The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-07-05
of RALEIGH, N. c.

to ~equa!ize our competition, and the
result was that the duty was reduced
ty ) i per cent, that amount being
leVlded On all goods made in India.
DO you wonder that the natives OBJ
Ject? A protective tariff would foster
our industries and we could in time
build up a mighty industrial empire"
midas Coal and Iron.
Could you do this along other lines
than the textiles 2"
Yes. Thre is no reason why India
should not make everything in iron
and steel. This country has mineral
which have never been ex-
plotted. No one knows what we have.
Take our coal Only a few years ago
the people sneered at the coal Of Ben
gal and said it was Of no value. We
exported more than 1000, 900 tons Of
that coal last year, and during that
time our output was almost 10, 900, 900
tons. We have a coal field at Bokaro
which covers over 200 square miles
and Is supposed to contain fifteen hun
dred million tons Of available coal.
In the Karanpura fields there are
som ething like nine billion tons, and
we have other deposits of considerable
value. We nave iron not far from the
coal, and steel works are now being
put up with native capital to manufac-
ture with native iron and native ore.
Within a short time VIZ shal be max
ing steel rails for our East Indian
roads. There is no reason why we
should not make our own
and develop industries along other
lines"
India q Paying Proposition.
Does Great Britain get much out
Of India, Sir Edward" l asked. THE
mos 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
Improvement and development. Never
theIess, the indirect advantages which
accrue from our CONNECTION with India
are enormous. Our trade with India
to hundreds Of millions Of
pounds every year and is profitable.
Another thing we have through his
connection is the support of a large
standing army. We have over 200, 600
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 a1nong the first on the field
Natives and the Unrest.
You have been in India over thir-
ty years. Has the condition of the
natives improved?
Yes, they are far better off than
! they were when I came. They get
| higher wages. They have more to
eat and more comforts. Their houses
are better. When / first came most
of them were rooted with thatch.
| Many now have roofs of tiles. Alto
gether the people are much better
off"
bout how many are there in the
provinces you govern" ] asked.
Something like Sd, Loco, 900"
What is their condition as to the
unrest? Bengal is supposed to be the
| place in which the most trouble lies
W. have had considerable discOn-
tent and some attempts at assasslna-
ton. The tried to blow up a train
about two years ago upon which Sir
| Andrew Fraser, then lieutenant gov
| ernor of Bengal, his staff and a num-
Der of police were travelling. They
made other attempts to as~sassinate Sir
Andrew Fraser. They also threw a
bomb at a carriage containing a Cal
cutta magistrate, who had imprisoned
the printers of two native journals for
seditiouS ~utteranceS, and other bombs
have been thrown. Some were thrown
at the viceroy in Agra a few months
ago.
And then there was the bomb
throwing in which Mrs and Miss Ken.
nedy were killed. | think, however,
that we have largely controlled these
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