INDIA. 



437 



over it. The harvester, with his small sickle, 

 cuts one twelfth of an acre in a day. The 

 grain is thrashed out by driving cattle around 

 a stake on the thrashing-floor. The straw, 

 trampled very fine, constitutes the food of the 

 cattle. The growing grain is watered three 

 times, at an average cost of $2.50 an acre. 

 The total cost of raising an acre of wheat, in- 

 cluding rent, is a little over $10. The average 

 crop is 17 bushels on irrigated and 10 on dry 

 land. The average price on the spot is 68 

 cents a bushel. The value of the wheat and 

 straw raised on an acre is about $14.50. The 

 profit on the wheat-crop is little more than 

 enough to pay the various tithes, and the farm- 

 ers are only able to live by the crops of coarser 

 grain, vegetables, herbs, or fruits grown during 

 the rest of the year. The area devoted to 

 wheat in the Northwest Provinces and Oude, 

 in 1885, was 5,298,026 acres, an increase of 7 

 per cent, over the previous year. The crop 

 was 2,100,000 tons, of which 1,450,000 tons 

 was required in India for food, and 300,000 

 tons for seed, leaving 350,000 tons for export. 

 The total wheat area of India was 27,820,223 

 acres, producing 299,155,584 bushels. The 

 total export was 56,000,000 bushels. The cost 

 of a quarter of wheat at Delhi is $4.85, the 

 freight to the sea-board $1.55, and the ocean- 

 freight to London $1.60, making a total of $8. 

 American wheat, costing $7.94 at Chicago, 

 $1.50 for transportation to New York, and 56 

 cents for shipping freight, costs, therefore, $2 

 more to lay down at London than the Indian 

 wheat. 



Navigation. There were 5,150 vessels, of 

 3,291,009 tons, entered at the various ports in 

 1884- '85. Of these, 1,892, of 2,581,356 tons, 

 were British; 1,174, of 146,687 tons, belonged 

 to British India ; 787, of 494,284 tons, to for- 

 eign countries ; and 1,297, of 68,685 tons, to 

 native states. The number cleared was 5,188 ; 

 the tonnage, 3,358,761. 



Railroads. There were 12,376 miles of rail- 

 road in operation on March 31, 1886. The 

 number of passengers carried during 1885 was 

 80,864,779, against 73,815,119 in 1884; the 

 number of tons of merchandise transported, 

 18,925,385. The receipts were 17,989,625 ; 

 the expenses, 8,863,294. 



Telegraphs. The length of telegraph lines in 

 1886 was 25,387 miles ; the length of wires, 

 74,973 miles. There were besides 142 miles of 

 cable. The number of messages in 1885 was 

 2,032,651 ; the receipts, 570,552 ; the ex- 

 penses, 788,435. 



Finances. The receipts of the Indian Ex- 

 chequer, in 1884-'85, amounted to 70,690,681, 

 of which sum 21,832,211 came from the land 

 revenue, 8,816,469 from the opium monopoly, 

 6,507,236 from the salt-tax, 3,606,622 from 

 stamp-duties, 4,011,867 from excise, 2,791,- 

 461 from provincial imposts, 1,029,943 from 

 customs, 511,828 from licenses, 286,784 

 from registration fees, 986,984 from forests, 

 699,017 from tributes, 1,047,130 from the 



post-office, 570,552 from the telegraphs, 

 180,164 from the mint, 546,059 from the 

 courts, 14,189,203 from public works, and 

 3,076,751 from minor sources. 



The total expenditures amounted to 71,- 

 077,127, of which 17,527,406 were expended 

 in England. The interest on the public debt 

 amounted to 4,619,443 ; the cost of collection 

 of the land, opium, and salt taxes, the admin- 

 istration of the forests, etc., was 8,082,777; 

 the expenses of the telegraphs, posts, and mint 

 were 2,145,249. The expenditure for legis- 

 lation and justice was 3,305,978 ; for police, 

 2,832,725; for the navy, 531,973; for pub- 

 lic instruction, 1,238,787 ; for foreign affairs, 

 799,028 ; for ecclesiastical and medical affairs, 

 1,367,751 ; for pensions and relief, 3,217,- 

 355; for famine-relief works, 1,548,357: for 

 the army, 16,963,803 ; for public works, 

 20,471,068. 



The budget for 1885-'86 makes the total rev- 

 enue 73,598,100,. and the expenditures 76,- 

 488,900 ; that for 1886-87 estimates the re- 

 ceipts at 75,798,700, and the expenses at 

 75,616,500. The uncertainty with regard to 

 the effect of the opium convention with China, 

 and the continued fall in the price of silver, 

 make the prediction of the revenue returns, 

 which are always uncertain on account of the 

 variable yield of some of the taxes, more un- 

 safe than usual. The Afghan frontier defenses 

 are provided for by an addition to the public 

 debt. For the Burmese war no adequate pro- 

 vision has been made. Sir Auckland Colvin, 

 the financial officer, has sought a means of re- 

 lief by reintroducing an income-tax, in addi- 

 tion to the license-tax imposed a few years 

 before. He expects to obtain 776,100 from 

 this source. There is a considerable profes- 

 sional, commercial, and manufacturing class, 

 composed mainly of Englishmen, that is rap- 

 idly growing in numbers and wealth, but has 

 hitherto almost entirely escaped taxation. Yet 

 it is not certain that this modest sum can be 

 collected from them, as its collection depends 

 on their honesty and their willingness to bear 

 a share of the public burdens. The famine-re- 

 lief and irrigation projects have been deferred, 

 and the funds diverted to war expenditures. 

 The restoration of a high salt-tax would pro- 

 vide a sure source of income, but at the cost 

 of human life and suffering, for it bears entirely 

 on the poorest classes. The loss of opium 

 revenue on account of the new convention with 

 China is estimated at 250,000 a year. The 

 receipts from opium, for 1886-'87, were reck- 

 oned at 6,577,000. The estimates for 1886-'87 

 are calculated on the basis of the actual gold 

 value of the rupee, and not, as heretofore, on 

 the ratio of ten rupees to a pound sterling. 



The Silver Question. The currency question 

 is a pressing one to the Indian Government, 

 because there are heavy fixed charges, such as 

 the interest on the railroad-debts that are pay- 

 able in gold, as are also a part of the salaries 

 of the officials. Those who are paid in silver, 



