252 Substitution of the Roman [No. 8, new series. 



It is admitted that this particular result, the cheapening of ver- 

 nacular literature, would not take effect till the Roman characters 

 came into very general use, and as the force of custom in this old 

 conservative country is prodigiously great, the most sanguine re- 

 former will have to make up his mind to wait a considerable time. 

 My argument, however, will not be weakened by the probability of 

 delay. I only ask it to be supposed, that somehow, at some period 

 or another, the change has been effected, and I argue that the con- 

 sequence of the change would be, that books would become cheaper, 

 that readers would become more numerous, and that the native 

 mind would receive a stimulus of incalculable force. Is not this 

 deduction a valid one ? If it is a valid deduction, then however 

 difficult the change may be, and however long the difficulty may 

 continue to be felt, it is evident that it is one of those difficult 

 achievements which are worth working for. 



Most persons who are opposed to the change here advocated are 

 ready to admit its desirableness in the abstract. Their position is, 

 that it is surrounded with difficulties, and, in short, that it is im- 

 practicable. If so, it might be thought that I need not have trou- 

 bled myself to prove the superiority of the Roman character and 

 the advantages that would flow from its adoption, but should have 

 confined myself to proving the practicability of the scheme. It 

 seemed desirable, however, to show the exceeding strength of the 

 argument from expediency before proceeding farther. Let it be 

 admitted, as I think it will be, that the change would be in the 

 highest degree desirable and expedient, if only it were practicable, 

 and it must then also be admitted, that nothing short of the clear- 

 est proof of its impossibility should deter us from making the at- 

 tempt. 



III. I proceed to consider various objections to the plan which 

 have been mentioned to me, and which have been supposed to 

 prove it to be impracticable, reserving to the last the strongest 

 objection of all (I think I may style it the only objection of any 

 real strength), the alleged inadequacy of the Roman character to 

 express the sounds of the Indian languages. 



a. It is objected that, even if the change be not impracticable in 

 itself, it is impracticable now. It might perhaps have been possible, 

 it is said, to express all the languages of India in the Roman cha- 



