India's cries to British humanity, relative to the suttee, infanticide, British connexion with idolatry, ghaut murders, and slavery in India; : to which is added humane hints for the melioration of the state of society in British India. / By J. Peggs.

  • Peggs, James, 1793-1850.
Date:
1830
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: India's cries to British humanity, relative to the suttee, infanticide, British connexion with idolatry, ghaut murders, and slavery in India; : to which is added humane hints for the melioration of the state of society in British India. / By J. Peggs. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    27/556 (page 9)
    “ When Row Lacka, grandfather of the present chief of Cutch, died, fifteen concubines burned at his funeral pile, but not one of his wives performed the sacrifice.”—Hamilton s Hmdostan, voli p. 638 P “ It is consolatory to state,” says Sir John Malcolm, that those shocking scenes which still occur on the death of the princes oj Juypore, Joudpore, and Oudipore, to swell whose funeral honours numbers of un- willing females are forcibly thrown upon the pile, have long been unknown in Malwa.* Though the number of Suttees in India is not so great as to preclude the possibility of the abolition of the prac- tice, yet it is so considerable as to call aloud for Britain to stretch forth her hand, and save^ those who are “ drawn unto death and ready to be slain.” Number of Suttees in the different Districts of the Bengal Presidency, from 1815 to 1824. 1815 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 c* CO 1822 1823 1824 Calcutta Division 244 280 428 533 388 1337 364 300 309 348 Cuttack Ditto.... 9 9 14 11 33 33 28 28 31 25 Dacca Ditto 31 24 52 58 55 51 52 45 40 40 Moorshcdabad ... 11 22 42 30 25 21 12 22 13 14 Patna Ditto 20 29 49 57 40 42 69 70 49 42 Bareilly Ditto.... 15 13 19 13 17 20 15 16 12 10 Benares Ditto. .. 48 65 103 137 92 93 114 102 121 93 Total .. 378 442 707 839 <650 598 653 583 575 572 Total in the Presidency of Bengal in ten years 5997 In eight years in the Madras Presidency 287 In nine years in the Bombay Presidency 248 There being uo returns for Tanjore, from 1814 to 1819 in- 4 slusive (17 being returned for 1820), lowest possible £ 40 estimate for six years 3 In the Par. Papers, May, 1827, no regular returns are given V for Madras. In the Southern Concan (Bombay) in 1824, £ 60 27; in 1825, 32. Northern Concan in 1825, 1 Suttee . 3 Total in ten years, for the three Presidencies . 6632 Bengal Presidency, 1825, 639; 1826, 518 1157 7789f As it may be interesting to see at one view the extent of the practice under the Bengal Presidency,| where it chiefly prevails, the following abstract is given from the Parlia- mentary Papers, May, 1827, p,124:— * Report on Malwa, Feb. 1821. Par. Papers, vol. v. p. 44. f Par. Papers, 6 vols. Poynder’s Speech, p. 4. The Parliamentary Papers, July 18, 1828, contain no regular returns. j The average number of Suttees under the Madras Presidency, from 1820 to 1823 inclusive, was 50; and under that of Bombay, from 1819 to 1823, 49. llow easily might these few poor widows have been saved !