The Sun.
London, England, 1863-01-27 00:00:00

month the buyer might be in possession, and engaged in
his cultivation. That which Sir C. Wood says is not a
prohibition, is a regulation which contains no fewer than
77 clauses, which a man must carefully understand before
he proceeds to purchase. (Hear, hear.) When he has
made himself acquainted with the 77 clauses, he may pro-
ceed to consider whereabouts he will make his purchase.
He must then apply for a survey. It is impossible for any
one to determine what length of time might be required
to obtain that survey. The surveyer comes to survey,
but the applicant must first of all deposit the money
to pay him with. The survey when made will, in all pro-
bability, have to be reported upon, and how long it may be
before that report shall be understood or determined no one
can undertake to say ; but should it appear that the land
may be offered for sale, then it must be advertised to be sold
by auction. When sold the highest bidder receives it,
whether it be the applicant or not; and, if the applicant
does not himself become the purchaser, he receives back the
money he has paid as deposit for the survey, and he may
then go about to find some otber place that shall be more
near to his expectations, more within his power to obtain.
Any squatter may come and dispute a title, and no matter
whether it be in India or in Ireland, we find many titles

that al e not disputed. In this country we have a very

ready way of dealing with that description of dispute—we
have passed an Encumbered Etates Act, and did not wait a
century, as we have done in India, before coming to a de-
termination that good titles shall be made out of bad ones.
However, Sir C. Wood having thus placed what we feel to
be obstacles in the way of becoming possessed of waste

lands, it is very evident that if the people of this country
are to starve until cotton is grown under the arrangements
laid down by that Minister, we shall have very few persons
left capable of undertaking our industry at the end of that
time. (Hear.) Centuries may elapse before any sensible
impression has been made upon the sale of waste lands.
The land-tax redemption also has been entirely overthrown.
Lord Canning arranged that the land-tax should be sale-
able at 20 years' purchase. Though at present an occu-
pier in India may be said to be in the same position as a
tenant at will in this country, who dares not.lay out money
for fear that the year afterwards he may have to pay addi-
tional rent for his own investment, Sir C. Wood has quits

put a stop to the redemption of land-tax; and he has
assented to an agreement for thirty years, in case the
parties should arrange together. It is not for us to
remark upon the internal Government of India, but
it is very probable that it will be a great disap-
pointment to the collectors if sales were made in re-
demption of tax, because a large number of collectors are en-
gaged year after year to obtain the rentals. I don't mean to
say that we have any objection to collectors; but I don't
know where they come from ; I never missed anybody from
our exchange who had been sent out to collect land-tax, and
the collectors are a class in India, I believe, well provided
for, and, so far as we are concerned, I don't know that we
have any business to be called together here to uphold their
existence any longer. If the land-tax were redeemed one-
fourth of the tax so redeemed would pay off every shilling
of the debt now owing on Indian account. It would be per-
haps derogatory to the dignity of Sir C. Wood to remind
him that if he were to give place to the Sultan, there would
be some animation imparted to the Council for India. But,
mind you, I don't want to change the men; I want the
spirit to be changed. Give us the spirit which has animated
the Ottoman empire and the Italian people, and not the pro-
tection which they offer, but the spirit of enterprise which
has led them to strive for the obtaining of that 45,000,000 a
year we now give to America; and I say India would then
provide us with good cotton in plenty, and I think in rea-
sonable time. (Applause.) The contract law is all-important
in any investment made in India, whether for the cultiva-
tion of cotton or any other article. It may seem strange to
many persons that advances made for cultivation, debts,
contracts, or whatever may belong to the intercourse of men
of business, are placed upon the very same footing; we
know very well that a high rate of interest indicates a bad
security. The security is bad because the law for the re-
covery of debts is exceedingly slippery. If we found that
we had to recover our debts, especially small debts, by an
operation something like that of the Court of Chancery, or
Assize Courts, we know very well that it would afford an
inroad for mischief, which would be exceedingly pernicious
in our manufacturing and mercantile pursuits. India can-
not be restored to prosperity until a more secure tenure for
land and a contract law have been put in operation, which
shall enable the British manufacturer or investor to em-
bark his money in safety in a country like that. Before
leaving the subject, I beg it to be understood that in any
remarks I have made touching Sir Charles Wood, and the
Council for India, it is in their official capacity, and not in
any private or individual capacity that I refer to them. That
they are incompetent for their duties I think you will have
already concluded. (Hear, hear,) For nearly 34 years this
Chamber have been from time to time offering remonstrance
or advice to every variety of Indian Board that has existed
in that period, and you will see with what provokingly ill
success. Since the present distress set in, as it seemed ob-
viously unavailing to approach the Indian Council, and as
we were fully aware that those officials held their power,
not through our representative system but from the Cabinet
and the Premier, the Chamber concluded to address the
Premier. Our address to him appeared so full of remon-
strance that Lord Palmerston declared it to be a bill of in-
dictment against Sir C. Wood, in whom he said he had
every confidence. He promised to bring the subject under
that Minister's notice, and what may be the issue we must
leave tl the future to unfold ; but we may depend the
country is now so roused to the subject that no Indian Go-
vernment will have rest until something effectual is done.
Mr. BAZLEY, M.P., in seconding the adoption of the re-
port, said teat although the directors of the Chamber in
their duties had been surrounded by great difficulties, those
duties had been faithfully discharged. One of the first sub-
jects referred to in the report arose from a suggestion of the
Leeds Chamber of Commerce respecting those departments
of Government which took cognizance of negotiations with
foreign Governments for the extension of commerce. It had
been proposed that the Manchester Chamber should co-
operate with Chambers of Commerce generally to obtain
an addition to that department, with a view to facilitate
commercial intercourse. The suggestion deserved much
attention and consideration, but great caution would have
to be exercised iu approaching the question. The Board
of Trade, if duly organised, and supported by other de-
partments of Government, would be quite competent to
attend to all the interests connected with the foreign
commerce of the United Kingdom. The Foreign Depart-
ment, no doubt, had constant communication with foreign
countries on subjects which the Board of Trade had
not, and on manyimportant occasions the Foreign Depart..
ment had not assisted the commercial interests of the coun-
try so much as it might have done by a better organised
communication with the Board of Trade. The French treaty
had been so successful that many of the other continental
Powers were following that course pursued by France and
England, and possibly, through the i-istrumentality of
France, there might be a spread of that commercial freedom
and liberty for which Manchester had been pre-eminently
distinguished in its advocacy. He looked with some confi-
dence to the extension of those principles, for, as many of
the European countries had declined directly to make im-
portant commercial concessions to Great Britain, while
they were making them to France, in a spirit of equity,
those concessions could not long be withheld from us. The
colonial policy of the Government had deservedly attracted
the attention of the Chamber. Above all things it was desi-
rable that the Colonial Government should not be permitted
to contravene or obstruct the great and liberal commercial
policy sanctioned by the Imperial Legislature. He cherished
the hope that the directory of the Chamber would, if pos-
sible, obtain some change in the Canadian policy of high
protective duties. The Chamber had the satisfaction of hear-
ing the other day from the representatives of the Australian
Government that in that country, upon the whole, the great
principles of free trade had been established, and were being
acted upon ; that the colonies were essentially self-support-
ing, and that there was being opened out to us an im-
mense prospect of advantage, which by an increased popu-
lation and enlarged intercourse with this country
would tend to raise the colonies in the scale of im-
portance among the nations of the earth. The reset.
lutions adopted by the Chamber in reference to Indian
affairs reflected the highest praise. It claimed for India,
again and again, that there might be good means of com-
munication with the interior ; that there might be roads,
canals, and means of irrigation; that there might be a
land tenure that would permit the free sale of land in India as
well as in this country; that if there were incumbrances
upon the land in India it might be possessed with its
incumbrances; that no wrong might be done to the pos-
sessor of land ; and that the rights of sale and purchase
with the least possible difficulties should be permitted. A
law of contracts was also required for the security of en-
gagements. The directors had wisely referred to India as
a great field for a future supply of cotton. Cotton, he be-
lieved, could be well and profitably grown in India, and
unless it could be profitably produced it was futile to direct
the attention of other countries to cultivate a material which
did not pay for its own production. An abundant supply of
our raw material must be looked for through reward. The
large supply of cotton said to be held in America had, no
doubt, done much to stay the progress of cultivation in
other parts of the world. (Hear, hear.) It had been
assumed that four millions of bales were held there, but
by more recent advises it appeared that the stock had
been continually diminishing, and the use of cotton bales
to resist bombardments would not specially fit them for
the purposes of the spinners of this country. (A. laugh,
and " Hear, hear.") There was in America a constant
tendency to diminish the stock of cotton; and the true
policy of English manufacturers was to look to sources
which would not fail them in their necessity. In the
British colonies we had the means of supporting ourselves ;
and from foreign sources large supplies of cotton could
be obtained. When wo thought of the vast re-
sources of Australia, where there were upwards of
2,000,000 acres of ground capable of producing the most
excellent qualities of cotton, from New Orleans up to the
best Sea Island, we need not despair of receiving supplies.
Still we fell back upon India, because it was proved that it
was capable of supplying us with a superior class of cotton.
The success attained by Mr. Shaw in Dharwar established
that ho doubled the value of the cotton by improving its
cultivation, and at the same time increased its production
fourfold by merely introducing arts of agriculture such
prevailed in almost every civilised country. If a
more spirited application of agricultural science were