Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1901-07-25
lndia's Population Fast
Reducing From the Plague

A special cable to the New York Sun
from London says:
| Letters written from Simla recently
show that matters have been even
worse than former census figures indi-
Gated, and that, though the famine is
now nearly at an end. the plague is al
most as bad as ever.
The following passages reveal a state
Of affairs which surprises persons who
have thought for some time that all
was well again.
The Viceroy, toward the end OF last
year, estimated that the total mortality
amount to about 100000. 1t is almost
certain that this computation will
prove far too low. Many experts are
OF the opinion that at least double that
number died, directly or indirectly
The census figures for Marwar alone
are significant enough. Here we find a
decrease Of 100000 souls. 1t is not I'M
likely that the northern portions Of
Bombay may show decrease Of a
round million. most Of which must lR
directly due to the terribly severe
famine Of last year. In the central
pc vinces, the majority of the districts
so far show heavy decreases. Thus
Jubbulpore district Is $1,000 to the bad,
Narsingpur $4,000, Seoni $4,000. and
SO on.
During the last ten years the central
provinces have had at least five years
OF either acute scarcity or downright
famine, and decrease In the rural
populations was, therefore, to some
extent inevitable. In the northwest
provinces, which have been more IA
vored In the matter of good seasons,
things are somewhat better: but even
here the tendency Is. on the whole, to-
ward decrease. Mirzapur district
shows decrease Of $1,000, Gha2ipur
one of 10000, Benares $4,000, Benarca
City 10000 and SO on. The important
town and provincial capital of Allaha-
bad shows an increase of only 1886 per-
sons in ten years. Elsewhere in India
we find Bangalore. one of the principal
environments in the south, exhibiting
decrease Of no less than % per cent
as compared with 1891. In this case
plague Is held to account for the deiici-
ency.
Perhaps at no time since its first APP
pearance in Bombay, in the autumn Of
1896, has the plague been more serious
in India than at the present moment.
II one hears less about 1t this IS simply
because everybody has got so used to
its continued presence, which is taken
very much as a matter of course. In
Bombay city the people have grown
absolutely callous. There Is no longer
a scare, no longer a precipitate flight
to the country districts. The disease
has established its right to a perma-
nent residence In the Western capital,
and this right has been tacitly con-
coded by the Inhabitants. Nothing
could be more marked than the posi-
tive indifference OF the natives OF
Bombay to the ravages OF the pesti-
lence. The lower orders, profiting ny
the policy OF laissez faire, which the
authorities, for political motives, felt
compelled to adopt last year, have
ceased either to take the most ele-
mentary precautions themselves or to
allow other people to do this for them.
The more enlightened native citizens
not only make no attempt to combat
the ignorant prejudices and bigoted
opinions of their humber fellows, but
positively encourage them in their
passive resistance to the simplest sani-
tary laws,
Yet in Poona cantonment, not much
more than a hundred miles away, ex-
cellent results have been obtained by
adopting precautions. Last year, when
another outbreak seemed imminent,
the military authorities did what they