se who have read _Queen Victoria's Letters_
must have become conscious of a certain enlargement. Questions become
great or dwindle into nothingness according as they affect the honour
and the good of the Empire. We find ourselves instinctively "thinking
Imperially," regarding things from the Throne side--from above instead
of from below.

We fear exaggerated language. We would not exaggerate the importance of
these little children or their cause. We have said that we realise, as
we did not when first this work began, how very delicate and difficult a
matter it would be for Government to take any really effective action,
and less than effective action is useless. We recognise the value of our
pledge of neutrality in religious matters, and we know what might happen
if Government moved in a line which to India might appear to be contrary
to the spirit of that pledge. It would be far better if India herself
led the way and declared, as England declared when she passed the
Industrial Schools Amendment Act of 1880, that she will not have her
little children demoralised in either Temple houses recognised as such,
or in any similar houses, such as those which abound in areas where the
Temple child nominally is non-existent. But must we wait till India
leads the way? Scattered all over the land there are men who are against
this iniquity, and would surely be in favour of such legislation as
would make for its destruction. But few would assert that the people as
a whole are even nearly ready. A great wave of the Power of God, a great
national turning towards Him, would, we know, sweep the iniquity out of
the land as the waters of the Alpheus swept the stable-valley clean, in
the old classic story. Oh for such a sudden flow of the River of God,
which is full of water! But must we wait until it comes? Did we wait
until India herself asked for the abolition of suttee? Surely what is
needed is such legislation as has been found necessary at home, which
empowers the magistrate to remove a child from a dangerous house, and
deprives parents of all parental rights who are found responsible for
its being forced into wrong. Surely such action would be Imperially
right; and can a thing right in itself and carried out with a wise
earnestness, ever eventually do harm? Must it not do good in the end,
however agitating the immediate result may appear? Surely the one calm
answer, "_It is Right_," will eventually silence all protest and still
all