174 



of capital with which great Britain seems to be 

 oppressed, than Indian tea cultivation, if honestly 

 and well managed, does not exist. As long as Indian 

 teas will fetch an average of Is. 8d. to 2s. per lt>. 

 or even less, in the London market, and the price 

 of labor in India does not exceed present rates, 

 certainly no investment that I am aware of, will yield 

 such high interest with so little risk. The benefits, 

 then, of this cultivation to England, as securing 

 her against any sudden interruption of her supplies 

 from China, as affording her a safe investment 

 for some millions of her surplus capital and as 

 offering her a suitable outlet for a large portion of 

 her middle class population, are very great. 



But if the prospective benefits from tea cultivation 

 to England are great, to India they are far greater ; 

 and of this we have an earnest, in the results 

 already brought about by the operations under- 

 taken in Assam and Cachar, though as yet these 

 operations are very infantile. In one district 

 alone (Luckimpoor Assam) there are still 228,634. 

 acres of waste land available for tea cultivation. 

 Colonel Jenkins, the Governor General's, Agent 

 on the N. E. Frontiers, in reporting the fact thus 

 observes : 



'It seems sufficient to advert to this large extent 

 of waste, >not only lying unprofitable, but most 

 injurious to the neighbouring powerless Native 

 cultivators, from the cover these forests afford to 



