They are always one
of the chief difficulties of the Government. Armed with the
prestige and filled with the scornful overbearingness of the
conquering Nation, they have the feelings inspired by absolute
power without its sense of responsibility.
Similarly, Sir John Lawrence wrote:
The difficulty in the way of the Government of India acting
fairly in these matters is immense. If anything is done, or
attempted to be done, to help the natives, a general howl is
raised, which reverberates in England, and finds sympathy and
support there. I feel quite bewildered sometimes what to do.
Everyone is, in the abstract, for justice, moderation, and
suchlike excellent qualities; but when one comes to apply such
principles so as to affect anybody's interests, then a change
comes over them.
Keene, speaking of the principle of treating equally all classes of the
community, says:
The application of that maxim, however, could not be made
without sometimes provoking opposition among the handful of
white settlers in India who, even when not connected with the
administration, claimed a kind of class ascendancy which was
not only in the conditions of the country but also in the
nature of the case.
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