ABSTRACT
On several occasions during the past week, persons visiting the railway station have found themselves present at a scene in one of the unwritten tragedies of common life. That was the parting place of the men under orders for India, and their wives and children. There were many tears of course from the poor women, much rough regret, deeper than it seemed, on the part of the men. We wish it were in our power to offer consolation to those left behind. We might remind them of the promise of the Government—that when order is restored in India they shall be sent to their husbands. We might tell them that the risks of an Indian campaign are much less than those of the Crimea; that after a few months we may hope to see order restored. But in the meanwhile these poor women are to be “sent to their homes and allowed a pension of sixpence a day during their absence from their husbands.” Can we offer them any comfort on that score? Their homes: Suppose they have no home. When the husband is away what home can there be for his family except the charity of relatives? What if they have no relatives, or if the relatives have no charity? No doubt the Government have acted well in detaining the soldiers’ families until something like order has been restored in India; but they certainly ought not in the meanwhile to be subjected even to the possibility of wanting the necessaries of life.— Kentish Gazette.
