AUTHOR ' S PREFACE 7
to his authority . If these words ever reach him I trust
that he will recognize in them the genuine feelings of respect and gratitude which I shall ever cherish towards
him .
One might accuse me of blind prejudice if I went so far
as to affirm that everybody vested with authority in this land was without exception worthy of high praise . The
fact is , we do not live in an age of miracles . It is probable ,
it is even certain , that not all of those entrusted with the supervision of this huge political machinery are influenced by the purest motives . And yet the system of watchful
control is such that any man who allows himself to be tempted from the path of duty by greed and avarice cannot hope to hide his corrupt doings from the eye of superior authority for any length of time . Every subject of the dominant power , however humble he may be , is allowed the right of free petition ; and this is sufficient guarantee that any well-founded grievances will be set right , any well-proven abuses put a stop to .
It has been asserted that any great power based neither on a display of force nor on the affection and esteem of subject races is bound sooner or later to topple under its own weight . I am far from sharing this opinion altogether .
The present Government occupies a position in which it
has little or nothing to fear from extraneous disturbance .
True it is that like all empires it is subject to possible chances of internal dissension , military revolt , and general insurrection . But I firmly believe that nothing of this sort will happen to it so long as it maintains amongst its troops the perfect discipline and the sense of comfort which at present exist , and so long as it does all in its power to make its yoke scarcely perceptible by permitting its subjects every freedom in the exercise of their social and religious practices l .
It is the poverty of the country which in my opinion gives most cause for apprehension — a poverty which is accompanied by the most extraordinary supineness on
the part of the people themselves . The question is , will
1
Students of Indian History will bear witness to the wisdom of the Abbe ' s remarks , which subsequent history has so strikingly tended to confirm . Ed .