The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1884-07-13


Os1slsA Ia1la $50 ice Rsssaeeee
We were told during our civil war that
Indla was likely to provo formidable rival Of
our Southern States ~ a purveyor Of cotton.
aAd aow Ne hear good deal acout the corn-
pettioa threatened from the Same quarter In
the wheat markets Of tho world. II seems
absurd enough At first sight that country
which experiences periodical fnmines. and 10
sstsnsibiy unable to feed its own population.
should be counted On BY foreign consumers 70
furnish large annual surplus Of grain for sx-
port. II 10 clear enough. however. that this
objection ID not conclusive. for extreme desti-
tuition may exist among the workinGnasn
II our own Eastern cities At the very
time whsn our Western granaries are
exceptionally full and. ~ . matter OF
eact. large quantities Of wheat wcre actually
Ssns out Of India during the laat famine year.
Il II. therefore. An intricate and difiicult In
Ouisy Vhieh Ia concerned with the capabilities
81 India 70 figure among the chief purveyors
u whea4 for foreign markets. Disrsgarding
oos ~ moment the cost Of moving grain from
The Interior to the Indian ports Of shipment.
and tho freight charges thence to European
sntrepota -consi dsrations TO which We shall
aftsrward refer--we are confronted ct the out
Get By the fundamental question. What proper.
growing. and how choaply can II Be sold at tho
place Of produotion3 We ind certain amount
OF nieht thrown on those preliminary sub
iects Of investigation By . book recently pub
lishod By Sir JAMES CARD entitled India. the
Land end the People tCassoilh
Tho opportunities for observation enjoyed By
Dir James Caird were unusually favorable. and
he might apparently have collected much moro
exhaustive materials for appreciation Of the
economical condition and possibilities OF India
than are forthcoming In this volume. He was
invited to become a member OF tho Famine
Commission which. after the great Indian fam
Inc OF 1867 WAS appointed bv the British
Government to inquire into the whole circum-
stances Of that calamity. For the results OF
that inquiry We naturally look In the book be-
fore us. but We and. to our regret. that the data
are By NO means - pertinent. definite. and
eomprshensive 40 could b wished. No attempt
10 made 70 tabulate. digest, and generalize the
facts. Nevertheless. a. we follow the Commits
sionsr In his travels through the various prov
inces. we pick up . good deal Of useful in
formation. and By putting this together We are
able to draw some Trustworthy differences re-
gardinR the collective resources OF the country.
We note. for instance. that on his journey
from Bombay to Cawnpore. Sir James made .
careful inspection Of the agricultural condition
Of the country. He tells US that the produce OF
wheat near Cawnpore 10 about sixteen bushels
An sdro or little moro than half OF an English
crop. He thinks that on such land. II water.
light, and heat were In abundance the crop
might b doubled BY an application Of nitrate
OF soda. But ut the respective values Of wheat
and nitrate In India there would b but little
profit It appears that at Cawnpore hired
farm laborers receive six cents day and half
. pound OF psrchsd grain. The practice OF
isrtilixins hslds with manure 10 unknown.
The dung OF the cattle Ia all kneaded with straw
tlto sun-dried cakes for fuel. and this 10 the
universal practice In oil parts Of India. But
Sir James adds that the cattle arc generally
% possly ted that the loss to the land By this
pfsstiss 10 not 90 great - one 10 apt to imagine.
In the Punjab Sir James found that the cult
vstsd arss II 20. 600. 900 acres. but there 10. 1t
sssms An equal quantity OF eultivable. but at
present untitled. land. Here. and generally
throughout northern India. large part OF tho
irrigated land 10 sown with wheat. followed by
nillsts. after which supervene ton months fall
low and ploushing. only two crops being taken
from the soil In two years. In tho Punjab farm
servants are paid thus: they got two meals
dAy. some eoArse clothing. and nfty cents .
month In cash.
In Bengal the cultivated area II 900
ssrss. which (reckoning the double crop) IL
feuI times the extent OF the land devoted to
grain and green crops In the Unitsd Kingdom.
Besides feeding . population double that Of
Great Britain and ireland. this Presidency
makes IN annual export Of produce valued at
upward OF . hundred million dollars. The
average prieeof titled land 10 from ton to thirty
dollars per acre. according to situation and
quality. subject to Government land tax OF
from two cents 70 thirty-six cents Dor aero.
In this Presidency field laborers' wages vary
fSoa four CENTS 10 twelve cents . day; whom
they are paid 10 kind. the farm hands got from
four to ak pounds Of grain Dor diem.
In the Madras Presidency tho food crops
cover an area nearly twice Is great a. the titled
land Of the United Kingdom. the figures being
92.600. 900 acres. against II 100000. Strange
70 Say. Biz James neslscts to give us any data
for estimating tho cost Of production In this
part Of india We meet with like omissions In
the survey OF the economical condition Of the
Bombay Presidency. We are able. fortunately,
TO Offset these shortcomings By facts obtained
elsewhere. 1t has boon asserted by tho
author Of Indian Wheat versus American
Protection" that wheat can b grown
In the central provinces at from g.. to
70. . quarter. This however. 10 disputed
By the Chief Commissioner OF those provinces.
who asserts that tho first cost In districts near
the railways must be put not lower than lis. Sd.
aQuartsr. II 1t Be true. a. Mr.. Fowler insists in
the Nineteenth Century. that near the railways
On Indian producer can get double what no
can obtain further of. the question whether
ladis can ever compete with our Northwestern
States depends upon tho question whether the
Indisn railway system will be so extended As
70 give tho whole wheat-produoing area the
same facilities now enjoyed By the sections
through which the railways run. Tho facts
collected By Sir James Card In relation to
wages. measre a they are. demonstrate that
aboP 10 far cheaper In India than In America.
nut the present cost Of moving grain from the
place Of growth tn the railway station nearly
doubles the selling price.
We must also bear In mind that after wheat
sss bsen placed on an Indian railway 1t has to
>ay extortionate charges for transportation to
The port Of shipment. 1t appears that. on an
average. evory three hundred miles OF railway
carriage In India adds an extra charge OF one
shilling quarter In excess OF what the charge
wonld be II the wheat were carried on an
Avn lima Accordto0 Oh Il nast., .l,~