The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1877-02-16
The Famine in India.

A Calcutta telegram to the London
Times of the fourteenth of January says
| The famine in the Deccan is assuming 8
serious aspect. There j. an entire failure
of the crops in one Bombay district
| namely ShOlapore. I 40 OtheTs-name-
| ly, Kaladore and Dharwar,-are nearly
as il, of. A partial failure involves Sc.
we're distress in Khandish, N3ssick,
Ahmednugger. PCona, Satara Tnd Bel
gaum. Large relief works aIe sanctioned.
About 2S7 900 people are on the relief
! works IN Bombay. The government is
not interfering with private trade, VIII III
is pouring in large supplies of Sfair. The
total cost from loss of revenr and from
expenditure on relief works in Bombay
will probably be over 60 600, Go sterling.
Matters are still worse in Madras. Both
the southwest Hpd northeast monsoon
have failed, thus causing famine in
twelve districts. Large relief works
have been commenced which employ
over one million persons Beside these,
many are receiving charitable relief.
Probably the cost TO the state in Madras
presidency alone will be over 94,0O0,000
sterling. There is also considerable dis
tress in Mysore, and the southern portion
of the Fizam'j dominion.
The area of this territory, exclusive of
native sta.es, comprises about $4,000
square mi'eI, ard the total population
amounts to O00, OCO, OF which 5 600 900
IRE repOlte 20 DE inclIced in ,Ie tracts
npedia ely affected. Sch Eoing the
case, both governments have organized
with greet activity relief works. Large
gangs have been employed in making
roads, digging wells, ahd constructing
and clearing t,luks. GIeai r works, such
as railroads ard canals, are in cOntempla-
t;o". and should necessi arise, they
will be undertaken. By the last accounts
the very large number of $40, 900 men
aIe reporte1 as employed on the relief
works of Madras and $50, 900 on those of
Bombay.
The government is striving to turn the
vast aD'Ount of uDem ''oyed labor TO per-
MAJ cnG uses. India - q poor cour ",
no. only because much of lis soil cannot
be mace profitable Ivy the rude appli-
arces of native husbandry, but also be-
cause it j badly supplied with railways,
or even roads; and above all, because no
sufficient prOVisiO has been made against
the periodical Couths. Much of it
might be made like garden if the water
brought by the rainy season were stored !
in net work of canals to await the next |
time of scarcity. The value of such
system may he estimated from a single |
ct which DR.. Hunter mentions in his |
lCcO mt of Orissa. In 1901 an un-
ihi>hed canal i'll that province sufficed |
10 irrigpte 100000 acres, and thus to |
RISE $50, 900 hundred NeighG of rice. |
Duiimg the fsmine of 1866 all The re-
sources of the government were unable, |
Is we lave sd, to provide tt lie people |
\ ith mOrs tacI 1;-j, ,O60 iiLndred weight. |
r. Il tie canal e~i ed in tie ,ne of the
amire nigh 'a,e saved two or three
lrndred o.'saTd Eyc3."
1.-THE ratiVes I'D the energy of Euro
,eans they WOIlG 90 long distances and
'rg m-.e n'c $50 IT, re;r own to get lrain;
ut tie, seemed to lose Ii powers Of self
le!n, and to have only languid wish
or ;; e Mnen stricken down bv those ter
i lie aeeDc'es of destruction " hich nature
let's loose on India.