owever,
the entire abolition should appear to the Court to be impracticable in
itself, or inexpedient, as offending any established religious opinion
of the Hindoos," the Court were desired to consider the best means of
preventing the abuses, such as the use of drugs and the sacrifice of
those of immature age. But the preamble of this reference to the
judges declared it to be one of the fundamental principles of the
British Government to consult the religious opinions of the natives,
"consistently with the principles of morality, reason, and humanity."
There spoke Carey and Udny, and Wellesley himself. But for another
quarter of a century the funeral pyres were to blaze with the living
also, because that caveat was set aside, that fundamental maxim of the
constitution of much more than the British Government--of the
conscience of humanity, was carefully buried up. The judges asked the
pundits whether the woman is "enjoined" by the shaster voluntarily to
burn herself with the body of her husband. They replied "every woman of
the four castes is permitted to burn herself," except in certain cases
enumerated, and they quoted Manoo, who is against the custom in so far
as he says that a virtuous wife ascends to heaven if she devotes
herself to pious austerities after the decease of her lord.

This opinion would have been sufficient to give the requisite native
excuse to Government for the abolition, but the Nizamat Adawlat judges
urged the "principle" of "manifesting every possible indulgence to the
religious opinions and prejudices of the natives," ignoring morality,
reason, and humanity alike. Lord Wellesley's long and brilliant
administration of eight years was virtually at an end: in seven days he
was to embark for home. The man who had preserved the infants from the
sharks of Sagar had to leave the widows and their children to be saved
by the civilians Carey and he had personally trained, Metcalfe and
Bayley, who by 1829 had risen to Council and become colleagues of Lord
W. Bentinck. But Lord Wellesley did this much, he declined to notice
the so-called "prohibitory regulations" recommended by the civilian
judges. These, when adopted in the year 1812, made the British
Government responsible by legislation for every murder thereafter, and
greatly increased the number of murders. From that date the Government
of India decided "to allow the practice," as recognised and encouraged
by the Hindoo religion, except in cases