THE INDIAN INDUSTRIAL PROBLEM 559 



tion. This is not extravagant, but in the native states it is even 

 less and if a rational system of education can be devised to 

 meet the requirements of the people, it is certain that it would 

 be wise policy to increase very largely the expenditure under 

 this head, as such expenditure would greatly promote the moral 

 welfare and material well-being of the people. The finances of 

 India are in a flourishing state, the incidence of taxation is light 

 and the natural growth of revenue is equal at any rate to the 

 demands upon it. This is due to the excellence of the adminis- 

 tration, which exercises a most careful scrutiny over the 

 spending departments of Government, although it is possible 

 that, in the laudable desire to prevent waste and to keep down 

 taxation, economy has been effected at the expense of national 

 well-being. Any material increase of the grants for education 

 could only be secured by fresh taxation but the necessity for 

 such is now so great that it may well be urged that delay is pre- 

 judicial to the best interests of the country. Any form of direct 

 taxation would be extremely unpopular but an increase of fifty 

 per cent, in the very moderate import duties would probably be 

 welcomed and would yield about two millions a year, which 

 would be sufficient to provide for that re-organisation of the 

 educational system which is so urgently needed to prepare the 

 way for a general improvement in the condition of the vast 

 population by teaching them how to make better use of their 

 enormous capacity for labour and how to exploit the natural 

 resources of the soil so that it may yield a return commensurate 

 with its extent and richness. 



The suggestion that the increased expenditure which it is 

 advocated should be incurred to remedy the defects of the 

 present educational system may be met by increasing the 

 tariffs on imports naturally raises the question, Why not 

 give India an avowed protection tariff and under the shelter 

 of that tariff build up an industrial system adequate to 

 the needs of the country? That it could be done in this 

 way there is no doubt but the people of the country could 

 not do it and it would have to be done with imported capital 

 and imported brains. The urgency for industrial development 

 in India is mainly due to the limited field that at present exists 

 for the employment of the rapidly increasing educated classes. 

 It is essential that suitable work should be found for them 

 and it is quite certain that if inducements were created to invest 



