, 1861-04-05
The Famine In India.

The vast plain Of the Gang is blcst bonn.
tifally With rains only in Bengal; in tie prov
inces farther North-indeed, throughout all
| Upper lndia-the poor soil sparinsly refreshed
by the clouds, yields its single annual crop to
artificial irrigation mainly. The lands in which
the Train crops" are sowu lie tallow in the GELD
season, and those Of the spring crops during
the rains. The rain crops are planted, attec
| one plowfng, In the last weeks Of june. and
are reaped In October. The spripg crop is
soNn IN October and reaped in April. The
former consist Of cotton and mil1et. small
/ proportion Of indigo, rice, sugar cac.; and Iu-
| dian corn, with some bg:are- and other cnarsr
native grains. The latter is the wheat crop
| the great food harvest for the bazlars Of The
cities; for the ryots, and al Of the lowlv aeri-
cultural class, sqbsist principally upon bajaree
and those humber grains which are lung into
the softened ground with the rice, after the
June showers. The wheat crop is watered
less by rain, which at that season in Cpper In
dis is neither 20 frequent or abundant, than BY
irrigation through bitches and canals
Now, the latest arrivals from Calcutta bring
us the appalling intelligence that the grain.
crop failed utterly in October, by q dreadful
drouth, and that, over an immense extent Of
country from CaWnpore to Scharunpore, from
the Gangea to the plains of Hissar, from Clutch
10 the extreme west, to TfaTancore, in the ex-
treme south, through the Dose and RohilcEEt.
auxerat aud the Deoeaa, the fate 1f ugoliueis
impending, presently DIVER forty millions Of
people, and ere this hiss probably ove,takeu,
In tbs dfrest forms Of famine, a million or
more. Horrors SURPRISING the very worst that
unhappy lndln has experienced Of calamity
eurpassing al that was mont heart-reuding in
the famiqe Of 1e3f-Are related in 1a,oQage
pictaresQuely terrible. From 400 to 500 DEATHS
adny see1ns too moderate computation. Gu
der the brazen sky, young and old, the feeble
and the strong, he down on the iron uround
and die: The streets Of Delhi are packed with
geunt, despai.ing Wretches, whom q haadfnl
too weak too eat the food that pity puts into
their months, expire in the effort to swallow
It. Mothers in Travaucore sell their pretty
children for sixpence, or a bowl Of rice, ;olow-
easte buyers, and die when that is gone, Men
N Cnteh sraze and browse, like cattle. Home
steads are abandoned; vhole villages utterly
desolatsa Hedges and bitches are filed With
the st9rk forms OF starved people lank, hag-
Eard shapes skulk through lanes and narrow
bazaara 90 Waylay the daring owner of loaf or
Ash aaao 1t every corner, IN the shadow of
eeeIy door, efonches and starea an Ugolilo,
With his gaunt boys about him.
But this was not all reached at once month
Atter month the skY was brazen and the earth
was NAKED the wells and tanks were dry and
aastg, the grass withered, and tho shrubs were
enaf1ed the cattle tainted in the fields, and
birds fell gasping into the thickets the men,
Memep ep md Children foFgetfs il ne seldsh
fed frantic te the aties, to 1inger, ianguish and
PERISH, that famished wolves might not sniff
them afr of, or she-tigera drag them to thei7
cuba IN the Jungle,
and al THU hsppens In the Northwest
{1s} 1{159}s}aoea, which: but q year ago, Rev. Mr.. |
Was9n compared to the fields Of Belgium,
20 f1ch were they in COIL Now not a blade |
gIoNs there, and every spring is dry. The I
wheat crop, from GAVIN pore to Peshawur, may
9e set down "a lost, eTerT grain Of it. Tho |
aoFFad brotherhood Of Famine, Pestilence and !
Crime have crept down from Delhi and the |
noa6, through Bikaneer and Central India, !
"to invade tho Deccan, desolate Clutch, and |
lions OF people are actually starving noao! "As |
and the harvest Of April, representing from
915, ,m1, ,Qm TO- &9n,0N;0W Of food Is fnund
wanting, Tie disaster will be revealed in ali ia
appalling proportions" Meantime, Govern
ment, aided BY European and rich native
lealdents Of the pFesidencies, is straining /
e sSs1g nerve t9 ponr food, in any shape, into
ne starving districts. The Pa.sees, TOO, and |
the Simplest occupation for their restless aud
nn1taeent hengyolenee; Sir JsmEetjeo Jee-
]eeohoy, leads them: with 5000 rupees. The
whole ecclesiastical organization. is set in
motion to str into activity the humanity Of
tie churches; and the uanges and other tsans:
p0tation companies are ready With all their
machinery to transport 4orthWard countless
tons Of food, It has rained for one day In the
ERunianb, and the hearts Of the paople drank
[n great drAughts Of hope; but Clutch sad
Itsy1ncoTA and Ra}pootauA are still parehed
tad dsspairing&--as.s Yer@ 1suss. a-
Z. l.