Mr. Alleyne Ireland publishes in the Times of Tuesday a
lengthy, and on the whole temperate, argument in favour of making Burmah a Crown Colony. His first reason for this grave change in our policy is that Burmah is in no sense Indian, but a Buddhist State of a China-Malay type, and that officials filled with Indian experience mistake its neces- sities, and especially fail to see the importance of its frontier questions. Moreover, he maintains that Burmah is unjustly treated when half her revenue is poured into the Indian Treasury ; that Imperial interests are neglected because of her separation from her natural congeners, the Federated Malay States and Singapore ; and that a separate and powerful State would have a definite and consistent policy, now much needed. The proposal is one often mooted in Burmah, especially by the mercantile class, which would like to exploit the province more rapidly ; but it is, we believe, for the present, unwise. The complaint about the revenue might be repeated by every province in India, and especially by Bengal; but the cost of the Debt, of the Army, and of the general government must be provided in the interests of all.
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