New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-04-30
LONDON, April II, 1859.


abatement Of the financial crisis in India reveals a
state of arrangement hardly anticipated The
shifts to which the Indian Government is driven In
order 10 meet its most urgent wants, may be best
Illustrated by recent measure Of the Governor OF
Bombay. Bombay is the market where the opium
of Malwa averaging 0,0G0 chests annually finds
It's outlet by monthly installments of 1000 or 5000
chests for which bills are drawn upon Bombay.
BY charging 400 rupees upon every chest imported
into Bombay, the Government raises "A revenue of
q ,2C0, coo annually on Mal~a opium. Now, to
rtplenish his exhausted exchequer, and ward of
immediate bankruptcy, the Bombay Governor has
issucd notification, which raises the duty on each
chest of Malwa opium from 400 to 500 rupees; but
at lie same time, he declares that this increased duty
Will not be levied TIL after the !st of July so that
the holders Of opium in Mslwa have the privilege of
bringing in the drug under the old duties for four
muifbs longer Between the middle of March,
when the notification Was iesued, and the lst Ui
July, there are only two mouths and bali during
which opium can be imported, the monsooa setting
in the 18th If June. The holders OF OPIUM III
Malua will Of course avail themselves of the inter-
val allowed them for sending III opium at the old
duty; and con, cqneDtly, during the two months
and hail pour ali their stock ID hand iGto the Pre-
sdepcy. Since the balance Of opium, Of the old
and new crops, remaining at hal~a amounts u
20 Geo chests, and The price OF Ma"a opium reaches
$50 rupees per chest the MalFa merchants
" i'll have TO draw upon the Bombay merchant. for
no lrss q sum than 5000 GOO of which more than
Ct coo. 100 must couJe into .he Bombay Treasury
I he aim of this financial Dodge is transparent.
With d view to anticipate the annual revenu" from
the opium duty, and induce the dealers IN the artl.
clt to pay it at once, an enhancement Of the duty
is held out prOspeciISely IN teTTorcH. W lille IL
would be quite superfuuus to eJpatiate upon the
,nDircsl character Of this cobtrivance, which fills
the Exchrdutr for the present by creating cOrr-
spending void few months hence, no more strlk-
Ing inttance could be given OF the exhaustion OF
ysaDd means, on the part OF the great M0guis
succt ssUTs.
Let US BOW turn 10 the general state OF Indian
fnances MS il has grown cat OF .he late lnsurrec-
lion. According to the last official accounts the
netrevenue derived by the British from their Indian
firm amounts to Cos, 20S, GOO, say E2i, 100000.
Tbis annual revenue has never sufiiced 10 defray
The annual expenses. From ls:B To $3.50 the net
deficit smOun'ed To Gl3,l $50 or, on rough
av-age, tn GOT, OGU annually. Even ID the year
lc56, when the Excbequer was exceptionally hlied
by the whlesale anueYatIoDs, robberles and eIf0r.
tons of Lord DahOusle the income and expeI Sc did
rot Exactly square, but, on the contrary, deficit
Of about quarter Of million was added 10 the
ususl crop VI deficits. In 1857 the deficiency was
c9l GO G. 0. in 1c5o it amounted to El3,0U 700,
ana in Ir59 il is estimsted by the Indian Govern
I.nt iis,l at GI2 OGO,OGO The first conclusion,
then " hch arrive at is that even uOder ordinary
circumstances, drfcts were ACCOMPLISHING and
that under extraordinary circumstances they must
assume such dimensions as to reach One-haii and
moIc of the annual income.
The question which next presents itself Is, 10
what degree has teis aresd, existing gap between
the exp, n.es ard the income Of the Indian Govern
men, been Widenrd by recent events! The new
permanent debt of India accruing from the sup
preston of the nutiDy is calculated by the most
sApeuipe English tinancieIs at between forty and
fly millions steIlibg, while Mr. Wilson estimates
tire 1mofent defc,t, OF the annual interest Tor this
rev deb, 10 he betrayed ont Of the annual revenue
~ no, leu shan three mi hons. However, 1t would
BE- great mistake TO think that this permanent de-
felt Sf three millions is the ,ny legacy lett by the
INSURGENTS to their yanquisbers. The costs OF the
insurrectiou not only in the past tense, but are
in high degree prospective. Even IN quiet tunes
before the outbreak OF toe mutlny, the military
charges swallow ed sixty per cent at least OF the
aoy,rrste regular income, ance they exceeded
flI GOO OCO; but the state of affairs s n0%changad
Al the beginning of the mutiny the European force
in India amounted 10 =, Ot0 effective men, while
tie native army mustered 260.O0O men, The
military forces at present employ III India amount
10 yl2 ttC Europeans and go, 900 native troops,
including the native police. 10 may be justly said
| that these extraordinary numbers will b. reduced
| In more moderate standard with the disappear
auc- Of the extraordinary circumstances Which
So eled them "a their present sze. let the mlli-
| tary commission appointed by the British Govern
ment has arrived NJ the conclusion that there Will
| be required in India permanent European force
of $1,000 men, " itn native force Of POO, 600 men
the military charges being thus raised to almost
double their o ignal hight. During the deb't On
| ,nc ludian finances, in the House OF Lords, on
| Atrl Z two points were admitted by all speakers
cf AUTHORITY: on the one band that an annual eA-
reudi,ure upon the reyenue of ludia little short Of
ty.pty millions for the army alone was Incompatible
| with bet revenue of twenty four millions only
| srd. on the other hand, that il was difficult To
| in arine state Of things which for IN indehnite
series Of Years would render II safe for the English
| Ia leave India without European force double us
| amount before the outbreak Of the muttny. But
suppote even that il would 90 tn add permanently
IL the European forces not more than one tnird oi
their original strength ard We get at a new annual
permanent deficit Of four millions sterling at least
| The rev permanent deficit, then, derived on one
| hand irom the consolidated deot contracted during
the mutiny, and ON the other hand tron the pern7-
nent increase of the British forces 10 India ctn-
not, on the mot moderate calculation, fall below
seven millions sterling.
To tbs must be ADDED two other items-the one
accruing from Increase Of liabilities, the other
frum q dinibution of income. BY recent state
uent Of the Railway Department. OF the Indian
0ice 1t London it Iesults that the whole length OF
railways sanctioned for India is ASH miles, OF
| which $50 miles only are yet opened. Inc whole
amobDt OF capital invested by the Different rsilway
! composites amounts 10 $40, OW, coo sterling, Of
Which 1900 NO are paid and t,2l 900 900 are
still IL be called in96 per cent Of the aggregate
1 ,h.nr .h.1t n n,la nt nj