The Sun.
London, England, 1853-06-04 00:00:00

been sanctioned, and a gap on it opened, so tho coast, will
be soon supplied." I do not mean to say for one moment
that much does not yet remain to he done—much more is
in progress—and from the means that have been devoted to
the ,purpose by the Government, I hope that any deficiency
in the want of communication between the in rior of the
country and the coast will soon be adequately supplied.
(Hear, hear.) From an extract which I hal e read in a
Scindean newspaper, it would appear that grab attention
has been paid to, and great progress has been made in, the
construction of roads and canals. I admit that they sup-
ply the means of bringing our cotton from the interior of
the country, where it is mainly grown, to the coast ; but I
doubt very much whether any roads of this kind would
prove adequate to enable us to bring cotton to the coast
from the interior of Berar. For that purpose, it is abso-
lutely necessary that roads should be constructed ; and,
indeed, so far as regards the roads in the upper provinces,
they will be in a great measure superseded when the rail-
road is completed to those districts. (Hear, hear.) Itmay
be a matter of regret that so much money has been ex-
pended on the extension of roads and which is likely to be
lost ; but whatever may be the opinion on that point, it
would undoubtedly not be a wise action to expend further
sums of money upon lines of road which in a short time
may be altogether suspended by the introduction of the
railroad. (Hear, hear.) It may be considered, though
those large lines of road maybe completed, there is no mode
of carrying goods from one part of the country to another.
In the presidency of Bombay, Mr. Davis, the collector of
that district reports that, although there are no mac-
adamised roads, and no materials wherewith to construct
them, yet through the presidency the communication is
everywhere well kept up, not only on the great lines of
traffic, but between village and village, and the number of
carriages is greater in proportion than the number of the
population. (Hear.) Another authority (Mr. Bell) says
there are excellent means of communication from one vil-
lage to another, and it appears that the province abounds
with cattle and carts suitable for the purpose of carriage.
(Hear.) Besides that, the construction of railways has
already been commenced, and it i unnecessary to place be-
fore you the advantages which the construction of railways
must confer on that country ; but of this I am sure, that
when they were begun they were begun with precipitancy,
and in both the cases in which they were undertaken, the
projectors have been obliged to change the line that was
originally laid out. In the line from Calcutta, it was pro-
posed first to run the line along the old road, but fortu-
nately, before they had got beyond a certain point the line
was changed, and they wisely carried the railroad along
the line of the river, and through the most populous parts
of the district. (Hear, hear.) The same thing has taken
place in Bombay ; they began the road, and to a certain
distance it is now open ; but when they began it, they
intended to pass the Ghauts and through the high coun-
try at a period which has since been found to be per-
fectly impracticable ; and they abandoned their original
scheme, and now propose to pass the Ghauts at two diffe-
rent places. (Hear, hear.) Further railways are projected,
but surely it is not wise to begin a great work of this kind
until the line is well surveyed and considered, and until
the proper authorities have determined where it is most
advantageous for the country this extensive communica-
tion shall be carried. (Hear, hear.) There is perhaps no
person more competent to form an opinion on this subject
than the present Governor-General of India. (Cheers.) No
person paid more attention to the subject when he was
President of the Board of Trade in this country, and we
might have done better even in this country if more atten-
tion had been paid to the very able reports which he pre-
pared—(loud cries of " hear, hear")—and which were laid
upon the table of this house ; and I think my right hon.
friend did perfectly right in referring the whole of this
question to the consideration of the Governor-General of
India, as being, I must say, the most competent person in
Europe or Asia to give an opinion upon it. (Hear, hear.)
I have pressed the noble lord for a full and final report on
the subject, and I have every reason to hope, from a pri-
vate letter I received the other day, that by the next mail
I shall receive his report on the whole subject of railroads
in India. (Hear, hear.) As he truly says, it is an impor-
tant subject, particularly when we consider its bearing on
other questions, and therefore it is difficult to give a deci-
sive opinion on such a matter, and I have thought it right,
to a great extent, to suspend the consideration of those
questions until I have received that report. (Hear, hear.)
On receiving that report, I know I may answer for the con-
currence of the directors of the East India Company—
(hear, hear)—and I can assure the house that no time shall
be lost in carrying those railroads through, to the utmost
extent, as fast as means will allow—not experimentally—
not by making what may be called an experimental line—
but by constructing them in the way which I think it is
absolutely necessary those great lines of communication
should be completed, and which I believe, will be found
cheaper in the end and a great deal better. (Hear, hear.)
I think also that it would be advantageous to the country
in which they are to be constructed, that no time should
be lost;swhen all the preliminary arrangements are per-
fectly completed, and that no expense should be spared in
completing them. (Hear, hear.) Now sir, there is one
other subject connected with the public works of the great-
est importance, and that is the irrigation of different parts
of the country—(hear, hear) ;—and this is one of the points
on which the statements in that petition from Madras are
signally false. (Hear, hear.) If one believed what is stated
in it, one would suppose that nothing has been done in the
presidency of Madras on the subject of irrigation. They
quote from a report as if they were quoting from the last
report on the subject, which would lead to the impression
that a thousand millions of gallons of water are running
uselessly to the sea. That was the report in 1838 ; and
that which is stated in this document to be the last report
was made fifteen or sixteen years ago. when a large quan-
tity of water was no doubt running uselessly to the sea.
(Hear.) Since that .period, and within the last twelve
years, a dam has been completed, by which a greater por-
tion of water has been rendered useful ; and another dam is
in process of construction, which Ibelieve will be completed
in the course of the present year, and will add to the means
of irrigation. The last report on public works which I be-
lieve has been presented to the house contains this account :
—"A river exceeding two miles in actual width, besides
the islands which at that point divide it into four branches,
and running over a bed of pure sand of unknown depth,
was to be arrested in its course by a dam twelve feet
high, thrown across it, and a large part of its waters was
to be distributed over an extent of 3,000 square miles, by
means of a network of channels—and all this was to be
done in a country where such works had never been heard
of before on a scale of any magnitude, or at least only by
tradition, and to be effected by the agency of workmen
who had to be taught almost everything." Recollect, that
all this is to be done in a country where, amongst the
labourers, there is no skill of any kind to be found, and
must, in fact, be effected by the agency of workmen who
have to be taught almost energy. (Hear, hear.) We talk
of constructing works in this country; but remember that
we are constructing them hero on a comparatively small
scale when compared with India, and with the assistance
of able engineers. (Hear, hear.) What is a mile here is
one hundred miles there, or something like that sort of
proportion, and it is most unjust and unfair to condemn
persons placed in such circumstances because they do not
proceed as rapidly as we do at home. (Hear, hear.) There
is also another dam in process of construction which will
irrigate about 1,200,000 acres, which will, I believe, be
completed this year, in the Madras district ' • and the re-
sult will be, that in the presidency of Madras there will be
irrigated by the works which have been undertaken no
less than 3,400,000 acres of land proper for the cultivation
of sugar and cotton. In the northern province the work
of irrigation is effected in a different way ; it is effected
not by dams but by canals. Some of those canals have
been completed, and similar works are going on ; and
canals that were completed some time ago irrigate about
600,000 acres. The Ganges canal was reported on in 1836,
and in 1838 it was sanctioned ; but it was unfortunately
stopped at a subsequent period by the Governor-General of
the day, because it was deemed by him injurious to the
health of the district ; but when Lord Hardinge was ap-
pointed Governor-General, he appointed a commission to
inquire into its probable effect, and he was satisfied by the
report which he received that no danger was to be appre-
hended from the completion of the work. (Hear.) That
canal was begun in the year 1848, and is to be completed
in the year 1856 ; so that, according to the estimate, in
three years a work will be completed ;by which 810 miles
will be watered. (Hear.) Similar works have been sanc-
tioned and begun in other portions of our empire, but even
these do not give an adequate notion of the extent to which
the country has been benefitted by these works ; because
so far as canals go ycu may multiply by three the quantity
of land that will be benefitted by them. (Hear, hear.) The
total quantity of land that will be benefittod by those
works of irrigation amounts to 14,100,000 acres, being
rather more than the cultivable area. (Hear, hear.) There
is a project also for carrying out two new lines of canal
from the Indus, and one of them will be to Hydrabad.
(Hear, hear.) The attention of the Government has been
no doubt of late yetlrs more particularly called to the sub-
ject. Active officers have been employed, who, seeing that
the country has been benefitted, and that the revenue has
been raised by those works of irrigation, are encouraged to
press them forward with greater energy. (Hear.) Those
exertions have been approved of by the Government in
India and at home, and the best guarantee that can be af-
forded to the public for the completion of these works is,
that they have tended so much 'be the improvement of the
revenue and to the benefit of the country. (Hear.) Mea-
sures have been taken, both in India and in this country,
for putting those works on a better footing than that on
which they have been hitherto carried on. They have
hitherto been divided into different branches in India, from
which some confusion has arisen, as they were dealt with by
applications from time to time for each work. (Hear, hear.)
In Bengal superintending engineers have been appointed
in the different districts into which the country is divided,
who are made responsible for the whole of the works.
(Hear, hear.) It was only the other day, in concurrence
with the Court of Directors, that a dispatch was sent from
England, desiring that the public works should be put on
a better footing, and that instead of applications being
made from time to time, an annual estimate should be pre-
pared by what I may call the Board of Works in India,
and laid before Parliament, and that a portion of the re-
venue of the year should be employed in this important
blanch of the public works. (Hear.) I hope that the
house will listen to me with patience—(hear)—while I call
attention to a subject which is of the greatest importance,
and the consideration of which has been earnestly urged on
us—that is the tenure of land in India. (Hear.) Great
complaints have been made respecting it, and were made
very much by those who think that the tenure of land i n
Madras interferes with the production of those articles
which it is desirable should be imported into this country
—I mean particularly the article of cotton. (Hear.) The
system in operation there is what is called the ryot system,
by which land is divided into small portions, there being a
certain agreement between the occupiers and the Govern-
ment ; and what is urged upon the Government is, that
this system should be put an end to, and that a description
of landholders of a large calibre should be created, holding
to a certain extent the same position as landlords in this
country. (Hear.) That was a system which for many
years was the favourite system of the Court of Directors,
and Bengal was settled on that system, which is called the
Zemindar system. (Hear.) Under that system measures
were adopted by dividing the land into lots, so as to con-
stitute estates of considerable size, and to all appearance
a class of landlords was created; but most unfortunately
it turned out to be a most constant source of evil. Yet
that is the system of landlords which is again endeovoured
to be established. (Hear.) I believe I said some time ago
that each of those systems has its advocate, and each man
believes that the system he advocates is the best. Accord-
ingly this Zemindary system in Bengal is one that has
been represented as fraught with unmitigated benefit to
the whole population. But so did not think Lord Hastings,
when he spoke of the benevolent purpose of Lord Cornwal-
%in. establishing the Zemindary system. (Hoar, hear.).
ur
provinces t
great car© tThisd
deliberation,tru ly be n e
has,o l e benevolent
to
o purpose,
painful
knowledge,
these
so guaranteed subjected almost the
mowsthgorileeovfouthsooplopwreesrsciolansleasntohrpopuregsshoiount
been vested •
too,lwi ehvoem themte
p;:y
mrie`.; 3' our pledge, that we are unable to re-
limited power to Nviatvzhfer:mstattie was to be made, with
gratuitous, havirt of ownership in . the soil, absolutely'
gent rent for the use of an in the person through
Yen before the committee
un- ,
s copartners an extrava-
appears, by the evident j:P4rt of the land, Now, it I

1852, that the ryotwar was an ancient system of land
tenure; and the person by whom it was more generally
extended throughout the presidency was one of the most
enlightened of our public servants, Sir Thomas Monroe.
It was no attempt on the part of the Government here to
extract the last farthing from the ryots ; the system was
established by a man who had the welfare of the natives
thoroughly at heart, and who established it in spite of the
directions of the Government at home, or rather iu disre-
gard of those directions, as being that which he believed
to be the best calculated to benefit the people. Tbe settle-
ment made by Sir T. Monroe was this--he entirely did
away with middlemen ; he fixed the rent to be paid by
the cultivator at one-third, or one-fourth, according to
the value of land, below what it had been for ten or
twelve years before ; and so long as he paid that rent, he
gave to the cultivator an indefeasible right to the land.
Circumstances, however, have changed, and that assess-
ment has, from the fall of prices, become too high. (Hear,
hear.) The present settlement in the north-western pro-
vinces is what is called the village settlement, a most able
account of which is given in a work by a Mr. Campbell,
who has undertaken a portion of its management in that
district. The village settlement is held up as by far the
most beneficial for all parties, and I believe it has answered
most perfectly in that district, because of its being much
in accordance with the customs and habits of the natives
of that part of the country. It has prevailed in other parts
of India ; but not to the same extent. But when I asked
Sir George Clerk whether he thought it possible to change
from the ryotwar system to the village settlement, he said
he felt it almost impossible, because in the ryotwar sys-
tem the landlord has to deal with each tenant, whereas in
the village settlement he has to deal with a considerable
number of persons in their collective capacity ; therefore,
however desirable it might be, it was a matter that could
only be done by all the cultivators of the village. But the
truth is, that we have in times past committed the greatest
injury and injustice by attempting to force on different
parts of India that which we believed to be the best sys-
tem. We committed great injustice in the presidencies
of Bengal and Madras, and even in these self-same north-
western provinces, by not having endeavoured to adapt
our policy in each case more in accordance with the cus-
toms and habits of the native population. Everybody at
all acquainted with India knows how difficult it is to de-
part from that which has been the custom of the natives
and their ancestors for generations. In the north-western
provinces the settlement of which I have spoken has been
in existence for about thirty years, a period which has
served to carry with it something like certainty of tenure,
and in Bombay leases are given for twenty or thirty
years, a system in favour of which Sir George Clerk, one
of the ablest governors of that presidency, has expressed
the strongest opinion. But, we must leave all these
matters to the people on the spot, who are the best able
to judge of their own feelings and wishes, of what is best
calculated to promote their welfare, and what was most
likely to have a chance of adoption. But in connection
with this subject of the tenure of land, I must refer to the
cultivation of cotton, which I believe to be of great im-
portance, 'not only to India, but to this country. For
some time the cotton of India was of a coarse description
and of a short staple, qualities which render it not so well
suited as the American cotton to the manufactures of this
country. The East India Company have, for some time
past, endeavoured to encourage the growth of American
cotton in India, and, I am happy to say, the result has
established the practicabili' of its cultivation in our
eastern possessions. I see by the report of tlfe superintend-
ent of the cotton districts, that about 1,500 acres in one
district are under the cultivation of American cotton ;
besides that, some Englishmen have recently gone out and
established a cotton plantation on the very sea coast,
which was well adapted for the exportation of the pro-
duce. I find in the same report there are about 2,500
acres on which cotton is cultivated by Englishmen. The
Government has undertaken to buy up that portion of the
cotton cultivated by the ryots for which they may be un-
able to find a market ; but having established the fact that
the American plant can be grown, the interference of the
Government will now cease. It is the duty of the Govern-
ment to afford facilities for the growth of cotton to the par-
ties engaged in its cultivation ; but they think the true way
to encourage its cultivation is to leave it to individual enter-
prise. The truth is, that the whole question of the growth
of this American cotton depends on the certainty of the
market in this country. (Hear, hear.) If there is a cer-
tainty of a market here the people will grow the cotton,
but without that they cannot be expected to grow an article
which is of little or no use to themselves. The exports of
cotton from India have increased considerably of late years,
and I have not the least doubt, if proper facilities and in-
ducements are given, the article may be grown to any ex-
tent necessary for the supply of this country. I will read
a portion of a letter from an intelligent native of India on
this very subject. He says :—" If they are in earnest,
nothing that I can see impedes their acting independently
of Government ; and, if they would but form themselves
into an association, subscribe a sufficient capital among its
members, and judiciously lay it out in farming or pur-
chasing rom the company's government or its allies—the
Nizam and others—districts capable of being improved by
such outlay, they would not only render England inde-
pendent of America in respect to their cotton supplies
(which appears to be their grand object), and obtain an
accession to their imports of other East Indian produce,
but they themselves would reap a large profit independently
of the consideration of improving the moral and political
condition of the people of the place. On the other hand,
it can hardly be expected that the natives of India, if left
to themselves, would bestir themselves in any such national
undertaking, their ideas and prejudices being generally
against any innovation." That is the opinion of a very
enlightened native of India, who is acquainted with the
feelings and prejudices of his own countrymen.
Mr. BRIGHT—Was that letter written in India ?
Sir CHARLES WOOD—Yes, in India.
Mr. BRIGHT—What is the date ?

Sir CHARLES WOOD—I have not the date, but it was
written quite recently. I will now trouble the house bat
very shortly on the subject of the revenue of India. The
revenue of India is raised almost entirely by what is called
" the land revenue," which is, in the strict sense of the
word, not a tax at all, but a portion of the rent. All the
precedinc, Governments of India have invariably taken
different proportions of the rent of the land as constituting
the main article of revenue ; and the English Government
have followed their example. About three-fifths of the
whole revenue is collected from this source, which, as I
have said, in the strict sense of the word, is no tax at all,
but a portion of the rent; each occupier of land is left to
cultivate it as he pleases, and the land revenue interposes
no obstacle to the employment of his capital, In the
presidency of Bengal the revenue is a fixed charge; in that
of Madras it varies; and in the north-western province a
rule is laid down, most beneficial to the party charged
with the payment, that two-thirds of the net produce shall
be paid to the state. The next main item of revenue is
that derived from opium, and in the last year of which we
have an account the proceeds arising from that source are
about 3,500,0001. The mode in which the revenue on that
article is levied is different in different parts of India. In
Bengal it is paid by the Government at a fixed price; and
in the state of 3lalwar and others, it pays a charge on
passing through the territory. The revenue from that
source has increased to a very considerable amount of late
years. The amount at present is nearly 3,500,0001.
There are it is true, certain moral considerations which
the sale of a drug like this to another nation is likely to
suggest ; but I hope, notwithstanding that view of the
matter, the sale will receive some sanction, even from
honourable gentlemen who sit opposite, considering
the way in which the main portion of this tax is raised.
In the report of the committee of 1832 it was stated
as the opinion of the committee that, although the
Government monopoly may in all probability be dis-
advantageous, yet it does not appear to be productive
of any extensive injur7, and that such a high amount of
revenue could be obtained in a less objectionable manner.
The next considerable item of duty is raised from salt.
(Hear, hear.) Hon. gentlemen will remember that the
doctrine urged upon us by certain liberal political econo-
mists is, that revenue should be raised on as few articles as
possible—that a few articles tof consumption should be se
lected, that the whole duty should be put upon them, and
that all others should be free. The recommendation has
entirely obtained in India, for there every article of con-
sumption is free from duty except salt. All other articles
of food 'consumed by the people are entirely free ; and
although I think it desirable to reduce the duty on salt,
yet, after all, the tax is not substantially so heavy as might
at first sight he supposed. I see the average consumption
per head is about 12 lbs. in the course of a year, and the
duty being three-farthings a pound, the actual amount
paid in India on the only article of food on which there is
a duty at all amounts to 9d. per head. I cannot, therefore,
say that this duty is of an oppressive description. It is
hardly worth while going into the other items they are so
very small; but the whole gross revenue of India is about
27,000,000/. I see by the last printed paper that the whole
revenue for the last year is 25,895,000/. I now come to
what has been generally a topic of charge against the ad-
ministration of India during the last twenty years. I have
shown, as regards the public works, that they are in a
progressive if not an altogether satisfactory state ; I think
I have shown that in maintaining a system of land tenure,
which is supposed to be most prejudicial to the party who
holds the land on that tenure, the native customs have
been adhered to, and that any change of that tenure would
probably be attended with evil consequences ; but if we
look to what has been done in the course of the last twenty
years, partly from the operations of the law in our domi-
nions and partly by our influence in other states, that the
crime of infanticide is virtually at an end. Human sacri-
fices—and hon. gentlemen may be astonished to learn that
they existed so recently in India—have, by the influence
of our presence and example, been entirely abolished. The
murder of female infants is put an end to. In 1850, instead
of there being, as in the preceding seven years, no female
child to be found alive in Rajpootana, 1,400 were born in
that year and alive at the end of it. (Hear, hear.) See
what a frightful sacrifice of human life there must have
been, when in a single year there had occured so great a
change. And this has not been effected by means of law,
or by the hand of force or violence ; it is to be ascribed
entirely to the personal influence acquired by a single offi-
cer in the district. Well, and let it be remembered that
upon this subject the prejudices of the Rajpoots wore so
exceedingly strong, that they conceived it/to be a disgrace
to have female children at all ; and you will see what a
wonderful proof it is of the great influence acquir©d by our
officers, that ono of them should have been able to put
down so inveterate a custom. I know there are many per-
sons—some of them appeared before the committee—who
look back to a sort of golden age of Hindostan—a period
toat existed before the arrival of the intrusive foreigners--
when a system of peace, and law, and order, and happiness
prevailed in the country that has never been seen since.
But I must say that the more I inquire into this subject,
the further back does this golden age retire, for when
we refer to ancient history we find the same imagi-
nation prevailing then ; but I must say I never hit upon
that period of universal peace in authentic history. Whe-
ther it occurred in the fabulous ages of India, when the
god Krishna lived with his attendant shepherds, I do not
know ; but certainly it is not in authentic history that we
can find the period with which our rule may not fairly
system compete.
of T
hDuringe, thew la
st
was
swpeenrtpy y
e t
rsetaercsi
underthe
sanc-
tion of religion, has been put down by our Government.
Could so monstrous a state of things have been conceived
as that a class of persons believed that they were per-
forming acceptable sacrifices to the Deity by wandering
from one end of the country to the other to assassinate un-
offending people, and for no other object but to propitiate
the Deity. In reference to this qustion of the state of
India in former times, I confess I have found the assertion
that our rule in India has been mischievous to the natives
so widely propagated, that I found it necessary to refer to
the history of former times, and I have referred, not to an
English historian—because an Englssh historian might be
partial—but I have referred to a Swedish writer, one who
was long resident in this country, it is true, in the quality
of an ambassador, but who has not, at least, the preju-
dices of country to mislead him—l refer to M. Bjomstjerna,
and he quotes from a history of Hindostan, written in
the beginning of the eighteenth century, by Gholab Nun-
comer :—" What was the state of Hindostan at that
period ? All prisoners of war were murdered—suspected
persons were put to the torture, the usual punishment
being impalement. The people in the provinces were
hunted with dogs, or wore shot, like so many beasts of