386 



INDIA. 



on the hills as much as possible. Native states 

 should be induced to reduce their armies grad- 

 ually, their troops should be forbidden to carry 

 small-arms of precision, and their field-artillery 

 be reduced to the smallest limits. The report 

 deprecated unnecessary interference with Scin- 

 dia, but recommended that the Nizam be in- 

 duced gradually to curtail his forces. It advised 

 that the civil employment of military officers be 

 discontinued ; that staff corps be gradually 

 abolished ; that the medical department be re- 

 cast by separating the civil medical service from 

 the military, and amalgamating the latter with 

 the British Army Medical Department so as to 

 form one list, and that volunteering be encour- 

 aged but not made compulsory on government 

 servants. 



At the beginning of May it was discovered 

 that the cost of the Afghan war would probably 

 exceed the estimates by at least four million 

 pounds sterling. Minutes were appended to 

 the dispatch of the Indian Government commu- 

 nicating this fact to the British Secretary for 

 India, explaining the manner in which the es- 

 timates were framed, and the reasons for which 

 the Military Department had believed them to 

 be sufficient, and had officially recommended 

 to the Finance Department to adopt them in 

 the Indian budget. The minute declared the 

 Military Department to be responsible for the 

 estimates. Among the chief reasons, as stated 

 in it, which had led to the increased expendi- 

 ture, and which were unforeseen when the es- 

 timates were made, were the necessity of buying 

 instead of merely hiring a great proportion of 

 the means of transport required, the cost of 

 transporting to the front provisions for six 

 months, and the enormous increase in the price 

 of grain and all other supplies. Higher wages 

 had to be paid to all camp-followers on account 

 of their dread of foreign service. It became ne- 

 cessary to construct works for the maintenance 

 of the positions gained and the protection of 

 the troops, in consequence of the prolongation 

 of the war beyond the time anticipated. Local 

 resources were exhausted, and the means of 

 transport had to be frequently renewed by 

 drafts from distant provinces of India at con- 

 stantly increasing cost. The dispatch declared, 

 however, that the condition of the finances 

 apart from the war continued to be satisfactory, 

 that the estimates of revenue had been realized, 

 and that the general financial position was as 

 good as was described in the budget statement. 



An official paper was published in June, re- 

 cording the offers of money and warm clothing 

 which had been made to the Government by 

 native chiefs and others in connection with the 

 military operations in Afghanistan. The Ma- 

 harajah and Maharani of Baroda had placed at 

 the disposal of the Government ten thousand 

 rupees for the support of the families of the 

 men of the Guide corps who died in defending 

 the residency at Cabool, in September, 1879. 

 Maharajah Holkar had offered a sum of five 

 thousand rupees toward the same purpose, or 



toward any memorial that might be determined 

 on in honor of the defense. The Maharajah of 

 Bulrampore had offered one hundred thousand 

 rupees to provide allowances for the families of 

 native soldiers killed in action, and to be dis- 

 tributed in prizes among those Sepoys who had 

 distinguished themselves for gallantry in the 

 recent engagements. The Nawab of Rampore 

 had offered one hundred thousand rupees to be 

 devoted to the aid of sick and wounded sol- 

 diers, both British and native. Thakoor Pratab 

 Rudr Singh Talukdar, in the Sitapore district, 

 had given four hundred rupees to be applied 

 for the benefit of the families of those killed 

 while employed during the operations in Af- 

 ghanistan. These gifts, and others of goods, 

 were accepted by the Government, and the ac- 

 knowledgments of the Viceroy were given to 

 each donor for his generous offers and sympa- 

 thy with the condition of those who had suf- 

 fered in the service of their country. 



A large meeting, attended by the Europeans 

 and leading natives of the station, was held at 

 Poona in August, in behalf of the relief fund 

 for the widows and orphans of soldiers killed 

 in the Afghan war. Sir James Fergusson, 

 Governor of Bombay, praised " the healthy 

 spirit prevailing through the native communi- 

 ty," and said that it was with a feeling of pleas- 

 ure and pride that the Government could, con- 

 fident in the loyalty of the population, move 

 forward to the front an unprecedented propor- 

 tion of the troops of the Presidency. 



A similar meeting at Bombay, August 18th, 

 was attended by leading representatives of all 

 the nationalities and religions, including the 

 Anglican and Roman Catholic bishops, Brah- 

 mans, Mussulmans, and Parsees. The sum of 

 fifty-four thousand rupees was subscribed. 



The administration of Sir Madhara Rao, who 

 was intrusted with the government of the state 

 of Baroda after the deposition of the late Gaik- 

 war and during the minority of the Maharajah, 

 has been very successful. The administrator 

 surrounded himself with a native staff of ex- 

 cellent character, and retained the confidence 

 of the Indian Government while he secured the 

 good opinion of the subjects of the Gaikwar. 

 A dearth almost approaching to famine made 

 relief operations necessary during the last year; 

 but the public works were not abandoned, and 

 the construction of the state railways which 

 were already earning four per cent. has been 

 pushed on. Schools are being built, and edu- 

 cation is being extended. A complete system 

 of judicial machinery has been established, da- 

 coity has been diminished if not suppressed, 

 the city of Baroda has been supplied with fire- 

 engines and street-lamps, and the finances are 

 prospering. The young Gaikwar is making 

 satisfactory progress with his studies, which in- 

 clude the English, Marathi, Guzerati, and Hin- 

 doostani languages, history, political economy, 

 arithmetic, and geography. 



The Rajah of Travancore died on the 30th 

 of May. He was one of the most enlightened 



