble architecture of Mykenaa, the und 5 ’iug song of Homer, the extensive trade of the Bronze Age, all belonged to people who never read or wrote. At this day some of my best friends — in Egypt — are happily ignorant of such accomplishments, and as- suredly I never encourage them to any such useless waste of their brains. The great essentials of a valuable character— moderation, justice, sympath}', politeness and consideration, quick observation, shrewdness, ability to plan and pre-arrange, a keen sense of the uses and properties of things — all these are the qualities on which I value my Egyptian friends, and such qualities are what should be evolved b}' any education worth the name. No brain, however humble, will be the worse for such education which is hourly in use ; while in the practical life of a simple community the accomplishments of I'eading and writ- ing are not needed for perhaps a week or a mouth at a time. The keenest interest is taken by some races, and probably by all, in geograidiy, modes of government, and social systems; and in most countries elements of hj’giene and improvements in the dwellings and arts of hie may be taught with the best results. There is therefore a very wide field for the education of even the lowest races, without throwing any great strain on the mental powers And it must always be remembered that memory is far more perfect where a less burden of learning is thrown on the mind, and ideas and facts can be remembered and brought into use more readily by minds uustiained by artificial iustiuction. The greatest educational influence, however, is example. This is obvious when we see how rajudly the curses of our civilisation .spread among those unhapjiily subjected to it. The contact of Europeans with lower races is .almost always a detriment, and it is the severest reflection on ourselves that such should be the case. It is a subject which has given much room for thought in my own dealings with the Egyptian peasant to consider how this deleterious effect is produced, and how it is to be avoided. 1 'irstly, it is due to carele.ssuoss in leaving tomiitatious ojicn to natives, which may be no temiitations to ourselves. To be careless about sixpences is ns demoralising to them as a man who tossed sovereigns about the street would be to us. Examidos of carelessness in this point are among the woist of inlluences. Another in jury is the inducement to natives to imitiite the ways and 7 customs of Eiiropenus without reason. Every imita- tiou, as mere imitation, is a direct iiijurj’ to character ; it teaches a mau to trust to some one else instead of thinking for himself ; it induces a belief in externals constituting our superiority, while foresight and self- restraint are the real roots of it ; and it destroys all chance of any real and solid growth of character which can flourish independently. A native should always be discouraged from any imitation, unless he attempts it as an iutelligeut improvement on his own habits. Another sadly common evil is the abuse of power, which lowers that sense of self-respect, of honour, and of honesty which can be found in most races. If a mau or a government defrauds, it is but natural to the sufferer to try and recomi)euse himself by any means available; and thus an intenuinab’e system of reprisals is setup. Such is the chronic state of the East at present among the more civilised races. The Egj’ptiaus are notorious for their avarice, and are usually credited with being inveterate money -grabbers; yet no sooner do they find that this system of reprisals IS abandoned and strict justice maintained, than they at once respond to it ; and I may say that when con- fidence has once been gained it is almost as common to find a man dispute an accouut against his own interest as for himself, and scarcely ever is any attempt made at false statements or impositions. Such is the healthy response to straightforward dealing with them. It is therefore in encouraging a healthy growth of all that is worthy and good in the existing systems of lower civilisation, in repressing all mere imitations and senseless copying, and in proceeding on a rigorously just, yet genial, course of conduct, that the safe and true line lies for intercourse with inferior or different civilisations. The PRESIDEXT, in opening the discussion on tlie " Relation of Our Civilisation to tliat of Other Races,” said: — It may be as well to say a few \i ords for the .avoidance of misunderstandings. In what I liavi; already said in my opening address I expressly summed up this question of non-interfer- ence as resulting in the conclusion that we should encourage a healthy growth of all that is worthy and good in the existing systems to begin with. I know that the toleration of anything outside of theii- own shibboleths is hateful to some people ; but I make bold to agree with Paul of Tarsus that in every n:ition there are men who seek after righteousness — (hear, hear) — that elements of good exist in all races, and that our duty is to select and encourage desirable elements, but never to im- 8 pose any ideals which are peculiar to our own race, age, or civilisation. I know that it is often said that only by clearing away all that is associate! with error can we begin to lay out a plan according to our notions. In this, again, I prefer to dicer along with that gentleman of Tarsus, who preached the non-interference with any customs — even with idol offerings — provided they did not belie the real belief of the man in the sight of those around him. That same eminently practical authority did not see if needful, any more than that prince of common sense Epictetus, to prohibit slavery, polygamy, or er en gladiatorial shows. An appeal to the existing eonscie ice of mankind, a clear statement of practi- cal moral principles, and, leaving the application of thorn to the rational growth of the conscience, is thus laiil down for us as a precedent in the greatest leadjustmeot of the moral sense that the world has ever seen. Such a precedent is good, because it has jH'oved successful, and such may well be our guide in dealing with native customs, with rules of conduct, and with the details of dress and habits. I-et changes flow from reflection and con- viction, and then you have reformed a man. and not manufactured an automaton. The classes who come in contact with otlier races are five — the tra- veller, the religious teacher, the trader, the official and the settler. Everyone of these classes mav Jo great good or great harm ; in every class tliere are both judicious and injudicious men. We are not here Ito-day to consider the siiecial action of any one of those classes, but only to discuss the general principles on which their conduct and tolera- tion should rest ; and some of those classes command our respect for their motives, however we m.iy mt admire in all cases their judgment. With the de- tails of the work we have nothing to do. I could quote most iminted illustrations of folly from the deeds of every one of those classes, and therefore we should not consider them separately, but rather till! I'.irtiiods which are coinni.m to all of them. Whether it he the governor, or anyone below him, who imposes an absurd dress, or prohibits a harm- less custom, the action and not the actor is wh.at we are row about to consider. I tlierefore appeal to those who may now speak to strictly avoia ob- scuring the business by referring to any jiersonal questions, and to treat the various details of life on their own merits i-egardless of the prejudices which belong to us. (Hear, hear.) <1 The President said lie much re>;ietted that Lord Stanmore was unable to be present. He had, however, been good enougli to provide them with a paper. (Hear, hear.) The opinions of Loril Stanmore. who was more generally known as Sir Arthur Gordon, were entitled to the liighest con- sideration. (Hear, Hear.) The President then read Lord Stanmork’s paper, as follows : — The mode in which subject races have been dealt with b 3 ' alien rulers has varied in every age, and in almost every place ; but nearly all these varieties of treatment have been, in fact, governetl by one or other of three principles of action, which may be expressed as follows: — 1. That the interests of the ruling race are alone to bo considered, and the subject race either cleared out of the way, or made sennle in- struments of their rulers’ profit or pleasure. 2. That natives are entitled to justice and consideration, but that their interests must be set aside if they conflict with those of white men. 3. That the interests of whites and natives alike are to receive equal considera- tion, and are entitled to equal protection. The doctrine that a superior race may rightfully oppress, and utilise for its own benefit, the existence of a subject one, has been in former days very general, and is at the present day not only very far more widely spread than it ought to be, but far more so than is, perhaps, commonly suspected. Those who have watched most closely the contact of white men with savages or imperfectly civilised races, will be the first to recognise and admit that this is the oa-se. But it is not a principle of policy which any civilised Government of the present day would dare to avow, or on which, we may hope, it would ventime to act in spite of format disavowal. The acknowledgment (though perhaps but a grudging acknowledgment) that strict justice should be shown by the dominant race to the inferior, is, of course, to be welcomed, even when combined, as it so often is, with a jealousy ever on the watch not to extend that justice one hair’s breadth beyond the narrowest limits within which it can be restrained, and to take every opportunity, which can without manifest bad faith be taken, of improving the position of the conqueror at the ex- pense of the conquered. But the recognition of the interests of all classes of the population as equal objects of solicitude is a higher and a nobler principle of action, and it is with this alone that we are really concerned. For when we are asked to consider the best mode of dealing with native races, it is clearly with a view' to their preservation and improvement. 10 But. even when tliese objects are most desired, the really benevolent intentions of rulers are often frus- trate. The most enlightened views and the most liberal legislation can be neutralised by the social aversion between discordant races, which may ac- company a full recognition of their political and social rights, but which renders their practical exercise impossible. Even where no such conscious repulsion exists, there Ls not unfrequentiy a want of imagination on the part of the dominant race, which prevents any perception of questions from a native point of view, and produces a lack of tolerance for laws or usages not in accordance with European modes of thought — a want of perception which is often not only as injurious as real injustice, but frequently leads up to it. Indeed, it is probable that as much real wrong has been inflicted by the conscientious but narrow- minded desire, to act in accordance with maxims in themselves generally sound, but not of universal application, as by violence and tyranny. AVheie the governing power has not itself shaken off such prejudices, it is probable that the harm done by it will be in almost exact proportion to the degree of activity with which it strives to effect good. Under the influence of a desire to effect improvements, a pressure is put upon the native to adopt Europe.an habits, perhaps unsuitable, and almost certainly dis- tasteful to him. lie is subjected to laws which are strange to him, and which, in some respects, conflict with his own ideas of justice. He is placed on a nominal footing of equality before the law with his white fellow subjects, but he knows that the advan- tage in any contest under such laws is all on the side of those who have long been familiar with their operation. He is urged to simulate ideas which are unintelligible to him. Impatience at the levity and ignorance, if not misconduct, too often displayed by natives in positions of authority, may lead to their services being set aside, and all native agency replaced by that of white officials and magistrates. Some- thing — perhaps much, perhaps little — is done for the native; nothing is left to be done by him, or in his own way. Such a mode of treatment 1 hold to bo not only rash and unwise, but where a native popula- tion greatly outnumbers the white element, to bo also attended with no inconsiderable danger. Even where the settlers are too strong to be resisted with success there will be danger of collisions, whilst, at best, even if there bo no collision, the natives, bewilderesl and depressed, deprived of all interest and object in life, sink into indolence, apathy, and vice. They h.ave no strength to resist the temptations and .sn.ares in- numerable to which they are exposed almost without safeguard. They lose position, property, self respect, and health, .and perish from off the face of the eailh. 11 It is manifest that the more the native polity is re- tained, native agency employerist and Sociologist, cannot but be aware that it is not only in the colour of the skin — white, yellow, brown, red, and black — and the character of the hair, that one race differs by a law of Nature from another, but there is a great cleavage in social customs, such as the fashion of dress, the forms of speech and writing, the unwritten laws of politeness, the character of food eaten, and the mode of eating it, the manner of disposing of the dead, the popular prejudices, and many other human details. There is however a general approximation and closer contact of the nations of the round world in progress ; no one wishes to retard it. There is a general softening of manners and removal of prejudices. There are Races and Races. It may be possible, that some are not so pleasant to consort with as could be wished, but it must be emphatically stated, that as regards the majority of our fellow- subjects in Briti.sh India, it is possible to form acquaintances and friendships, based on a mutual respect, and to associate with them on the same terms as with one's own countrymen, notwith- standing that they differ from us in religion, language, dress, social customs, prejudices, names, mode of address, &c. My protest is against the attempt to uproot the ancient Oriental civilization of races which come under the influence of European Powers, and to destroy their ancestral customs and manners of social life in all matters, which are not contrary to the principles of moral law. It has been sternly laid down in judicial decisions in British India, that nothing can be theologically right which is morally w'rong. If Jephthah had carried out his rash vow at Lahore I should have hung Jephthah. I read a paper lately to a Young Men’s Christian Association in London, “On the attitude which a missionary should occupy to a non-Christian people, as regards their religion, their custom, and their prejudices.” I enforced the duty to do Chri.stian things in a Christian w-ay. 20 I wish to carry this principle further, and to apply it to all visitors, sojourners, and officials, of European ori"in and culture, who are connected with those coloured races of Asia and North Africa, which are not barbarian. Other speakers will treat on this occasion with the barbarian races. Are we sure that the social customs of Europe and the United States of North America, are in themselves abstractly the best ? At any rate they differ very much from each other. It would not be difficult to distinguish a native of India, who had been “ Portugesed,” from one who had been “ Anglicised ” in his externals ; both would be objects of derision. Why do we meet the title “Mr.” placed before the name of a respectable Hindu or Mahometan of Ancient lineage .’ WTiy are the female members of his family called “ ladies ” ? Why in a French Colony are all the residents compelled to learn French, and in British India is the study of English indirectly forced upon the educated youth of the country notwith- standing that they have magnificant vernaculars, older than, and as polished as, English, the out- come of a language, dead and disused except by scholars, which is equal to, or superior to, Gfreek and Latin .’ How pitiful does an Indian appear in European garments, whose bearing is graceful and dignified in those of his own couv.try ! I might pass under review other features of social life, but my opinion is decided, that the best policy is to leave them alone in all things lawful, and allow the features of their life to develope according to their own standards, and not to attempt to convert a high class Indian gentleman into a Briton of the middle classes. An educated native of India, when he receives his oral instruutions as an olficial in a Court, renders the rough, and often ungrammatical sentences of the Eui'opean judge or magistrate, into an accurate, faithful, and strietl}' legal form of words, to make up the record of the case ; if called upon to write a letter on public or private aflairs in any of the languages of India, he will do it witli extreme elegance, and suitability to the rank of the party writing and the party written to : there is a recognised style of correspondence which is followed. Now ask the nalive clerk trained in the Engli.sh schools to write an English 21 letter, and ho will produce a strange hombastie, Johnsonian document, painful to read, and causing the training, which could lead to such a produc- tion, to be despised. Scores of such litters are handed about as the specimens of the new culture of the Anglicised Indian, to be laughed at. Another party wishes to leform the ilarriage Laws, or the Dietary, of a Nation of nearly 300 millions, because they do not conform to the custom of the English middle classes. In the East, marriage takes place at an extremely early age, and the boys and girls, as we should describe them, are parents. If this practice were destruc- tive of life, we should not have a population increa.sing at the rate of three millions per annum. Those who have lived among the people of India in their hundreds of market-towns and thousands of villages, can testify to the absence of outwardly visible signs of suffering, which are obvious to the traveller in North Africa from Egypt to Marocco. There are no Divorce Courts in Indiit except for the convenience of the Europeans. Why not leave the subject of matrimony to gradual modification under the influence of education, both male and female, civilization of an indigenous character, and individual freedom ! So as regards the articles of consumption by way of food and drink ; what possible advantage can come from an association composed of male and female residents in a different country, attempting to control a vast Oriental population, crying out, *• You must not e^ic, or smoke opium ; you must not drink alcohol, &e. ’’ ! This advice is more painfully ridiculous, as the people of India know that the English are the most drunken race of the world, while the majority of themselves bj' habit, poverty, and religion, are total abstainers. Polygamy and polyandry are distasteful subjects, and yet the former recalls the names of King David and King Solomon. The practice of polygamy, though legal both to Hindu and Mahometan, is dying out. The Government of India tolerates no customs contrary to morality, such as the burning of widows, the slaughter of female children, the burying alive of lepers, the exporting of persons to be slaves ; any form of 22 injury to life whether under religious sanction, or purely secular, is sternly repressed. There are no eunuchs recorded in the last census ; the class has ceased to exist, as the process is punish- able by criminal law. My references are chiefly to India, because thence I can produce facts, as an eye witness, and possessing considerable experience. The principles of the Indian Government are essentially con- servative in the best sense, and sympathetic, going to the extreme limit of religious tolerance, such as the world has never witnessed before ; so as regards the legal consequences of marriage and inheritance, the old laws of the country are main- tained ; no attempt is made to introduce Roman law or English law, unless on subjects not provided for by Indian law ; but the asperity of patriachal law is checked ; no wife is made over to her husband against her will ; the status of the female is elevated to equality with the male. The social culture cf each nation or tribe grows and developes by its own laws, and just as the language of each nation defies the ukases of sovereigns or the Acts of Parliament, so culture forms itself on its own pattern, borrowing at its own discretion from its neighbours. Any attempt to uproot an antient culture is futile, as well as foolish. It may be corrupted, as the civilization of EquatorLal West Africa is being corrupted, by contact with Europeans, and the import of liquors, gunpowder, and lethal -weapons ; it may be im- proved gradually and insensibly, by the silent influence of male and female education in their own language, and the repression of violence and disorder by stern impartial laws, as is the case in British India. The culture which will be de- veloped there in the 20th century will be an interesting study to the anthropologist — the general softening of manners of a pi“ople already ready to be gracious in their manners ; a sense of the absence of lawlessness, and the presence of personal liberty ; a realm of law ; no licence allowed to intolerant teachers of new religious conceptions, but an opportunity of studying new principles, pe.acetully brought before the intelli- gence. and home to the heart of the people ; no 23 licence to ridiculous fadmongers ; free and easy contact with distant provinces ; no permission to foreigners to insult by word, or printed matter, or pictures, the antient cuitoms and religious con- viction of a great nation. An amount of forbearance to customs, which to European eyes seem ridiculous, is required, and shouh^ be enforced on foreigners who introduce themselves into anj' country, the natives of which never invited them. If foreigners were to intro- duce themselves into England, and Arab JInhometans were to get possession of a plot of ground close to Westminster Abbey, erect a con- spicuous mosque with minarets, and call to prayer in loud tones, I doubt whether the populace of London would bear it. They would at first treat it contemptuously as a nuisance, and the police would deal with it in the category of dustmen, fruitsellers, and milkman’s cries, or a street-band of niggersingers and music ; but there would be a limit to patience. But what can be said of Englishmen who pre- sumably enter China on a Christian Jlission, erecting on a sacred hill in Fuchau a lofty building, which overhung the place of Chinese worship ? The Chinese have a custom called “ Fung Shu,’’ which considers the falling of the shadow of another building on a sacred place as desecration. Jfthe Chinese from time to time rise up against the " Foreign Devils ” and take their revenge in an atrocious manner, this is the real cause : that they do not want the presence of overbearing and unsympathising foreigners in their midst. In British India Europeans pje compelled by equal laws to conduct themselves with restraint, and to their honour it may be said that they do so. Thirty years ago however an American erected a chapel on the edge of a Sacred Tank in Northern India for the convenience of addressing the Hindu devotees while bathing. It was a gross outrage. Let us imagine a body of Mormonites, or Theosophists, erecting a preaching-shop just outside the doors of Westminster Abbey. 1 took Lord Canning, the Viceroy, down to see it, and by his orders had it razed to the ground. 24 Now it is possible, tboufrh not probable, that a compound Indo-European language may come into existence b}' the same process, that produced the great Urdu Lingua-Franca or “ camp ” language of the Turki and Persian invaders of India. Yet care is taken by the Government of British India, that administration and education in all its departments is carried out in the vernacular of each province ; they are noble forms of speech and as numerous as the languages of Europe ; one at least is spoken by 80 millions. No encouragement is given to change of the native dress of the officials ; they are expected to uncover their feet, and cover their heads in the presence of their superiors. This marks a great principle. The conclusion I have come to after fifty years of experience, wide reading, and careful considera- tion is summed up in the few words : — “Leave the people of Oriental countries alone.” Maintain a firm, impartial criminal and civil court of justice, with no prejudice again.st. or favour for, the black, white, red, or yellow skin ; free locomotion, free right of assembly, free religion, free trade, free press (subject to the same limitation as in England), opposition to old women’s fads, and the gushy suggestions of impertinent intruders into the domestic habits of a nation many centuries older, and very much more numerous, than our own. Customs and the salient features of civiliza- tion will graduallj' modify. Re.sjject for human life, and respect for rights of property and the liberty of the person, create a social environment totally unknown before : we do not want the great races of India, and China, and the extreme Orient, or the barbarian races of Africa, south of the Equator to be trimmed to the model — intellectual and social — of the middle classes of England. They are free from some of the vices of British civilization, and posse.ss some virtues which we fail to attain ; although they have compensating vices of their own, the result of ignorance, oppres- sion, and isolation from contact with other nations. L(;ave them alone to tread their own path, and developii their own social idiosyncracies under a realm of impartial and absolute law. Dr. Fordes said the Dutch exeiviscd authority over millions of j)eople in the East, and he felt bound to say, after an experience of a great many years, that their admiuLstration ami {Tovemment of subject races appeared to be most successful. M'ithin the period of Dutch occupation the popula- tion had enonuously increased, and there were now something like 1,000 people to the square mile. The officials and colonists had taken the wi.se step of learning the native language,and did not require the natives to acquire the lluU^h language. The people lived in the most j>erfect hapj)iness and were very well off. The best method of dealing with the Papuans was to leave them alone and set up a very high standard for them to follow. In regard to missionary work, the actual religious change which takes place upon the native was extremely small. This was not to be wondered at — indeed, the maiwel was that such a highly phUosophicjil system of religion as the Chris- tian was comprehended by .savages at all. It was worthy of note that uncivilized people seemed to imagine when they became “ pra^dug men ” that they had a right to do w'hat the}' liked, and became in many cases a great deal worse than those who did not profess Chri.stianity. Such men as Lawes and Chalmers had, however, done enormous good in New Guinea, their method of working being that while they prevented ‘'head-hunting'' and murders, they otherwise left the natives to their ovra civiliza- tion. In no country had he seen more perfect morality than in New Guinea, although the men went about entirely naked and the women very slightly attired. IVhile the Dutch was better than the British system of dealing with subject races, the British was superior to the German system of colonization. The Germans did not appear to know how to colonize — this was probably due to the military spirit with wliich they were imbued. Mr. E. F. Im-Thttev spoke on the red men of Guiana . In his opinion , the enormous mistake which was made in dealing with what were known as savage races was in trying to teach them civihsed morality all at once. In one instance a savage tribe in Guiana, as the result of a fortnight's teaching, were baptised, and they then abandoned their hunt- ing and erected a church, but instead of a religious painting such as the one in the build- ing they were imitating, they put up a portrait of Mr. Gladstone from the Illii.strafed Zoiidm Xeus. [Laughter.] The priests gabbled away as they liad seen the missionaries do, and, relieving each other by turns, talked, not only aU 26 day, but all night. [Laughter.] This went on for a fortnight, the people continually calling out the word “ Hallelujah.” [Laiighter.] tntimately, as no work was done, the tribe was brought to the verge of stai-vation, and in the end they put to death the elder whom they had elected as high priest, and returned to their ancient rites. No doubt the killing of the priest was very wurong, but he (the speaker) was not very sorry to hear of it, or that the tribe had rid themselves of an encumbrance which they could not bear. The future of the Guiana races was very dark. He trusted there would be a missionary foimd who would go amongst this people and show them ab.solute justice and sym- pathy, while at the same time being content to leave the teaching of Christianity until the next genera- tion, or may be the succeeding one. In dealing with savage races sj-mpathy and justice should always be kept in the foreground. The Peesident said it was to be hoped that the despondency which characterised the remarks of the last speaker would have the effect of urging people to a careful consideration of the que.stions touched upon in this discussion. Mr. Daenell Davis said the tribes of British Guiana were treated in a considerate manner by the Government. They were exempted from the pay- ment of licence fees for guns and canoes, and otherwise W'ere generally treated well. Englishmen who had not been abroad did not seem to recognise the immense responsibilities which the control of over 300,000,000 of people entailed. By the acbninistra- tion of right and justice the Empire was held together, andhe was glad to know that the Governors of aU British possessions had to take an oath that they woiild do right and justice to all men. [Hear, hear.] ^^^lat was more, these gentlemen invariably acted up to the terms of their oath. [Hear, hear.] Mr. Lino- Roth said it was supposed sometimes that the extermination of native races was a thing of the past, but, as a matter of fact, wliat was very nearly the same thing was going on in the Australian colonies to-day. The Local Governments sold lands which did not belong to them, to white men. These killed the game which eat the grass, and the natives being de- inived of their food speared the eattle and 27 sheep placed on the pastures; thus there was autag* ouisin between the races, and there could he no doubt as to which was getting the worst of the fight. Missionary efforts amongst the Aboriginals were not very successful, and the wearing of clothes seemed to induce the spread of consumption. Tliere seemed to be absolutely no hope for the Alwriginal of Austiiilia, which wasmuclrtoberegrette