Adaptation of New Institutions to Existing Conditions. 141 
Maine recalls Macaulay’s description, in his essay on Warren 
Hastings, of the consternation caused in India by the introduc¬ 
tion of the English courts. The injustice in the case described 1 
by Macaulay was not that the prisoner did not have a fair 
trial from the point of view of English law; it was that “the 
introduction of the law under which he suffered was felt as a- 
general grievance. ” 
The historical explanation of the friction was that in India 
law had not yet become differentiated from religion, certainly 
not to the same extent as in England. English legal develop¬ 
ment was far in advance. 
As to the system of land tenure, the English, being accus¬ 
tomed to large-estates and great landlords, made the mistake 
of supposing that the same must exist in India. Neglecting 
the actual historical conditions they instituted such a system., 
conferring the large estates on tax gatherers, or “zemindars,” 
as the class most nearly corresponding do the English land¬ 
lords. The purpose was to put an end to the irregular exac¬ 
tions to which the peasants had long been subjected. The 
opportunity to establish a system “worthy to be ranked among 
the noblest that were ever taken for the improvement of any 
country” was blindly thrown away. The measure adopted 
proved a total failure, in its main feature. Its promoters were 
unaccustomed to allow for modification in the operation of new 
institutions under the influence of pre-existing conditions. 
Similar results followed the attempt of our own forefathers 
to impose their systems of law and morals on the Indians.* 
This same lack of adaption of the new to the old institutions 
is the reason that so many laws are unenforced. To be effective, 
a law must express the opinions of a majority, at least, of the 
people. Law can never be far in advance of public opinion, if 
it is to be enforced. It may be somewhat in advance ; and it 
must be so, if it is to be a means of education. But it cannot 
serve this purpose unless it is expressive of the opinion of at 
least a respectable minority. 
Any new system, whether legal, social, economic or politi¬ 
cal, must have reference, in the first place, to the character of 
*See Weeden’s Economic History of N. E., Vol. I, p. 27 f£.; also II, pp. 715 and 728. 
12 - A. & L. 
