“Heiswell,andhesendshissalaam,buthiscircumstancesaredepressed,andbealsoisdownonhisluck。”
“YoulearnEnglishidiom“attheMissionCollege,itseems。”
“Yes,sir,theyarethebestidioms,andmyfatherorderedmetoaskyourhonortosayawordforhimtothepresentincumbentofyourhonor’sshoes,thelatchetofwhichheisnotworthytoopen,andwhoknowsnotJoseph;forthingsaredifferentatShershahnow,andmyfatherwantspromotion。”
“Yourfatherisagoodman,andIwilldowhatIcanforhim。”
AtthispointatelegramwashandedtoOrde,who,afterglancingatit,saidhemustleavehisyoungfriendwhomheintroducedtoPagett,“amemberoftheEnglishHouseofCommonswhowishestolearnaboutIndia。”
OrdebadscarcelyretiredwithhistelegramwhenPagettbegan:
“PerhapsyoucantellmesomethingoftheNationalCongressmovement?”
“Sir,itisthegreatestmovementofmoderntimes,andoneinwhichalledvcatedmenlikeusmustjoinAllourstudentsarefortheCongress。”
“Excepting,Isuppose,Mahommedans,andtheChristians?”saidPagett,quicktousehisrecentinstruction。
“Thesearesomemereexceptionstotheuniversalrule。”
“ButthepeopleoutsidetheCollege,theworkingclasses,theagriculturists;yourfatherandmother,forinstance。”
“Mymother。”saidtheyoungman,withavisibleefforttobringhimselftopronouncetheword,“hasnoideas,andmyfatherisnotagriculturist,norworkingclass;
heisoftheKayethcaste;buthehadnottheadvantageofacollegiateeducation,andhedoesnotknowmuchoftheCongress。
Itisamovementfortheeducatedyoung-man“-
connectingadjectiveandnouninasortofvocalhyphen。
“Ah,yes。”saidPagett,feelinghewasalittleofftherails,“andwhatarethebenefitsyouexpecttogainbyit?”
“Oh,sir,everythingEnglandowes260
WORKSOFRUDYARDKIPLING
itsgreatnesstoParliamentaryinstitutions,andweshouldatoncegainthesamehighpositioninscaleofnationsSir,wewishtohavethesciences,thearts,themanufactures,theindustrialfactories,withsteamengines,andothermotivepowersandpublicmeetings,anddebates。
Alreadywehaveadebatingclubinconnectionwiththecollege,andelectaMrSpeakerSir,theprogressmustcomeYoualsoareaMemberofParliamentandworshipthegreatLordRipon。”saidtheyouth,breathlessly,andhisblackeyesflashedashefinishedhiscommalesssentences。
“Well。”saidPagett,drily,“ithasnotvetoccurredtometoworshiphisLord-ship,althoughI
believeheisaveryworthyman,andIamnotsurethatEnglandowesquiteallthethingsyounametotheHouseofCommonsYousee,myyoungfriend,thegrowthofanationlikeoursisslow,subjecttomanyinfluences,andifyouhavereadyourhistoryaright“-“SirIknowitall-all!
NormanConquest,MagnaCharta,Runnymede,Reformation,Tudors,Stuarts,Mr。
MiltonandMrBurke,andIhavereadsomethingofMrHerbertSpencerandGibbon’s’DeclineandFall,’Reynolds’
MysteriesoftheCourt,’and“-~agettfeltliteonewhohadpulledthestringofashower-bathunawares,andhastenedtostopthetorrentwithaqtlestionastowhatparticulargrievancesofthepeopleofIndiatheattentionofanelectedassemblyshouldbefirstdirectedButyoungMrDmaNathwasslowtoparticularize。
Thereweremany,verymanydemandingconsiderationMrPagettwouldliketohearofoneortwotypicalexamples。
TheRepealoftheArmsActwasatlastnamed,andthestudentlearnedforthefirsttimethatalicensewasnecessarybeforeanEnglishmancouldcarryaguninEnglandThennativesofIndiaoughttobeallowedtobecomeVolunteerRiflemeniftheychose,andtheabsoluteequalityoftheOrientalwithhisEuropeanfellow-subjectincivilstatusshouldbeproclaimedonprinciple,andtheIndianArmyshouldbeconsiderablyreducedThestudentwasnot,however,preparedwithanswerstoMrPagett’smildestquestionsonthesepoints,andhereturnedtovaguegeneralities,leavingtheM。PsomuchimpressedwiththecrudityofhisviewsthathewasgladonOrde’sreturntosaygood-byetohis“veryinteresting“youngfriend。
“WhatdoyouthinkofyoungIndia?”askedOrde。
“Curious,verycurious-andcallow。”
“Andyet。”thecivilianreplied,“onecanscarcelyhelpsympathizingwithhimforhismereyouth’ssakeTheyoungoratorsoftheOxfordUnionarrivedatthesameconclusionsandshoweddoubtlessjustthesameenthusiasmIftherewereanypoliticalanalogybetweenIndiaandEngland,ifthethousandracesofthisEmpirewereone,iftherewereanychanceevenoftheirlearningtospeakonelanguage,if,inshort,IndiawereaUtopiaofthedebating-room,andnotarealland,thiskindoftalkmightbeworthlisteningto,butitisallbasedonfalseanalogyandignoranceofthefacts。”
“Butheisanativeandknowsthefacts。”
“HeisasortofEnglishschoolboy,butmarriedthreeyears,andthefatherTHEENLIGHTENMENTSOFPAGETT,M。P。
26。
oftwoweaklings,andknowslessthanmostEnglishschoolboys。
Yousawallheisandknows,andsuchideasashehasacquiredaredirectlyhostiletothemostcherishedconvictionsofthevastmajorityofthepeople。”
“Butwhatdoeshemeanbysayingheisastudentofamissioncollege?IsheaChristian?”
“Hemeantjustwhathesaid,andheisnotaChristian,noreverwillhebeGoodpeopleinAmerica,ScotlandandEngland,mostofwhomwouldneverdreamofcollegiateeducationfortheirownsons,arepinchingthemselvestobestowitinpurewasteonIndianyouthsTheirschemeisanoblique,subterraneanattackonheathenism;thetheorybeingthatwiththejamofseculareducation,leadingtoaUniversitydegree,thepillofmoralorreligiousinstructionmayhecoaxeddowntheheathengullet。”
“Butdoesitsucceed;dotheymakeconverts?”
“Theymakenoconverts,forthesubtleOrientalswallowsthejamandrejectsthepill;butthemereexampleofthesober,righteous,andgodlylivesoftheprincipalsandprofessorswhoaremostexcellentanddevotedmen,musthaveacertainmoralvalue。
Yet,asLordLansdownepointedouttheotherday,themarketisdangerouslyoverstockedwithgraduatesofourUniversitieswholookforemploymentintheadministrationAnimmensenumberareemployed,butyearbyyearthecollegemillsgrindoutincreasinglistsofyouthsforedoomedtofailureanddisappointment,andmeanwhile,trademanufactures。
andtheindustrialartsareneglected,andinfactregardedwithcontemptbyournewliterarymandarinsinposse。”
“Butouryoungfriendsaidhewantedsteam-enginesandfactories。”saidPagett。
“Yes,hewouldliketodirectsuchconcernsHewantstobeginatthetop,formanuallaborisheldtobediscreditable,andhewouldneverdefilehishandsbytheapprenticeshipwhichthearchitects,engineers,andmanufacturersofEnglandcheerfullyundergo;andhewouldbeaghasttolearnthattheleadingnamesofindustrialenterpriseinEnglandbelongedagenerationortwosince,ornowbelong,tomenwhowroughtwiththeirownhands。
And,thoughhetalksgliblyofmanufacturers,herefusestoseethattheIndianmanufacturerofthefuturewillbethedespisedworkmanofthepresentItwasproposed,forexample,afewweeksago,thatacertainmunicipalityinthisprovinceshouldestablishanelementarytechnicalschoolforthesonsofworkmenThestressoftheoppositiontotheplancamefromapleaderwhoowedallhehadtoacollegeeducationbestowedonhimgratisbyGovernmentandmissionsYouwouldhavefanciedsomefineoldcrustedTorysquireofthelastgenerationwasspeaking’Thesepeople,’hesaid,’wantnoeducation,fortheylearntheirtradesfromtheirfathers,andtoteachaworkman’ssontheelementsofmathematicsandphysicalsciencewouldgivehimideasabovehisbusiness。
Theymustbekeptintheirplace,anditwasidletoimaginethattherewasanyscienceinwoodorironwork。’AndhecarriedhispointButtheIndianworkmanwillrisein202
thesocialscaleinspiteofthenewliterarycaste。”
“InEnglandwehavescarcelybeguntorealizethatthereisanindustrialclassinthiscountry,yet,Isuppose,theexampleofmen,likeEdwardsforinstance,musttell。”saidPagett,thoughtfully。
“Thatyoushouldn’tknowmuchaboutitisnaturalenough,fortherearebutfewsourcesofinformationIndiainthis,asinotherrespects,islikeabadlykeptledger-notwrittenuptodate。
AndmenlikeEdwardsare,inreality,missionaries,whobypreceptandexampleareteachingmorelessonsthantheyknowOnlyafew,however,oftheircrowdsofsubordinatesseemtocaretotrytoemulatethem,andaimatindividualadvancement;therestdropintotheancientIndiancastegr’ove。”
“Howdoyoumean?”asked~“Well,itisfoundthatthenewrailwayandfactoryworkmen,thefitter,thesmith,theengine-driver,andtherestarealreadyformingseparatehereditarycastes。
YoumaynoticethisdownatJamalpurinBengal,oneoftheoldestrailwaycentres;andatotherplaces,andinotherindustries,theyarefollowingthesameinexorableIndianlaw。”
“Whichmeans?”~ueriedPagett。
“Itmeansthattherootedhabitofthepeopleistogatherinsmallself-contained,self-sufficingfamilygroupswithnothoughtorcareforanyinterestsbuttheirown-ahabitwhichisscarcelycompatiblewiththerightacceptationoftheelectiveprinciple。”
“Yetyoumustadmit,Orde,thatthoughouryoungfriendwasnotabletoexpoundtbef~iththatisinhim,yourIndianarmyistoobig。”
“NotnearlybigenoughforitsmainpurposeAnd,asasideissue,therearecertainpowerfulminoritiesoffightingfolkwhoseinterestsanAsiaticGovernmentisboundtoconsiderArmsisasmuchameansoflivelihoodascivilemployunderGovernmentandlawAnditwouldbeaheavystrainonBritishbayonetstoholddownSikhs,Jats,Bilochis,Rohillas,Rajputs,Bhils,Dogras,Pahtans,andGurkbastoabidebythedecisionsofanumericalmajorityopposedtotheirinterestsLeavethe’numericalmajority’toitselfwithouttheBritishbayonets-aflockofsheepmightasreasonablyhopetomanageatroopofcollies。”
“ThiscomplaintaboutexcessivegrowthofthearmyisakintoanothercontentionoftheCongresspartyTheyprotestagainstthemalversationofthewholeofthemoneysraisedbyadditionaltaxesasaFamineInsuranceFundtootherpurposes。
YoumustbeawarethatthisspecialFamineFundhasallbeenspentonfrontierroadsanddefencesandstrategicrailwayschemesasaprotectionagainstRussia。”
“Buttherewasneveraspecialfaminefundraisedbyspecialtaxationandputbyasinabox。
NosaneadministratorwoulddreamofsuchathingInatimeofprosperityafinanceminister,rejoicinginamargin,proposedtoannuallyapplyamillionandahalftotheconstructionofrailwaysandcanalsfortheprotectionofdistrictsliabletoscarcity,andtothereductionoftheannualloansforpublicworksButtimeswerenotalwaysprosperous,andthefinanceministerhadtochoosewhetherbewouldbanguptheinsuranceschemeforayearorimposefreshTHEENLIGHTENMENTSOFPAGETT,M。P。