Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1877-10-17
The Famine In India.

W." P'''""'"g oVer u large part OF INDIA. Next
to Massachusetts Vermont is foremost in efforts
for the conversion Of the beathen Several of the
messengers whom the home churches have sent
to the millions in India are now engaged in trying
to save the lives Of some whose souls have been
prayed for so long
famine in India Ia strange thing but
usually the distress Is confined to a small section
OF the country, and is relieved by bringing in sup
plies from the surrounding districts but last year
the rain was very slight over large part Of both
the Bombay and Madras presidencies. The con-
sequence Is, that there Is now such famine as
has not been known in India for many years and
perhaps has never been equaled, for suffering, in
the whole history Of India.
failure of the crops for one year in England
or America would produce very little suffering
compared with the same failure In an equal ex-
tent OF territory here for not only Is the popula-
ton denser here, but, with few exceptions, the
people in India never lay by anything for a dry
day. The people are as dependent on their crops
year by year as wild cattle are on the grass they
! eat. Often crop Is sold before II is sowed, and
| the sower runs in debt for the seed There are n
few men who have money and they act as private
bankers for the common people They buy up
grain when 1t Is cheap and store 1t in the ground,
waiting for high prices They lend grain and
| money at exorbtant rates, and thus hold the
money Of the country in their own hands, besides
largely controlling the grain market Last year
| the grain crop in the whole country between
| Poona and Madras, and southwark, proved an
| almost entire failure. The consequences are ter
riblc in the extreme. Ten millions Of people are
| reduced to suffering for want of food. As soon
| "a q VIVA in tha will tha Io
came to the larger cities seeking some relief The
government opened "reef works" for these
people, and all who were able and willing have
been sent to these works Railways, canals
roads, tanks artificial lakes etc, have been built
in order to furnish work for the people. But the
wages in many places have been too little to sup
port life, with grain Mt six and eight times its
usual price. Many have died from exposure and
| other inconvenience necessary to their being
obliged to live wherever their work was.
Many have been unfairly treated by the MERGE
nary overseers of the works, and for this and
other reasons, for which the government is not
entirely at fault, thousands have left the works,
and died of starvation Sometimes family
would 90 to work, but would not receive pay till
the end of the week, and perhaps before that
| time half the family would be dead Others
were Obliged to go long distances to the work, and
would have no provision for the journey Thus
it has been not without reason that some have re-
fused to work. The number on the relief works
during the greater part of the last year has been
about four millions Now the number is reduced
to about two millions, owing to the recent rains
and need Of work in sowing the crops.
The streams and wells in many of the small
villages dried up and the people were obliged to
go elsewere. A large artificial lake, about three
miles from this city, and covering twenty square
acres, has afforded an abundance of water for the
people in this region. Tor this reason large num-
bers have gathered in this city, and we have been
called to witness some of the worst features Of
the famine.
For the last six months we have made II part
of our daily work to go about the streets looking
for those who were lying by the roadside, under
trees, bridges, and in the shade of buildings
Often we have found persons so weak and ex-
| hausted that they unable to move. Many
| who had just come long distances from their vii
lagos, hoping for help in Shoapoor, would reach
here only to die. Among the lower castles, hus-
bands have almost invariably left their wives and
children, each one going in different directions
We have seen little children three or four year,
ing where their parents were These were object,
Of pity, and generally received food. 1t soon be
came general practice for parents to send thei
children off, instructing them to say that their pa
rents were dead, and that they had no brothers o.
sisters Many have come to our house with thi
story, and have seen their parents with them
few moments afterward One woman came to thu
street corner near our house. and told her litt
girl, about three years old, to come here and sh
would find mother. The girl was found lying oil
our verandah asleep. We took her and are keep
ing her, with several other orphans in our yard
| Very likely her mother was starving, and ha
died by the roadside. II she were living near sh,
would come and see her child occasionally, an
sure We are keeping several children whose pa
rents wanted to work, but who could not 90 on t
the work and take their children with them. On
woman came with child about four days old an
said that if we did not keep the child she woul
kill it. She was high caste woman, but had be
come almost insane at the thought of supporting
her child in the midst of want and misery.
, The country for a short distance about the cit,
is divided into sections, and police force is aI
pointed for each section Their business is t
look after the starving ones who fall down by tn
roadside carry them to the hospital, or to tn
poor-house, and pick up the dead bodies. Fo
l some weeks past, there have been picked up abou
twenty bodies daily, not including those who di
in the poor-house and hospitals. The government
system of relief is designed to reach all of tn
suffering ones, but Notwithstanding all that
done by government and private charity tn
death rate is very great. There is place wher
mothers and children in arms are fed every morn
ing with bread, soup and milk, but this has nc
saved the young children Estimates cannot b
accurate on this point, but it seems that NOR
than half of the children under two years of ag
= have died during the last few months.
There is place where children between tire
. and twelve years Of age are fed, but under thi
plan many are allowed to die-in this way Thos
who are apparently suffering have tickets whic
admit them to the yard where the children ar
fed. Those who are weak are crowded ont by tn
throng that always gathers, and the strong one
;, steal the tickets of the weakly. At first we trie
" to help the people who were found dying by show
> ing them the different places where food an
. work could be procured, feeding them for tn
day, and thus suppementing the governmer
work, but we soon found that the natives who ha
the practical management of the places fayore
, the high castles, and could not be trusted To de;
, fairly by the feeble ones; so we proposed to fee
the weak children at our own house.
We do not exclude any old persons who are su
fering, but the large majority who come to u
now are children. We find in our yard ever
: morning about four hundred children, many
them so weak rs to be scarcely able to walk. The
? flesh has become so consumed by continued fas
" ing that their limbs are like walking sticks, an
= are larger at the knee joint than anywhere els,
= The municipal relief committee give us one hun
dred loaves OF bread per day, and through privai
charity we are enabled to buy rice and whea
: which we boil for them daily. We are now boi
ing about bushel and half of rice daily. III
children sit in rows, and after sending away the ia
test or rather the strongest for none are fat we n
" joice almost as much as they do, in seeing tn
hungry fed.
The famine has been extensive that 1t will /
some years before the price of grain reaches il
normal rate. Grain has been brought from nortl
ern India, the countries along the Persian Gul
some from Africa, and since hearing of the IA
: crops in America we have been casting longn
eyes that way. The grain dealers will keep u
the price of grain as long possible, and the poo
u will find it hard to live for long time So man
of the cattle died that there are enough tn ii
= the ground this year. The famine has done niue
towards opening the hearts of the people To OF
!. another's wants, and has given us confidence wit
A those who before dstrusted us The condition
l. | India China and Egypt seem to show that God