Every  governor-general  would  take  out  with  him,  or  would  soon  be
followed  by,  a  crowd  of  nephews,  first  and  second  cousins,  friends,
sons  of  friends,  and  political  hangers-on;  while  every  steamer  arriv-
ing from  the  Red  Sea,  would  carry  to  India  souk;  adventurer  bearing
with  him  testimonials  from  people  of  influence  in  England.  The
governor-general  would  have  it  in  his  power  to  distribute  residences,
seats  at  the  council  board,  seats  at  the  revenue  board, — places  of
from  four  thousand  pounds  to  six  thousand  pounds  a  year, — upon
men  without  the  least  acquaintance  with  the  character  or  habits  of
the  natives,  and  with  only  such  knowledge  of  the  language  as  would
enable  them  to  call  for  another  bottle  of  pale  ale,  or  desire  their  at-
tendant to  pull  the  punka  faster.  In  what  way  could  you  put  a
check  on  such  proceedings  ?  Would  you,  the  House  of  Commons,
control  them  ?  Have  you  been  so  successful  in  extirpating  nepotism
at  your  own  door,  and  in  excluding  all  abuses  from  AVhitehall  and
Somerset  House,  that  you  should  fancy  that  you  could  establish
purity  in  countries  the  situation  of  which  you  do  not  know,  and  the
names  of  which  you  cannot  pronounce?  I  believe  most  fully,  that,
instead  of  purity  resulting  from  that  arrangement  to  India,  England
itself  would  soon  be  tainted;  and  that  before  long,  when  a  son  or
brother  of  some  active  member  of  this  House  went  out  to  Calcutta,
carrying  with  him  a  letter  of  recommendation  from  the  prime-minister
to  the  governor-general,  that  letter  would  be  really  a  bill  of  exchange
drawn  on  the  revenues  of  India  for  value  received  in  parliamentary
support  in  this  House.
