ance now paid by Government, by the assignment of the Revenues of the Rajah's Zemindari, Talukah Delang, Pergunnah Lembai, I regret to state that my own and the Col'lector's endeavours have failed to obtain the Rajah's consent to the proposed arrangement. He opposes it because of the possibility of his becoming a dependent Zemindar, a contingency which might follow his ejection from the office of superintendent of the temple, for any acts of misfaisance; I do not think that we could, with any degree of justice, force such an arrangement on him."

66

Yet," continues the Commissioner, "the Rajah is not indisposed to accept the revenue of other Mehals, as enumerated by him, in lieu of the donation."

At length the money donation was set down at Rs. 24,600. Thus was "British connexion" lessened by 11,000 rupees.

It is useless to trouble our readers with the items which make up this total; but it was argued from the account of them that, if the present money payment should be discontinued, the British Government would still have to make good to the temple, annually, Rs. 24,600,"in lieu of sayer abolished and assignments on the revenue which have long since been appropriated by the state." This, of course, entirely depends on the question of " pledge."

At the close of the year 1845, an order was issued from the Council Chamber, substituting an annual payment of rupees 23,321, for rupees 35,758-9-6.

The sale of normal-a sort of "holy food"-and fees relinquished to the superintendent, were deducted from the previous annual donation ;-and hence its present amount.

The above fees are styled "Dhuja Pindica:"-those levied on articles presented to Jagannath. There now remains little more to be said; notwithstanding there is yet a good deal more to be done.

The present superintendent of Jagannath, we believe, obtains annually, at least rupees 20,000 from perquisites and the Satais Hazari estate, and nothing would tend to prove in so direct a manner the estimation in which the religion of Jagannath is really held in Orissa as the backwardness or forwardness of the

Letter to the Under Secretary to the Government of Bengal-dated 6th September 1845, from the Under Secretary to the Government of India.

The Governor-General in Council, we read in the above letter, would not accede to the Commissioner's proposition of purchasing land for the purpose of making over to the temple. They think that "the most reasonable course" will be to place the endowments of Jagannath as nearly as possible on the same footing as we found them on the acquisition of the province, and to discontinue the payment of any sum in excess of the funds as then existing :-This appears to have been the immediate cause of the reduction of the donation.

wealthy Muthdaris to pay the donation at present afforded by Government.*

There can be no question that the most politic plan would have been to have abolished the donation with the pilgrim-tax. Even the no very bright intellects of the pilgrims, at least, would have then imbibed the idea-that they gave nothing to the Government, -so why should the Government pay money for the support of their religion. However, the thing has been done, and all the appearance of a fixture has been given to it; so we must get out of the scrape the best way we can. We certainly think that it is perfectly easy to get out of it without advocating the principles laid down by Machiavelli in his Prince. Yet, from the unusual quantity of depravity at Jagannáth, we are inclined to think that some might agree with that wise but crafty Italian, of a dark and licentious age, who deemed that a wise and prudent Prince "ought not to keep his parole, when the keeping of it is to his prejudice, and the causes for which he promised removed." In the case of the Rajah of Khurdah, certainly, he has not been punctual with us, so we are not obliged to any such strictness with him.

In a case like that of Jagannath, we cannot find so much fault with these opinions; although, as we have said, they are not at all necessary. Surely it is inconsistent to disburse sums of money from the British treasury for the expenses attendant upon idolatry, while efforts are being made for the promulgation of education and Christianity among the people.

If we will adhere to the "pecuniary support" principle-why drain the charity of individuals and societies to keep up the source of enlightenment? Almost every Hindu, from the Rajah to the beggar, is well aware of his security under British

* Exclusive of this donation-the following sums are paid annually out of the Púrí treasury.

...Rs.

483 12 0 3,466 10 0 2,666 10 0

6,617 0

0

Add to this the annual donation paid to the Superintendent....

23,321 0 0

29,938 O paid directly

and indirectly towards the support of the worship of Jagannath. The second of these items, according to the Author of the "History of Púrí," appears to be the only rational one, viz. Rs. 3,466 to the Mohunt of a Muth, consequent on the resumption of Pergunnah Kodbar, which had been held rent-free on account of offerings to the idol made from it.-The reason of the first item, Rs. 483-12, says the Head Clerk, is not traceable; and we agree with him. The third, Rs. 2,666-10, is paid to an Adhi Kari "for the purpose of distributing" holy food "to starving and destitute pilgrims," &e. It will be seen that all these sums depend on the word "pledge." Supposing the term, "Holy Land," extended over half the peninsula, where would the British revenue of the country come from?-The amount annually received by the superintendent of Jagannath is said to be Rs. 46,291. The Head Clerk states that Rs. 31,006 are actually expended by the Rajah-leaving a clear saving of 15,000. We have heard that this clear saving is nearer to the avowed expenditure.

protection. That protection is, and has been, carried out to an extent never before known in India. Is not this enough, then, without our paying money to be mis-appropriated at the stronghold of the Hindu religion, through the wretched avarice of a heartless and ignorant potentate.

We would withdraw every vestige of a money payment, for the benefit of the Hindu people; we would withdraw it to shew that we do not live in a stand-still age-but in an age of progression; we would abolish the "donation" to dispel all ugly appearance and the wrong interpretations put forward by the ignorant on the subject of British connexion with Jagannath. But, although it would silence, we should not like to see it abolished merely to satisfy those who make it their business to exaggerate the matter and calumniate the Government.

Let us now briefly touch on the subject of fees previous to bringing our article to a conclusion.

It is from these,-the offerings; the Satais Hazari Mehal; and the muths-that we wish to see the entire future resources of Jagannath drawn.

On the abolition of the pilgrim tax, the right of the Purharris to levy fees was abrogated by the remission of the tribute they paid to the Government. "The Pundahs," says a document of 1839, "will be content with their own gains, and so will in the end the Purharrís. The fee is but a very trifling portion ' of the Pilgrim's expense-for, to use the words in Harrington's Analysis, he is fleeced by the pundahs not only of all the money he brings with him, but of promissory notes for future payments. Indeed it is a well known fact that pilgrims are in the habit of burying outside of the town or leaving in the hands of shopkeepers on the road enough to take them home, so well do they know that these extortioners will turn them out of the town naked and penniless."

In June 1846, it appears to have been the intention of the President in Council to take "the earliest fitting occasion" for the repeal of the prohibition of the collection of fees contained in Act X. of 1840, "the object being to restore to the temple that portion of its original funds which was believed to be designated by the words "Fee of fifteen annas on each Lal Jatrí."

But the Commissioner of Cuttack deprecated the repeal of the prohibition, "shewing," says the letter,* "that the object sought to be attained would not be thereby accomplished."

It appears that no satisfactory information was obtained respecting the nature of the above fee,-in short it had never been levied." We do not exactly understand this mystery; so

From the Secretary to the Government of India to the Secretary to the Government of Bengal, dated the 27th June, 1846.

we shall content ourselves with giving the remainder of the President in Council's opinions on the matter of fees: "It appears that the prohibition contained in Act X. of 1840, was rendered necessary by the extortion and oppression to which the pilgrims were subjected at the hands of the Purharris and Pundahs when the collection of their fees was left to them'selves. Such being the state of the case, the President in 'Council, upon further consideration, is of opinion that the ' proposed alteration of the law is not required." Of course, to abolish the donation, there must be a total repeal of this law and any other law particularly regarding Jagannáth-a noble consummation, the early realization of which, we fondly hope, the present able Commssioner, Mr. Gouldsbury, will not fail to urge on the attention of a not unwilling Government.

In the Friend of India of May 11th, and June 1st, we find some interesting matter regarding Jagannáth. First we are informed that Mr. Poynder's motion for the discontinuance of the donation "which has been paid to the hierarchy of Jagannath," had been carried by a majority of Sixty-six in the Court of Proprietors. On this the Serampore journalist remarked-" The discontinuance of the donation in obedience to the resolution of the Court of Proprietors must, as a matter of justice, be accompanied by the repeal of the Act."-Act X. of 1840-" which will place the establishment of Jagannath on precisely the same footing as that of all other temples in India.' The Chairman was one of the four who voted against the discontinuance of the payment; and certainly far beyond our knowledge is the proof for the assertion-that the Company is bound by treaty to continue it!

In the paper of June 1st, we find a very original letter from Mr. Peggs-yet one written with very good intentions-in which it is stated that the motion for the separation of the Government from the temple of Jagannath was resisted by the Court of Directors. Mr. Peggs then proceeds to bring forward evidence against the supposed pledge-all of which is very satisfactory. But he takes away not a little of the charm of all good intentions by the occasional use of language more calculated perhaps to irritate than to convince.

Our task is now done.-That it has been one of intricacy and difficulty we think every candid reader will admit. We therefore cannot expect much uniformity of opinion on many of the points we have discussed. "The education of different men, their prejudices, their various talents and advantages-the party spirit, the unfavourable habits-the mere ambiguity of language, will constantly occasion a diversity, a great diversity of judgments."

THE

CALCUTTA REVIEW.

ART. I.-1. Captain Macpherson's Report upon the Khonds of the Districts of Ganjam and Cuttack. Calcutta, G. H. Huttmann, Bengal Military Orphan Press, 1842.

2. Various Official Documents (hitherto unpublished.)

*

In our last article on the subject of the Khonds, we furnished as full an exposition as our limits could well allow, of the leading principles of the systematic plan of operations suggested by Captain Macpherson for the gradual abolition of the Meriah sacrifice among these barbarous people. We also supplied a somewhat detailed account of his first experimental application of these principles, in June 1842, to the two most accessible of the Khond Hill tribes of Goomsur; and of the unexpectedly great success of that remarkable experiment. The Reports founded on these proceedings were received, with high approbation, by Lord Elphinstone, the Governor of Madras in Council; and the plan of operations, whose efficacy, under great disadvantages, had thus been tested and verified, was strongly recommended for adoption to the Supreme Government of India. And there the historic part of our narrative terminated.

Before again resuming it from that point, we may as well refer to the fact, that, soon after the transmission of the Madras despatches to Calcutta, Lord Elphinstone resigned his high office, and was succeeded therein by the Marquis of Tweedale. The former, as has already repeatedly appeared, had, from the time of the Goomsur war in 1836, bestowed the greatest attention on Khond affairs, and manifested the deepest interest in the abolition of the Meriah sacrifice. His own minutes on the varied subjects brought before him in connection with the civilization generally of the perpetrators of that inhuman rite, indicated at once the head of the Statesman and the heart of the Philanthropist. And it is but justice to Lord Tweedale to say, that, on his assuming the reins of Government, he heartily took up the Khond cause. The whole subject, however, being

* Calcutta Review, No. XV. Art. I.

M M