Asiatic Quarterly Review (Full Title: The Imperial and Asiatic Quarterly Review, and Oriental and Colonial Record): Volume XIII, No. 26 [‎451r] (26/238)

Suitable to the Present Circumstances of India ? 239
matter to which I myself once invited the attention of
the public. I showed, or tried to show, how a vast
amount of domestic quarrelling and ruinous litigation might
be prevented if the Legislature would only do its duty by
overhauling the native family laws, and also the general
family law of India, instituting systematic inquiries as to
the wishes of the classes interested, and legislating accord
ingly.* Meanwhile, instead of money being found to
strengthen the Legislative Department, the valuable time
of the Legal Member of Council is being taken up with a
roving Education Commission.
All these matters lie well within the first, most indisput
able, and most indispensable province of Government. In
the second rank of urgency, according to my estimate, in
the first perhaps according to some, comes military expen
diture. I place it second, because a country is not worth
defending externally unless the internal conditions are
tolerable ; while, conversely, if the internal conditions were
perfect, a prosperous and united community of 300 millions
would have no need to give a thought to external defence.
First or second, I submit (for reasons to be stated presently)
that both must be adequately provided for before the claims
of State education can be considered. When, however, we
come to the question, How much ought India to pay for
frontier defence ? we find a divergence of views, ranging
from a large increase to a very substantial decrease of the
present expenditure. I am not now asking you to take
sides either with Lord Curzon or with the Indian National
Congress in this matter. If Lord Curzon is right, the case
is so much the stronger for retrenchment in other direc
tions ; and whether right or not, his word is law for the
present, and he has told us that we must look for no reduc
tion under this head during his Viceroyalty. On the other
hand the persistent demand of the Congress party for
reduction of the British garrison to the very lowest point
consistent with safety would be more impressive if made
* See the Imperial and Asiatic Quarterly Revieiv for October, 1898 .