LOO 



INIHA. 



many little wars for extending the northern and 

 .western frontiers, as well as the utilisation of 



Indian troops for imperial purposes, a* a use of 



y that ought t. 



tic improvement of the jn-opi,-. The parliamentary 

 committee that inquired into the causes of famine 



ill ure in mai.\ 

 India must dc|n<nd on irrigation. Vet the iirL 



system then U-giin ha- n.-\.-r U-cn coinj.lcted. I n- 

 der pres*ure of English mt, rests the famine fund 

 dnerted to the com* ruction of railroads, w hi.-!, 



give entm ign manufactured good*, thus 



displacing native industries. The annual grant for 



, >.!.- .. : '. '"" :x 



".000 are annually allot tod to railroad*. Th. 

 famine itiMiranre fund f Kx 1.500.000 a year was 

 rated by taxes specially Imposed for the purpose 

 Minxt and relief from famine. n\v- 

 -sjn scare and border wars it was 

 practically suspended after a few years The Gov- 

 ernment 'advanced the specious theory that t In- 

 payment of drlit out of this fund or (he avoidance 



' : l.t was tin- Ilio-t effective 



.t-ainst fiimine. Meanwhile tin- cost of 

 the Kgvptian expedition of iss-j ami of the Suakin 

 :ition of 1885, the cost of entertaining the 

 Shah of Persia in Kngland. etc.. \v.r. (1 

 upon tin- Indian taxpayers. Although the famine 

 HUT fund was suspended on account of the 

 financial difficulties of the Govern ment the burden 

 of Knglish rule was vastly increased by giving com- 

 pensation allowances to the great body of civil and 

 military official* in India whose fixed salaries have 

 suffered by the depreciation of the rupee. The 

 higher classes of civilians and the military officers 

 hare had their salaries doubled, while in the lower 

 ranks of th- civil service half the salaries are paid 

 at the old rate of 10 rupees to the pound. During 

 the | a#t eighteen yean II\ 71. I<HI.IHMI rupee* have 

 been expended on frontier expeditions, while tin- 

 home charges, pensions and interest, which have 

 M proportion to the fall of silver. 

 require a yearly drain of Indian produce!" Kurope 

 of a value of 20,000.000 in gold without any com- 

 mercial return whatever. The Indian National 

 Congress, which met on Dec. 28, 1896, in addition to 

 the usual resolutions n-lai ing to the injustice of the 

 system of taxation and the way in which the reve- 

 nues are spent, the inequality of the treatment of 

 natives and Knglishmen in th'e matter of civil, -rv- 

 ice examinations and the scheme of education for 

 the civil service by which Indians are excluded 

 from the higher posts in direct violation of the 

 Km press's proclamations, the necessity for the sep- 

 aration ,f the judicial from the executive, and the 

 iniquitous salt tax. passed one declaring that tin- 

 famine was due to impoverishment of tin- j>eople 

 result in.' from the drain of wealth to Kngland and 

 the excessive taxation and overassessmcnl followed 

 by the Government Inith in the civil and the mili- 

 tary detriments, which has so far impoverished 

 th- peoole that at the first toueh of scarcity they 

 are rendered helpless and must perish unless fed by 

 the state or helped by private charity. In the 

 opinion of the Congress the true remedy against the 

 -r*ncc of famine lies in the adoption of a poli- 

 cy that would enforce economy, husband the re- 

 sources of the state, and foster the devdopnx nt of 

 indigenous and local arts and industries, which 

 have practically been extinguished, and help the 

 introduction .,f rn.-d.-rn arts and industries. The 

 is: famine code w. re pro- 

 nounced inadequate as regards WAL ~. and 

 oppressive Usk work. Reminding the Government 

 of the duty, to which it was pledged by the words 

 of successive viceroys, of saving human life and 

 mitigating suffering, the Congress made an appeal 



for the restoration of the famine insurance fund lo its 



:;.il footing, asking that a separate account be 



ki-pt of ii and that it should be applied more largely 



to it- original purpos, mtnielv. the immediate relief 



.nine-stricken I I lie attention ,.f the 



: -i i ment was called to the deplorable condition of 

 the poorer classes in India, fui -I whom. 



according to |,i_'li oll'n-ial aut Imrity. drag out a mi>- 

 e ra I ile existence on the \ .: -\alion even in 



normal years, and tin- suggestion was made that 

 they vlnuild be exempted Iroin the pa\ ini-iil of the 

 taxes that specially oppress them. The main 

 guard against famine is the ino\ement of th, 

 Jile fn-iii the aid the sterile 



:he large uniH-cupieil tra<t- \\ithin 1 1n- 

 Indian Kmpire. of which I 1 are found 



.ible for cultivation in tin- I'.ritish pro\ 

 alone, according t, ollieial report*. e\eln-i\i' of the 

 H gal, Lesfl than half of 



the soil of llritish India is under cultivation, \\hile 

 within a fe\v hundred mil> Million* of 



ants are crowd. -d to^rther at tin- rate , 



to the square mile. In lieliar In pel- <-. nt. of the 

 population of 1 re reported to In- ill a 



of agricultural degradation. Tin p OM.IMHI 



cultivators siiiTerint: from want of land in llrii- 

 pd. I 'char. C >rissa. and t In- N,.r: h\\< -t Pn.\ nn - and 

 (Midh. In former ;\^<^ the Indian population could 

 expand over the jungle tracts without restraint, and 

 none suffered from lack of land, as t hey m.w do un- 

 der tin- land laws of the Anglo-Indian Government. 

 in November ami December, 



an improvement in certain districts when- tin 

 or -prim: harve-t. had been despaired of. I'l i 

 food fell in consequence, but only temporarily. 



There Were food itOOKJ ill district \\here 1 lie 



dearth was extreme, but they were in the hands of 

 the grain merchants and usurers. The (i,, \ em- 

 inent, however, refusi-d to interfere with the < 



of trade by importing food in sell in competition 



with them, alt lioii'^h some private benevolent >r- 

 gani/atioiis of native merchants did rding 



to ollieial reports in .lanuary. the Moek of fo. : 

 adequate in Madra-. ample in I'urmah. sullicicnt for 



r in I'oinbay. and sufficient for imim 

 needs in the Pun'jal*. the N'orthwi-t and Central 

 Provinces, and I'.eiiiral. The railroad rat-s for t he 

 conveyance of grain wen- reduced, and arrange- 

 ments were then comjilete for supplying the relief 

 camp*. The work of relief was conduct. -d on the 

 well -defined system of the Indian famine . 

 Kv,-r\ district 'is divided into circle-, in each one of 

 which the machinery of relief is kept in a constant 

 state of read im v* of plenty as well a- in 



\ . and it> ellicieiicy is report' 



by inspectors , Tin- head of the district. 



w'ho i* helrl responsible for the working of tl . 

 tern, is enabled to gauge tin- approach of -carcity 

 by test relief works, and wln-n the sean-ity deepens 

 into famine he provide- food for the able-bodied in 

 return for local labor, and supplies tho-,- \\ 

 unable to work with doles of grain. A-tl;- 



del more intense and wi | lie -ysiem 



of relief expands, until it nach.- the full develop- 

 ment of local relief works, central famine camp-, 



and state kitchen^ and famine hospitals. Tin 



tein of local relief counteracts the tendency of the 

 Indian people to wander in time of famine from 

 their own district* in the vain hope -f finding em- 

 ployment and fowl elsewhere. The failure of the 

 rainfall in the autumn of 1HW> came after three 

 sln-rt crops in the Northwe-t and Central Prov- 

 inces. Already fa) October food was dearer than 

 ever was known V>efore over an area embracing 

 tt part of India. The natives have a belief. 

 founded on ages of experience, that wherever the 

 monsoon fails twice the people perish. The situa- 



