THE FAMINE OF 1803-04 259 



fairly typical of a moderate famine in this epoch. It 

 was clearly not a desolating f^imine like the Doji Bara 

 or the Chalisa, but the failure of the harvest un- 

 doubtedly caused considerable though temporary dis- 

 tress ; the poorer classes were without food, and they 

 adopted the only remedy which immemorial tradition 

 had taught them — they wandered from their homes in 

 search of food. But it certainly was not the popular 

 opinion that the grain-stores of the country were 

 exhausted, as in Bengal in 1770. The magistrate of 

 Jaunpur, J. Deane, in a letter to Government, Sep- 

 tember 17, 1803, wrote: 'The superstitious prejudice 

 attached by the natives to an earthquake, and the late 

 irruption of the Mahratta Horse in the Doab, has so 

 alarmed the minds of all that the possessors of grain 

 can scarcely be induced to bring it into the market at 

 any price, and the evils of famine already begin to be 

 felt, while the whole country is notoriously stocked 

 with a supply sufficient for three years' consumption. 

 This store is almost exclusively in the hands of the 

 Zemindars, and generally not kept for sale.' Fortu- 

 nately the truth of this popular belief was not brought 

 to the test of experience, as the famine was entirely 

 closed by a good autumn harvest (kharif) in 1804, 



By far the most valuable lesson to be derived from 

 a study of this famine is the evidence it supplies with 

 regard to the movements of grain in those days. 



On September 27 the Governor-General in Council 

 issued a proclamation to the effect that a bounty 

 would be paid on all grains imported from Bengal at 

 Benares, Allahabad, Cawnpore, and Fatehgarh. The 

 rate of the bounty was as follows : 



For every 100 maunds of 



Wheat and Barley : Other Grains : 

 Rupees. Rupee'-. 



Benares ... ... ... 17 ... 15 



Allahabad ... ... ... 22 ... 19 



Cawnpore ... ... ... 24 ... 23 



Fatehgarh ... ... ... 31 ... 27 



17 — 2 



