The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1876-04-27
BRITISH INDIA.
What Gen. George A. Forsyth Knows of
IFS Extent and Resources.

BRITISH INDIA
What Gen. George A. FOrsyth Knows Oi
lis Extent and Resources.
During the sway of the East Indian
| company, the native East Indian, 50 faI
as the corporation was concerned, was
simply a mOney-getting machine. His
! value in the market as producer was
| carefully estimated and traded upon, and
| the policy of John Company was, the
largest possible dividend upon the small
est possible expenditure. When, hOwev-
! er, the mutiny of 1857 drove the East
| India company to the wall, and her mai
esty's government assumed possession OF
and control over the Indies, the sOulless
| policy of grasping corporation was sue
/ ceeded by the sway of a powerful chris
tian nationality, controlled and directed
| by statesmen of ability, worth, and in
| dustry. In order to show what her mai
! esty's government has accomplished in
| the way of public Improvements within
the last twenty years, l propose to offer a
| few statistics. British India contains
| 943, 1876 square miles, with a population
of 1915, ,223, ,46S souls, and is divided into
twelve provinces, named and controlled
| as follows:
1. The province of Bengal, with apOp-
ulatiOn of $66, 900, 900, governed by a
acknowledgement and legislative cOun-
Gil at Calcutta, and under the immediate
eye of the vicerOy, at present Lord
NOrthbrOOk, who is soon to be succeeded
by Lord LyttOn.
2. The province of Madras, under a
governor, council, and legislative cOun-
Gil, with population of 81, 100000.
3. The provinces of Bombay and SCin-
da, under agovernor, council, and legis-
lative council, with a population of 49,
35O, 900.
+. The Northwestern provinces, under
a lieUteuant-gOveTnOr, with population
of 80, 100000.
5, The Puniaub, under lieuten-
ant-governor, with a population of IL
600, 900.
Then come the smaller provinces of
Dude, the Central provinces, British
Burmah, MysOre, and Berar, all under
chief commissioners, and the smaller
provinces of Ajiner and Carg, under the
general government Of India.
In addition to these provinces, there
are a number of feudatOry states and
provinces, in all nearly 46O, though some
of them are very small, which pay tribute
to and to a certain extent are controlled
by the English government of India. A
rough calculation shows the native states
to cover an area of 100000 square miles,
with an estimated population of 55, ,0O0,-
900, yielding a revenue of $40, 100000,
but paying to the AnglO-Indian govern
ment only So, ,2SS, $50. All of these feu-
datories acknowledge the supremacy of
the government of India, but some of
them merely pay nominal tribute, and
at the same time keep up their own sys-
tenn of government and have their own
armies. Still, it is well to state that they
hold their territories practically on suf-
ferance, for the vicerOy, backed by the
premier of England, could at any time
absorb these native powers, and in my
opinion the man is now living who will
see them so absorbed, and in the best in
terests of the people of India, too. Con.
centratiOn seems to be the order of the
day in the last years of this work-a-day
nineteenth century, and / doubt not that
the new men of the next thirty years
will see its adaptability for Anglo Indian
territories.
Geographically considered, India is
quite too hot for the introduction of EU-
ropean labor. Practically considered !
doubt it, but financially thought over, it
may prove somewhat of a puzzle. The
fact is that native field labor is very
cheap. The needs of the HindOO are few,
his tastes simple, his food plain, and his
dress-well, there IS not much to be said
about that anyway, for two yards of cot
ton cloth is rather a swell dress for the
most of them. However, he can live
where the European would starve, so that
the question of Individual labor between
the native East Indian and the European
will not be agitated, in our generation at
least.
As for the country itself, it is simply a
| great plain. bounded by the Himalayas
! on the north, and with two or three
! small ranges of mountains near the east
and west coasts. 1t has four large rivers,
viz the Ganges, 500 miles in length
/ the Idus, l 800; the BrahmaPutra, 800;
and the Irawadi, LOO; besides above
| twenty-five more streams ranging from
! 200 to 900 miles in length. These rivers,
however, do not supply in their course
sufficient water for irrigation, without
which 1t would be quite impossible to
! successfully raise crops OF any kind with
! in two thirds of the cultivatable area OF
| India. And just here comes in one OF
/ the most splendid works ever undertaken
bv anv government for the benefit of Its
people. | allude TO the stupendOus sys-
| tenn of irrigating canals constructed and
in process of construction by the Indian
government for the agricultural improve
ment of its territories, and without
which many thousands of acres Of land
would be practically worthless, as the rain
! fall Is insufficient to mature the crops
Many of the fields are irrigated by water
drawn from wells, but millions of acres
are irrigated by canals, constructed anc
kept in order by the government; anc
for the use of the water from the saiC
| canals the natives pay a small tax, =
| light a. to be of no actual burden, bu
which, nevertheless, yielded a revenu'
of over $4,000, 900 in 1873, which vii
give YOU some idea of the extent Of tht
canals. | have no reliable data at hanC
to show the length ef all the canals, o
which there are great numbers, buC thei
! aggregate length mean of the mail
Iines-cannOt be less than 5000 miles.
There are now open and in good orde
! about seven thousand miles OF railway
within the British possessions. Ihcsi
roads are finely built. and will last 70
wears TO come without rebuilding; and
although built by private enterprise, th'
charters are 50 wOrdcd that within