oct. — mar. 1858-59.] for the Indian characters. 



253 



racter, if other characters had not already pre-occupied the ground. 

 We have to deal with a people, it is said, who have had a litera- 

 ture of their own and characters of their own for thousands of years, 

 and what instance is there on record of such a people having been 

 induced to change their written characters ? Besides, ever since the 

 arrival of the English in India we have been using those charac- 

 ters ourselves, printing books in them, and doing what we could 

 to ensure their perpetuation. I do not underrate this difficulty ; 

 we have doubtless allowed the best time for making such a change 

 to pass by ; but if the advantages of the plan are so great as they 

 have been shown to be, and if there is no inherent impracticabi- 

 lity, we ought even now to make the attempt. " Better late than 

 never." 



As regards the use of the Indian characters by Europeans, the 

 difficulty arising from their attachment to custom cannot be sup- 

 posed to render the change impossible. Even if all the Europeans 

 now in India who have learnt the Native characters should decline 

 to abandon as useless an acquirement which cost them so 

 much trouble, every new arrival would be delighted to find his 

 difficulties diminished. A generation of the English in India 

 arrives and disappears, sad to say, in so short a period, that sup- 

 posing only that all newly arrived Europeans were willing to adopt 

 the change, it would come into almost universal use amongst the 

 governing race in ten years. 



Then also, as regards the Natives, though the change, on the 

 most sanguine calculation, would take a considerable time — possi- 

 bly it might never become absolutely universal — yet there are cer- 

 tain classes of Natives amongst whom it might make its way as 

 rapidly as amongst newly arrived Europeans. I refer to the Na- 

 tive youth in government and missionary schools, and schools 

 which are supported by Natives but conducted by Europeans. As 

 those who are boys now will be the men of the next generation, 

 and as the most influential Natives are those who have received 

 their education in such schools, it is evident that it is only for 

 Europeans to will it, and the only Natives of the next generation 

 who are likely to possess any influence will have adopted the 

 change. It was only last week that I saw in the papers that the 

 Vol. xx. o. s. Vol. t. n, s. 



