Siyar al-mutaʾakhkhirin 28: VERSES OF SAADY.
A Translation of the Seir Mutaqherin (Haji Mustafa) 28
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- English
Contents
VERSES OF SAADY.
28.1.1
Be kind to the subject and fear nothing from foreign wars; For when a king is just, the love of his subject is for him a mighty army. I have had myself opportunities of seeing with my own eyes, and of hearing with my own ears, the consequences of good and bad government; and this happened at the time when the Shah-zada-aaly-goher, who is now our Emperor, under the name of Shah-aalem, was waging war against the English nation in the plains of Azim-abad. As soon as it became certain that the Imperial Prince intended an expedition into the province of Bahar, and that he was coming to Azim-abad, there was not an inhabitant, or a citizen, who, on the strength of the favours and good government which they had formerly experienced from the Prince's forefathers and ancestors, did not pray for victory to him, and for prosperity to his undertaking; they seemed to have but one mouth and but one heart, on that subject, although not one of them had yet received any favour from him, or tasted of the crumbs that might have fallen from the table of His Goodness. But when he came himself, and they experienced from his unruly troops, and from his disorderly Generals, every act of oppression and extortion imaginable;
28.1.2
and, on the other hand, they saw every day what a strict discipline the English officers of those days did observe, and how those amongst them that travelled, carried so strict a hand upon their people, as to suffer not a blade of grass to be touched or spoiled, and no kind of injury to be offered to the feeblest man; then indeed the scales were turned, and when the same Prince made his second and third expedition into those parts, I heard the people load him with imprecations, and pray for victory and prosperity to the English army. But those same people feel nothing for them now, fully sensible that these new rulers pay no regard or attention to the concerns of Hindostanies, and that they suffer them to be mercilessly plundered, fleeced, oppressed, and tormented by those officers of their appointing, and by their other dependants; those same people, I say, reduced now to despair, have altered their language, and totally changed in their hearts, on finding that their rulers had so far altered from what they had seemed to be. Amongst the various grievances complained of, this is one of the most stinging kind. The head Harcara, or head Spy, in several of the best English houses, never fails to become their Major Domo, and the hinge upon which turn most transactions, although he should be, as he is in general, a man of the lowest clan, and of the vilest kind.
28.1.3
This man, for the sake of shewing his power, is ever disposed to use Gentlemen of ancient or illustrious families in an unworthy manner. Should any one of those unfortunate men, tired of eternal insults and stoppages, carry his humiliation so far as to submit to such usage, and dishonor himself by making a present, he is allowed to walk farther within the house, and to appear in the master's presence; else, if he pretend to intrench himself within the prerogative of his rank and birth, he from that moment becomes exposed to a variety of affronts and indignities, and he is suffered to languish in the yard with the crowd, without being ever permitted to go as far as the master's hall of audience. This head Spy, already linked and in confederacy with the Moonshy, (or Persian Secretary), and the Divan, (or confidant), as well as with every one of the dependants of that house, gives what turn he pleases to any petitioner's business, and meanwhile he enjoys the highest influence in the decision; whilst Gentlemen of high descent and great pretensions are left in the anti-chamber, ranged against the wall like so many statues, and in fact they are deemed so many by-standers of no account. This grievance is to be found, not in this or that house, it is found in all. Every man in office has such a household, upon such a pattern, and such a set of people about him; and although he be not the actual ruler of the country, yet wherever he goes, he is sure of acting as Sovereign.
28.1.4
Now every household being composed of such a set of servants, as have been described, it follows that as the people of this land stand, every one of them, in the relation of subjects, with respect to the English, it may be easily conceived what must be the case of the former, and how little probability there is for their yielding a blind obedience to such a numerous set of masters, and to such numerous sets of servants and dependants. The second cause, which contributes to raise a wall between the conquerors and the conquered, is their differing in language, as well as in almost every action and every custom in life. The tongue, which is the key of the treasures of the heart and mind, and which serves as a medium to strengthen the bands of society, as well as an organ to unlock the secrets of the heart, happens to be deprived of its office between the Hindostanies and the English. Most of the English Gentlemen do not understand the language of their subjects, and none of these last understand a word of English. It follows, of course, that a company of Hindians, having business with their English rulers, looks very much like a number of pictures set up against the wall; and this happens not only because the Gentlemen having always a deal of business of their own to transact, cannot afford much of their time to others, but chiefly because they cannot understand each other, and are unable to have a communication of ideas.
28.1.5
Whence it follows that no benefit is reaped by either description of men from such an intercourse; but as the Hindians are always the petitioners, they always prove the greatest losers from that inconvenience, being always at a loss what to do next. And if the Moonshy or the Divan happen to be the interpreter of communication, and the canal of comprehension and explanation, it becomes necessary for the petitioner that, after having said a few words to the master, he explains the rest entirely to the Moonshy, on which occasion the latter asks the whole matter over again; and it is seldom but the suitor is thereby put off his guard, and gives rise to much discontent and much dissatisfaction on either side. Were these men now, who rule everywhere, to remain for a length of time in command, they would become acquainted with the language, customs, and usages of one district, and would acquire a full knowledge of the several individuals that dwell in the same; nor is there any doubt, but that they would rule much better, and become much livelier to promote the welfare of the people, than would be a stranger, who always comes thoroughly unacquainted with either men, language, or country. On the other hand, as these rulers have all their necessaries from their own country, it follows that the handycraftsmen and artificers of this land suffer constantly, live in distress, and find it difficult to procure a livelihood sufficient to support their lives.
28.1.6
For as the English are now the rulers and the masters of this country, as well as the only rich men in it, to whom can those poor people look up for offering the productions of their art, so as to benefit by their expenses? It is only some artificers that can find a livelihood with the English, such as carpenters, silver-smiths, iron-smiths, &c; nay, they subsist upon better terms than they did under the Hindostany Government, and possibly two or three trades more, the names whereof I cannot now recollect, may fare the better for these strangers. But as to those numerous artificers of other denominations, they have no other resource left than that of begging or thieving. Numbers, therefore have already quitted their homes and countries; and numbers unwilling to leave their abodes, have made a covenant with hunger and distress, and ended their lives in a corner of their cottages. To heighten this picture now, let us imagine that at such a time of general distress and want of employment as this, when to get a meal at night is become a matter of so much difficulty, we are perpetually cursed with shoals of peons or messengers, and constables of the Fodjdary office, all let loose upon the necessitous people, whom they torment by every invention which chicane and accusation can contrive. These wretches, under pretence of diet-money to themselves, harass the people with so much cruelty, that the shaft has sunk to the quick, and the knife has cut through to the bone;
28.1.7
and it is thus that the Fodjdary office, originally set up for the ease of the subject, has been perverted into a scene of extortion and tyranny. Nor does such an evil come alone and by itself; it comes along with the want of employment, and the want of subsistence, and over and above the vexation of being often impressed for public service. Nor does that evil make any distinction betwixt the high, the low, or the middling; nor is there any one to recur to in so much distress, but God Almighty. As the English Gentlemen, to rid themselves of the necessity of hearing these poor people, have made them over to the Fodjdars; and these Fodjdars, with their substitutes, find their own welfare in undoing these poor people; they go on without remorse in their iniquitous proceedings, and make nothing of spreading every day upon their table the carcass of some wretched, as an addition to their dessert.
28.2.1
The melting of the candle affords a hold to the moth: The oppressor finds his livelihood close to the oppressed. Thanks be to God, that since the Fodjdary has been taken from the Indians, and lodged in the hands of English Gentlemen, these violences have ceased, and the weather has a little cleared up for the poor. May God grant that, in other matters likewise, evil may be changed into good! The third cause that hinders the tranquillity of the country, and proves a bar to the happiness of the people, may be found out in the endless variations in the persons appointed to posts of trust and charges of importance. In this country the custom was, first of all, to enquire thoroughly into any one's faculties and abilities, to examine into his fitness and into the goodness of his character, and then to appoint him to an office, where, as soon as his talents, his exactitude, and his good management had been put to the test, he was confirmed, of course; and he acquired daily an experience, which enabled him to dispatch business with so much vivacity and steadiness, that life was like a parterre laid out with odoriferous flowers of delightful hues. But these rules and maxims are not adhered to by the English. They appoint to offices, at their pleasure, or on powerful recommendation, or on the seniority of rank, without minding whether the appointed is completely incapable of fulfilling his duty, or unlikely ever after to acquire abilities.
28.2.2
For it has been often experienced, that one of them being appointed to an office, to which he was a complete stranger, managed so well as to acquire a stock of knowledge and abilities that would now entitle him to such an appointment, of course, were he to be appointed hereafter to it; when lo! presently such a man was transferred elsewhere, and another appointed in his stead, who was as complete a stranger to the duties of that station as had been the former; and, whereas the English have besides a custom of coming for a number of years, and then of going away to pay a visit to their native country, without any one of them shewing an inclination to fix himself in this land; hence ignorance and incapacity come to be transmitted from hand to hand. And as they join to that custom that other one of theirs, which every one of those emigrants holds to be of Divine obligation, I mean, that of scraping together as much money in this country as they can, and carrying it in immense sums to the kingdom of England; so it is not surprising at all if these two customs, blended together, should be ever undermining and ruining this country, and should become an eternal bar to its ever flourishing again. The case was different heretofore. It was these Gentlemen that imported every year gold and silver into this land, where joining that which was already in the land, it procured an abundant circulation, and promoted every one's good.
28.2.3
Still notwithstanding all those discouragements, it happens sometimes that a man once promoted to an office, acquires in a course of years such a stock of knowledge, and such abilities, as afford hopes of his continuing in it, and of his ruling according to those abilities of his which he has been at so much pains to hoard up; when straight there comes upon him a group of two or three men from Europe, who know nothing of business, but are superior to him in rank, or seniority, or influence; and these take possession of his post, while the man of abilities and merit, disgusted and discontented at his being deprived of what he deserved, thinks of going home, and of leaving the field to the disposal of the ignorant new-comers, who now sit in his stead, and in their ignorance of men and things, are immediately surrounded and hooked in by a set of wary, artificious fellows, who, by hanging out false lights, and shewing them pretended flowery paths, and false gardens evergreen, find means to lead them by the nose, and to become meanwhile the centre and hinges of every matter of importance, to the utter ruin of all the good which their predecessor had done, and to the disturbance of all the regulations which he had been at so much pains to establish; and years elapse and come to pass, before these new-comers become qualified enough to hear of the practices of these their dependants.
28.2.4
But even supposing that the able and experienced man above, foregoing his journey home, should choose to stay amongst the new-comers, nevertheless, as matters are to be transacted in a Council, all his efforts and all his speeches prove to be of no avail, unless the three uninformed new-comers choose to listen to reason themselves, and to enforce his regulations on their side. We have even seen that these men, being very often misled by their informers and dependants, as well as carried away by a desire of becoming themselves the centre of all transactions, are very apt to pay no regard, and to afford no confidence, to the representations of the able man above; but on the contrary, sure of a preponderance enforced by a majority of, for instance, three or four to one, they put shackles to his feet, and hinder his proceeding in business; all which we have seen to pass, when the Governor-General was overpowered by General Clavering and his party; nor do matters go much otherwise in the six departments of Bengal. The fourth cause is what they call the Council. That Council is an assembly similar to that brought together by the second Qhalif, for the purpose of choosing a successor to himself, but in which his intention was to debar the females of the Prince of the Faithful from those rights fixed on them by Divine institution.
28.2.5
It signifies an assembly of Gentlemen intent upon a particular business, where if there be a diversity of opinion, that opinion gets the better, and is approved of, that has most Members on its side; whereas if the votes be equal, then as the Governor, in consequence of his superior station and dignity, is counted for two men, his side prevails, just as it did happen in Abdol-rahman's Council. But that method, although extremely advantageous, (since penetration and safety are always to be found where there is consultation,) has nevertheless its inconveniencies. Now it is a condition requisite in all consultations, that the person who is to give his advice, should have deserved to be trusted, and also that the foot of private views and partialities should not find admittance in the assembly; conditions that are not to be found in the English Council, and which probably did not exist in the Arabian one neither. Such assemblies, besides, are to be wished for only on such occasions of extraordinary importance, as embarrass the minds of the uncertain, and stagger the feet of the most discerning; and noways in the details of execution, and still less in every small matter, and every minutiae that may occur. Such a system gives rise to an infinity of disturbances and confusions, and perpetually impedes the wheels of Government; especially where the business requires dispatch and vivacity, or where it is a question to determine differents, or to send necessary orders.
28.2.6
The rules of the Council happen to be such, that whatever business has come to be offered to the Governor of Calcutta, or to the ruler of some other place, at the present moment, or has been prayed for by the petitioners this long-while, all that is kept in store for the day of assembling the Council, when the above affairs are proposed in that assembly, the respective Agents and Advocates attending the same; at which time, if all that store of business is put an end to, and is determined, the Council give their answer in the form of a decree; else, the petitioners are to wait for another Council; and as over and above the multiplicity of public business, there are at all times dissensions in that assembly, and a diversity of opinions, whether out of friendship to any one, or out of disgust to the petitioner, whilst there is often an opposition of votes, as for instance, when two of the Members side with one person, and two or three more support another, or because some enmity has been conceived by one of their dependants to the petitioner; hence a sensible man will easily conclude that a determination becomes difficult and nearly impossible. And thus, after numbers have been consuming their time in attendance, if any one should, by chance, come to gain his cause, it proves that upon the whole he is no gainer at all.
28.2.7
Heretofore there was in every district a Chief, a man of knowledge, abilities, and experience, who determined with an absolute authority in every matter, and every difference; nor had he more than two or three principal dependants. On a first representation from a petitioner, the matter was immediately taken up and examined, and a determination was instantly given, to the best of the Chief's abilities. After a proper examination, an order, where necessary, was issued, and the plaintiff went away, either the same day, or a few days after, with his award in his pocket. So that matters had an end, one after another; nor was it necessary, as it is now the case, that a man, after having spent years of his time in expectation, and great part of his life in attendance, should, at the end of that, find himself disappointed and undone. In the beginning of the dominion of the English, where there was but one Chief to apply to, and but one able Deputy, as Radja Shytab-ray, and others, to transact the minutiae of business, the affairs of the natives went on briskly, and were dispatched, in some manner or other, but still were dispatched; nor was the people of God obliged to undergo such doubts and such losses of time, as we see to-day; and although those times were not free from partialities and private views neither, yet upon the whole matters flowed on swiftly, be it in what manner soever it seemed best to their rulers.
28.2.8
Nor did the miseries of endless delay and endless expectation melt mankind away; nor did the people of God become the victims of endless altercation amongst their rulers. For I remember that on the dismission of Radjah Shytab-ray, when Mr. George Vansittart was appointed Chief, and became the centre of all business, I took the liberty to represent to him, "That Radja Shytab-ray used to spend his time from one-half of each day down to one-third of each night in hearing petitions, and in giving decisions, by which assiduity he dispatched much business, and gave a great deal of ease to every one. I added, that the people of God, deprived of such a man, would very naturally express their anxiety, about what might be his pleasure now on that head." He answered that, being not accustomed, like Shytab-ray, to sit in public amongst hundreds of people, nor to listen to complaints, and to determine causes, he could not believe that he would be able to comprehend one-half of them; but that those that had any business with Government might apply to himself privately, as he conceived that in the recess and silence of a closet he would be more recollected and better able to give a decision. Upon this I requested that orders should be given to the sentries to admit all comers, and directions to the ushers or chopdars to introduce every one. Immediately he gave the necessary orders, and they proved strict orders;
28.2.9
and as he was a man of quick apprehension, and very active in body and mind, and could not bear to have his lesson taught him by a Moonshy or Secretary, or his task dictated to by a Divan, or indeed by any man, he proved to be as good as his word, and he constantly dispatched a great deal of business. This state of things did not last, and the affairs and petitions growing numerous, people began to suffer from delays; when after a little time Mr. Law arrived, and wiped clean the eyes of the people of God with the sleeve of goodness and affability. After this, God knows, what is likely to happen. For it appears that to find out one single man's way, and to be upon good terms with him, is an easy matter; or if he be discontented, it is not difficult to make up matters with him; but to find one's way to the favor of fifteen or twenty persons, or even more, that compose a Council, (including their dependants and officers), or to guard against their resentment, is a task very difficult and complicated, and such as exceeds the power and abilities of a poor suitor, and indeed such as would prove above the patience of any one. Never was this so well brought to the proof as after Radja Shytab-ray's dismission, and the establishment of a Council in his stead.
28.2.10
It was at the festival ending the Ramazan, or month of fast, when the Nobility, Gentry, and principal men of the city, who used in that day to offer their nezurs to Radja Shytab-ray, were necessitated to pay that mark of respect to every one of the five Members of the Council. Vansittart, on seeing this, could not help observing openly, that whoever hitherto had been clear with presenting one mohur or one rupee only, would be now obliged to provide five, which was what many could not afford; whereupon having conferred upon the subject with the others, he published, that at the next festival of the Corban or Sacrifice, people should present one nezur to the Chief only, and that would be enough, as no other was wanted, or expected; and in fact, so it came to pass. But some professed flatterers, who wished no good to any money that might remain in an Hindostani's pocket, went out, notwithstanding the prohibition; and, to shew their sentiments of respect to greater advantage, they repaired to the houses of the other Members, and presented a particular nezur to each of them. Some that could ill afford the contribution, did the same, lest the Gentlemen, thinking themselves slighted, should bear them a grudge; and those that were utterly unable, submitted to their fate, and remained moping in their corners.
28.2.11
The fifth cause consists in the difference betwixt the manner in which the English in office appear in public, and give audience to suitors, and that in which it has been at all times customary to hold a Durbar in this country. Our illustrious Sovereigns of Hindostan, those Princes so studious of justice and equity, had it in custom to divide their time for different purposes, and had made a rule of that distribution, on which they never encroached by any other occupation; but in that division, two kinds of businesses held always the first rank. The first was the examination and decision of affairs relative to revenue and Government; the second the rights of individuals, and the rules of distributive justice to the people of God. For each of these purposes they had set apart two days in the week, at which time they appeared publicly in all their pomp, grandeur and glory. They were surrounded at some distance by their Ministers and officers; and they gave a general audience, where any one might present his petition himself, and speak to them face to face; by which means the Sovereign being informed of the state of the country, and of the behaviour of its rulers, could provide such a remedy as the matter required; and by such means he became acquainted with the wants and complaints of his subjects and descendants.
28.2.12
But as those Princes did not live in one and the same place, but made a travelling circuit almost every year, of course they had opportunities of hearing with their own ears, and of seeing with their own eyes, the circumstances of the subject and the necessities of the country. In the same manner they spent two days in the week in rendering justice, and in hearing the cries of the oppressed; nor did they shew any impatience at the screams and reproaches of the crowds that pressed upon them. Matters are far from being so now with the English Gentlemen, as these (and this has been already hinted at in the foregoing sheets) hate appearing in public audiences, and whenever they come to appear at all, it is to betray extreme uneasiness, impatience, and anger, on seeing themselves surrounded by crowds, and on hearing their complaints, and clamours. Hence it follows naturally that they must be in the dark with respect to the real state of the country, and the circumstances of the subject; and hence multitudes of people remain deprived of the sight of their rulers, and never see any thing of that benignity and that munificence which might be expected from people that now sit on the throne of Kings, and figure as the representatives of Emperors.