The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1876-04-28
BRITISH INDIA.

BRITISH INDIA.
What Gen. George a. Forsyth Knows G
lis Extent and Resources.
During the sway of the East India
company, the native East Indian, so ia
as the corporation was concerned, wa
simply mOney-getting machine. Hi
value in the market as producer wa
carefully estimated and traded upon, anC
the policy of John Company was, tn,
largest possible dividend upon the small
est possible expenditure. When, howev
er, the mutiny of 1857 drove the Eas
India company to the wall, and her maj
esty's government assumed possession o.
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 maj
esty's government has accomplished in
the way of public Improvements within
the last twenty years, | propose to offer a
few statistics. British India contains
943, ,496 square miles, with population
of 1913, ,223, ,46S souls, and is divided into
twelve provinces, named and controlled
as follows:
l. The province of Bengal, with apop-
ulation of S66,000,000, governed by a
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 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.
8. The provinces of Bombay and Scin-
da, under agovernOr, council, and legis-
lative council, with a population of 49,
$4,000.
f. The Northwestern provinces, under
lieuteuant-governOr, with a population
of 80, 100000.
5. The Punjaub, under lieuten-
ant-governor, with a population of H.
100000.
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 number of feudatOry states and
provinces, in all nearly $50, though some
OF them are verysmall, which pay tribute
to and To a certain extent are controlled
by the English government of India. A
reugh calculation shows the native states
to cover an area of 10000 square miles,
with an estimated population of 50, ,000,-
600, yielding a revenue of $40, 100000,
but paving to the Anglo-Indian govern
n,,I, M Of
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 50 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
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 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 starvo, 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, 1900; the Brahmaputra, ], 300;
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 it would be quite impossible to
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
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 and
kept in order by the government; and
for the use of the water from the said
canals the natives pay a small tax, so
light as to be of no actual burden, but
which, nevertheless, yielded a revenue
of over $2,000,000 in 1873, which will
give you some idea of the extent of the
canals. | have no reliable data at hand
to show the length of all The canals, of
which there are great numbers, but their
aggregate LENGTH mean of the main
be less than 5000 miles.
There are now open and in good order
about seven thousand miles of railways
within the British possessions. 1neSe
roads are finely built, and will last for
years to come without rebuilding; and,
although built by private enterprise, the
charters are 50 wOrded that within a
given time all of these roads revert to
the government of India. In order to
obtain the funds with which to build
these roads the government of India
guaranteed the stock to pay four and one
half per cent, and 1 notice that this
guarantee cost the sum of S7,5OO,OOO
during the fiscal year ending June 80,
1868. The total cost of the roads to this
date has been about sl02 2,00O,0 900 ster-
ling, or s493, $50, 900 geld. These rail
WAYS are constructed in the most superb
manner, the average expenditure being
$50, ,03424 per mile. which includes roll
ing stock, of course. To us the cost
seems enormous, especially when tits
borne in mind that the stock was taken
at par in gold, and the money put into
the lines honestly, but the result justifies