proviso. Having come to regard his own judgment as almost
divine, and the hierarchy of which he has the honour to form a
part as a sacrosanct institution, he tolerates the laity so
long as they labour quietly and peaceably at their vocations
and do not presume to inter-meddle in high matters of State.
That is the heinous offence. And frank criticism of official
acts touches a lower depth still, even _lese majeste_. For no
official will endure criticism from his subordinates, and the
public, who lie in outer darkness beyond the pale, do not in
his estimation rank even with his subordinates. How, then,
should he listen with patience when in their cavilling way they
insinuate that, in spite of the labours of a high-souled
bureaucracy, all is perhaps not for the best in the best of all
possible worlds--still less when they suggest reforms that had
never occurred even to him or to his order, and may clash with
his most cherished ideals? It is for the officials to govern
the country; they alone have been initiated into the sacred
mysteries; they alone understand the secret working of the
machine. At the utmost the laity may tender respectful and
humble suggestions for their consideration, but no more. As for
those who dare to think and act for themselves, their ignorant
folly is only equalled by their arrogance. It is as though a
handful of schoolboys were to dictate to their masters
alterations in the traditional time-table, or to insist on a
modified curriculum.... These worthy people [officials] confuse
manly independence with disloyalty; they cannot conceive of
natives except either as rebels or as timid sheep.

Non-Official Anglo-Indians.

The problem becomes more complicated by the existence in India of a
small but powerful body of the same race as the higher officials; there
are only 122,919 English-born persons in this country, while there are
245,000,000 in the British Raj and another 70,000,000 in the Indian
States, more or less affected by British influence. As a rule, the
non-officials do not take any part in politics, being otherwise
occupied; but they enter the field when any hope arises in Indian hearts
of changes really beneficial to the Nation. John Stuart Mill observed on
this point:

The individuals of the ruling people who resort to the foreign
country to ma