68 PEERS AND SEYUDS. 



blood of the people, for they, being profoundly 

 ignorant of their own religion, save its com- 

 monest forms, place implicit faith in the holi- 

 ness and sanctity of their spiritual advisers, and 

 the efficacy of their prayers. Thus the country 

 is overrun by these impostors ; indeed, an early 

 writer, in describing the Sindhian character, 

 observes : 



" That the Sindhian shows no liberality 

 but in feeding lazy Seyuds, no zeal but in 

 propagating the Faith, no spirit but in cele- 

 brating the Eed, and no taste but in orna- 

 menting old tombs." The Ameers themselves 

 submitted blindly to be thus priestridden ; 

 and, strange to say, no one is more com- 

 pletely so than Meer Ali Moorad, whose 

 Conscience-keeper, Syed Jaffer Ali Shah, 

 receives a fortieth part of His Highness' 

 revenue, and has obtained unbounded influence 

 over his master by his spiritual position. The 

 four great Syed families settled in Sindh are 

 Bakhari, Mathari, ShirazI, and Sekhlrazce ; 

 who are all of the Sheeah persuasion. Under 

 the government of the Ameers the Seyuds en- 

 joyed immunity from capital punishment. 

 Some of the finest lands are held by these 



