established in the countries where the Christian religion was first promulgated, Christianity could not fail to prevail over Paganism; for improvement in the mental faculties leads by sure steps, though slow, to one God.' "The superstitious and intolerant Portuguese were sure to fail in their work of conversion. When Vasco de Gama arrived at Cochin, he found the Syrian Christians established there under a King. The Portuguese immediately claimed the churches as belonging to the Pope. The Syrian Christians replied, We never heard of the Pope, and have for 1300 years had bishops appointed by the Patriarch of Antioch.' The Portuguese Archbishop held a synod near Cochin, at which 150 Syrian clergy appeared. His Holiness accused them of having married wives, of rejecting purgatory, the invocation of saints, and the worship of images. These heresies he commanded them to abjure under pain of suspension; while the Inquisition at Goa decreed that all their sacred books should be burned. From these persecutors the Syrian Christians fled to the forests on the mountains every where the asylum of liberty. Nor have the exertions of unassuming missionaries, unaided by a Free Press, been more successful than those of the intolerant Mahomedans and Portuguese. They have, however, done no wrong, and much good, by their charities, by diffusing education, and by the example of their virtuous lives. Yet Abbé Dubois, who sacrificed more than thirty years of his life to promote the conversion of the Hindoos, has declared the measure hopeless, and that he never knew a single instance of a Hindoo becoming a genuine convert to Christianity. "It is not to be denied, but proudly asserted, that a Free Press must at length produce in Asia one of the greatest revolutions that ever appeared in the world. The government of the Hindoos is a theocracy. Their manners, customs, and mode of thinking-their castes, their laws, their despotism-all rest upon this superstition, which cannot long prevail if exposed to collision with a Free Press. This engine must destroy bigotry, and tear up despotism by the roots. It may be said, that such a revolution is dangerous. If so, it follows that the conversion of the Hindoos to Christianity would be equally dangerous; for by no arts could it be effected without a total subversion of the present state of society. I deny, however, that a free discussion, regulated by wholesome laws, is dangerous. During the administration of Warren Hastings, the Press was free to licentiousness. Now this was a period of extreme difficulty and hazard. England was at war with America and with all Europe. Bengal was threatened by Boemsha; Benares was in revolt; Oude convulsed, and the Seiks were plundering the Doab; Madras, exhausted by famine, was invaded by Hyder; and Bombay was engaged in a contest with Scindia and Holkar. Hastings was constantly outvoted by his Council; and there was not a rupee in the Treasury. The Supreme Court was appointed as a check to misrule and oppression, and it set itself in opposition to the Governor. Not a judge was on speaking terms with the 'Governor-General or his Council. Writers were, nevertheless, sure of protection while they transgressed not the law of libel. The Press was even so honest and indiscreet as to attack with its poignant satire the Governor-General and Lord Poolbundee,' the Chief-Justice. In short, British India was threatened with ruin;-the Press was free, and it was saved. "In farther proof of the passive and tolerant spirit of the Hindoos, and the safety of discussion, I shall mention a remarkable event that occurred some years since at Ishra, in the immediate vicinity of Calcutta. While Jagernaut's Car was there passing over a human victim in the presence of a hundred thousand zealots, Christian missionaries were preaching to them unmolested, and distributing printed papers expressly designed to expose their cruel superstition. As another instance, I shall notice the work of Bruja Mohuna,* entitled Strictures on Hindoo Polytheism,' which has long been in wide circulation without producing the least alarm. Had this book, which contains a satirical, argumentative, and masterly exposure of the absurdities of the present Hindoo superstition, been submitted to a Censor, it would have been suppressed, or have been published under the sanction of Government. If suppressed, there would have been an end to free inquiry; if allowed, it would have gone forth with the mark of public authority, and might have excited strong jealousies. We are not to imagine that the discussion of religious subjects is a novelty in Indostan. The Natives are exceedingly fond of discussion, and have been writing on the nature of the Divine essence and the doctrines of their faith for twenty centuries. "I shall now close this letter by expressing an anxious hope that a Free Press may be established at Goa; that from it may diverge a flood of light; and that your liberties may be immortal. ་ "I have the honour, Gentlemen, to subscribe myself, "Your most devoted servant, "LEICESTER STANHOPE." * I regret to add, that this interesting Hindoo died in 1822, at the early age of 37. SECTION XIV. Effects of a Free Press on Superstition. "Immense are the blessings men reap from the union of pure religion with sound morality; but they scarce counterbalance the evils suffered from impure religion indulging gross immoralities.”—Kaimes. THE Hindoo religion is, according to some writers, a system of pure theism, upon which the crafty Brahmins have engrafted their false devotion. "Wherever God erects a house of prayer, This superstition is well framed to secure a lasting despotism. In addition to the insidious arts formerly practised by the priesthood of the Christian Church, the Brahmins united the civil and religious codes, which threw all power into their hands. They established that dreadful system of castes, which no series of political contrivances short of education and free discussion could have destroyed. Superstition had, in fact, benighted and brutalized Indostan for ages, and, even under a longestablished British Government, it still operated to an horrible extent. It would be foreign to the object of the writer to enter into a detailed account of the Hindoo religion. The fol lowing facts will suffice to shew to what an extent it is degraded. Tavernier tells us, that there are in the Indies eight hundred thousand Mahomedan Fakeers, and twelve hundred thousand Pagan Fakeers. Some of these are good and holy men, but they are in general mendicant vagabonds. The Hindoos are reported to have thirty millions of gods and forty thousand great prophets. They have about ninety festivals in the year, some of which engage the whole time of the worshippers for three or four days. Kotanum, or absolution, is a ceremony whereby the Brahmins transfer the sins of the people into one or more cows. The cows, being charged with their load of sins, are then driven to the place which the Brahmins shall appoint. Some years back, two British officers rescued a woman, sword in hand, from the flaming pile. To avoid her disgrace and misery, she solicited permission to burn herself, but the Brahmins refused, saying she was polluted, and had lost the virtues of her caste. At Gorruckpore, in the year 1820, a widow was placed, by her relations, on the funeral pile. Unable to bear the fire, she made repeated attempts to escape. She was then tied up in a sheet, and thrown upon the blazing pile. The sheet was consumed, and she again crawled out of the fire, but in vain. She was thrown upon it once more, and her throat was in pity cut by a Mussulman, which closed the scene. The parties concerned in this tragedy were tried and found guilty. We must not imagine that these sacrifices are commanded by the Hindoo religion. On the contrary, the pundits of the Sudder Adawlut having been consulted, declared them illegal, and their opinion was widely circulated. The Mahomedan Government opposed the burning of widows, and laid a heavy fine on the family of the murdered woman. Notwithstanding these exertions, the horrid murders are still perpetrated, and can only be prevented by discussion. |