Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1877-02-16
VOL. XLIX. MI


SIX MILLION PEOPLE STARVING, WITH LITTLE
PROSPECT OF RELIEF; THE INDECENT CAST on
THE AUTHORITIES HANDS BY HUNDREDS OF
THOUSANDS.
The foreign mails bring the distressing
details Of the terrible famine in India. The
area Of scarcity or famine is terribly large
already. Beginning on the western coast,
at the Gulf Of Cambay it stretches inwards
through the districts of Khandish, and
downwards throughout great broad strip
of the Bombay Presidency Crossing to the
Presidency of Madras, the stricken districts
are found stretching from point far north
of the capital to Trichinopoly and Tapjore.
Speaking roughly the British territory, which
encloses the Nizam's dominions to the west,
the east and the south, is more or less the
scene of famine. In couple of months
5000 900 people must absolutely trust to
the Government for the barest necessaries of
existence. Describing similar affliction,
Burke once spoke of "a nation in beggary,"
''a whole people stretching out its hands for
bread" These phrases are not the ex1gera-
tions of rhetoric; they are severely accurate
NSSNIlpllUus VI tlC CdliiHliy WulCl uUN
threatens large part of our Indian Empire.
Happily, there is good reason to believe that
the Government will be able to cope with
the famine so far, at least, as to prevent any
great destruction of life. The conditions
are, fortunately, very different from those
which accompanied the last of the many
awful famines which have desolateG Orissa.
When the province failed in 1866, no sufi-
cient supply of food could be sent to the
natives, either by sea or land, on account of
the want of available harbor roads Only
lis, 900 hundred-weisht of rice reached the
provinces, and hence in a few months $780,
900 died of hunger. They perished
under the very eyes OF our officials, although
ample stores of food lay at distance which
would have been short if spanncd by rail
ways. Railways have so changed India
that not even the distant semblance Of
such a calamity hangs over Bombay
and Madras. As yet, private enter
prise has been able to bring sufficient
food to the afflicted districts. Indeed, the
supply sent to Bombay must be more than
enough, since rice is tending to become
cheaper in that province. But even the
resources of that great highway leave room
for grave apprehensions. Food must be sent
to large spaces which are cut off from the line
by long distances of mountain or jungle or
swamp, and spanned by wretched reads.
1t may often be difficult or impossible to get
draught cattle, as their food is already so
scarce that large numbers of the poor beasts
must have persisted. If the natives had the
energy of Europeans, they would 60 long
distances and organize means Of their own to
get grain but they seem to loose all power
OF self-help, and to have only a languid wish
for life when stricken down by those terrible
agencies of destruction which nature period
ically lets lose on India. Meanwhile the
Government is striving to turn the
vast amount of unemployed labor to
permanent uses. The total cost from
loss of revenue and from expenditure
on relief works in Bombay will probab-
ly be over E2,000,O00 sterling. Mat
ters are still worse in Madras. Both the
southwest and northeast monsoons have fail
ed, thus causing famine in twelve districts.
Large relief works have been commenced
which employ over one million persons.
Besides these many are receiving charitable
relief. Probably the cost to the State in
the Madras Presidency alone will be over
$4,000 600, sterling. There is also cons i'd
cradle district in Mysore and in the southern
portion Of the Nizam's dominions. Large
gangs have been employed in making roads,
digging wells and constructing and clearing
tanks. Greater works, such as railroads and
canals, are in contemplation. By the last
accounts the very large number of $40 600
men are reported as employed on the relief
works of Madras, and $4,000 on those of
Bombay. 1t is anticipated by that Govern
ment that the distress will increase in in
tensity until the month of April and from
that will gradurally diminish, as the crops
raised in the monsoon OF this year are
malured, until its cessation may be expected
about the month of September next. The
numbers for whom relief will have to be pro-
yided in the Bombay districts by public en-
ployment in each month during that period
we're estimated by the Government of Bonn
bay, Us follows: In December their num-
Der may be 200, 600 persons January. 1877,
100000; February, $50, 600; March $780,
600 April, l l,000, 900; May, 5000 June
100000; July, 100000; August 100000;
September, $4,000. No similar table or
estimate is to be found in the papers which
have been received from Madras; but as it
must be assumed that the intensity of the dis
tress in that Presidency will increase as the
season advances, it is alarming to find that
the number of persons already employed on
relief works amounts, as before stated, to
$40 900.