Note 396 — Chapter XVIII

Herbert Spencer, in the Principles of Ethics, speaks of "the many who, in the East, tacitly assume that Indians exist for the benefit of Anglo-Indians." He is right in saying it is tacitly assumed; for few go so far as to say openly that the Indians are destined by Nature to be exploited by the White races. But the tacit assumption often leavens their thoughts and discourses on "the native question." One recent writer, indeed, distinctly states that "it is an inexorable law of progress that inferior races are made for the purpose of serving the superior; and if they refuse to serve, they are fatally condemned to disappear." (W. H. Brown, On the South African Frontier). But who is to decide which are "the inferior races"?