St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1877-12-28
Passumpsic Railroad 10.
Correspondence of the Caledonian.
Famine in India.


In our last we mentioned the famine
in India. 1t was then confined to
Southern India, but the failure of the
usual rains has since brought trouble
upon the entire Northwest Provinces,
as well. One entire crop has been lost,
and there has been and still is much
suffering among poor people all around
US.
In order to understand an India fam
inc the circumstances of the poorer
classes of the people must be known.
The land here is all supposed to belong
to Government, and it is held by land
holders, or "Zamindars," who pay a
certain rent to Government. The land
holders rent the land again to the farm
ers, or cultivators, at certain rate per
acre, or for certain share of what is
raised. This plan keeps all the culti
vators, and all the day laborers who
work for them, very poor indeed. They
seldom raise grain enough so that out
of their share they can feed their fam
lilies and SOW their fields again-or
rather they seldom keep enough ahead
to do this. The usual custom is to bor-
row wheat to SOW of the landholder, or
to borrow money for it of banker, and
also to borrow something for food while
the wheat is growing. When the wheat
is harvested the landhOfder fiji st secures
his share, or enough to pay his dues,
for the rent of the land. Then the
money borrowed has to be paid with
t,Oenty. four per cent. interest. All this
must be done at harvesting time when
grain is always cheap, so that the poor
farmer seldom pays less than two
bushels of grain for every one borrowed.
Hence he has little left when all is set
tied. He however raises two crops each
year, and he borrows seed and sows
again, and thus lives on year after year.
The eagerness with which people in
India go in debt is always put down as
one of their greatest weaknesses. The
above is an every-day-life representa-
ton of the state of things among the
masses here. And this is true not only
with the farmer and day field laborers,
but the shoemaker also bOrrews money
to buy his leather, OF takes leather to
make up into shoes on shares, and the
weaver takes in thread to weave in the
same way, all living on borrowed
means, and all kept dependent by their
debts, and the exorbitant rates of in
terest-twenty -four per cent. being the
usual rate charged poor people.
In this condition of the masses let the
rains fail one season, and you, even,
can partially realize the result that must
follow. No crops grow, and the land
holders cannot, or at least will not, ad-
vance grain when no crops are growing
and the cultivatOrs have nothing to eai
and no prospect of anything, and al
the day laborers are at once thrown oui
of work. All the poor people undel
such circumstances wear out their ole
clothes and shoes, and hence the shoe
makers and weavers are also soon out
of work Everything that will buy
food is sold at ruinously low rates, and
finally the farmers cows, oxen, fuel, etc.
all go for one-fOurth or one-sixth thei
usual rate. The people become reck
less and desperate in their despair ant
burn villages, rob the people and wan
der from place to place trying to fine
work.
Such was our condition few week
ago. Government at once opened poo
houses for those unable to work, ant
our poor house almost at once was fille'
with over six hundred persons wb'
were infirm, blind, or toe weak from
want of food to work. "Relief works