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the facts he circulated by the press and by conversation in all directions : let public meetings be held , and petitions be presented , till the matter is fairly taken into consideration , with due zeal and earnestness , by those whose duty it is to redress the evil . In a cause like this , no voice need be powerless , and no tongue should be silent . It is injurious to dwell upon facts disgraceful to human nature , when no other purpose is sought than the
excitement of the moment : it is yet more baneful to turn from the contemp lation of evil when it is in our power to do something for its removal . If in our newspapers , our books , and our conversations , we meet with harrowing tales of human sacrifice , the sensibility excited is worse than useless , unless it induces efforts to extinguish the unholy flames , to silence the profane incantations , and to aid those whose sorrows are multiplied because they hasten after another God .
The second pamphlet in ihe volume before us contains " Facts and Observations on the Practice of Taxing Pilgrims in various parts of India ;* ' a practice adopted by the Government , and far more fatal in its effects than that of which we have treated above ; though the evil may not wear so appalling an appearance . The Honourable Company ' Government , following the example of its predecessors , ( the Mahrattas and the Moguls , ) levies a tax on all the pilgrims
who visit the town and temple of Juggernaut , and also on those who worship at Gya and Allahabad . Juggernaut is one of the most celebrated places in India . All the land within twenty miles is considered holy ; but the most sacred part is enclosed within a stone wall , and measures 656 feet by 626 . Within this area are about fifty temples , dedicated to various idols : but the roost conspicuous is the tower where reside Juggernaut and his
brother and sister . The principal idol is perhaps the coarsest image in the country ; but as the sanctity of idols is not estimated by their beauty , Juggernaut seems to be no worse for wanting hands , or for horrible deformity in every part . The concourse of pilgrims to his temple is so immense , that for a circumference of fifty miles the earth is strewn with the bones of wretches who have died of famine . At the Car festival in July , 1825 , it was stated the number of pilgrims was 225 , 000 .
The object of the government in imposing the tax was to lessen the concourse of worshipers by increasing the expense and difficulty of the pilgrimage ; but the measure has had a directly opposite effect . The greater the difficulty , the greater is the merit in pilgrimages of all kinds : and in the present case , additional stimulants were applied to the superstitious ardour of the people . To raise the expenses yet higher , the Brahmuns were authorized by government to levy a tax , for their own benefit , on the devotees
whom they guide to the temple , and whose devotions they conduct "The consequence is , that the priests have sent their emissaries into the remotest corners of the land to magnify Juggernaut , and collect p ilgr ims to his festivals . Thousands and millions of poor wretches , who would otherwise never have dreamed of undertaking such a journey , are beset by the agents of the Brahmuns , promised forgiveness of sins and future blessedness as the reward
of a pilgrimage , collect their all for the purpose , and after paying it to the rapacious priests , ( who take care to strip them of every thing , ) die on the spot from exhaustion , or fall down on their return , and leave their bones by the wayside . At Cuttack , through which their road lies , it has been found necessary to refuse the aids of hospitality , on account of the throngs which visit it ; and those who leave the sacred place unprovided with food or
Untitled Article
8-3 S India ' s Criea 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 838, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2579/page/22/
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