ch. vi THE INDIAN POPULATION 61 



of an eye change faced him in every direction. More- 

 over, I fear that, do what one will, never again will 

 the native see as much happiness in the future as he 

 has enjoyed in the past. Second to them in popular 

 sympathy one would have anticipated that the 

 European population would have ranked. Why ? 

 Because after all he is of the same flesh and blood as 

 his critic and because too he has done his best, and a 

 good best at that, to improve the condition both of the 

 land itself and of the population that land contained. 

 And, last, one would have said should have stood the 

 Indian. He, like the European, is an interloper, but 

 unlike the latter he has done nothing to ameliorate the 

 lot of the native, but, on the contrary, has done much 

 to degrade it. Where the European has given 

 better clothing, better and more regular food, 

 education and medical attendance, the Indian has given 

 disease, drink and crime. 



As a matter of fact, however, as far as one can 

 judge, the sympathies of both the home Government 

 and of those comparatively few of the public who 

 are interested in the subject rest in the first place 

 with the Indians, secondly with the natives, and, 

 " longo intervallo," with the white population. What 

 is the reason of this curious preference ? I suggest 

 that it is made up partly of ignorance, partly of our 

 traditional love of fair play, and partly of the growing 

 tendency and indeed readiness to depreciate our own 

 race in every sphere of action. The general idea 

 of the Indian, as known to the majority of politicans 

 and to the upper class specialists, is a courtly, 

 cultivated gentleman living in a cool, delightful 

 climate in the North of India. He is polite, clean, 

 patriotic, and in every way desirable. The idea takes 



