INDIA. 



381 



transported in 1886 was 19,576,365. The re- 

 ceipts were 18,704,536, and the expenses 8,- 

 930,982. There were 1,025 miles constructed 

 during the year, forming part of 16,596 miles 

 of new railroad that had been sanctioned. 

 The profits earned on the capital investment 

 by the traffic of the year was 5'90 per cent. 

 The Bolan Railway to Quetta and portions of 

 the Scinde-Pishin Rail way beyond Quetta were 

 opened to the public at the end of March. 

 Work was begun at both ends of the Mandalay 

 Railway, 220 miles in length, which was author- 

 ized to be built by the state in November, 

 1886. The longest new line that was sanc- 

 tioned was the Bengal-Nagpur Railway, 784 

 miles, which was intrusted to a guaranteed 

 company. During 1886-'87 the capital ex- 

 pended in railroad construction was 9,740,- 

 000, of which 5,120,000 was on state lines, 

 and 4,620,000 on the lines of guaranteed and 

 subsidized companies. The net loss to the 

 state on the guaranteed railroads in 1886-'87 

 was 1,177,900,. and for 1887-'88 it is esti- 

 mated at 1,383,700. 



The Post-Office. The number of letters for- 

 warded in the mails in the year ending March 

 31, 1686, was 216,145,796; the number of 

 newspapers, 20,341,814; the receipts of the 

 post-office were 1,113,086; the expenses, 1,- 

 302,604. 



Telegraphs. The length of the Government 

 telegraph lines in 1886 was 27,510 miles, with 

 81,480 miles of wires, exclusive of 187 miles of 

 cable. The number of paid dispatches in 1886 

 was 2,306,876; receipts, 628,484; expenses, 

 872,761. 



The Army. The European troops quartered 

 in India on March 31, 1885, numbered 3,712 

 officers and 59,218 rank and file, a total of 62,- 

 930 men. The native army numbered 1,556 

 officers and 124,388 men, making the total 

 strength of the Indian army 5,268 officers and 

 183,606 men. The army estimates fix the 

 strength of the European troops for 1886-'87 

 at 68,196 officers and men. The military budg- 

 et of the Indian Government for 1887-'88 

 amounts to 14,010,000, against 14,280,000 in 

 1886-'87, and provides for an army of 73,552 

 Europeans and 145,165 natives, making a total 

 of 218,717 men. Returns published in 1884 

 show that the various Hindu feudatory or in- 

 dependent states of India have armies number- 

 ing 275,075 men and 3,372 guns ; the Moham- 

 medan states 74,760 men, 865 guns; total, 349,- 

 835 men, 4,237 guns, belonging to the various 

 native armies. The Cashmere army alone num- 

 bers 27,000 men ; Nepaul, 100,000 ; Hyderabad, 

 44,000; Oodeypore, 20,000 ; Gwalior, 11,000 ; 

 Baroda, 15,500; Indore, 8,000; Jeypore, 18,- 

 000; Jodhpore, 8,500; Bhurtpore, 11,500. 

 Each army is composed of infantry, cavalry, 

 and artillery. 



Finance. The final accounts for the year end- 

 ing March 31, 1886, show receipts from the 

 various sources of revenue of the following 

 amounts, in pounds sterling : 



The ordinary receipts and expenditures show 

 a deficit of 2,801,726. The expenditure un- 

 der the various heads was as follows : 



The budget estimates for 1886-'87 were dis- 

 turbed by the fall in exchange and the military 

 expenses in Upper Burmah, which imposed on 

 the Government the necessity of choosing be- 

 tween a deficit, fresh taxation, the withdrawal 

 of grants for railroads, or a reduction of the 

 famine insurance debt. The last expedient 

 was adopted, and thereby 1,049,400 were 

 made available to obviate the deficit. The ex- 

 cess in military expenditures for Upper Bur- 

 mah amounted to 860,000, while the civil esti- 

 mates for Upper Burmah were increased by 

 280,300 for police. The loss by exchange 

 was 474,600 more than the estimate. The 

 revised budget estimates for 1886-'87make the 

 total receipts 76,081,223 and the expenditures 

 76,021,150. For 1887-'88 the receipts are 

 estimated at 77,460,200 and the expenditures 

 at 77,443,500. The expenditures in England 

 in 1886-'87 are estimated at 19,661,450, offset 

 hy 327,023 of receipts; for 1887-'88 the ex- 

 penditures in England are reckoned at 20,- 

 309,400 and the receipts at 242,500 ; the pub- 

 lic debt on March 31, 1886, amounted to 174,- 

 524,101, of which 166,510,603 was consoli- 

 dated deht and 8,013,498 was unfunded ; of 

 the consolidated debt 92,703,982 was payable 

 in India and 73,806,621 in England; the 

 amount of paper money in circulation on 

 March 31, 1885, was 14,540,727. 



The budget for 1886-'87, besides withhold- 

 ing the promised construction of railroads, 

 canals, and irrigation- works for the preven- 

 tion of famine, reduces the grants to local ad- 

 ministrations for public works in violation of 

 contracts made with the provincial govern- 

 ments. The native press complained that Lord 

 Dufferin had arbitrarily done away with the 

 famine fund, and yet continues the construc- 

 tion of railroads for the advantage of Anglo- 

 Indians and British merchants. The Burmese 

 war, which interfered with a reform that was 



