8 INTRODUCTION 



between a rack-renting landlord and a usurious money- 

 lender, it may be but small consolation to learn that 

 the armchair philosopher thinks he is in a position 

 which favours the growth of the economic virtues, 

 but it remains true that he enjoys some advantages 

 for which the English workman sighs in vain. 



There is one other general observation to be made 

 regarding the Indian organization of labour — namely, 

 that it is one in which it is not possible that the 

 division of labour should be carried very far. Owing 

 to the necessities of agriculture, the people are scat- 

 tered over the face of the country in small villages, 

 and, owing probably to the defectiveness of communi- 

 cation in the past, these villages constitute self- 

 sufficing industrial units ; as the division of labour is 

 limited by the possibilities of exchange, there is no 

 opening in such villages for specialized skill. In 

 agriculture, which is the main occupation of the rural 

 population, this is not a great evil, because it has 

 not in any country been found possible to carry the 

 division of labour very far in agriculture ; but the 

 subsidiary industries would be made much more 

 efficient if labour could be further divided. As 

 however, the object of this book is to record the 

 phenomena of Indian industry, and not to speculate 

 upon the data we already possess, I will proceed at 

 once to an examination of the facts. My survey will 

 be confined to that portion of India which has been 

 known at different times as the Ceded and Conquered 

 Territories, the North-Western Provinces and Oudh, 

 and the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. My 

 reason for confining attention to one particular pro- 

 vince is to bring out distinctly the essential features 

 of a particular type of industrial organization. Were 

 I to attempt to embrace all India in a single survey, I 

 should be compelled to subject every general state- 

 ment to some qualification, and thus the distinctive 

 features of the Indian organization of industry would 



