Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1878-04-17
The Poverty of India.

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veloping her own resources The
grand mistake we have made has been
in ruling her as if she were the Ell
Dorado of romance. instead of the fam
ine-stricken, pauperized empire of
reality What wealth there is exists
in the hands Of the few, of whom the
majority are foreigners. But public
bureaus and the cost of government
are wrung from the penniless pockets
ofthe poor, who, while they can hardly
keep body and soul together, have been
expected to pay for costly "improve
ments," involving liabilities that it
would tax the energies of the richest
states to meet.
Two mlllstones hang round the neck
of the Indian Empire-() ever in
creasing debt, CD constantly recurring
deficits. When the Company handed
over the country to the Crown in 1858
the debt Of India was ESQ, 100000.
1t is now e234, 100000. In 1858 the
charge for interest on debt was G2,5O0.-
900. 1t is now over Gl1,OO0, 900;
and allowing that railways and canals
clear off nominally about G3,700,0OO,
we have still an annual debt charge to
meet out of the taxes Of G7.300,000.
OF course it is said that this huge debt
has conferred benefits on India 10 the
shape of public works. OF the rail
ways we may safely say they were
built on an extravagant gauge, which
even a rich country like England could
not have afforded, and that when they
are not dead loss they pay about 81
per centum of the 5 per centum divi-
dend guaranteed by the state. The
very improvement" in their business
is due to the famine traffic.
AS to the irrigation works, they are
a dead loss. IL Bengal alone the loss
on these schemes in l875-1876 was
94,O72, 742. was spent by way Of out
lay. Even Sir John Strachey dares
not conjecture what the loss will be
when the outlay reaches, as under the
existing system it must, G8,O00,00O.
CALIFORNIA Crops. SAN FRAN
CISCO, April lO.-Crop reports receiv
ed this evening from all parts Of the
State are of the most favorable charac
ter with few exceptions. There is
prospect Of an abundant harvest in all
quarters of the southern portion of the
State and the San Joaquin Valley, in
which the crops failed last year. The
promise is equally we'll with the north
ern valleys. In some localities there
is a complaint that the early sown
grain has grown so rank as to lodge,
but this has not occurred to any mater
ial extent. The exceptions above re-
ferred to are in the low bottoms In the
Sacramento valley, which were drowned
out BY the February floods, and the
Tulo Islands In the delta of the Sacra
mento River The latter is still food.
ed over greater portion Of their sur
face and nothing more than late crop
of vegetables can be expected there.
MRS. JEFF DAvIs.-Mrs. J eff Da,
Wis is described as being very stout,
very intelligent, and very amiable look
ing woman. Her face is round, she
has large and expressive mouth, and
and black hair streaked with gray
She is kind,hearted, and is said to be
much liked in Memphis, especially by
young people Mr.. Davis is very thin,
and looks very old and broken. Their
eldest daughter, gentle and graceful
young woman, is married and lives in
Memphis. They have two other chill
dren, one girl Of l6 now at school in
Germany, whittier Mrs. Davis took
her last summer, and the other young
man now in Memphis, Jefferson Davis,
Jr. He is about 22 years of age, has
her large, not handsome face, and is
an awkward, loquacious, good-natured
sort of overgrown boy. The Davis
family is comparatively poor now, and
Mrs. Davis frequently alludes to "our
poverty" in jocular way.
Gen.Joseph E.Johnston is short and
slight, but erect; has a short gray beard
and neat style of dress. He thinks
that Sherman in his reports had mar.
vellous manner of covering up his losses
in way not consistant with the GEN.
eteries; and he puts the Western Union
soldier above the Eastern man. Gen.
Johnston will probably go to Congress.
DR.. Wild. an English parson, is try
ing to make out that Queen Victoria is
dccendent of King David, and this
is how he proves it: Her ancestor,
the Prophet Jeremiah, went to Ireland
by water-of course-and tarried at
Tara. He was accompanied by a
Princess, who married an Irish King,
and this Irish King was the lineal an
cestor of the Guelphs.
A statement going the rounds that
the divorced wife of John I. Raymond
tha vell,known comedian and creator