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to the number of children who stand exposed , by the ravages of superstition and death , to the losfl ° f all parental aid , form a consummation of misery , to which no other country on earth presents a parallel . " The sixth Section of Mr . Peggs' pamphlet affords satisfactory evidence that the abolition of this horrid rite would not be unacceptable to the body
of the people . In various instances where a rescue has been effected , much gratitude has been expressed both by the widow and her connexions ; and no evil consequences have followed . It is also obvious to observers on the spot , that the custom is oftener complied with through fear of shame , of poverty and privation , through dread of the Brahmuns , and submission to usage , than from any feelings of religious obligation , or even of affection for the deceased husband . The Hindoo women are peculiarly degraded in
condition , and consequently weak in intellect , and no opposition to an old-established custom can therefore be expected from them ; but we must not suppose that such opposition , originating elsewhere , would be unwelcome to the sufferers . Those of their relatives who have the charge of their maintenance after the death of their husbands , have , it is true , been as eager as the Brahmuns themselves in the promotion of the murders ; but the much greater number who have no interest in the destruction of the widow appear to suffer in her sufferings , and to be prepared to aid in her rescue . The power of
the Brahmuns appears to be the only substantial obstacle to the abolition of the rite . And what is that power ? Almost unlimited , certainly , over the actions of the degraded Hindoos , but a mere shadow when opposed to the authority of the Government . What effectual opposition have they made in cases of rescue ^ in the abolition of infanticide , or of the practice of burying alive ? These measures have been received with quiet submission , or with short-lived clamour ; with no attempt at evasion or resistance , much less rebellion .
It happens unfortunately that countenance has been afforded to the worst practices of Hindoo superstition , and to the one under observation among the rest , by a measure of the Government which was adopted witb humane intentions , but whicb has been productive of great mischief . The words of a magistrate on the spot are , * ' Previous to 1813 , no interference on the part of the police was authorized , and widows were sacrificed legally or illegally as it might happen ; but the Hindoos were then aware that the Government regarded the custom with
natural horror , and would do any thing short of direct prohibition to discou * . rage and gradually to abolish it . The case is now altered . The police officers are ordered to interfere , for the purpose of ascertaining that the qerejaony is performed in conformitv with the rules of the Shasters , an ( J in ! &a , t event to allow its completion . This is granting- the authority oj Government / or the burning of widows ; and it can scarcely be a matter of astonishment that the number of the sacrifices should be doubled when the sanction of the ruling power is added to the recommendation of the Shaster . "—P . 51 .
It is evident frpin the computations which have t > een made of the number of Suttees whkrh haye t $ J * en p lace under various qucumstan ^ ces , that the evil has increased since police officers have attended the sacrifices . In answer to all remonstrances , the people appeal to " the order of povernroerit ; " and if it be explained that the apparent sanction of Government was only given from a liumarje desire to prevent force being used , \ he invariable reply is still , "It is tjie cv ^ > , W 4 we Jiavegpt the Gpvernipent order for so doing /' All who have inquired ipto the subject are therefore convinced that the worst
Untitled Article
834 India ' s Cries to British Humanity .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Dec. 2, 1829, page 834, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2579/page/18/
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