erected at Serampore, but we hear that amongst the swingers was one
female. A man fell from a stage thirty cubits high and broke his
back; and another fell from a swinging post, but was not much hurt.
Some days after the first swinging, certain natives revived the
ceremonies. As Mr. Ward was passing through Calcutta he saw several
Hindoos hanging by the heels over a slow fire, as an act of
devotion. Several Hindoos employed in the printing-office applied
this year to Mr. Ward for protection, to escape being dragged into
these pretendedly voluntary practices. This brought before us facts
which we were not aware of. It seems that the landlords of the poor
and other men of property insist upon certain of their tenants and
dependants engaging in these practices, and that they expect and
compel by actual force multitudes every year to join the companies
of sunyassees in parading the streets, piercing their sides,
tongues, etc. To avoid this compulsion, many poor young men leave
their houses and hide themselves; but they are sure of being beaten
if caught, or of having their huts pulled down. The influence and
power of the rich have a great effect on the multitude in most of
the idolatrous festivals. When the lands and riches of the country
were in few hands, this influence carried all before it. It is
still very widely felt, in compelling dependants to assist at public
shows, and to contribute towards the expense of splendid
ceremonies."

The Ghat murders, caused by the carrying of the dying to the Ganges
or a sacred river, and their treatment there, continue to this day,
although Lord Lawrence attempted to interfere. Ward estimated the
number of sick whose death is hastened on the banks of the Ganges
alone at five hundred a year, in his anxiety to "use no unfair means
of rendering even idolatry detestable," but he admits that, in the