INDIAN FAMINES - Institute for Social and Economic Change

AXD PRESS CRITICISM. 165
deaths and no censure, with this one death which
is to consign to obloquy a whole Government!
The statement that the public were or are not
aware of any such enormous mortality cannot
be admitted. The press, if it was convinced
that deaths represent culpability, should have
preached about it till every child was familiar
with the fact,and could point to it with the finger
of scorn. My argument is, that humanity was as
sensitive a century ago as it is to-day, but the
men of that day did not live in that constant
state of excitement which is characteristic of the
present age; they did not consider it necessary
to travel at the rate of 60 miles an hour, but
were content with one-tenth of that speed;
they liked to hear what their neighbours were
doing, but they were satisfied to know the results
when time had somewhat mellowed,
softened, and corrected reports. It was not
necessary to their existence that the conversations
between so-and-so should be supposed to
be known and reported in detail within a few
hours of the occurrence. N or was it necessary
that every suicide, theft, or murder case, should
be discussed throughout the length and breadth