ople of the towns are concerned, the sooner caste is abolished
the better.

I may here be permitted to remind the reader that we have considered the
effects of caste, as regards the country population, in two very important
particulars: first of all, as to the morality of the sexes, which is
controlled to such a large extent by caste law; and secondly, we have
looted at the effects of caste as controlling the use of alcohol, and
consequently limiting the crimes and evils that can in most countries be
traced to drinking. On both of these points we have compared an Indian
county with any county in Great Britain, and saw reason to think that
morality, as regards the points under consideration, is better in
Manjarabad than in any British county. And, by facts which may be brought
from many quarters of the globe, we have seen that it is a universal law
that inferior races have a tendency to adopt the vices rather than the
virtues of superior races, and that, therefore, caste laws which enjoin
social separation are of the highest value. We have seen, too, the value
of caste in keeping up feelings of superiority and self-respect. We have
also seen that these caste laws can exist without retarding the progress
of the people, or their desire for education. And, finally, taking all
these points into consideration, we concluded that there were no
drawbacks, and many striking advantages, connected with caste as far as
the country populations are concerned.

In the next place, we looked at the circumstances of the people of the
towns, inquired as to how caste has affected them for good or evil, and
came to the conclusion that not only does no good arise from caste, but
that it is plainly and unmistakably an unmitigated evil.

Keeping these conclusions firmly in mind, let us now advance to the
consideration of a third question, which naturally arises out of those
facts which I assume to have been established.

That question is--How far has caste acted beneficially, or the reverse, in
helping to retard our interpretation of Christianity? Pursuing the same
order as before, let us ask, in the first place, whether caste has, as
regards the country populations, acted beneficially in this as well as in
the other points we have looked at. But, before attempting to answer this
question, it may be as well to offer a few general remarks which tend to
show that, independently of any question of caste, it is hopeless to
expect that any ignora