You will only
alter his style of living, and make him a greater burthen to the
people. He will always take as long as he thinks he can with
impunity.'
'But do you not think that when people see a man adequately paid by
the Government they will the more readily complain of any attempt at
unauthorized exactions?'
'Not a bit, sir, as long as they see the same difficulties in the way
of prosecuting him to conviction. In the administration of civil
justice' (the old gentleman is a civil judge), 'you may occasionally
see your way, and understand what is doing; but in revenue and police
you never have seen it in India, and never will, I think. The
officers you employ will all add to their incomes by unauthorized
means; and the lower these incomes, the less their pretensions, and
the less the populace have to pay.'[11]
Notes:
1. January, 1836.
2. The old Anglo-Indian rose much earlier than his successor of the
present day commonly does.
3. For other popular explanations of the alleged decrease in
fertility of the soil, see _ante_, Chapter 27, where three
explanations are offered, namely, the eating of beef, the prevalence
of adultery, and the impiety of surveys.
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