CHAPTER 61
Peasantry of India attached to no existing Government--Want of Trees
in Upper India [1]--Cause and Consequence--Wells and Groves.
What strikes one most after crossing the Chambal is, I think, the
improved size and bearing of the men; they are much stouter, and more
bold and manly, without being at all less respectful. They are
certainly a noble peasantry, full of courage, spirit, and
intelligence; and heartily do I wish that we could adopt any system
that would give our Government a deep root in their affections, or
link their interests inseparably with its prosperity; for, with all
its defects, life, property, and character are certainly more secure,
and all their advantages more freely enjoyed under our Government
than under any other they have ever heard of, or that exists at
present in any other part of the country. The eternal subdivision of
the landed property reduces them too much to one common level, and
prevents the formation of that middle class which is the basis of all
that is great and good in European societies--the great vivifying
spirit which animates all that is good above it in the community.
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