Long ago, Lord Wellesley remarked of the secretaries of the government of India that they combined the industry of clerks with the talent of statesmen. But clerks will not command the allegiance of old and haughty nations, steeped in the immemorial pride of race and religion. Government needs to go higher in these days when the tides are at flood, and the waters out, and the file affords no precedent. Otherwise, it will not touch "the imagination of nations," which "no government can despise." And, what is of chief concern to the oriental who traces power to divinity, in the end it will not be strong.
An administration, then, will in time be constituted adequate to give scope to India's wishes, and to lead her to that high office in the world's affairs which she has never yet occupied, but which, it is certain, she will one day fill. Here is by no means a speculation at haphazard. There are already many signs and recorded omens of what the future will produce in this respect. When Natal was in danger of being overrun by an enemy, England applied to India for that help which was promptly and efficiently given. When it was necessary to rescue the Pekin legations from massacre, we turned to India, who despatched a successful expedition. When war broke out in East Africa, an Indian general and Indian troops were found most effective for the task. When it was necessary to man and defend the extreme outposts or coaling stations of the empire, such as Aden, Mauritius, Singapore, or
