251 



On Slavery in Southern India. [July 



perly secured to him only by an enactment of the local Indian Iegis«^ 

 lature, whose silence involves such questions in doubt. 



The agrestic slaves, in the territories under the Madras Presiden-^ 

 cy, are not necessarily transferrable with the land itself; but in the 

 Tamil country they are almost invariably transferred with it. From 

 this being done, either in a deed separate from that disposing of 

 the land alone, or without any deed at all, a few of the local au- 

 thorities, from imperfect inquiry, have been led to question the 

 fact, which is notwithstanding broadly stated by others; but I 

 entertain none of the general practice. On the western coast, the 

 slaves, on the contrary, are often disposed of independently of the 

 land. The cause of this difference may be traced to the local pecu- 

 liarities distinguishing the opposite coasts of the peninsula. 



Under the Madras territories, nearly all the domestic slaves are 

 Mahomedans. In the Tamil country, the agrestic slaves generally 

 are worshippers of Shiva, the destructive power of the Hindoo triad, 

 under the form of one of the female energies of that deity, repre- 

 sented often by the village goddess. Several of them, however, are 

 Catholic, and a few Protestant christians; for I recollect, in Tan- 

 jore, objections being raised by the missionaries to their employ- 

 ment in dragging the Hindoo idol-cars. The omission of the magis- 

 trate to enforce the attendance of any slaves on this duty, in a 

 neighbouring province, greatly impeded the Hindoo festivals, and 

 created a religious enthusiastic hostility dangerous to the Govern- 

 ment, which nearly broke out into open rebellion. Orders were 

 therefore issued to cause their attendance as usual. I was conse- 

 quently unable to relieve any particular class of the slaves from 

 this part of the long-established civil duties common to all, and 

 told the missionaries that such as from conversion entertained re- 

 ligious scruples against it, should find substitutes, or get their mas- 

 ters to send others in their stead; and that, at any rate, I should 

 overlook their absence, unless the matter came officially before me, 

 by the stoppage of any of the established Hindoo festivals, and 

 their masters calling on me to enforce their attendance, which I 

 should do only after proof of its ancient and established usage. 

 On the western coast, I fear it will be found that the slaves gene- 

 rally propitiate the evil spirit alone, and many of them are believed 

 to practise sorcery. 



With respect to the sale of slaves, I do not think that do- 

 mestic slaves are ever sold; indeed I doubt whether such 

 glaves are legally transferable under the Mahomedan law, which, 



