440 



charge to the grand jury at Bombay, where he introduces Sir William 

 Jones's opinion of Indian depravity; another part of the same 

 charge from this excellent judge more than confirms all that I have 

 said on this unpleasant subject : " The difference of language and 

 manners, and perhaps the hostile prejudices of many of the natives, 

 render the detection of crimes, and increase the chances of total 

 concealment in a proportion which we cannot exactly calculate, 

 but which we know to be very great ; much of what passes amongst 

 the lowest natives must be involved in a darkness impenetrable to 

 the eyes of the most vigilant police. After the existence of a crime 

 is ascertained the same obstacles stand in the way of identifying 

 the criminal ; and even after he is perfectly known, our local situ- 

 ation, which is that of a large town in a small territory, is that 

 which an experienced offender would select for the opportunity of 

 concealment, and the facility of escape; and such is the unfortu- 

 nate prevalence of the crime of perjury, that the hope of impunity 

 is not extinguished by the apprehension of the delinquent; if to 

 this you add the supine acquiescence of many English inhabitants 

 in the peculations of their domestic servants, which, from an opinion 

 of the rooted depravity of the natives, we seem to look upon as if their 

 vices were immutable and inflexible, like the laws of nature. And if 

 you add also ihose summary chastisements, which are, in my 

 opinion, almost always useless as examples, you will not wonder 

 that I do not consider the records of the criminal court as a mea- 

 sure of the guilt of the community. Indeed the universal testimony 

 of Europeans, however much I may suspect occasional and par- 

 tial exaggeration, is an authority too strong for me to struggle 

 with." 



