d at all times, and the people of India
require to be assured that they can be so. It has not, I think, been
found that troops actually employed in the hot winds and rains lose
more men than in cantonments, at least native troops.

It was, I think, your Lordship's intention that, in the Lahore state,
we should guide, direct, and supervise the administration, but not
take all the executive upon ourselves, to the exclusion of all the
old native aristocracy, as we had done in Afghanistan. This policy
has not, I am afraid, been adhered to sufficiently; and we have,
probably, less of the sympathy and cordial good-will of the higher
and middle classes than we should otherwise have had. But I am too
far from the scene to be a fair judge in such matters.

The policy of interposing Hindoo native states between us and the
beggarly fanatical countries to the north-west no wise man can, I
think, doubt; for, however averse our Government may be to encroach
and creep on, it would be drawn on by the intermeddling dispositions
and vainglory of local authorities; and every step would be ruinous,
and lead to another still more ruinous. With the Hindoo
principalities on our border we shall do very well, and trust that we
shall long be able to maintain them in the state required for their
own interests and ours.

I wish England would put forth its energies to raise the colony of
New Zealand, the queen of the Pacific Ocean; for the relations
between that island and India must some day become very intimate, and
the sooner it begins the better. I am very glad to find by the last
mail that the French have put their affairs into better hands--those
of practical men, instead of visionaries.

Believe me, with great respect,
Your Lordship's obedient, humble servant,
(Signed) W. H. SLEEMAN.

To Lieut.-General the Right Hon.
Henry Viscount Hardinge, G.C.B.,
&c. &c. &c.

____________________________

Jhansee, 22nd August 1848.

My Dear Sir Erskine,

I thank you for kindly sending me a copy of your Address to the
Native Youth at Bombay and their Parents, and should have done so
earlier, but it has been in circulation among many of my friends who
feel interested in the subject. Whatever may be thought of the
question as to where we should begin, all concur in acknowledging the
truth of your conclusions as to the val