Oriental Experience: A Selection of Essays and Addresses Delivered on Various Occasions

The work comprises a collection of addresses and speeches delivered before societies and associations in Great Britain and articles contributed to English magazines, between 1880 and 1883, by a renowned British administrator and statesman, Sir Richard Temple, former Governor of Bombay and Finance Minister of India. While British India naturally occupies a considerable portion of the volume, other regions of the East come into view. A great variety of subjects may be found in the contents of the volume. Out of the twenty one chapters in the book eleven refer to Indian affairs and the remainder relate to the progress of survey and exploration through Asia by European and American travelers. Of the Indian topics, dealt with in this book, local self government, Mahrattas, political economy of British India, conditions of the people, the expansion of trade, banking and industry and religious thoughts of Indian people, etc. figure prominently. Of the topics related to other eastern regions, the physical features of the Central Asian plateau, of social cataclycism in the region, natural products, lessons of Chinese history, faith and aspirations of Mohammedans, etc. deserve special attention. The pervading idea in all these varieties of subjects dealt with in the work is the nineteenth century British policy in the East, and here lies the historical importance of the work. Three chapters being addresses on geographical characteristics are abundantly illustrated and each of the chapters has been prefixed by a special map.