120 



INFANTICIDE. 



Female in- 



utein 



Abolished 

 by the ex- 

 ertions of 

 l.ieut Col. 

 Walker. 



Ir,fnticii)c 

 in general. 



becometh black, and lie is deeply afflicted : he hideth 

 himself from the people, because of the ill tidings which 

 have been told him, considering within himself whether 

 he shall keep it with disgrace, or bury it in the dust." 

 On the birth of a daughter, it is said that the attendants 

 of the mother repair to the oldest man in the house, 

 who desires them to go to the father of the infant, and 

 obey his orders. They do so, and he merely enjoins 

 them to act as is customary, and so to inform the mother. 

 On their return, she is told to proceed in conformity to 

 their usage. It seems doubtful, however, whether all 

 this ceremonial truly ensues, for ceremonies are gene- 

 rally obliterated in matters of frequent occurrence ; but 

 the death of the infant undoubtedly follows, and more 

 commonly by the hands of the mother. Yet here there 

 is much mystery preserved, somewhat similar, as we 

 shall see, to the customs of that society which is insti- 

 tuted exclusively for the purpose of infanticide. The 

 deed is committed in private, though not with the de- 

 sign of concealment, for neither shame nor punishment 

 is its consequence. Ladies of rank, who may have 

 slaves or servants, are said sometimes to charge them 

 with this cruel office, but they are usually the perpe- 

 trators themselves. As to the mode of destruction, it 

 is figuratively expressed by the Jarejahs that the in- 

 fant is drowned in milk ; but it rather appears, that 

 when the mother is apprized of the paternal sentence, 

 she puts opium on the nipple of her breast, which be- 

 ing absorbed along with the milk, speedily extinguishes 

 life. When destroyed, the infant is put into a basket, 

 and carried out for interment. The extent to which 

 female infanticide is carried in Cutch and Guzerat is 

 surprising, not fewer than 3000 females perish yearly 

 in the former, and it is affirmed 20,000 in the latter. It 

 will appear strange how the race can be preserved un- 

 der such a system of depopulation ; but natural chil- 

 dren are not within its sphere; wives are obtained 

 by the men from other tribes, and there are, besides, a 

 few exceptions in parents sparing their daughters. No 

 account of the origin of the custom can be given by 

 the Jarejahs, who affirm that it subsisted among them 

 for 5000 years. Fortunately for the natives of Guze- 

 rat, the British influence extended to that province, and 

 the resident, Lieutenant- Colonel Walker, (who now re- 

 sides on his property of Rowland in Selkirkshire,) con- 

 ceived the possibility of abrogating a custom so revolt- 

 ing to humanity. He endeavoured, with admirable skill 

 and perseverance, not only to divert the chief men of 

 the country from this horrible practice, but to gain the 

 support of the female part of the inhabitants in promo- 

 ting his views. Many difficulties opposed his wise and 

 benevolent exertions ; but he had at last the felicity of 

 seeing them crowned with complete success. The chiefs 

 renounced a practice, which they defended as having 

 been interwoven with the existence of their tribe for 

 thousands of years ; mothers soon brought their off- 

 spring, thus saved from premature destruction, to the 

 arms of their preserver; and the very first lesson they 

 were taught was to pronounce his name. It must cer- 

 tainly appear singular, that prejudices so deeply im- 

 planted, and passing, as it were, by inheritance, coidd 

 be rooted out by the efforts of one individual, and thus 

 admit a benefit of such magnitude being conferred on 

 humanity. But when reflection is awakened to the wel- 

 fare of our offspring, it is nature which begins to plead, 

 and whose voice will surmount almost every obstacle. 



Other instances may be given of that infanticide 

 which is not restricted to females. Krascheninikow 

 says, that there are some of the Kamtschadale women so 

 unnatural, as to destroy their children when born, or 



throw them alive to the dogs. The missionaries affirm Infanticide, 



that the Bosjesmans, or Bushmen, an African tribe, ; 



whose history is little kijown, " take no great care ln A(nc *" 

 of their children; that they kill them without re- 

 morse on various occasions, as when* they are ill- 

 shaped, or when they are in want of food. When 

 the father of a child has forsaken its mother, or when 

 obliged to fly from the Dutch boors, or from others, 

 they will strangle them, smother them, cast them away 

 in the desert, or bury them alive." Should there be no 

 exaggeration here, the barbarity of these savages is 

 greater than that of any other tribe whose name is pre- 

 served in history. But the missionaries even seem to 

 assert, that a lion comes to their dwelling for the ex- 

 press purpose of devouring infants. " There are in- 

 stances of parents throwing their tender offspring to the 

 hungry lion, who stands roaring before their cavern, 

 refusing to depart until some peace offering be made to 

 him." Mr. Barrow passes a strong censure on this sen- 

 tence ; but, when stripped of its apparent extravagance, 

 it may be resolved into what a later missionary, Mr. 

 Campbell, expresses with greater simplicity, " the Dutch 

 boors affirm, that the Bushmen often throw their children 

 to the lion to preserve themselves, which has greatly in- 

 creased tht desire of these animals after human flesh, 

 especially the flesh of Bushmen, so much so, that were 

 a lion to find a white man and a Bushman asleep to- 

 gether, he would take the Bushman and leave the white 

 man." The same author mentions, that the Bushmen are 

 very kind to their own offspring, " though there are 

 frequent instances of those who have had children mur- 

 dering them, if the father refused to provide for them." 



It is generally agreed that infanticide is universal i n china, 

 in China, being either immediately committed by the 

 hands of the parents, or resulting from exposure to 

 the influence of the elements. The exposure of chil- 

 dren was a privilege commonly sanctioned among the 

 ancients: it was so prevalent, that JElian celebrates 

 the humanity of the Thebans, who decreed capital pu- 

 nishment against it : nevertheless, where the parents. 

 were in poverty, they might offer the child for a price 

 to the magistrates, who, having brought it up, were enti- 

 tled to sell it for a slave. Almost all the children exposed 

 in China are females; and the number, though it be dif- 

 cult to approximate the truth, is certainly very great. Mr 

 Barrow computes, from the most authentic data which 

 may be deduced from the statement of the missionaries, 

 that it is not less than 9000 in Pekin, the capital, and 

 as many in the provinces. It is part of the duty of the 

 police, to carry away in carts early every morning, 

 those who may have been exposed during the night. 

 No inquiries are made : many are dead, but some still 

 survive, and all are conveyed to a pit without the walls, 

 wherein they are thrown promiscuously. Here the 

 Roman Catholic missionaries attend, selecting the most 

 lively among the infants for future proselytes, and ad- 

 ministering baptism to others before they are left to 

 expire. The causes of exposure and infanticide re 

 sought in the necessities of the parents, as with the 

 ruder nations ; for those least capable of providing for 

 themselves are compelled to abandon their offspring. 

 Infanticide is well known to be connived at by the 

 Chinese government, and never the subject of punish* 

 ment. 



Instead of awaiting that period, however, when even Society for 

 by exposure an infant may have the chance of survi- murdering 

 vance, we find the Arreoys forming a mysterious so- children, 

 ciety expressly for the purpose of destroying their 

 whole offspring at the moment of birth. This society 

 is peculiar to the islands in the South Pacific Ocean. 



