CHAPTER VIEuropeans, Anglo-Indians, Eurasians
Allpeople of foreign blood from western lands, and the descendants of these, however remote or however little the trace of Western blood they have, are in India technically called “Europeans.” Before the law they have the rights of a trial by jury, and in the school laws they are classed as “Europeans.” But it is far more accurate to divide this class into three divisions—the pure “Europeans,” the “Anglo-Indians,” and the “Eurasians.” By this division the Europeans are people born and reared in Europe, or America, who are now found in Southern Asia. The Anglo-Indians are those people of mixed European blood who have been born and reared in India. The Eurasian, as the name implies, is a man who has both European and Asiatic blood. For the purposes of comparison these may be named in two classes, the Western born and bred man, the European, as distinguished from Eastern born relatives, Anglo-Indians and Eurasians. I want it made very clear that in discussing the characteristics and relations of these several peoples, that I am not drawing invidious comparisons. I have no sympathy whatever with asperities heaped uponmen because of their race; neither do I patronize any man because of his race. I long ago concluded that character is not a matter of race; that lovable or royal manhood is not a question of ancestry or position, but that nearly all essential differences in men are due to environment and to personal conduct, for which each man is responsible. But comparisons not invidious must be made to bring out the various features of social and business life that enter into the complex racial intermingling of Southern Asia. At best this complexity of life can be but partially understood by readers in America, who have never seen anything quite like it.
The characteristics of Europeans and Americans are well known in the Western world. My subject calls for only those characteristics which they hold in common, and these features of character as modified by residence in the tropics and under the social conditions of Asia. These characteristics are contrasted in a decided way, as compared with any and all Asiatic trained men of any race or racial mixture. These elements of character are most noticeable in the energy that takes them to the tropics, their capacity to organize business or government, and maintain a modern and systematic organization of the highest efficiency, and that peculiar capacity for just and progressive governmental domination. This energy and this capacity for organization, which of course involves the power to work out painstaking details, are characteristic of the Northern civilization, and never found in the same degree, as far as I know, amongany peoples that have been bred in the tropics. It is a matter of great importance in working out the simplest framework of a theory of racial influence in the world to recognize the fact that all real pioneering, all colossal accomplishments in all lands in modern times, have been made by men bred in the colder countries of the temperate zone. These are the men who forge the world forward in their own native climes, and in the frigid zone, and also in the scorching tropics. The tropical world presents no people who hold their own with these exotics, even under their native skies. It is this quality of the European that makes him the dominating man in India. He creates and fosters government and business enterprises on a large scale. As a man, the European is a mightier personal force than Asia can produce.
That this energy is largely a result of climate and social environment is very plain when we compare the Western man with the characteristics of the descendants of Europeans who have had only an Indian upbringing. And in all comparisons I will class the Anglo-Indian and the Eurasian together, for so they belong. They both follow the same habits of life, so far as style of living is concerned, similar to that of the European resident in India. In these respects they have much in common with all Europeans. They are all classed together as compared with the native. But here the similarity between the imported man and his Indian-bred relative comes to an abrupt end. The driving and conquering energy of the Western manis wanting in his relative of even one generation of Asiatic breeding. It is clear that this difference, which all observing men recognize, is purely due to environment of climate and social customs. They are as bright in mind as the Western men. They are excellent students to a certain point. They are specially facile letter-writers. But the line of occupations which their Asiatic life and conditions fit them for, is very limited indeed. The limitations of their lives are many. The most depressing of all their conditions grows out of the fact that they from infancy are dependent for the greater part of all life’s duties on the native servant. The baby is nursed by a nativeayah; his clothes are kept in order for him by a servant. He is fed, clothed, and cared for by half a dozen menials. His boots are blacked for him; his books carried to school; his umbrella held over his head; his pony is groomed, saddled, and led while he rides, by a servant whom he is accustomed to command in everything. He is helped and coddled out of all independence and self-helpfulness. In all this he is not to be blamed, but pitied. In this he does as all his relatives and neighbors do. His household and business methods, all that he sees, is being done this way. Not one man of European descent in India lives entirely by his own efforts, as is common in Western countries. His dependence on menials is therefore a necessity of respectable life, as he sees it. He is not to be blamed, for he sees nothing better around him. But this admission does not require that we approve the social conditionsthat unman him and rob him of much energy and resourcefulness in the matter of self-help. It is a fact that he develops a softness of character in matters of personal habit, and lacks in the energy which is required only by long and sustained self-dependent work. For this reason all the hardier traits of manhood are feebly developed, or lacking. You do not find these men entering callings where hard service is required. They do not make either soldiers or sailors. Some of them become engineers, but they are only found in places where the work is largely done by native helpers, and even here few of them compete with the Scotch or German engineer.
But the difference wrought by social conditions is seen more in matters of disposition than elsewhere. No race of the human family can boast of good dispositions. However, we do find that Indian-born men are unduly sensitive. They are usually easily “offended,” even to pouting. They are sensitive of their “status,” whatever their positions may be. A multiplied illustration of this supersensitiveness is found in the recklessness with which men will resign from any and every post when, for some reason or without reason, their feelings are hurt. They will often go from comfort to beggary just because they may be displeased with their treatment. And that which seems almost a paradox, compared with the preceding fact, is that they will stand almost any amount of outright snubbing from people whom they respect for some pretentious assumption of superiority. I have been puzzledmany times to understand how it was when I went to a disgruntled man with soft speech to pacify him, if for reason or without it he was disaffected, to find that he would take my approach to him as a sign of weakness, and be confirmed in his unlovely manners. But I have seen the same man benefited by the sharpest rebuke which gave him no quarter at all.
But while the Anglo-Indians have all the disposition in common with the Eurasian, they are distinguished in common speech in a way that often causes much pain to high-minded Eurasians. They are called “Half-castes” and “Niggers.” They are scorned for being born of questionable parentage. This is by no means true of the most of these unfortunate people, as an increasing proportion of them are born in wedlock, and often are the children of cultured and orderly homes, the equal of any on earth. But when true as a fact, it does not affect their character or real moral worth. But there is a sting, the more painful for its injustice, on the innocent child born of mixed parentage, when born out of wedlock, which in the cruelty of social speech attaches more shame to the innocent child than guilt to the heartless father. I have been led to believe that this injustice accounts for much of the supersensitiveness in the whole Eurasian community. Then they labor under the disadvantage often of having a very dark skin. It is a curious law of nature that the Eurasian child often has a darker skin than even his Asiatic parent. In a country where shades of color, light or dark,are measured by a supersensitive scale, and social recognition is to some extent based upon this absurd measurement, it will be seen that the Eurasian, especially if very dark, is overmuch pained that he has not a white skin, and he feels the fling of the term “Nigger,” often on the lips of those whose only whiteness is in their skins.
One more characteristic of the Asiatic-bred men of European descent may be given. They do not take kindly to burdensome responsibilities, even after Indian pattern, especially for their own kindred and race. In a country where there are more charitable institutions in proportion to the population than in any other in the world, and perhaps greater need of such institutions, yet it remains a painful fact that, with a few exceptions—so exceptional as to make the real nobility of the mind of the few more striking—there is a very small part of the money necessary for their support given by the Anglo-Indians, or Eurasians. The greatest amount of money to keep these institutions going is given by men foreign to the country. But another like fact of note is this, that there is not one such institution, so far as I can learn, the burdensome responsibility of which is actually carried by an Indian-bred man, or company of men. There are many working faithfully in subordinate capacities. But when it comes to organizing and maintaining such an institution, and bearing its burdens through crises, the Indian-bred men have not been found under the load. The suggestiveness of these facts is a commentary on either thelack of real charity, or lack of energy to bear responsible burdens. Having been in this sort of work in various capacities for all the time I have been in the mission field, I feel it is due to the institutions of this kind, and the workers who bear the burdens of the same, to point out this failure of this branch of the Indian peoples to measure up to a manifest duty, and to say further, that I believe this shrinking from personal responsibility to be a direct result of training from childhood, which teaches them to avoid unpleasant tasks and drop them upon others. They would order a servant to do the work if it could be done that way; but if not, then the Western man or woman must do it, or it goes undone.
One more characteristic must be mentioned. It can not be denied that the lack of manly independence in a majority of Indian-bred men leads them to be forever asking somebody to do something for them. Many of them will appeal to ministers especially, and all charitably-disposed people, to get them into positions for which they are often wholly unqualified. They will ask you to aid them with money; borrow or beg without any sensibility of its unmanliness whatever. It takes a very large part of every minister’s time to respond to these incessant calls for “help.”
It would take reams of paper to write all the supplications, petitions, and applications for positions, when the applicants for aid should present themselves in person and ask for posts, conscious of their own ability to sustain themselves. AScotchman in Rangoon, whom I knew, and a man with most kindly heart, in a position where he was often besieged for employment, grew so tired of this unmanly method of applying for employment, that he became annoyed every time he saw a man with one of those letters of recommendation coming to him. He warned me repeatedly that, as a minister, I ought not to write these letters of recommendation to business men, and in later years I ceased to do so. One constant form of this appeal for some special favor has been repeatedly to approach the Indian Government to retain certain positions for the special benefit of this community. The Anglo-Indian and Eurasian associations have repeatedly memorialized the viceroy to order these favors. Lord Curzon, the present viceroy, gave their memorials special attention, and as a result he delivered a reply of the most searching kind, and urged the people of this community to carve out something worthy themselves, instead of being continually memorializing for special favors, and refused to aid in the special class regulations. The delegation retired, “thanking his excellency for his sarcastic remarks.” Yet I fear it will take more sarcasm before the right mettle is put into this people, as a class.
Now while I have written these facts as I see them, I wish to avoid absolutely a mistake commonly made. While we point out these weaknesses in a community, we must not stop there, as the manner of some is. There are those who would not allow themselves to speak of the real worthyones among these peoples as heartily as they would of the deficiencies of others. I want to be fair and to lean in statement where my sympathies have always been, with the better and noble characteristics of these unfortunate people, as I have known and valued them, and recognize the possibility of toning up the moral fiber, if they are taken in hand as boys and girls before being confirmed in the weakening customs of the country.
The youth, both boys and girls, of these families have many among them who will take a fine education. They do excellent work in school. Some take a university course. A greater number ought to do so. They make very good clerks where nothing but writing is to be done. This has been the chief employment of the men hitherto. They are very fair teachers. A few have been employed in our mission, who for painstaking care and faithfulness can not be excelled. Some of them have been inspired to be and do all that is worthy and noble. There are missionaries from among these peoples whose ministry has been blessed of God, and greatly edified the Church. It is a fact, however, that for the last dozen years there has been almost a dearth of such applicants for admission to our ranks. It is also true that the falling off in these applications corresponds nearly with the time that those who were in our Indian Conferences were advanced to the full status of American-trained missionaries. Let this be pondered and remedied. Some of the young people have done nobly. A few have honored themselvesand the Church by an education in America, and returned to devoted service for their own people. But happily we have an illustrious soul of this community, recently translated, whose going has made earth poorer, except in hallowed memories of her sainted life, and heaven richer. When we meet one such soul as the sainted Phœbe Rowe, we lift up our hearts with thanks to Him who has made the Christ-life so real in flesh that we could look upon. Phœbe Rowe was a Eurasian. She had all the Indian conditions, but from very early life she was a devoted Christian. In riper years she developed Christian graces to the highest possibility. After a notable service in many capacities, she closed her career by a long term of service as an evangelist to the poor native Church of India. Her life and labors have been recorded, and are the property of the Church. I only write to say of her that she was the most perfect fruit of our Indian Mission. Bishop Thoburn, in his address before the Central Conference in 1900, spoke of her departure, and said, “Phœbe Rowe, the most peerless saint I have ever known.” One such saint is a prophecy of all possible good among these people.
The climate and social conditions do affect Europeans also. This is manifest in very many ways. From having servants to do the necessary work for them, they easily drift into the habit of leaning back in an easy-chair, and calling “boy” for everything they want, from a drink of water to a toothpick. I saw an extreme case. A young Scotchman, just out of the office in the evening, went tothe Royal Lakes and called for his boat. His servant dutifully brought it to the low platform; waiting the pleasure of his master. The young man turned him slowly round and sat down in the boat, but left his legs stretched on the platform. The servant went out and lifted one leg in, and the other leg likewise. When the whole man was in he pushed the boat off the shore, and the master took lazily to the oars!
The habit of being waited upon in everything tends to develop the domineering habit among almost all people. Little children often fairly drive the servants about as they assert their pettishness. Grown-up people often act as spoiled children in the same way. A young man who comes from Europe from conditions where he had to do every kind of work himself, soon learns to order his servants around with more pomp than any born lord. The tendency of this kind trends also to extravagance in living. It is so common for men getting a good salary to live beyond their means. It is a common thing when an officer on good salary dies, for his friends to take up a public subscription for his widow, who will often be found to be without support of any kind.
In these respects, the climate and the environment are seductive. The sterling simplicity that makes Westerners great is easily frittered away in the East. Men go in for display. They keep what they call “establishments.” They are much given to drink. Too often they debauch. It is certain that a young man runs far more risk in this tropicalclimate of making moral shipwreck than in Europe or America. Take away his moral props with which he is surrounded at home, and he quickly forms alliances to his own heart. Concubinage is very common. At first the youth is ashamed of this relation, but later he is likely to flaunt this sin in the face of all men. He sometimes acts as if he were perfectly reckless of moral consequences. The good name he brought to the country and his own loved ones at home are forgotten. It is a common saying, “He left his morals at the Suez Canal.”
But while this is true as a tendency, it is the joy of the writer to emphasize the fact that not a few men, young men, come from Europe to the tropics and keep themselves pure and noble in the midst of all that is seductive in climate or society. I have known a goodly number of such, and count them among the most genuinely noble men that I have met. There are men of many years in the country whose moral worth has grown with a steady growth as the years have gone forward, and have made themselves a name that is a rebuke to every dishonorable or unclean life, and a tower of strength for themselves, and a mighty bulwark against popular evils that degrade their fellow-countrymen. These men, with their time, business sense, and their money, are always actively on the side of right and righteousness. No people have had more such friendships in India than the Methodist missionaries. I have been specially honored with a wide acquaintance with such noble men.