The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-09-04

thugs, They WOTk III SlIldll bdnSS, lOi-
 lowing the pilgrims and travellers and
 using poison that they may be able to rob and make their escape. One or the most common drugs Is nuX vomica, and another is the native dhatura, which produces insensibflity and death.
 The latter comes from a plant common
 all over this country. It Is one of the famous poisons of ancient India whlch kills without trace. One of the most noted poisoners of recent times used this drug He was a policeman, who had learned the trade in jail. At hls trial he confessed that he had poisoned
 hundreds of people, and he gave the
 details of 69 murders.
 Poisoning has always flourished in
 India. The legends of the gods are full of the custom, and love charms ana
 death charms may still be bought. The tanners used to poison cattle Tor the
 sake of their hides by placing arsenic in their feeding troughsi ana Withli
 recent times an attempt was made 10 poison an army official with dlaiilono dust mixed with arsenic. There are tra- ditions of princes and princesses who have been poisoned by envenomed ropes like that of Nessus.
 Baby Killers
 | ITntil very recently one of the most | common crimes In India has been infanti- | eide. It is still practiced In some ioean. ties being most prevalent at the times oi l famines Such infants are usually glris' Many of the Hindus look upon the pirth | of A female child a curse; and. al | census taken not long ago 1t was showi. | that of the girls under 12 years or age or certain castes, about 40 In every loVo Wele | missing. This would mean the kllilng oi four girls in 100, large percentage i deed. rat. Among the Rajputs of northern lndia the surplus female children were once destroyed at birth, and l am told that this still occurs now and then. Tn ant. about Benares there is a tradition that Il n girl baby be drowned in milk IL may come into the family next year as oapy how such beliefs made infanticide com mon in many parts of India until the
 British administration took hold. one authority relates that In some of the tribes of Oudh not more than one III ~ of the baby girls were allowed to llVe' and many castes and tribes threw thelr surplus of children into wells or tfed theili to trees where their eyes were pickea ou' by the crows. In the Upper Hanees var lev the British had to pass special laws tor thA clans supposed to be addicted 10 child murder The police were set on therr and they were heavily taxed untii | their proportion of girls corresponoeo 'o l that of the rest of the country. Even .o- dav everywhere throughout India girls are less prized than boys. and the siri bahv is not as well cared for as her paoy brother. She Is not so well Tea anu no'
 aa ,.,ai, treated in sickness. It may be tb. this has caused in some degree the a,e,ararce in the numbers of the infan,s | of the two sexes.
 JaiIs and Convict Labor
 Al, src, canital crimes, however, arc decreasinr and in the British states hova almost disappeared. The police lbavesa record of every professional oi the criminal classes and in the rogues galleries their photographs ana nHser urint records. The railway has US own police and there are guards aoout ev- cry station. There are strong Jaiis l everywhere, and the criminals now Tn prison are about 100,ooo-
 During my stay here l visited some of the jails. There are many or sheH
 scattered throughout British India and | not a few contain several thousand urisoners. In nearly all contract labor | is done. The prisoners work about nine | h ours a day. There are three classes ol
 labor, hard, medium and light; they are 1 allotted according to the physical ca pacity of the men. Much of the work | IS in manufactures of various Kinds and | as far as possible in the making of things for the government. A great deal of the clothing and tents for the | army come from the jails. The criminals print most of the government blanks and they also make furniture for the public buildings. In some jails trades are taught. A great deal of weaving Is done and some of the finest carpets of the world are made in the. Jail at Agra. The prisoners are forced to work and should they shirk they are punished. Among the punishme are various forms of confinement. working in chains and whipping. There are also rewards for industry and good con- duct and the orderly criNinal can thus