condemnation of the Hindus. He quotes as serious, for instance, what was said in joke 1[1], namely, that 'a Brahman is an ant's nest of lies and impostures.' Next to the charge of untruthfulness, Mill upbraids the Hindus for what he calls their litigiousness. He writes 2[2] : 'As often as courage fails them in seeking more daring gratification to their hatred and revenge, their malignity finds a vent in the channel of litigation.' Without imputing dishonourable motives, as Mill does, the same fact might be stated in a different way, by saying, 'As often as their conscience and respect of law keep them from seeking more daring gratification to their hatred and revenge, say by murder or poisoning, their trust in English justice leads them to appeal to our Courts of Law.' Dr. Robertson, in his 'Historical Disquisitions concerning India 3[3] ,' seems to have considered the litigious subtlety of the Hindus as a sign of high civilisation rather than of barbarism, but he is sharply corrected by Mr. Mill, who tells him that 'nowhere is this subtlety carried higher than among the wildest of the Irish.' That courts of justice, like the English, in which a verdict was not to be obtained, as formerly in Mohammedan courts, by bribes and corruption, should at first have proved very attractive to the Hindus, need not surprise us. But is it really true that the Hindus are more fond of litigation than other nations? If we consult Sir Thomas Munro, the eminent Governor of Madras, and the powerful advocate of the Ryotwar settlements, he tells us in so many words 4[4] : 'I have had ample opportunity of observing the Hindus in
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