LAND NATIONALIZATION 281 



has mastered one of the most difficult of modern studies — 

 Egyptology — on which he has published two very bulky works ; 

 and even the specialists, who reject some of his conclusions, 

 admit that his presentation of the facts shows an enormous 

 amount of research. 



Another of our supporters from an early date was Grant 

 Allen, a man of the very highest talents who, had he not 

 been compelled by circumstances to write novels, reviews, 

 and magazine articles for a living, would probably have be- 

 come one of our greatest philosophical naturalists and ex- 

 pounders of evolution. But, like myself, he was more than 

 a land nationalizer, and my first knowledge of his political 

 and social views was derived from an article he wrote on the 

 condition of India somewhere about 1880. Through my friend, 

 the late Sir David Wedderburn, I had become aware of the 

 terrible defects of our government of that country owing 

 to the ever-increasing influence of European planters, manu- 

 facturers, and capitalists ; and I was also a reader of The 

 Statesman, a paper bought out by a gentleman who had been 

 for many years editor of one of the most advanced Calcutta 

 newspapers, and who established it for the purpose of letting 

 Englishmen know the real facts as to the government of India. 

 All the statements in this paper were founded upon Govern- 

 ment Reports or other official documents, referred to in detail. 

 I knew, therefore, that Grant Allen's views as stated in this 

 paper were correct, and therefore wrote to tell him how 

 pleased I was to find that he was not only interested in phys- 

 ical science, as was so often the case with my scientific friends. 

 His reply is so interesting that I will here give the more 

 important parts of it : 



" As to your remarks about the wrong actually perpetrated 

 by us in India, I know only too much about that question. 

 For three years I was employed by W. W. Hunter, Director- 

 General of Statistics for India, in collecting and working up 

 the district accounts and other materials in his possession. 

 Not to put too fine a point upon it, Dr. Hunter is the literary 

 whitewasher of the Indian Government. In working up the 



