The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-07-03
The Awakening OF India
by FRANK G. CARPENTER.


Hindoos would be ground down by the
Mohammedans and robbed right and left
The, Mohammedans are far the Drawer as
fighting men, and Ihey would welcome
the struggle Indeed, the horrors of such
situation cannot be described. The rest
of the world could not let 1t continue
We should be denounced for having fed
from the duty which God placed upon us.
and some other power would rush in and
take possession
One of John Bulls Lessons
Along this same line | have talked with
Sir Edward n. Baker, the lieutenant gov
ernor. of Bengal. Sir Edward has spent
his whole life In India and has held all
sorts of positions, gradually rising until
he is now near the top. He was financial
secretary of the viceroy during the last
administration and as governor of Ben
gal he now rules many millions of the
most turbulent element among the Hin
docs as well as of other races.
met him In the lieutenant governors
mansion at the end of the MADAM, OPP
posite the viceroys palace. My question
was direct. Said 1:
Does your excellency think the day
will ever come when the British will give
up this country
No., was the emphatic reply, and
we could not II we would. Our present
policy is to SO govern the people that they
will be more and more loyal to us. we
are trying to do that We appreciate the
rights of the natives and respect them.
You see, we have learned some lessons
from our troubles over certain of our
colonies in the past. We might have
kept the United States as a part of the
British empire had we handled you prop
erly We all know that we made mis-
take then. We regret 1t and we Will no.
make another. Personally, l think the
United States would be far better off
than 1t is If 1t were one of our colonies.
We shTild then have a great Anglo
Saxon combination which could dictate
the policy of the world
To this I did not reply. But Japan
ese expression crept into my mind. 1t
was: 1T is to laugh"
Protective Tariff in India
My conversation with the lieutenant
governor of Bengal here drifted toward
finance, upon which he is authority
in the far east. Said 1:
Suppose you are the absolute ruler of
India, your excellency. Suppose you were
not controlled by Great Britain, but that
you had the same armies and the same
administrative machinery that you have
To-Day, what WOulu YOU 10 W peltcl tiiS
condition of these people?"
Il would give them a protective tariff
l would encourage the establishment of
and favor them in every way as
to the making of goods for India in COM
petition with those of Europe. japan and
other parts of the world. What India
needs Is industrial development and
protective tariff would bring that about
AS II is we are tied up by the manufac-
turing industries of Great Britain. We
can levy no duties to speak of upon our
imports of cottons We once had tariff
Of per cent, but the Manchester mill
men objected, saying that it ruined their
trade. They demanded that an excise
duty be added to equalize our competition
and the result was that the duty was re-
duced by 35a per cent, that amount being
levied on all goods made in India. Do
you wonder that the natives object?
protective tariff would foster our indus
tries and we could in time build up
mighty industrial empire.
India's Coal and Iron
Gould you do this along other lines
than the textiles"
Yes There Is no reason why India
should not make everything in iron and
steel This country has mineral resources
which have never been exploited. No
one knows what we have. Take our
coal. Only few years ago the people
sneered at the coal of Bengal and said
it was of no value. We exported more
than 100000 tons time our output was
almost 100000 tons. We have coal
field at Bokaro which covers over 200
square miles and is supposed to contain
Is, 900. 900 tons of available coal. In the
Karanpura fields there are something
O nd have nfbdr
deposits Of considerable value. We have
iron not far fro mthe coal, and steel
works are now being put up with native
capital to manufacture with native iron
and native ore Within a short time we
shall be making steel rails for our East
India roads. There is no reason why we
should not make our own hardware and
develop industries along other lines"
India a Paying Proposition
Does Great Britain get much out
of India, Sir Edward?" 1 asked. THE
most of the money you collect In taxes
is spent here, Is it not?'
Yes the most of the taxes go back
to the country and are used for its
an development Never
tn eless, the indirect advantages which
accrue from our connection with
India are enormous. Our trade with
India amounts to hundreds of millions
OF pounds every year and is profitable.
Another thing we have through this
connection is the support of a large
standing army We have over 200, 900
troops, of whom more than two-thirds
are natives. All this is supported by
the taxes, and it gives the mother
country a fighting force which is al
ways kept in good training and which
can be shipped anywhere upon the
shortest notice. At the time of the
Boer war our East Indian soldiers were
among the first on the field
Natives and the Unrest
You have been In India over thirty
years. Has the condition of the natives
improved"
Yes. they are far better off than
they were when I came. They get
and more comforts. Their houses are
better. When 1 first came most of them
were rooted with thatch. Many now
have roofs of tiles. Altogether the
people are much better Off
About how many are there in the
provinces you govern" l asked.
Something like $4,000, 900"
What is their condition as to the
unrest? Bengal Is supposed to be the
place in which the most trouble lies"
I'VE have had considerable discomfort
and some attempts at assassination.
They tried to blow up a train about
two years ago upon which Sir Andrew
Frazer, then lieutenant governor of
Bengal, his staff and number of police
were TRAVELLING. They made other at
sempts to assa ssinate Sir Andrew Fra
ser. They also threw a bomb at a car
rage containing Calcutta ma gistrate.
who. had imprisoned the printers Of
two native journals for seditious ut