1 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 357
2 +
3 than ‘in the barracks. But the parents of such
4 children argue that their return to a barrack would .
5 speedily efface all the advantages of such an insti-
6 tution. This is, however, more plausible than just;
7 for when the principles of religion and morality are
8 engrafted on the young mind by precept and ex-
9 ample, they are not liable to be very quickly
10 effaced, even in a barrack; and it is well known
11 that a religious and moral soldier is not an un-
12 common character among our European troops in
13 India, In all these respects the plan is worthy of
14 support; but there is one consideration connected Objections to
15 with Major Lawrence's scheme which has already -
16 raised serious objections, and that is on the score
17 of religious instruction. In most European regi-
18 ments in India, the number of Roman Catholics
19 is equal to that of the Protestants, and in many
20 the former are in excess of the latter; and as the
21 scheme only contemplated the instructing of chil-
22 dren according to Protestant principles, the Ca-
23 tholics are necessarily excluded from the benefits
24 of the institution. To overcome such an obstacle
25 is no easy matter, and every suggestion tending
26 towards such a result must, therefore, be accept-
27 able.
28 The exclusion from the proposed institution of
29 all children born of a Native mother, is another
30 measure which appears to have caused consider-
31 able disappointment among. the soldiers. Many of
32 the men have children hv Native wamen ta wham