598 
religions are hostile to the development 
of the moral and intellectual faculties— 
to patriot feeling and the love of liberty. 
Even the sublimity of the abstract idea 
of the God of Islamism—the Spirit of 
power and goodness, in whose eye 
charity is the first duty of the faithful, 
is perverted by the despotism and priest- 
craft which have contrived to identify 
themselves with the religion of Moha- 
med; and wherever that religion is pro- 
fessed, sullen fanaticism, and the hatred 
of all progressive knowledge, are sub- 
stituted in the place of duty. 
The religion of Bramah is still more 
fatal to the human species. It has so 
permanently and so pertinaciously sub- 
stituted usages for virtues, that its fol- 
lowers have no other conception of 
religion and morality; while many of 
its ceremonies are so disgusting and so 
horrible, as necessarily to banish from 
the heart all the sympathies of huma- 
nity: while the division into castes, and 
the invincible’ aversion and horror 
with which those castes regard each 
other, and the inveterate persuasion 
that all change or improvement is a 
sacrilege offensive to the Divinity, seem 
to defy all hope of progressive civili- 
zation. 
Nevertheless, the English know full 
well, that they are not, and cannot be, 
invested with any power to command 
the religious opinions of their Indian 
subjects. But their proper respect for 
this principle is not contrary to their 
duty as men and Christians—to inspire, 
by all practicable means, their subjects 
with a love of knowledge—to raise them 
imperceptibly from their superstitious 
degradation—and to prevent, by public 
authority, actions atrociously contrary 
to all moral duties and obligations. 
“ The English are, at present,” says 
M. Sismondi, “ animated by a reli- 
gious zeal, and an ardour of prose- 
lytism, of which there is no exam- 
ple in the history of nations; so that 
their very language is rarely free from 
the cant, or affectation of devotion.’’* 
The operation; however, of this’ pro- 
selytizing zeal is completely stopped 
in’ India, by the interest which the 
East-India Company takes in’ pre- 
* "We have followed here, by close trans- 
lation, the language of M, Sismondi; be- 
cause we deem it good that we should know 
what so enlightened a foreigner thinks of us 
in this respect. | In what follows (as in se- 
yeral other parts), we have not scrupled to 
take considerable liberties, both of abbre- 
viation and addition. 
- Retrospect of the last Twenty-five Years. 
venting the progress of civilization 
and knowledge amongst its subjects: 
and, in 1813, a Member of Parlia- 
ment connected with the India-house 
was not ashamed, in the Honse of Com- 
mons, openly to oppose all attempts for 
the introduction of Christianity into 
India, because “the of advantages of 
the institution of the castes, to sup- 
press the desires of ambition, and 
the impatience of obedience;” nor was 
he without distinguished seconders and 
supporters in this most anti-christian 
doctrine. “ There is nothing in the his- 
tory of the world,’ exclaimed another 
parliamentary orator, “ nor is it likely 
there ever should again, like the Hin- 
doo system of castes, for keeping a peo- 
ple in subjection, and securing the con- 
tinuance of our government,’—there- 
fore no Christianity !! 
Could humanity have conceived— 
could common decency have suggested— 
could slander have devised, or credulity 
itself have believed, that such doctrines 
have been held—such maxims avowed, 
in the Parliament ofa Christian country ? 
Yet no vote of that Parliament marked 
the principle with reprobation, or ‘gain- 
sayed its operation; and the practice 
has been conformable with the theory. 
The spoil of India is, still, more sacred 
than its civilization, or the diffusion of 
_the blessings of that religion in which its 
rulers profess to believe. The gloomy 
superstition of Islamism, and the cruel | 
idolatry of Brahma, continue to be che- 
rished, that a hundred millions of souls 
may be kept in ignorance, servility and 
abasement; and, among a thousand 
other frightful consequences of this 
Moloch system, five or six hundred 
widows are annually burnt alive, under 
the very eyes, as it were, and with the 
tacit concurrence of the Christian mer- 
chant-government of British India. 
But a glorious reformation,’ never- 
theless, began to spread, during this 
quarter of a century, from a direction 
least to have been expected, among the 
Hindoos. Ram Mohun Roy, a Brah- 
min, whom those who are acquainted 
with India, agree in representing as one 
of the most virtuous and most enlight- 
ened amongst men, is endeavouring to 
bring his countrymen to the worship of 
one only God, and to the union of mo- 
rality and religion, His flock is small, 
but it is daily increasing. He commu- 
nicates to the Indians the ‘progress 
which the Europeans make ; and he is 
called, with’ greater justice than the 
missionaries, the “faithful apostle of 
Christianity, 
