The Sun.
London, England, 1861-07-06 00:00:00

addition to the revenue immediate," But it wiz also quite

necessary to show the necessity of attending to the distri-
bution of water with a view to the prevention of floods, as

by neglect of water distribution in Cuttack in 23 years there

had been seven years of inundation and two of severe inun-

dation, and in 1855 one flood of the Ganges destroyed no less
than 22,000 houses, 8,000 persons, 40,000 cattle, 20,000 acres
of crops worth £320,000. That brought him to the Godavery,
and this was the report of Capt. Haigh—" The valley of the
Godavery has an area of 130,000 square miles, or about four
times as large as Ireland. The population was estimated at
about eight millions. This valley alone contained a larger
cotton field than America. America had but four millions of
acres (about the area of Yorkshire) under cultivation of cot-
ton. The products were various and abundant—wheat, un-
surpassed in India, Indian corn, millet, peas, beans, rice,
sugar, hemp, oil seeds, chillies, safflower, and two of espe-
cial value, flax and cotton. But this country was com-
pletely blocked up by the want of roads or canals. The
time of conveyance on the backs of bullocks, which was the
only mode by which produce could be conveyed to Bombay
or Calcutta, occupied two months, and the cost per ton was
160 s. " The river," says Captain Haigh, "runs for 100
miles through the finest cotton fields of India, and may be
said to direct its course in a very direct line from the chief
cotton centre to Coringa, the best and safest port on the
eastern coast." "The river," said another authority,
"with numberless tributaries, may one day become the
Mississippi of the Sudo." Now, the estimated cost torender
navigable 472 miles, at £6lB per mile, was £292,000 ; to
render ii still cheaper for carriage, £360,000. By the expen-
diture of that sum, the time of conveyance would be reduced
to eight days, and the cost per ton to twenty-four shillingi3.
When they saw that that would be the result both to India
and England he thought there could be little hesitation
in incurring the expenditure necessary for opening up such
a field for the cultivation of cotton. But while he was
speaking of the Godavery, and the great advantages that
would accrue by rendering that river navigable, there was
another point of view, and that was its value as a military
work. Colonel Balfour, Inspecter-General of Ordnance,
observed " on the large pecuniary saving which will ensue
not only in the conveyance of stores, but in the preservation
of human life, by reducing the risks that now attend our
soldiery during long marches." lie adds most truly,
" European lives in India are now more valuable than ever.
The march from Masulipatam to Nagpore is very circuitous,
and traverses one of the most notoriously deadly jungles in
India. The march now occupies, I believe, a month and a
half. It might be reduced to seven days by the river."
But besides the relief to the men it should be remembered

that on that line the transport of stores and cart hire
alone amounted to £lB,OOO per annum. There was
another point which materially affected the welfare of the
people of India and the revenue of the country. The article
of salt was a Government monopoly in India, but the
pressure on the natives arose not from the price charged at
the place of manufacture, but from the difficulty of trans-
port from the place of manufacture to the interior of the,
country. The Indian Government by its monopoly clears
on every pound of salt 2d. Wherever it was cheap, that
was at a small advance on the cost at the pans, the people
consumed per head annually 201 b. The price of salt in
Nagpore, Berar, and generally throughout the Deccan, was
£6, £7, £lO, and even £l6 per ton. The consequence was
that the consumption did not exceed per head 81b. Now
the cost at the pans was raised by defect of transport from
three to six fold. The opening of water carriage of the
Godavery would reduce it to less than one-fourth; and
the result of that would be at a very moderate com-
putation, that the Government revenue would be in-
creased by £64,000 a year in that district alone; the
whole interest and maintenance of the works necessary
to produce this result not exceeding £lB,OOO a year. It
wos doubted whether India had great capacity for pro-
ducing cotton ; but a high authority said that " as much
cotton is wasted in India as is grown in America." The
number of acres of cotton under cultivation was estimated
at no less than 24,000,000. The number of people, from the
Himalayas to Cape Comorin, who were clothed in cotton,
was estimated at no less than 200,000,000. Then observe
to what purposes cotton was turned in India. It was used
for ropes, tents, saddles, stuffing, carpets, and textile fabrics
generally. Guzerat alone, this year, would give, though
hardly a hundredth pact of India, perhaps one-third of the
ordinary supply from America. But this was owing to
Guzerat having the convenient port of Surat. These were
facts as to quantity ; and there could be very little doubt
as to the quality of the cotton which India was capable of
producing. He had spoken on the subject to Mr. Bazley,
the member for Manchester, who was a great cotton-
spinner, and a high authority on the subject. He said that
Indian cotton was equal, with all its imperfections, even
now to 75 per cent. of what is required for our own use.
He would next ask what chance there was of India being
able to produce the finest quantity of cotton to compete
with that of America. Dr. Forbes • Watson, the inspector
of Indian products, stated that " in Dharwar the cultivation
of American cotton is increasing at the rate of from 30,000
to 40,000 acres a year ;" and that "the acreage last year
under this kind of cotton was 180,000, and is now equal to
the New Orleans cotton." With regard to flax imported 1
from India to this country the sample of last year was
valued at £64 per ton. The Punjaub and other districts
exceeded even Russia in capability to produce this article.
It was important to observe, with regard to cotton, that it
was not a question of new cultivation and of the necessity
of introducing seed and instructing the people. On the
contrary, cotton had been cultivated for several centuries in
that country, and the cultivation of it was an occupation
with which the people had long been familiar. All that they
now required was that they should have roads, canals, or
other means of transit ; and if those advantages were con-
ferred upon India he believed she would give us a supply of
cotton exceeding what could be worked up in this country.
Until, however, those facilities were given, the up-
told riches of India would remain locked up and useless.
Again as to the article of jute, we imported from India in
1841 only 3,000 tons; but in 1859 we imported 53,000. Of
wool, our importations from India in 1852 was five million
pounds; but a great demand bad arisen in the last eight
years, and the quantity imported in 1860 was upwards of 20
million pounds—the greater part of which was brought on
camels' backs for shipment, from distances varying from 200
to 600 miles. He now came to the article of linseed. Down
to 1851 the largest quantity imported in any one y ear was
6,000 tons ; in 1854, the quantity was 35,988 tons ; in 1855,
owing to the Russian war, it was increased to 66,687 tons ;
in 1859, it was 96,000 tons, or nearly equal to the supply
from Russia and all other countries. If the Russian war
had done so much for the produce of linseed, what might
not the American revolution be expected to do for that of
cotton ? It would relieve us from the hazard and annoyance
of relying on a single producing country, but chiefly from
that incubus which weighed on the hearts of hundreds of
thousands—namely, the necessity of purchasing and work-
ing up slave-grown cotton. The cotton grown in India
would be that of free labour; and he believed that its im-
portation to this country would do more to put an end to
slavery in America than almost anything else they could do.
Now, as to the capability of India to consume cotton manu-
factured goods and other articles of British manufacture.
In 1851 the value of cotton manufactures (including Irish
and yarn) imported Into India from Great Britain was
£5,220,194, and of other articles £2,022,000, making a total
of £7,242,194. The proportion, in reference to the rest of the
world, of British cotton manufactures taken by India was
18 per cent. In 1859 the value of cotton manufactures taken
by India from Great Britain was £14,713,812, and of other
articles £5,131,108, making atotal of £19,814,920. All this
wonderful :progress had been made in spite of war and
mutiny and other difficulties, and India was now very nearly
on the point of becoming our best customers. It had been
said by some that the people of India were listless and idle
and only fit to be governed despotically. In answer to that
he would only refer to the stimulus which the prospect of
gain or self-interest gave to the people. In the Dharwar,
which was the great cotton field in India for the produc-
tion American cotton, " saw gins" had been largely
demanudeefder hftorecale maeanscindene the
thateco thttone.
government
great was
of Indiawastho
had to send
an agent tothis country to have them
they were purch dby the
manufactured, and although
ir)
yt heetyahcions tgrf reoemt
numbers
bto e each,r£3.l6 There
asehad already been expended
ac-
cused of being idle and listless and t e
incapablenatives, who were
sti-
mulated by the prospect of gain, of being a
sum of £12,000 upon
these " saw gins." The average yearlyhe sum now paid by
tives were really
wno thousands
carryusads
them under this head was £2,500. T
a people of most active commercial habits,na
and
o would
on f a
their produce on their heads hundreds and eve
of miles for sale, and if they could only make aprofit
few rupees they would think nothing of their trouble,
and be perfectly satisfied. With respect to the
cultivation of cotton, there could be no doubt
that if the people had only a certain prospect of a reason-
able and speedy profit, there was no amount of effort they
would not cheerfully make. In that way they would get
rid of the practice of the Government making advances,
than which nothing could be more objectionable, as it made
the ryot depend upon others, and took away his indepen-
dence and self-respect. Re could not conclude without
bringing before their lordships the great advantages which
resulted from works of irrigation in India. By way of illus-
tration he would compare the districts of Cuttack and
Tanjore, both of which were about the same size,
and situated in the deltas of great rivers, Cut-
tack in that of the Maharuddy, and Tanjore in that of
the Cauvery. Both were also of about equal fertility. The
revenue from Cuttack was £85,000, and from Tanjore
£170,000. The land in Cuttack was worth 30s. per acre,
but in Tanjore it was worth £5. Cuttack had by far the
best natural supply of water, yet in 23 years there were
1 three years of famine, four of drought, seven of inundation,
two of severe inundation, and only seven of moderate sea-
sons. During this period there was expended yearly in
Cuttack on waterworks, £2,400, and in Tanjore, £11,600.
The aggregate excess of revenue from Tanjore over Cut-
tack, in 23 years, was therefore £6,970,000. Here was the
report of the Madras Board of Revenue, who were not par-
tial to the irrigation works of Sir Arthur Cotton, to the
Madras Government in 1859: "The board now approach
the third branch of the subject, the cost of the two Coleron
anicuts, and the net amount of revenue which they have
yielded to the State. The sums expended on these works,
and the percentage which the net profit yielded by them
bears to the original outlay, underwent careful scrutiny by
the and the Mahramut com-
missioners,y and the result at which they
the Department of Puplie
, ez4thjuing the bills and revenue
statements
awrrived,afi4ta t a f
ft eo rr

an outlay of 121,738 the Government have received a clear
gain of £412,052 in sixteen years, or a profit of 118 per
cent, per annum." Here were some of the great works of
that eminent engineer, Sir Arthur Cotton. He had heard
it said that Sir A. Cotton's works always exceeded
the estimate ; but if that were so, the ahnestfabulous profits
which they produced ought to exempt him from any re-
proach on the subject. The Marquis of Dalhousie, in a de-
spatch, said—" Everywhere I found evidence of the won-
derful effect produced by irrigation, wherever the means
could be obtained ; everywhere I found lands of vast extent,
fertile properties now lying comparatively waste, but want-
ing only water to convert them into plains of the richest
cultivation, and everywhere I found amongst the people the
keenest anxiety to be supplied with that by which alone
they could be enabled to turn their labour to good account.
Again, Lord Stanley, in a speech delivered on Feb. 18,
1859, said—" With regard to the public works in India, I
have seen some doubt expressed whether the returns from
these works were accurately given. I have since gone
through the figures and verified them from official docu-
ments, and I find they are strictly accurate." The Hon. W.
Elliot, member of council, Madras, said, on March 18,1850
in irrigation works the physical impediments are gene-
rally few and easily met, the returns arc sure, always con-
siderable, often immense ; they have increased the wealth
of the inhabitants in a remarkable degree ; and with pro,
perty the people have acquired habits of independence, a
desire for knowledge, and for the extension of usefulness of
every description." The following was the opinion of Sir
C. Trevelyan in Oct., 1859—" Works of irrigation create
new value by an immediate and positive process with a pro-
fusion of which there is no other example. They add from
three to six fold to the annual productiveness of the land.
This is better than the annexation of new territory. The
natives are encouraged to a life of peaceful industry." In
that way a very large addition might be made to the re•
revenue without pressing upon the people, while the
people themselves would have their condition greatly im-
proved, and be enabled to become great consumers of
British produce. There could also be no doubt that,
politically, these works would be of the greatest import-
ance, because what added to the happiness and content-
ment of the people would give security to the govern-
ment. When the famine broke out this country made large
contributions with the object of relieving the distress it oc-
casioned, and it was right and humane so to do ; but if an
equivalent sum had been expended on those works, that
famine would have been obviated, and the country perhaps
rendered safe against a similar calamity for generations to
come. By the seizure of that empire we had taken upon
ourselves all the responsibility, and at the same time taken
from the people all means of improving their own financial
position or of regulating their own affairs ; and above all we
owed the performance of this duty in gratitude and obedience
to Almighty God, who had been pleased to place under the
protection of Queen Victoria the most magnificent empire
to be found in the annals of the world. The noble earl con-
, eluded by m3ving the address in the terms of his motion.
Lord DE GREY and RIPON said their lordships must
have listened with the greatest attention to the able, elo-
quent, and forcible speech made by the noble earl who had
just sat down, and he could assure the noble lord that if he
arose to follow him it was with no intention of contesting
the principles which he had enunciated. He entirely con-
curred in all the noble lord had stated as to the importance
of these works of irrigation and internal communication.
They were of the first importance to the people of that
country. He was glad to find that his noble friend had not
been led, by the great attention he had paid to the subject,
to enter into any hostile proceedings against the Indian
Government either of this or of former years. He had the
satisfaction of saying that, although much remained to be
done in the direction pointed out by the noble earl, yet be
believed that at no time in the previous history of India
had the Government of that eountry been more fully alive
to the vast importance of the subject than at present.
Their lordships were aware that the works of irrigation
which had been in progress were of necessity suspended
during the late mutiny. Since its termination the
Government had set themselves heartily to work in
taking up this question, and they were as convinced as
the noble earl himself that they owed it to the people of
India to devote themselves to the development of works of
this description. He did not think that he could convey to
their lordships a better idea of the spirit by which the Go-
vernment of India was actuated in reference to this question
than by referring to the speech of Mr. Laing in proposing
his budget before the Legislative Council at Calcutta. Mr.
Laing, speaking of the expenditure upon public works, said
that the vote showed an increase instead of a reduction.
The vote for the year 1861-2 was £3,121,129, as compared
with £2,897,671 for the year 1860-1. The whole expendi-
ture upon public works for the year 1861-2 would be about
£500,000, and of that sum a large proportion would go to
the making of roads. In addition to this the Indian Go-
vernment intended to spend more money in the construction
I of canals, and especially in developing those works of irri-
gation in connexion with the canals which had proved
themselves to be of such great value. (Hear, hear.) That
was the spirit in which Mr. Laing stated it was intended
by the Indian Government to proceed in the matter during
the present year. Since the delivery of that speech
it had been his (the noble earl's) official.cluty to go carefully
over the budget orders, as they were called, of the Gover-
nor-General of India, and he could assure their lordships
that he had risen from their perusal with the strongest con-
viction that the endeavour of the central Government had
been to stimulate all the local and provincial Governments
of that country to devote their energies to the carrying out
public works of this description. He might add an impor-
tant statement—namely, that the sum to be devoted to pub-
lic works this year would be applied almost exclusively to
civil and industrial works. The sum for military works,
such as barracks, would be diminished as compared with
the vote of former years, while there would be a conside-
rable increase in the amount allotted to the kind of works
referred to by the noble earl. Ought of 11,500,000 which
it was intended to spend during the present year, no less
than £1,400,000 would be devoted exclusively to carrying
out works of irrigation, and the improvement of internal
communication whether by water or by land. That sum,
however, did not entirely represent the whole of the money
which he believed would be devoted by the Indian Govern-
ment to this purposeduring the present year. His noble
friend had referred to the great results which had followed
the completion of the works in connexion with the Ganges
canal. However much the English Government in India
might have fallen short in some respects, nevertheless he
was sure their lordships would admit that the works of that
canal would always form a monument of the liberal spirit
of the British Government. (Hear, hear.) At the same
time the full benefit of that canal would not be derived
until the smaller distributory canals in connexion with it
were completed ; and the Government of India, being fully
aware of that fact, had set aside a larger sum for the com-
pletion of those tributary canals, That amount, how-
ever, would be limited by the fat t that these works in-
volved the employment of a large proportion of skilled and
engineering labour, which it was difficult to command upon
a large scale in India. But to the fullest extent that the
Government could secure the services of skilled engineers
these distributory canals would be proceeded with, so as to
give the whole of the surrounding country a participation
in the benefits and advantages of the canals. The noble earl
had referred to the famine as a proof of the necessity for
such works, in which observation he (the noble lord) ex-
pressed his entire concurrence, but he was happy to say
that although the sufferings of the people in various parts
of India had been very great, yet all intormation tended to
show that, as compared with the famine of 1837, the people
were in a much better condition now than they were at that
time. During the late famine there had been a vast amount
of emigration from the affected districts to those in a more
prosperous part of the country. That emigration had been
to a great extent spontaneous on the part of the people, and
it was so far gratifying, as it showed intelligence, and a
disposition tc exert themselves to meet difficulties of that
description. The noble earl had also touched upon another
question, namely, the works upon the Godavery. Un-
fortunately it had been found necessary to suspend
those works at the latter end of last year, in
consequence of the sum of money granted by the Govern-
ment not being sufficient for the purpose. But the Govern-
ment had this year allotted a very considerable sum to
carry on those works. With regard to the views expressed
by the noble earl on this matter, he (Earl de Grey and
Ripon) should be the last person to contest the importance
of opening up the district by means of these works. Every-
thing tending to connect the whole district directly with
the river must be most advantageous ; but the province of
Behar would be most immediately benefitted by the com-
pletion of the railway from Nagpoor, which he trusted
would be made within the next two years, and thus give a
ic idirect and speedy communication with Bombay. The noble
for his u
earl, in his speech, did not make any specific recommenda •
tion as to the mode in which these works of irrigation and
m
communicationsuch
nobleha
e friend
service ought
that
dtou during
be
the pressedg tlndianh the
forward.
present
year
e a r
tH h e
could r n
assure Governmente
hado el
allotteda
largest sum they could be expected to allot consistently
with the other '
claims upon them. If the noble earl intended
was the
by his motion to convey the idea that it-
duty of
the Government to raise
money in the money market for
the completion of these works he really must any that he
differed with the noble earl in that view of the matter. Their
lordships were well aware that the Government had under•
taken to guarantee five per cent. on all moneys expended in
the construction of railways in India. Until those railways
were completed the Gcvernment had no means of repaying
themselves for the interest thus given, and it was therefore
their first duty, in order to relieve the Indian Exchequer
from this:burden, to complete the railways as quickly as pos.
sible. A loan of four millions had been authorised by the
other house of Parliament for that purpose, and altogether
about eight or ten millions would be expenear dedb u
the an ran
Indian
railways in the course of the present y y y
companies and by the Government. He believed there was
very great doubt whether the money market of this country
As
would be able to spare a larger sum for such purposes.
oble
re-
garded
the importance of the question which the n
earl had laid before their lordships, there could be no
differ-
ence of opinion, and he could assure his noble friend and
their lordships that the Government were fully and firmly
determined to carry out these works tj the utmost extent
the means at their disposal would allow. He trusted, there-
fore, the noble earl would consider his object had been
gained by the statement of his views upon the subject,
and
by the assurances which he had given on the part vi gio