The sun., 1880-12-05
THE oYER.rEorL1No OF 1Np1A.
An Uutesvard Resuit or Good Government
The Uachseked Growth OF Human Be,nas.

The Unchseked Growth OF Human Betngs.
From ne london B5oro,ntt
The lecture on India delivered by Mr.. W.
". Hunter in Edinburgh. on Tuesday. deserves
all who are Interested In the condition of our
Indian empire. Mr.. Hunter contends.apd on
this pOtnt his facts are pnat disnute-thHt india
has always been n poor country. In which mil
lions Of pensants have lived painful lives, con
mate and unable In year OF drought or food.
or deficient crop from any cause, to avert fam
Inc This It's condition under Its b nahyS tbS
great aggrayation. that during the century. of
our rulo we have stopped war. foreign and In
eide. limited the area of epidemics such ae the
Black Death and made property. and especially
Of tSe people has had
hey could not nave iiied uD E continont as they
young. and they are as q body fairly moral peo.-
pie. who take great cart, Of their children and
what two centuries have done for US In the way
Of Increased numbers and read by the light OF
tst snaSsy q on hs gnss
readily believe MT. Hunters otherwise aston
Increased threefold. and that. OF all India at
rass native sae Which e
bles India unconauered. is 80 TO the square mile.
that Of British or or Gonquered 591dia excluding
mile Considering that France. a rich country
which considers itself fully populated. has only
average. and this is trihinR compared with that
OF certnin extensive areas Thero are districts
sa4e ms snd rpF Ssen s as Sos to
ern India. equal in size to ireland. whore the
population is more than $50 to the square mile;
that is. each acre must feed fraction more than
The pressure for food is so severe that the
land cannot be allowed any rest; nor can there
+, be ..; shifting Of cultivation from patcs. q, q,
patch us occurs L; aive states, while from the
cutting down OF the forest ana the great price
| OF all wood that remains. the people have uni
versally learned to consume as fuel the dung
which should be used as manure. the drying OF
the substance for that purpose on the outer
istic and most disngreeable fenture OF village
life In India. The epressure. indeed. is in places
50 tremendous that the pasture lands have been
pou0hed up. and the breeds Of cattle have de-
generated for want OF sufficient and proper
food, And thero is not the slightest evidence
Orssa and Mysore the famines have made no
serious Impression upon the numbers. -, The
cRapee ~ early %arriSSe Being reiinous a W inst nG.
tuition. and. moreover. sanctioned by the popu-
lar feeling as to the necessity OF purity in
women, which is at least as strong as in Eng
land. and as to the fitting means OF preserving
that purity. There is no emigration to speak
Of, and there will be none. the native preferring
life on the verge OF starvation life on one insult
iieient meal day. to exile from his own dis
where his relatives and his caste follows ali i've,
Tnere is no chance OF dsorder-indeed. the
order grows more strickland some benefcent
influence not yet fully explained. but probably
due to the immense extension OF agriculture,
and consequent drainage OF the morasses ap-
ribly fatal. There is in the settled districts little
more land to & tnke us% ian and though there are vast
Bruh mapootra and In somo Statos. such as tho
Nizams dominions. the reluctance Of the popu-
la,ion to move into them appears insuperable.
There 49, In fa?t. strong probability. as well
as possibility, that in thirty years more. two
generations Of Indian production the pressure
will have become unendurably severe-so Sc
famine like that OF northern China recently.
when In M tive 5 great provinces more than half tho
will within that timo become extreme may be
questioned. for this reason: the fertility of tho
and 1t still pays to borrow money at sixteen per
cent. for cultivation. The reserve power OF tho
mean prorinces M Occupied BY ~ miiIions@hNs nis
however. disappeared. and IL two crops failed.
no power except the state. and scarce
This is especially true of Madras where.
Mr., Hunter says. the Government is re.
Eastern Bengal being exceptionally prosper.
ous.oi tie Deccsn; and Of the most thiokly
the whole covering about eighty millions OF peo.
pie. Among those eighty millions the perma-
h fs S SS in he
There are no manufactures Of Importance. and
the demand for the work OF native artisans.
slowly, but surely died away. til! it is
said that no workmen. even in India. are
SO wretchedly poverty stricken aa those who do
the fine embroidery on muslin. The peasant
women work rs well as the men and in fact
those who know India best nos, despair OF Sc
riously and etfectnally increasing the earnings
OF her people. For. and this Is tho central
point OF the entire situation. we can only go on
improving the administration producing more
order, making property more secure, and fur
thor tightening the pressure of taxes and with
every such Improvement the number OF tho
population tends to increase 1t Is the good
ness, not the badness, OF the Government which
produces the hardship.