The Sun.
London, England, 1865-02-17 00:00:00

S .$4. -.
tfirg

LONDON, FRIDAY, FEB. 17, 1865.

In considering the internal prosperity of our vast
Indian dominions, two departments of cultivation
especially attract attention—the tea and cotton
plantations. Cotton has, we know, been for many
years one of the regular products of India, and the
country has great capabilities in that way which
have unfortunately not been made the most of.
The extent of the country is so large that the
greatest variety of climate exists, and the slopes of
the Himalayas offer every inducement to the ener-
getic capitalist as well as to the jaded Calcutta
official. These opportunities have been eagerly
seized by the tea planters, and the effect of the
extended cultivation will be felt ultimately in this
country, as well as in its influence on the commer-
cial prosperity of India itself. Sir ROBERT • MONT-
GOMERY, in closing his career as Lieutenant-
Governor of the Punjab, has drawn up a minute on
the tea cultivation of the Western Himalayas. The
account which he thus gives after actual personal
inspection is most satisfactory, and the prosperity
induced by such causes is doubly gratifying, because
it belongs to no fever of temporary speculation, nor
is the plenty of that nature which precedes scarcity,
tending to natural reaction. The development of a
thriving trade is a source of continuous and increas-
ing strength to a nation, and when the commodity
produced is in such universal demand as tea, there
is little fear or prospect of an excessive supply.
Like other articles of general use the cheaper it can
be grown the larger will be the demand, since new
classes will use it, and large numbers will at least
double their demand when the price is lowered. A
faint idea of what may be done whenered from the cultivationthe fact
is further developed may be gath
that in parts of the Himalaya districts tea can
already be profitably sold at eighteenpence a pound.
If we can get rid of our burdensome tea duties by
the time the cost of production has been diminished
to one-half the present price, as it naturally will be,
what a boon we shall have here for our poorer
Clasßefi! Our temperance societies should hail the
prospect with delight, since the teapot, as we all
know, is in the lower ranks a formidable antagonist
to the gin palace ; and, if less popular with labour-
ing men than the more substantial glass of beer, the
weary and jaded sedentary worker finds in 44 the
cup that cheers but not inebriates" advantages that
are all its own. We are some way yet from this
desirable state of things, but British India is cer-
tainly at present on the road to it, and before we
feel the advantages of it over here sanguine men
look forward to an immense extension
Indian commerce throughout CentralAi e
Africa. The
Chinese, who of course do a vast trade in thate
direction, will find dangerous rivals in the Run. aiaya
cultivators. Cakes of tea, which China imports in
large quantities westward, are charged by one
Indian company at half-a-crown a cake, while in
Kashmir they are priced at six shillings. This
shows what a field is open for enterprise, and a very
large proportion of the millions of our own Indian
subjects will eagerly avail themselves of the reduced
price of tea to bring into common use that which
they have heretofore considered an unattainable
luxury. Tea is not an article to go out of fashion,
as we may easily find by tracing the history of its

introduction into any European country, and the
increase of supply and diminution of coal is only
likely to increase and strengthen the demand. The
progress of the Indian cultivation has been singu-
larly rapid and shows how favourable must be the
auspices of the Himalayas. Four years ago in the
Western Himalayas only three experimental State
gardens were planted with tea, whereas now it
is spread over the whole district. In the Kurpah
Valley, where formerly one of the State gardens
had the whole cultivation to itself, tea is now
grown in 47 villages, and the peasantry, according
to Sir R. MONTGOMERY'S report, are joining eagerly
in the movement. Wherever he went he was be-
sieged by zemindars exhibiting samples of tea which
they had grown in their own fields, and the culti-
vation is most popular. Culivators who had a few
' years ago hardly clothes to cover them, now
reckon their hundred of rupees. Such was the
verdict of the natives on the success of the tea
plantation, and it may naturally be supposed that
where Hindoos prosper in trade Englishmen will
not be idle. In fact, it is the presence of English
energy and English capital which has stimulated
the natives to exertion. On the high road to Lahore
there are 17 tea estates belonging to Englishmen
which cover 15 square miles, and all along the
western slopes the planters are gradually turning
waste and neglected lands into sources of comfort
and prosperity. It is satisfactory to find that the
presence of these strangers is not unwelcome to the
people, but the relations between them are friendly.
So beneficial has been the effect of the contact with
civilisation that the people have applied for two
government schools in which they may learn Eng-
Ilish, offering to pay half the expense. Of course

the necessities of trade have as much to do with
this request as any desire for mental cultivation, but
the sign is at any rate a hopeful one.
In marked contrast to the flourishing condition of
the native tea trade is the unsatisfactory state of the
internal cotton supply. Instead of the native
manufactures receiving any stimulus from the high
prices, they have rather declined, while the demand
for English manufactures has also sensibly dimi-
nished. In the country districts the trade is said to
be absolutely stagnating, and the weavers to be suf-
fering extreme distress. Great numbers of the
people who used to wear an outer garment of Eng-
lish cloth have left it off, and in other parts wool is
taking the place of cotton. In the North-western
provinces, while European fabrics have risen from
50 to 100 per cent. in price, native goods have risen
from 100 to 200 per 'cent. Yet no one can
doubt that the cotton trade of India is
capable of fully as much extension as
the tea trade, were the same encouragement
given to it. It must be remembered, in estimating
the deficiency of the cotton supply in India, that the
extravagant prices have not produced a corres-
ponding increase in production. Of course Indian
cotton has formed the staple of our supply during
the last year or two, but then we must remember
the vast capabilities of the country, and the fact
that cotton cultivation has been established there
for years, instead of as in other parts having to
struggle through the difficulties attending its intro-
duction. Also, we must recollect that the quality
of the Indian cotton has been very much inferior to
what might have been reasonably expected, and
that frauds of every kind have been perpetrated
with impunity ; yet in the face of all these
drawbacks and difficulties, with the almost
entire absence of State encouragement, India
stands first on the list of cotton-producing
countries. How much, then, is it to be regretted that
so profitable a source of revenue should have been
so long neglected and mismanaged? A very few
years sufficed to dcvelope the extraordinary propor-
tions of the American trade ; but we have had a
good many years', experience in India without
making a proportionate advance either in quality
or quantity. The special advantages offered by our
constant communication with India, and particu-
larly by our having the undisputed control of the
country, would, one might think, secure every at-
tention to this matter. An Indian market would
in any case be a wholesome check upon American
merchants, while the security offered to our manu-
facturers by the double source of supply must be
immediately apparent to everyone out of the India
Office.

It is satisfactory to find that the Courts of
Justice Building Bill has been read a second time,
for it affords some hope that it will reach completion
before the end of the session. Of course, there
were many dissentients to the proposal, as will
generally be found to be the case in all such decided
changes; but it does not appear upon reflection that
any of the arguments against the scheme were
valid, or, at all events, sufficiently important to
sanction the withdrawal of the bill. The Attorney-
General gave a very fair exposition the other evening
of the whole nature of the measure, and was at great
pains to explain the manner in which they proposed
to carry out the project; and doubtless his state-
ments contained such influence that those who
differed in words from his plans did not deem it
expedient or consider it necessary to bring the
matter to a division. An argument against this
plan was that the dwellings of the poor would be
disturbed, and consequent distress would prevail ;
but this objection has not stopped any of the
numerous railway schemes, which have been carried
to completion totally regardless of inconvenience to
any one. It seems therefore rather inconsistent that
this idea should be taken up to the prejudice of a
scheme which is of more consequence to the com-
munity in general than any particular line of rail-
way. But we all know that when people are against
ness.
a thing they can discover all the possible and
tis fulfilmentcertainly
with
ofggreat
surprisingeat
ildnexatgierniatyrY d obstacles
ciuick to its
consequence that due provisions should be made for
those who are turned out of their houses
for the
benefit of others, but it will never be
practicable to
stop their eviction. The evil to be complained of is
that those who are able to do something in this way
do not exert themselves, but it is an Utopian idea,
incapable of realisation, that expects no changes to
be made. It is for the good and gain of the com-
munity at large that most of these alterations are
made, and they will benefit in health as well as in
business by the removal of close streets and crowded
dwelling-places. In the end those classes upon
whom the changes now press most heavily will be
the greatest gainers, for most of the streets removed
are not fit to live in, and their continued occupation
is prolific of the spread of disease, and must be
prejudicial to all the inhabitants, both mentally and
•
bodily. So far, then, this reason should not be
considered as a stumbling-block to the affair,
though of course due weight must be given to all
valid statements. Mr. BAILLIE made a few very
wise remarks upon this subject, and urged the pro-
priety of introducing clauses in committee by which
model lodging- houses might be constructed for the
benefit of those who were displaced by this great
" clearance." The hon. gentleman also observed
that in Paris some provision was generally made,
and that House ought to have taken the matter in
hand before, when
railway bills were passed. Mr.
KINNAILD also adverted to the same thing, and
said that the " Government
ought to set an
example in these matters,
and where they displaced
so large a number of poor tenements they should do

something to supply accommodation for those who
were thus ejected." It is to be hoped that the hon.
and learned gentleman who introduced the measure,
and his friends, will take this into considera-
tion, and not allow a really important and
national undertaking to be marred in its
effect by having its memory tarnished with the fact
that its inauguration was the signal of distress to
many. Mr. MALINS truly observed that it was said
that this was a moribund Parliament, but that if it
introduced and carried out this measure it would
" die with honour," and for the first time in the
history of this country we shall see the administra-
tion of justice carried on its fitting structure. The
site proposed is certainly the best that can possibly
be, and those best qualified to give an opinion must
confess upon calm reflection that it answers all the
ends in view to the greatest extent more fully and
sufficiently than any other spot that has been sug-
gested. It combines many advantages, and affoxas
easy access to the different classes who will require
to meet there-for the transaction of business. The
merchants from the City and the West-end inha-
bitants will not have far to come, and at the
same time it is close to the chambers of lawyers, so
that it is hard to discover any better locality. The
Attorney-General, in his reply to the several state-
ments, spoke with great decision, and so far success-
fully accounted for his plans. He soot disposed of
those arguments which had been used in support of
retaining the site of the courts at Westminster.
The Privy Council, he said, might have a chamber
in the new Palace of Justice, for there was no magic
power in Downing-street. As for the House of
Lords it did not decide many cases, although they
were of considerable importance. There was great
truth in the observations of the hon. and learned
gentleman with respect to the crowded state of that
part of the town in which the new site is to be
fixed. He remarked that " everybody who knows
the district must lament that any part of the
industrious. people of this country should be
crammed up together in such a space with so many
temptations to immorality surrounding them on all
sides." At the same time something might be done
to mitigate the annoyances that those turned out
will undoubtedly experience, and those in authority
will do well to take the matter into consideration.
The Attorney-General spoke out forcibly upon the
point of its being extravagant to erect new build-
ings when we have already some that are in good
repair, and correctly argued that it was not true
economy in the end to be perpetually patching up,
instead of having a good article at once. Besides,
he added, the present Courts were not so good as
some made out, and even the best did not possess
the accessories and requirements which were called
for in such cases. The nation is tenant-at-will, as it
were, to a private society, that of Lincoln's-inn,
and such a state of things ought not to continue.
The hon. and learned gentleman concluded by ex-
plaining more fully the ways and means by which it
was intended to provide for the outlay of these struc-
tures, and declared that money that belonged to no
one belonged to the State. On the whole, we think
that the Attorney-General has acquitted himself of
his arduous task with considerable success ; and, if
the measure be brought to a successful termination,
the whole affair will redound to his credit, and he
will have the satisfaction of thinking that he has
associated his name with a scheme which has imme-
diate and prospective advantages, besides its being
of importance to the country that it should possess
a Palace of Justice worthy of its dignity and repu-
tation, and consistent with its wealth and influence.

The Income Tax.

TO TILE EDITOR OF TILE SITS.

Sut,—Previous to the present Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer taking office, he assured the public that as far as
he was concerned the odious and oppressive Income-tax
should cease in 1860. Yet he is himself the means of its
continued imposition, and which is imposed as a heavy
charge upon the industry of the country, proving a cause
of more iniquity and falsehood than any other, and one
which Lord Russell, in his place in the House of Commons,
more than once denounced as unjust. I have seen small
manufacturers in country places cry under the oppression,
being surcharged after they had sustained serious losses by
their trade, and most inquisitorial searches made into their
domestic affairs—the Commissioners acting with the ut-
most severity, if not with cruelty—and all this unneces-
sary charge upon the industry of the poor in a time of pro-
found peace, which, however, was originally instituted as
a war tax. How long is the imposition, with its cruel,
oppressive, and inquisitorial consequences, to be inflicted ?
When will the people's representatives do their duty ?
You, Sir, have often advocated the cause of justice, espe-
cially for those classes of society most oppressed with such
burdens, with decided advantage. Will you not again in
this matter—particularly as there is not an article in the
Excise or Customs that is cheaper to the consumer from
the remission of duties—render your aid in the removal
of so obnoxious, oppressive, inquisitorial, and unjust im-
position.—l am, Sir, your obedient servant,
A CONSTANT READER OF " THE SUN."
City, Feb. 16, 1865.

BANK OF FRANCE•

PARIS, FEB. 16.

The following is the return of the Bank of France
for the week ending to-day, together with the cor-
responding figures of the previous account :

DEBTOR.

Feb. 16.

Feb. 9.

fr. c. fr. c.
Capital of the Bank 182,500,000 182,500,000
Profits in addition to
capital (Art. 8, Law,
June 9, 1857
Reserve of the Bank
and its branches 22,105,750 14 22,105,750 14
Reserve in landed pro-
perty 4,000,000 4,000,000
Notes in circulation
Banknotes to order and
receipts payable at
sight 5,859,523 42 6,246,618 64
Treasury account cur-
..

rent Creditor
Current accounts, Paris 116,517,152 02 129,309,601 97
Do. branch banks
Dividends payable 2,301,653 75 2,574,848 75
Discounts and sundry
interests
Rediscounted the last
six months 2,789,444 05 2,789,444 05
Sundries

Total
CREDITOR.
Feb. 16. Feb. 9.
Cash in hand and in fr. c. fr. c.
Branch banks
Commercial bills over-
due
Commercial bills dis-
counted, not yet due 298,239,775 99 328,857,706 40
Do. branch banks 305,900,282 307,446,199
Advances on deposit of
bullion 12,576,931 55 12,470,931 55
Do. branch banks 3,935,000 4,248,210
Do. on French Public
Securities 14,501,200 14,584,100
Do. by branch banks 8,623,600 9,205,400
Do. on railway shares
and debentures
D. branch banks 16,869,850 17,573,750
Do. on Credit Fonder
Bonds
Do. branches
Do. to the State (Con-
vention, June 10,
1857) 60,000,000 60,000,000
Government Stock re-
serve 12,980,750 14 . 12,980,750 11
Do. disporablo
Rentes I obalis4es 36,656,737 91 36,696,737 91
(Law, June 2, 1857) 100,000,000 100,000,000
Hotel and furniture of
the Bank and landed
property branches ... 8,408,595 8,408,546
Expenses of manage-

Taunt 223,930 5G 221,800 06
Sundries

Total 1,272,417,135 41 1,287,921,267 81
(Signed) The Senator Governor of the Bank of France,
Rol:MANI).

MISS BATE3IAN. —D rs . Billing and Chappell,
the medical attendants of Miss Bateman, have
positively interdicted that lady from resuming her engage-
meat at the Adelphi Theatre for the present. Miss Bate-
man is suffering from the effects of a severe cold, which
has attacked her throat, and which deprives her in great
part of the use of her voice, while at the same time it
precludes her from undergoing the physical exertion in-
cidental to the discharge of her professional duties. As
soon as her physicians give their consent Miss Bateman
will resume the character of Julia in the " Hunchback,"
which indisposition alone compels her temporarily to dis-
continue.