[59]"The Cyclopædia of India, and of Eastern and Southern Asia," by Surgeon-General Edward Balfour. Third edition. London: Bernard Quaritch, 15, Piccadilly, 1885.
[59]"The Cyclopædia of India, and of Eastern and Southern Asia," by Surgeon-General Edward Balfour. Third edition. London: Bernard Quaritch, 15, Piccadilly, 1885.
[60]And so should every estate in England, and every business, too.
[60]And so should every estate in England, and every business, too.
The best form of bungalow is, in my opinion, one with the rooms in a row and an open veranda ten feet wide running around three sides of the house. The veranda at the back should also be ten feet, but there it would require to be partially inclosed, partly for bathrooms, and partly for a store-room for household supplies. The advantage of this form of bungalow is that the wide veranda is a pleasant place to sit in, and walk up and down in the rainy season, and besides, if an additional room is required, a temporary partition may be put up, and should a permanent addition to the accommodation be necessary, a portion of the veranda at the end of the bungalow may be built up. Such a form of bungalow, too, can easily be added to in length.
Willesden paper should be put under the tiles, as it prevents leaks, keeps the wood of the roof largely free from the influence of damp, and the bungalow, too, in the monsoon months. For bedrooms I should recommend glazed tiles, and for the dining-rooms and verandas, unglazed square red tiles, fringed at the edges of the room with two or three rows of glazed tiles. I do not recommend the latter for any place where there are many people moving about, as I have found that the glazing soon becomes injured.
It is generally the custom to have the kitchen at some little distance from the bungalow, but I do not think that this is a good arrangement, partly because it is inconvenient in the rainy season, and partly because the kitchen is apt to be turned into a resort for horsekeepers and loungers. The plan I have adopted is to have the kitchen and the go downs in a wing running at right angles to the west end of the bungalow, and with the kitchen door facing the back veranda. This arrangement is most convenient for the servants, and enables the master of the house to have the kitchen under easy observation, so as to see to its cleanliness, and prevent its being made a place of common resort. The dirt and disorder usual in an Indian cook room is well known, but there is no reason why it should not be kept as neat and clean as an English kitchen. The floor should be paved with square tiles, and I believe it would pay well, for economy of fuel, and ready supply of hot water, to have a small Wilson range (227, High Holborn—range No. 11 is a convenient size). Owing to the shape of the ground it may not be convenient to have the kitchen and go downs built as a wing of the bungalow, and in that case they should be opposite the back of the bungalow, and connected with it by a covered way. No drain should be made out of the kitchen or scullery. I have found it cheaper, and safer, from a sanitary point of view, to have all the dirty water used for watering purposes. I have a group of orange trees on a slope near the kitchen, and above each tree a hole is made. Into this the dirty water is poured for several days. Then the pit is closed with earth, and others are used in succession. I thus get rid of a nuisance in a wholesome way, and at the same time water the orange trees.
The aspect of the bungalow is of great importance. It should front due north, as the declination of the sun is southerly during the cloudless season, and the sun is thus entirely off the front veranda, and if the situation shouldnot be naturally well sheltered from the east, a solid block of casuarinas should at once be planted on the eastern side, as the easterly wind is disagreeable, and liable to create drafts, and consequently cause chills. A line of casuarinas should be planted on the south and west side of the bungalow, and at such a distance as to cast a shadow on to the southern and western walls, and also on to the roof, as this will keep the house much cooler than it would otherwise be. Other trees might be suggested for this purpose, and trees affording more coolness, but I have suggested the casuarina as it is a quick grower, very ornamental, and not at all liable to be blown down. No carriage drive should be made up to the front of the bungalow, as it is obviously much pleasanter to look out of the veranda on to a pretty garden without a road intervening, and carriages should either drive up to the back of the bungalow, or to one end of it where a wide space may be left for turning. I have said that a line of casuarinas should be planted on the southern and western sides of the bungalow so as to shade it from the sun, and I would suggest that, in order to keep the ground on these aspects cool, orange trees should be thickly planted, and I may mention that I have done this with excellent effect on the southern side of my bungalow. When orange trees are planted for this purpose they should either not be allowed to bear fruit, or but a very small number of oranges, as the object of course is to have, for ornamental reasons, fresh looking trees, and full of foliage, so as to keep the ground near the bungalow as cool as possible.
The bungalows in Mysore are usually built on the grass land outside of the plantation, and where this is practicable it should always be done, as, from the value of the coffee land, much of it cannot be spared for planting, whereas in the open, as the land is of little value the planter can, by planting clumps of casuarinas and other trees, make hisresidence so much more agreeable and cheerful. But sometimes it is advisable or even necessary to have the bungalow in the plantation, and in that case the most must be made of the situation, and vistas cut here and there through the shade trees so as to let in the best available views. It should be remembered, a fact too often forgotten, that, what are called in Scotland the amenities, are not only agreeable in themselves, but have an important marketable value, and when people discover that the winter on a Mysore plantation is one of the pleasantest climates in the world, and have practically realized the ease with which the journey may now be made, a plantation will be often regarded (as I regard mine) as a pleasant winter home. And, whatever it may be regarded as, it is certain that an intending purchaser of coffee property on which he proposed to reside would naturally, and perhaps unknown to himself, be influenced by the amenities of the estate.
As regards the garden in front of the bungalow, it should of course be limited to such an amount as may be within easy command of the water available. Roses should be freely used, and violets, mignonette, geraniums, and phlox, while the edges of the veranda should have some crotons and ferns in pots. I have given this limited list because it contains all that is necessary to make a place reasonably presentable, but many additions may of course be advantageously made.
I need hardly say that it is very desirable to place the bungalow as close as possible to the points where the near presence of the planter is advantageous. These are the pulping-house, store, drying-ground, nursery, vegetable garden, and orchard. I have two estates where this desirable combination exists, and by the exercise of a little care and time to study the situation, it may often be carried out; but the best site for the bungalow cannot sometimes be discovered without a residence of some duration on theestate, and it is of great advantage in making a new plantation to defer for some time building a permanent bungalow. For all practical purposes a house with sun-dried brick walls, and a roof of rough jungle wood, will answer very well for some years, and during that time a careful study of the land will generally disclose a much better site than one might at first be disposed to select. And I speak with personal experience on this point, as, had I built a permanent house on the site I at first selected on my head estate, I should certainly have had cause for regret. At first sight it may seem that the proximity of the bungalow to the drying-ground is not desirable, but the drying-ground, estate office, store, and other buildings may, by planting, be completely and quickly screened off from the dwelling-house. The permanent bungalow should be built of brick, but all steps should be made of stone, and not of brick, as is so commonly done, as the stone is so much more suitable in a climate which is wet for so many months of the year. It is very advisable to keep a bungalow cool at night, so that you may be able to have a cool house in the day, and in order to effect this a free admission of air is necessary, and the doors of the dining-room certainly should have wire gauze doors as well. The wooden doors may then be left open at night. The bedroom doors that open into the verandas should have the same too, for, though this is not quite so necessary, it is a great comfort to have plenty of air, and yet be able to exclude cats, rats, or snakes.
Building materials should be constantly collected—stones, stone-posts, the wood-work of native houses which is sometimes for sale; and a careful eye should also be kept on all the felled wood left in the plantation, as this is often overlooked till it partially decays, and it is very apt to be stolen. Trees with a central dark wood, like Jack, may be left unsawn for some years, but trees which have not, like Neeral or Mango, should be sawn up as soon asthey are dry. Sawn wood should be brought home at once and stored in a house sheltered from the east wind which dries up the wood extremely, and a careful list should be kept of it. Wood for rafters is the better for being put into a tank and left there for four or five months. I may explain that stone posts (we use the literal translation from the Kanarese) are blocks of from 8 to 12 feet in length, which are raised by fire by an ingenious process. The natives first light fires on the slab of sheet rock they desire to operate on, and then cut small holes along the segment they wish to split off. They then drive wedges into the side of the rock, and the segment splits off, giving a stone post of the length required (they may be raised as long as 20 feet) and about 18 inches wide and 5 inches thick. There are no more useful things to have a supply of on an estate, and we use short ones for the posts of wire fences and for stiles. They are particularly useful for supporting verandas.
To prevent white ants attacking the roofs of buildings I have successfully used the following mixture. Tar, one pailful; asphalte, 2 lbs.; and castor oil, one seer. Mix and boil these ingredients. Afterwards add sand. Then plaster the mixture on the top of the walls to the depth of about two inches, and on this place the wall plates. This plan was adopted when one of my bungalows was re-roofed many years ago, and we have not a sign of white ants, though they are numerous all around the house.
If posts, when put in the ground, are buried in sand, and surrounded with it up to the level of the floor, white ants will not attack the wood, as they cannot apparently work in sand. This is important to remember, as wooden posts are often used for cattle, and other sheds.
Toddy trees past yielding toddy should be cut down, split into convenient sizes for reapers and other purposes, and should then be smoked to preserve the wood. As Ipreviously pointed out, the toddy tree (Caryota Urenspalm) is a most useful tree, and the seeds of it should be freely sown in the fences, waste jungle, and the bottoms of deep ravines, but it is not a desirable tree to have in the plantation.
Wood for handles should be kept in store, as it is of great importance to use well seasoned wood. Jack roots are valuable for all short handles.
Lines, or rows of houses for labourers should be made of sun-dried bricks, and roofed with corrugated iron. For sanitary reasons they should, if possible, be divided over several sites. The manager should occasionally visit the lines, and a duffadar be appointed to see after them, and that no dirty water is thrown down in front of the doors. The houses should be numbered, and a list of the occupants kept. New arrivals should be at once reported, as bad characters are often harboured in the lines. A pensioned sepoy might be advantageously employed to look after the lines, and report on new arrivals, and also keep an eye on persons who may be suspected of stealing coffee. The advantage of employing a stranger for such purposes is obvious, as natives residing permanently in the locality are much afraid of making enemies, whereas a fresh pensioned sepoy might be got in from time to time, and he should be changed before he had time to make any friends on the estate. An application for a sepoy should be made to the officer in charge of pensioned sepoys in Bangalore. These pensioned sepoys might also be employed with advantage in the crop season, with the special object of preventing coffee robbery from the plantations, which are often surrounded with villages.
As regards coolie lines, it is important to consider aspect, and a slight slope towards the east, or slightly south, is a good one, as it catches the first rays of the sun, and so reminds the people of their duties in coming early to work, andenables them to warm themselves when the mornings are chilly. Such an aspect is also sheltered from the south-west monsoon blasts, and, in the hot weather, from the heat of the westering sun.
When I look at a magnificent row of Casuarinas (Casuarina Equisetifolia, the Tinian pine or Beefwood) which I planted on my property about the year 1859, and which are now about 150 feet high, and consider the value of this tree, both for timber and firewood, I stand astounded at my own stupidity in not having planted them on a considerable scale. But it is thus in all new countries where you are surrounded by trees, and it is difficult to believe that, under such circumstances, timber and wood can ever become dear and scarce, and the Englishman rarely plants trees for timber or fuel,—in fact, I am the only one who has done so as far as I am aware—and perhaps they do not realize, being born in a land of slow timber growth, how rapidly some trees shoot up in Mysore. It may encourage planting if I mention that I took careful measurement by line of one of the row alluded to. In January, 1882, the height of the tree was 153 feet, in girth near the ground, 5 feet 8 inches; at 50 feet, 3 feet 8 inches; and 1 foot 6 inches at 100 feet. In February, 1884, the same tree was in girth at 4 feet from the ground, 5 feet 3 inches; at 50 feet, 4 feet 5 inches; and at 100 feet, 2 feet 3 inches. In March, 1886, this tree, at 6 feet from the ground, was 5 feet 4 inches in girth; at 77 feet, 3 feet 2 inches; and at 100 feet, 2 feet 3 inches. This tree was again measured in February, 1893, when its dimensions were found to be as follows. Height, 154 feet. Girth at 3 feet from ground, 6 feet 3 inches; at 6 feet, 5 feet 10 inches; at 77 feet from ground, 2 feet 9 inches; and at about 20 feet from the top of the tree, 1 foot 2 inches.
The wood is very strong, and may be used for rafters. It makes excellent fuel, giving much heat, and littleash.
TheGrevillea Robusta—Silver Oak—should also be planted, as it affords excellent firewood.
AndPoinciana Regia—the gold Mohur, which is also good for making Charcoal.Pithecolobium saman, the rain tree, should also be planted, as I find that (Report of Government Gardens, Bangalore, for 1888-89) "In good open soil it grows more rapidly than any introduced trees." I have anEucalyptus Globulus(the blue gum) growing fairly well on my property, and about eight or nine years old, but, as it is unfavourably reported on for Mysore in the Report previously mentioned, I do not recommend it.
Casuarinas should be planted in holes four feet deep, and certainly not less than that depth if a safe and rapid growth is desired. I have been particularly struck with the great difference in the rapidity of growth where the holes have not been deeply dug. The plants will require a little water during the dry weather of the first year.
As the most important part of a planter's capital is his health, it is obvious that great pains should be taken to conserve it, for, though Mysore will be found to be a very healthy country if ordinary precautions are taken, the extremes of temperature are very great—often cold in the morning—very hot in the sun in the middle of the day, and often turning suddenly cold again at sunset. In England the lowest Mysore temperature would not be called cold, but relatively to the heat of the day it is so. Then the east winds, if you get heated to the extent of perspiration, are apt to produce that chill which is the starting point of illness in most countries. For a great many years past I have, as a matter of curiosity, which has since become a matter of habit, always asked when told of the death of anyone, "Did he not get a chill?" And I have almost invariably found the answer to be in the affirmative. When, then, a planter comes in, he should make it a rulealways to change his things from head to foot, and he should avoid sitting in drafts when the wind is from the east. When he goes out shooting he should take a spare flannel shirt with him, change his shirt when suitable opportunities occur, and, of course, dry the one he has taken off in the sun. He should always take a cover coat with him to put on, when, after a hot day in the sun, he may have to ride home in the chilled evening air. As a protection against the sun there is nothing better than a coat padded with cotton all down the back and front, and with a stand up padded collar. Some people prefer large solar topees. I dislike them, as they heat and oppress the head, and always prefer a light topee and an umbrella. It is well known that the head is affected more through the eyes than in any other way, and smoked glasses should always be used when going along unshaded roads, and especially across dried grass lands. Over fatigue should be avoided as much as possible, and the effects of it done away with immediately. When tired do not call for brandy or whisky and soda-water, but if you feel that you require anything to keep up the system, a plateful of soup, made with one of Brand's beef preparations, will be found to be far preferable. Then a bath, and an hour in bed will turn you out a fresh man fit for anything, mentally or bodily, and you will be able to eat a good meal with appetite and advantage. The best kind of clothing is light tweeds, such as might be used in England in warm summer weather. Cholera belts, or cummerbunds, are often recommended, but I much prefer thick, short flannel drawers coming rather high up over the middle of the body. You thus admit free ventilation, and at the same time avoid risk of chill about the loins.
Next to protecting the body from without, or perhaps of equal importance, is fortifying it from within. Here the first point of importance is to get a good cook who is agood baker, and supply him with American flour. Toddy from the sago-palm is an excellent substitute for yeast, and I imagine it must be better, for I never get better, and very seldom as good, bread anywhere in the world as I do in my Indian home in the jungle. The flour usually to be bought in India, made from wheat grown in the country, is either bad or adulterated, and often has sand in it, and the bread made from it is of poor quality. As regards food, there is no difficulty in Mysore, and at a moderate cost as good a table can be kept as could be desired for purposes of health and comfort. Attention should, of course, be paid to having a good vegetable garden, in which a good supply of lettuces and tomatoes should form a principal feature, and during the wet weather months, when vegetables cannot be procured on the spot, tinned vegetables should be used. I have found the French tinned vegetables to be the best. There are now many excellent preparations of herrings preserved in tins, and these should be used occasionally. Ghee is commonly used in India for cooking, but for all dishes for which it is suitable, oil is much cheaper and better. Gingelly oil (Sesamum Orientale) is the best, or, I think, the only oil which is good for this purpose. It is, I find, by the article on oils in the "Encyclopædia Britannica," the finest culinary oil in the world, and superior to olive oil, for which, indeed, it is commonly sold, and large quantities of the seed go to Southern Europe. The seed should be procured and washed in cold water to remove the red epidermis, and then a native oil-maker may be got in to prepare the oil. When ghee, or clarified butter, is required, never buy that article in the bazaar, but buy the best native butter and have it made into ghee. Boil the butter, and add to it a small quantity of sugar and salt, and skim off floatage. If to the clarified butter some fresh milk is added, it may be used for the table instead of butter, but it is better, I find now, to use tinnedbutter.
Cleanliness in the kitchen, and vessels in good order, are points easily talked about, but cannot be attained without some inspection, and the kitchen and its utensils should be examined from time to time. People who are particular have all the pots and pans ranged out ready for inspection daily, and such inspections are most necessary for health, as the dirty habits of the native servants are such that persistent vigilance is requisite. And I may here add that there is no use in telling the servants a thing once—they must be told again, again, and again. At last they give in to your persistence, and being, like most people in the world, a good deal creatures of habit, go on fairly well. It is only fair to the native servants to mention that, if they do keep things in a dirty state, it is often because they have not the means that servants have at home. The water supply at their command is commonly very deficient, and often not over clean, and they are generally ill supplied with places to wash up in, and with dusters and glass cloths, and then they are rated, and often abused, because plates are badly washed and things in general dirty.
Under the heading of health requisites, I, of course, include literature. This, for a planter of moderate means, is generally a matter of great difficulty, and must continue to be so till the railway system is extended to the planting districts. At present novels that cannot be read more than once are quite out of the question on the score of cost, and, under the circumstances, the planter should content himself with buying Scott's and Bulwer's and George Eliot's novels. He should, of course, have a good Atlas, an Encyclopædia—Chambers' is good and moderate in price, and Balfour's "Cyclopædia of India," which contains much valuable and interesting information. He might also buy Lecky's Works, and Sir John Strachey's "India," and Buckle's "History of Civilization," for, whatever the faultsof the last may be, the writer's style is admirable, and the book stirs up thought and inquiry in the mind. Addison's "Spectator," as it is commonly called, Amiel's "Journal," and Locke's "Conduct of the Understanding," might also be bought. Ville's "Artificial Manures" should be procured and studied. Then for newspapers, I may certainly recommend "The Spectator," "The Mail," or tri-weekly edition of the "Times," and "The Illustrated London News"—not the thin paper edition of it, which is most unsatisfactory in every way. One of the best, if not the very best of Indian papers is the "Madras Mail," and that should certainly be taken, more especially as there is much planting intelligence in it. A note should be kept of the various books reviewed in "The Spectator," and of any books the reader might fancy to buy, and Smith's lists of second-hand books, and also the lists of Messrs. Mudie and Co., should be procured, and from these booksellers books may often be bought at a very moderate price. Do not buy cheap editions of novels, but buy the original three volume editions, which have good paper and print, and which may be bought second-hand at most moderate prices.
It is of great importance that a planter should have some pursuit which may be both useful and interesting, such as botany, natural history, or geology, and drawing, too, would be most valuable. In the old days sport filled up our leisure hours, but that, in these days, is not always to be had without going far afield, as, from the number of guns in the hands of the natives, the game within their reach has been mostly destroyed. It is of great value, then, to have some pursuit to fill up time when there is not enough of it to spare to go to a distance from home for sport. Attending to, and taking an interest in a garden is a great resource, and indirectly a source of great pleasure, which I am reminded of as I write these lines,and at the same time listen to the warbling of the Bulbuls in the flower garden in front of my bungalow. These charming little birds are very active, and are now (February 28th), collecting materials for building their nests. There are, too, many charming warblers which are attracted by a garden so arranged as to attract birds. The beds in the foreground should consist of a mixture of flowers and standard roses, and those at the back of various flowering shrubs, and low trees which are suitable for the birds to nest in. I have no carriage road in front of the bungalow, and with this arrangement can have the beds quite close to the foot of the steps of the inclosed veranda. I am much struck with the persistent loquacity of these Indian birds, and at no time of day—not even for a minute—is the sound of birds absent, and their notes are to be heard all through the fine weather.
It is very advisable to take up waste paddy fields,i.e., abandoned rice terraces, for cattle grazing, and I may point out that this is also of advantage to the amenities of an estate, by providing snipe shooting close at hand. It will also be found of advantage for feeding ducks and geese. I have a stretch of such land on one of my properties, and find it most useful. The water, I may add, should be carefully conducted to the various terraces, just as if they were to be cultivated with rice, this, as I need hardly say, being necessary for the snipe. Amongst these scraps of hints, which may be useful, I may mention the fact that tealeries were once common in India. I am told that they are easily established, though I have, myself, no experience of them. It is sometimes possible to add to the amenities of an estate by reserving pieces of land for tigers to lie up in, and this is very important, now that every scrap of land is being taken up for planting either coffee or cardamoms, and that cover for game is becoming proportionately scarce. There are two suchpieces that I have reserved on my estate for tigers, but care must be taken beforehand to see that such reserves are on the exact route by which tigers cross from one part of the country to another. For instance, the pieces I have reserved are about three miles apart, and I have never known or heard of a tiger being between them excepting on one occasion last year, when a royal tiger inspected a cattle shed of mine about five minutes' walk from the house. At first sight it seems singular that these animals, like hares, should have their runs, and still more that the runs should be so regularly adhered to, though they may be several miles apart.
In concluding this chapter, and my remarks on planting, I have only to observe that, if a planter chooses to take an interest in everything that is going on around him, and learns to make himself at home in the country, he will find the life both interesting and agreeable. In former times there was, no doubt, a sense of remoteness in the situation, but that, as we have seen, has been considerably removed by the railway extensions of recent years; and when the proposed lines, to which I have alluded in my introductory chapter, are carried out, planters, during the unimportant seasons of the year, may reside either at Bangalore or on the Nilgiri hills (the climate of the latter, taking it all the year round, is the finest in the world), and yet be in full touch with their affairs.
Finally, I may observe that in Mysore we have the great advantage of being out of reach of the faddists of the House of Commons, who, for the sake of their votes, have to be humoured, whether the interests of India suffer or not. There is no chance, for instance, of the opium faddists thrusting a Commission on the Mysoreans, and then making them pay for part of the expenses of the inquiry. The progress of India may be checked by the ignorant or unprincipled action of a party in the House of Commons(and certainly will be checked if the opium faddists are allowed to have their way), but Mysore is free from the only danger that threatens India—the sacrifice of its interests in order to serve party ends in the House of Commons.
Since the preceding chapters were written a great and most momentous step has been taken by the Indian Government. On the 26th of June, 1893, the Finance Minister in India announced that a gold standard was to be established, and that the mints were to be closed to the free coinage of silver. This measure, which so profoundly affects the prospects of the producers and manufacturers of India, I am compelled to notice. To do so, however, in an exhaustive manner would be quite beyond the scope of this book, and I shall confine my remarks as much as possible to the points of the subject which bear upon the welfare of those who produce or manufacture anything in India. The reports[61]and papers enumerated at the foot of the page supply me with a large amount of information and opinion, but I must warn those interested in the subject that a complete view of the whole situation, as far as India is concerned, cannot be obtained from them. For some, and in my opinion the most important, points connected with the question, have either not been alluded to at all, or quite inadequately investigated. These defects I hope in some degree to be able to supply from my long experience of theeffects of the expenditure of capital in developing the resources of India—and I say in some degree, because I feel sure that a much fuller investigation is required before all the far-reaching effects of this momentous measure can be adequately weighed. I trust, however, that, even in the short space I am devoting to the subject, I shall be able sufficiently to elucidate those points which dominate the situation, and a consideration of which will show that if the Government succeeds in forcing up the gold value of the rupee in the manner proposed, the prosperity of the people, the popularity of our rule, and the state of our trade in the East will be most seriously prejudiced. And now let me begin at the beginning, so that the uninformed reader may have a clear view of the whole subject as far as India is concerned.
The origin of the movement in India with reference to the introduction of a gold standard and forcing up the gold value of the rupee is shortly, and I believe very accurately, stated by Sir Frank Forbes Adam in his evidence given before the Currency Committee; and on November 26th, 1892, he told the Committee that "Though there is undoubtedly dissatisfaction existing among a certain number of those carrying on foreign trade, really the origin of the movement and its true force proceed from the servants of Government." Of this, I think, there can be no doubt whatever; and it is important to remember that this movement did not originate with the people, or planters, or merchants, or manufacturers, or from any section of the producers and traders of India. The servants of the Government had a great and legitimate grievance, because they found that, though rupee prices in India were not to be complained of, they experienced a grievous loss on their home remittances, and it was their persistent agitation which created and maintained the true force of the movement. The agitation they thus originated wasjoined in by some of the merchants of India, though to what extent does not appear, and I can only say generally that the merchants who did join the movement were small in number. Bombay and Karachi were clearly against any interference with the currency; and from the expression of disappointment which fell from the Hon. Mr. Mackay—President of the Currency Association, Calcutta—with reference to the small number of his supporters, I am led to the conclusion that, with the exception of a certain proportion of Calcutta merchants, occasional individuals in other parts of India, and the servants of the State, all India was, and is, dead against the monetary policy of the Government. Of the twenty-two witnesses examined before the Currency Committee, thirteen were against the Government measure, six in favour of it (four of the latter being Government servants), two doubtful, and one presumably against the measure.
The main features of the measure I take from the statement of the Finance Minister, who, on the 26th of June, 1893, announced the introduction of a Bill "with the object of altering the Indian monetary standard from silver to gold," and who in his next sentence declared that "It is not intended to do more at present than stop the free coinage of silver at the Indian mints, and as a provisional arrangement to provide for the issue of rupees at these mints in exchange for gold at the ratio of 1s. 4d. per rupee."[62]In a subsequent part of his speech Sir David Barbour states "that an arrangement for the receipt of gold at the mints at a ratio of 1s. 4d. per rupee will be made by executive order, and so will the arrangements for the receipt of sovereigns in payment of sums due to Government at the rate of fifteen rupees a sovereign." The current rate of exchange then, and still existing, is about1s. 3d., and the Government thus proposed, by creating an artificial scarcity of rupees, to force up the gold value of the rupee by one rupee per sovereign. Let us now glance at the cash effects of the measure on the finances of the Government and the prosperity of the people; and in doing so I shall, to aid the comprehension of the English reader who knows nothing of lakhs, or crores, or Rs. ×, state the figure in pounds sterling, treating the rupee at its old value of 2s. To do this will not materially affect my statements, for, though some articles have risen in price, others have fallen, and, on the average, the rupee (excepting as regards labourers' wages, which have much risen in many parts of India in recent years) goes nearly as far in India as it ever did, a fact which is fully corroborated by several very competent witnesses examined by the Currency Committee, though one witness maintained that silver prices in India had risen.[63]It may be interesting to note in this connection that the purchasing price of silver in China has remained unchanged for many years past, and that for the lastthirty years there has been little change in the purchasing power of the rupee in Ceylon. Both these statements I make on the authority of witnesses examined before the Currency Committee.
What then would be the cash effect (1) on the finances, and (2) on the people, were the Government successful in forcing up the gold value of the rupee by one rupee a sovereign? The saving that the Government would effect in remitting money to England to pay home charges would amount to about £1,570,000,[64]but as the amount is liable to loss by exchange we must make a deduction, and, in round numbers, the sum that the Government would save is about a million and a half sterling. Now as to the people of India. What the Government gains,i.e., a rupee a sovereign, the seller of produce must lose, as exporters could afford to give them just so much less than they now do. Now, taking the exports of India at one hundred millions,[65]the currency measure of the Government would cause a loss to producers of 7 per cent., which is equivalent to a tax on the exported productions of India of seven millions. The result of courseis, that to get little more than one million and a half into the Treasury, the Government proposes to take seven millions out of the pockets of the people. Now I have no wish to pose as what is commonly called an expert, and I naturally shrink from any idea of criticising that long chain of financial luminaries which, beginning at the Council Chamber at Calcutta, stretches through the rooms of the Currency Committee which recently sat in London, right up to that Cabinet over which the greatest of financial luminaries presides, but I trust I may be allowed to go as far as to say that the arrangement made by Mr. Gladstone's Government which is the body ultimately responsible—does not seem to be of a very alluring character, as it entails on India, viewed as a whole, a loss of £5,500,000. And this cheering result has apparently been viewed with such satisfaction by the financial experts, that it is to be regarded as merely a small instalment of the blessings they have in store for the happy toilers whose destinies they have been empowered to influence. For if the policy of taking five and a half millions sterling out of the pockets of the people in order to put about one million and a half into the financial till is a good one, the extension of the process, up to certain limits, must be equally so. For such an extension the Indian Finance Minister is evidently prepared, as one may see by looking again at the sentence I have quoted from the speech, in which he declares that "it is not intended to do moreat present(the italics are mine) than aim at a rate of 1s. 4d." This, coupled with statements subsequently made, and by what the Currency Committee has suggested as to a farther increase if it should seem necessary, shows that the Government evidently contemplates a rise to 1s. 6d.; and indeed this must obviously be the case, as the anticipated gain from a rise to 1s. 4d., when put against the probable loss on opium, and the allowances to be made to Government servants to compensate them for the lossthey sustain on home remittances, would go far to swallow up the gain to the State from a 1s. 4d. rate. Supposing, then, that the Government should be able to carry out its project of a 1s. 6d. rate, the blessings previously showered on the producers will be trebled; so, of course, will be the gain to the Exchequer; and the account will then in round figures stand thus:—gain to the Exchequer on home remittances, £4,500,000; loss to the producers, £21,000,000; or, in other words, the levy of an export tax of 21 per cent. on all the productions of India,[66]and a total annual loss to India considered as a whole of £16,500,000 sterling. This seems pretty well for a beginning, but it is really a very small part of the results that may with certainty be anticipated from the measure, which, as Sir David Barbour says, will have far-reaching effects. Of this, as we shall see, there can be no doubt whatever. Of the direct loss we can form a rough calculation; the indirect losses are indeed incalculable. But let me proceed.
We have seen that, at the least, the Government proposes to impose, and will impose if it can force up the exchange, an export tax (or what is practically an export tax) of 7 per cent., which is to be ultimately raised to 21 per cent. And we have now to follow out the effects of this on the producers, the people generally, and the financial prospects of the State.
The producers in India of articles for foreign export either, as the planters generally do, send their produce for sale to London, or, as the main body of producers do, sellthem to merchants who export the goods. Both these classes of producers are of course much benefited by a low rate of exchange—the former when they sell in gold and remit money to India to pay for the up-keep of their estates, and the latter when they find that the merchant can afford to pay more rupees than they could when exchange was higher. If then, to put the case in a more precise way, the Government succeeds in forcing up the gold value of the rupee, and the merchant is thereby compelled to turn his sovereign into 15 rupees instead of 16 rupees, it is obvious that to make the same profit as before he must give the seller of produce one rupee less. Now let me take the business with which, as a planter, I am most familiar. I have roughly estimated the total value of the coffee annually produced in Mysore at £870,000, and if, for the sake of even numbers, we knock off £70,000, a 7 per cent. export duty on this will amount to £56,000, and if the Government could raise, as it proposes, the rupee to 1s. 6d., £168,000 a year would be the price that the measure would entail on a portion of the inhabitants of the native state of Mysore on this single article of export. But this direct cash loss is far from being all; and if the reader will turn back to the Introductory Chapter, and to that on Coffee Planting in Coorg, he will there find an explanation of the extraordinary effect produced by the introduction of capital into the rural districts of India, and of the remarkable effects it produces on the prosperity of the people, the development of the agricultural resources of the country, and the finances of the Government. But, for the convenience of the reader, I may briefly repeat here what I have pointed out in greater detail in the chapters alluded to.
From the estimate given of the profits of well-managed European plantations which have been formed on the best land (videchapters on Coffee Planting in Coorg, and inMysore), it is evident that, though these would be greatly injured by the exchange being forced up, they could still make fair profits; and, indeed, it is conceivable that, from the losses that the Government measure would entail, they might ultimately be in as good a position as they are now; for there are large amounts of poor lands which, if the Government policy is pursued, would be thrown out of cultivation, either partially or entirely, and the diminished production and demand for labour would, of course, be of great advantage to the estates which survived. And what would largely accelerate the decrease of cultivation would be the fact that if the exchange is forced up all confidence in the Government will naturally be shaken. For how can producers have any confidence in a Government which, instead of levying on the country as a whole the increased taxes it requires, seeks to attain its financial ends by manipulating the currency in such a way as to reduce to the producers the prices of the commodities they grow for export? And if the gold value of silver is to be forced up to 1s. 4d., and with the declared possibility of its being forced up to 1s. 6d., what is more likely than that the Government may persevere with this disastrous policy whenever it again finds itself in financial straits? And is it not evident that the present financial policy of the Government, and the possibility of its being further pursued, must give that shock to confidence which will at once repel capital and injure credit? And is it not equally evident that if the gold value of the rupee can be forced up in the manner proposed, the first effect of this will be shown in a large decline in the demand for labour? Now, as pointed out in the chapters previously alluded to, the results of an increased employment of labour are quite different from what they would be in England, where an increase of employment given to labourers merely means an increase of comfort amongst the working classes, and of the profitsof the shopkeepers with whom they deal. For in India, the introduction of capital to be spent in labour in the rural districts means a social revolution, as large numbers of the labourers set up as cultivators the moment they have saved enough capital to do so. In some cases they give up working for Europeans, in others they combine agriculture with occasional months of work on the plantations, or other sources of employment; the whole lower classes of the people are thus elevated, and this tells at once on the finances, enabling (1) rents to be more easily paid, and (2) because the finances improve as more land is brought under cultivation. Now, not only would a large diminution of employment take place in connection with coffee-planting were exchange forced up, but the same cause would act on the growers of pepper, cardamoms, and other products, and the prosperity of the province would be thrown back, and the same kind of result would obviously occur in any part of India which grows articles for export.
But there is yet another result from this truly far-reaching measure, as Sir David Barbour justly calls it, which to my mind is the most important of all—the bearing of it on famines; for we all know that the population is rapidly increasing, and that of all apprehensions which haunt the minds of those responsible for the safety of India, those as regard famines are by far the greatest. And here I must ask the reader to turn back to my Introductory Chapter, and consider the facts relating to famines—facts which show how constantly the fear of famine lies before the Indian administrator, both from a financial and humane point of view. I ask him carefully to survey these facts, and then consider what effect the forcing up of the gold value of the rupee is likely to have on famine-producing causes. And is it not evident that the effect of the measure in diminishing the demand for labour must beenormous; that if less money is spent on labour, less will be spent in improving and developing the agricultural resources of India, in digging wells and other famine-preventing works; and that if the labourers fail to find the amount of employment they can now readily obtain, the greater will be the financial burden thrown on the hands of the State in times of famine and scarcity? And must it not be equally evident to anyone possessed of the humblest form of human reason that the Government had far better exhaust every taxational resource before embarking on a course which, if the anticipations of Government are realized as to silver, will be ruinous to the country, and which, at a vast direct and indirect cost to the people, will only, as I have shown, afford a comparatively speaking trifling financial relief to the State? But it is time now to pass to other points connected with the measure. And first of all let us glance at the evident political results that must arise from it.
From what has been previously said, it is evident that the Government has arrayed against itself every class in India excepting its own civilian and military servants, and to these we have only to add, not another class, but only a small proportion of the mercantile class. With the exception of some just complaints they had to make as regards charges[67]that had been unjustly thrust on the Indian Exchequer, and which I myself made in the "Times" and elsewhere long before the Congress was even thought of, the agitators of the Congress had no serious grounds to go upon. But who can say that now? Up till lately there was no cause for discontent. India has never been more prosperous, and has never shown greater, ornearly as great signs of progress, as she has within the last twenty years. Not only has the demand for labour been abundant, but in many instances it has exceeded the supply. The rates of wages had largely increased, and were producing, as I have previously shown, an accelerated quickening of attention to the development of the resources of the soil. All that the country wanted was to be let alone, and if the financial conditions required increased taxation, no agitator could have successfully complained of this, seeing that it could only have been imposed on account of that cheapening of silver which has been one of the great causes (railways were the other) of the increased prosperity which all classes have enjoyed in recent years. But, if the Government measure raises the gold value of the rupee, the agitator will be able to point out that, at an enormous cost to the producers of India, the Government has only obtained a most trifling financial relief, and be able to complain with justice that the Government has lessened the profits of the agriculturist and diminished the employment for labour. What an admirable advantage has the monetary measure of the Government conferred on the popularity of British Rule in India!
I have alluded to the losses that the measure must inflict on the planters of Southern India, and my remarks on that head apply equally to the tea-planters of India; but the latter have, besides, a special grievance which they share in common with the tea-planters of Ceylon, and this grievance is also shared in by the coffee-planters, though, as far as I can see, hardly to the same extent. This well-founded grievance lies in the fact that if no international agreement (and there seems no probability whatever of such an agreement ever being come to within any time to be even guessed at) is come to between the silver-using countries in the East, the tea-planters of India and Ceylon will be brought into unequalcompetition with their rivals in China, and the coffee-planters of India and Ceylon will in like manner be unfairly weighted in their competition with the coffee producers of Brazil. With reference to the tea-planters of India and Ceylon the case is very clear, and it is perfectly obvious that if in India you have silver artificially raised in value relatively to gold, and that in China silver remains unprotected, the Chinese will be able to accept a smaller gold value for their tea than the Indian producers, and the difference in the exchange may be such that China may regain her former position in the tea market, and that Indian teas may be partially driven from the field; and if we add to that that the Indian tea-planter will, in consequence of exchange being forced up, have fewer rupees to pay his coolies than he has now, it is evident that the result of the Government measure will be most serious to this industry. The evidence (Currency Committee) that relates to Ceylon is very decisive on this point, and the witnesses examined with reference to tea expressed extremely depressed views as to the ruinous results that must arise if the monetary policy of the Indian Government can be carried into effect. From the correspondence that has passed between the Government of India and the Secretary of State for the Colonies, it would seem that India has no objection to Ceylon establishing its own mint for the coinage of silver (the silver coins at present in use in Ceylon are rupees) and the island would then be in the same position as other silver-using countries. But if Ceylon starts its own mint, and is thus able to prevent the evils of the artificial scarcity of silver to be created in India with the view of forcing up the gold value of the rupee, then it is plain that Ceylon tea-planters would retain their present advantages, which arise from a low rate of exchange, and thus be able to carry on their business on far more advantageous conditions than theirIndian rivals.
To estimate the effect on the Indian coffee-planters with reference to the effect of the monetary policy of the Government in placing the Indian at a disadvantage as regards his competition with the Brazilian planter would be difficult, and I am not in a position to form a decisive opinion on the subject; but I may mention that the manager of the London and Brazilian Bank informed the Currency Committee that the production of coffee in Brazil has largely increased, and will still further largely increase, owing to the greater facilities of communication, and also the direct influence of a low rate of exchange. The last-mentioned fact gives, I may observe, one more instance of the direct effect of a low rate of exchange in stimulating production, and so swelling the volume of exports. If, then, the Brazilians are to retain, and we are to lose, the benefits of the cheapness of silver relatively to gold, it is evident that the coffee-planters of India must be handicapped in their competition with those of Brazil; but I do not hazard a decisive opinion as to the exact weight of the competition, as I am uncertain as to how far our quality of coffee comes into competition[68]with the quality produced in Brazil.
I must now at least allude to the effects of the measure on the trade, manufactures, and railways of India. I regret that I am unable to go more fully at present into a consideration of the effects on them of this ill-starred measure, but all that the general reader requires to knowis, to use the words of Sir Frank Adam (one of the most important witnesses examined by the Currency Committee), that if the Government succeeds in forcing up the gold value of the rupee, China would be able to undersell India in tea and rice; the Bombay manufacturers would receive fewer rupees for their wares, and, as in the case of opium, the advantage would go to the Chinese and Japanese; the railways would have little to carry from the interior if the rupee prices went down. Finally, I may observe that the gold industry of India would be largely injured, and that, especially, mines struggling towards a successful issue would be seriously hampered if the gold value of the rupee were forced up.
Brief though my survey of this great subject may be, I trust I have said enough to expose the harmonious rottenness of the monetary policy of the Government, and by this I mean a rottenness so complete that it is impossible to find a single redeeming feature in the measure that has been adopted. It is rotten economically, it is rotten financially, and it is, if possible, still more rotten from a political point of view. Those who have knowledge enough to understand the bearing and ultimate evil effects of the measure are angrily arrayed against the Government now, and when the ryots and labouring classes of all kinds experience the fall in prices and dearth of employment that will assuredly follow if the Government should be able to force up the gold value of the rupee, and are able to trace this to the action of their rulers, widespread and serious will be the abiding discontent which will take possession of the people.
I cannot conclude this short notice of a great subject without commenting on what, at first sight, seems the remarkable fact, that the Government in India, as represented by the Viceroy, and those merchants who are represented by Mr. Mackay, President of the Currency Association, haveadmitted that a low exchange has been a stimulus to the progress of India, and that producers have gained by it. It is true that the Viceroy declared in his speech in Council of June 26th, 1893, that "to leave matters as they were meant for the country as a whole a fatal and stunting arrestation [sic, probably a misprint for arrestment] of its development."[69]But the cat escapes later on in the speech when a hope is expressed that one of theeffects of the measure will be "that capital will flow more freely into the country without the adventitious stimulus which we have hitherto been unable to refuse." The Viceroy thus admits, what everyone knows, that a low exchange has acted as a stimulus to the progress of India, and in doing so has given away the whole case for the Government. But no one has ever denied the admission in question except Mr. Mackay; and his absolute denial, when questioned on the subject, that the producers of India would be affected by the measure, was subsequently eaten up by himself in cross-examination towards the close of his evidence given before the Currency Committee. But it is of course the rule, to which there are few exceptions, that those who are engaged in the unfortunate business of bolstering up an indefensible case, invariably let out something which is absolutely destructive to the cause they are advocating; and we find another instance of this at p. 191, Appendix I. of the "Report of the Currency Committee." And if Mr. Mackay has given away the whole case in London, one of his followers equally did so in Calcutta when a deputation, headed by Mr. Mackay, was received by the Viceroy. And on this occasion Mr. W. O. Bell Irving, as representing over 3,300 square miles of land in Lower Bengal, stated that he "was not prepared to contend that in certain respects the ryots and zemindars have not benefited from the depreciation of the rupee." We thus see that both the Government, as represented by the Viceroy, and the most active supportersof the present monetary policy, have admitted that the measure would have injurious effects on the producers of India—in other words, on those on whom the financial stability of the empire entirely rests.
And the producers of India have as little reason to be satisfied with the action of the Currency Committee which was presided over by Lord Herschell as they have with the Government in our Eastern Empire. A glance at the first page of the Report, and at the professions of the witnesses examined, will show that this is the case. The Committee was requested by Mr. Gladstone's Government to form,inter alia, "a just estimate of the effect of a varying, and possibly much lower exchange, upon the commerce and people of India." Now, the people of India almost entirely live either directly (and I think about ninety per cent. do so directly) or indirectly on the land; and yet, though in England there are to be found persons who, like myself, are Indian landowners, and who, from having lived amongst the people in the rural districts, are well able to testify to the effects of the measure on the welfare of the people, not a single Indian landed proprietor was called before the Committee. If a Parliamentary Committee were called upon here to consider any proposed measure that would widely effect the people of England as a whole, and the landed classes in particular, would it not be scandalously unjust if not a single landed proprietor, or any person directly or indirectly connected with land, were requested to give evidence before it? But notwithstanding that a certain proportion of the witnesses were Indian officials, and that the examination of representatives of the classes chiefly concerned (the producers) was carefully left out, the weight of the evidence was entirely against the monetary policy of the Government. And yet the committee supported the Indian Government. So that this measure has been passed after a partialinvestigation, during which the most important points that ought to have been minutely examined were never even touched upon, and even then in the teeth of the majority of the witnesses examined, and whose opinions, from their character and position, were of great value. Were it not that the Committee was composed of English gentlemen, who would not wittingly do anything but examine into matters to the best of their ability, it would really seem, after a careful survey of the whole situation, as if this Committee was a mere sham got up as a shield to protect a foregone conclusion.
There can be little doubt that the Indian Government and the Currency Committee were acting under the idea that (1) India had been pushed into a financial corner, and (2) in fear of the result of the probable repeal of the Sherman Act in the United States; and so, urged on by a panic-stricken feeling to rush somewhere, the Government began in haste to burn the whole house down in order to roast its financial pig. As to the first point, the state of the finances in India no doubt requires all the care and economy that can be exercised; but to imagine, as many people seem to do, that it has exhausted its taxational resources, is ridiculous. The salt tax, taking the price all over India, is lower than it was fifteen years ago, and this could be raised without hardship to the people. Import duties might be imposed to the amount of several millions. Then, considerable charges now defrayed from current revenues might be passed to capital account, as they would be in England. And if the worst came to the worst an export duty of three per cent. might be imposed, for though is would not be good policy to do so, it would still be better than the seven per cent. export duty the Government would practically levy were exchange forced up to 1s. 4d., and obviously very much better than the twenty-one per cent. export tax which the Government evidently look forwardto, for, as we have seen, it is aiming at a 1s. 6d. rate. A large saving, too, might be effected by going back to the old system of having a local European force in India. Let anyone consider these points, and weigh the remarkable and interesting statement quoted from Sir William Hunter, and he will at once see that the condition of India generally is full of hope (or at least was so till the monetary policy was announced), and that its taxational resources are by no means exhausted. It should also be considered that as the Government has not only spent large sums in recent years in defensive works and public buildings, and at the same time paid off debt to the amount of twenty-three millions, it would be perfectly justified in borrowing, if it were necessary, in order to meet temporary difficulties.
Now let me turn to what is the dominant cause of the monetary policy of the Government—the dread that if the Sherman Act were repealed exchange might sink even as low as a shilling per rupee.[70]What if it did? Let us examine the consequences of that to India considered as a whole. The apprehension in question was proclaimed in the Viceroy's speech of June, 26th, 1893, and in considering the consequences of a 1s. rate of exchange, he pointed out that this would entail an increase of Rs. × 7,748,000 in the remittances required to be made for the homecharges of the Government, being, curiously enough, almost the exact sum which the people of India would lose on their exports were exchange forced up to 1s. 4d. by the monetary policy of the Government. But as the producers of India would gain largely by the 1s. rate of exchange, the total account would stand thus:—loss to the Government say, for the sake of round figures, seven millions; gain to the producers, twenty-one millions; total gain to India, considered as a whole, fourteen millions. So that if the very worst anticipations of the Government were realized India would be a large gainer by the fall to a 1s. rate of exchange, and the finances could be squared by increased taxation, which, if levied considerably on imports, would be distinctly a popular measure. And, in any case, the agitators could have no ground to go upon, as I have shown, as the increased taxation could be amply justified.
One word more. I cannot refrain from calling attention to the remarkable circumstance that Mr. Gladstone's Government has in a single year adopted two measures which are highly objectionable from political, economical, and financial points of view—the Home Rule Bill for Ireland and the Currency Measure for India; and that both were forced on by arbitrary and tyrannical action. For just as the Home Rule Bill was forced through the House of Commons with inadequate examination and discussion, so was the Currency Measure forced through, not only without adequate investigation, but in the teeth of the majority of those whose opinions were laid before the Viceroy, and in the teeth of the majority of the witnesses examined before the Currency Committee. But arbitrary and tyrannical action seems to be the order of the day with the Gladstonian Government; and it is worthy of notice in this connection that it forced an Opium Commission on India merely to buy a few votes in the House of Commons, and, with the grossest injustice, provided that India shouldpay for a part of the cost. The outcry raised has, indeed, brought about a reduction of the charge that was to have been made, but, from a statement made in the "Times," I observe that the Government has clung to the travelling expenses of the members of the Commission, which are to be charged to India, and probably with the view of proving that extreme meanness is not one of the national failings.
As the English reader might imagine that the Indian Government was solely responsible for this measure being passed into law, I may point out that the decision of the Cabinet was required and obtained in connection with the Currency Measure. From such a Government the producers of India, while they have everything to fear, can have nothing to hope. Our sole hope depends upon its being turned out, and replaced by an Unionist administration which will either annul the suicidal policy that has been adopted, or at least suspend its action till a full and searching investigation has been made into all the immediate and all the consequential results that must arise from the measure in question, should the Government be able to force up the gold value of the rupee. If the facts adduced in this chapter are substantially correct, the verdict cannot be doubtful, for these facts prove that the Government proposes to levy what is practically a heavy export tax on the products of India, and in a form, too, most injurious to its best interests, and ultimately to the finances of the State. And I say in a form most injurious, because the Gladstonian Government (for the Cabinet is distinctly responsible for the policy proposed to be carried into execution) has practically adopted a policy of protection, not for the benefit of the productions and industries of India, but for the protection and encouragement of the productions and industries of those silver-using countries which now compete with India. Of all the grotesquely ludicrous policies that have ever been adopted by pervertedhuman reason this surely is by far the most absurd. By one and the same measure to stamp down the progress of India and promote the progress of other silver-using countries; to diminish the traffic on Indian railways, and correspondingly increase the traffic in such countries; to diminish the volume of India's trade and increase that of other Eastern countries; to raise a comparatively small sum for the Indian Exchequer at a vast cost to the producers of India; to diminish the amount of capital that would otherwise flow into the hands of the people, and to, at the same time, sacrifice all its consequential effects; to diminish employment for labour and increase the causes that aggravate famines and scarcities; to ultimately diminish the financial resources of our Indian Empire; to create a serious cause of dispeace (a useful Scotch word) between us and the people we govern;—such are some of the effects that must be produced should the Government be successful in carrying out that monetary policy which it has forced on India in the most arbitrary and tyrannical manner. Can we wonder then that Sir David Barbour, the Indian Finance Minister, said that the measure would have "far-reaching effects, and ought not to be attempted unless under the pressure of necessity?" No such necessity, as I have completely shown, has arisen. Out of its own mouth, then, does the Government stand condemned.
In this connection it may be interesting to quote the opinion of the great Duke of Wellington, who, speaking in the House of Lords in 1833 (July 5), said, "My lords, I wish the noble lords opposite had taken the advice of Sir John Malcolm upon the subject of forming an independent body in London, representing the interests and carrying on the concerns of India. My lords, it is persons of this description who interpose an efficient check upon the Government." Unfortunately for India there is no suchbody, and the final decision on this great question has rested with a Cabinet composed of men who know nothing of Indian interests, and who, indeed, have no time to attend to them, seeing that their thoughts require to be almost exclusively devoted to a consideration of those vote-catching, parochial politics with the aid of which alone the Government can hope to maintain its balance on the political tight-rope.
I may observe, in conclusion, that, as regards the effects of the depreciation of silver on a silver-using country, we have, in the case of Mexico, circumstances exactly parallel to those in India, and in the "Times" of October 21st, 1893, a most interesting analysis is given of the report of our consul at Mexico—Mr. Lionel Carden—as regards the effects on that country of a further serious depreciation of silver. Mr. Carden sums up his conclusions on the hypothesis that the present value of the dollar, which is 3s. 1d., falls to 2s. 6d., and proceeds then to examine into the effects of such a fall on the country considered as a whole. He estimates the losses to the Government and the railways which would arise from the sums they have to pay in gold, and then puts against them the advantages that the fall in silver would confer on miners, agriculturists, and manufacturers. His final conclusions are as follows:
"In striking a balance between the advantages and disadvantages arising to different interests in Mexico from a depreciation of silver, it must be borne in mind that the losses which would be sustained by the Government and the railway companies are essentially limited in their amount, whereas the benefits that would accrue to certain of the productive industries are susceptible of indefinite extension. Moreover, an increase in the productiveness of the country would make itself felt at once in an increase of the revenue of the Government, as well as of the railways. The only conclusion, then, at which it is possibleto arrive is that a low price of silver, if permanent, would not only not be prejudicial to Mexico as a whole, but would conduce to its ultimate benefit by the stimulus it would afford to the development of its immense agricultural resources."
Yes. The losses from the payments that have to be made in gold are a comparatively speaking fixed quantity, while the gain to the people from cheap silver will yield wide-spreading consequential benefits far beyond the reach of calculation. This, too, is the case as regards India; we require for it a Government which can appreciate, and act up to, this view of the situation.