VUl 



1| of a penny per hundredweight ^^^, husked rice at 2^d. to 3d. per 

 hundredweight ^*°, and cotton at from 2s. l^'H. to 3s. O^d. per hundred- 

 weight ^'^K 



From the above calculations we cannot take the price of paddy 

 under the Gangeticline (1132 — 1532 A.D.) at above lid. per hundred- 

 weight. It was probably less. Paddy now costs on the field in Orissa 

 a shilling per hundredweight, or at least eight times its ancient price. 

 An almost equal depreciation in the value of silver has gone on in 

 other parts of India. Thus, in Upper Hindustan, under Ald-ud-din 

 (1303 — 1315 A.D.), the officially fixed rate of barley was a little under 

 sixpence per hundredweight ^^^^ and of peas fourpence half-penny a 

 hundredweight ^^^. In the latter part of the century, under Feroz 

 Shdh (1351 — 1388 A.D.), the price of barley remained exactly the 

 same, viz., sixpence per hundredweight ^**. But no sooner did the 

 tide of European trade set in, than the value of silver fell, and at the 

 time of Akbar (1556 — 1605 A.D.)-the price of barley rose to 9|d per 

 hundredweight ^^^. The price of barley in the same localities is now, on 

 an average, about three shillings and sixpence per hundredweight retail, 

 or seven times what it was throughout the fourteenth century. 



We may therefore fairly assume that, as estimated in the staple food 

 of the country, the value of silver in Orissa has fallen to |th of its 

 purchasing power. Wages were regulated then, as now, by the price 

 of rice, and in fact were mostly paid in grain. The Gangetic dynasty 

 of Orissa (1132 — 1532 A.D.), with a revenue nominally the same as 

 our own ^*^, were therefore, as regards the home products of the 

 country, and their ability to keep up armies and pompous retinues, 

 eight times richer than we are. The reason clearly appears why a 

 revenue which now barely defrays the charge of collection and the cost 

 of protecting person and property, with one or two absolutely necessary 

 public works, formerly supported a great standing army, a wealthy 

 hierarchy of priests and ministers of State, and a magnificent royal 

 court. As the native dynasty had practically eight times more revenue 



339 Two Mhans per bharan of 9 cwt., i.e., just under a penny, at 6 k4hans per rupee ; 

 l|rf. at 4 kihans ; and 1| of a penny at 3,584 cowries per rupee. 



3*0 Ten cowries per Cuttack seer of 105 tolas. 



3" One pan and 10 gandas per seer. If, as seems possible, the rate in ancient times 

 was at six or seven instead of 4 k&hans to the rupee, these prices would be a full third 

 less ; and the depreciation in the value of silver would be about one-twelfth instead of 

 one-eighth of its former purchasing power. 



^^"^ 'Fonv jitaU Tpev 7nan. The jital was e\ of the silver Tankfi. of 175 grains; or say 

 g-'i of the present rupee, or a farthing and a half. The ma7i of that period contained 

 28'8 It), avoirdupois. As barlej' cost 4 jitals or six farthings per 28-8 lb., the price was a 

 little under six pence per cwt. For a full discussion of these weights, see Mr. Thomas' 

 Pathin Kings of Delhi, p. 161, ed. 1871. 



3" Three jitals per man. 3** Four jitals per man. 



3*' 8 dims per tnan. The dkm. was officially reckoned at -^■^o ot a rupee ; the man 

 then contained 55-467 lb. avoirdupois. 



3*' The revenue under the Gangetic line may in round numbers be set down at 

 £435,000, and under the English at £450,000 a year. With regard to the present price 

 of paddj', the people consider eight annas a cheap rate for a Cuttack man, containing 

 1071b. avoirdupois; or as nearly as maybe, a shilling a hundredweight. This is the 

 rate on the field ; and as will be seen in my Statistical Accounts (Appendices I, II, and 

 IV), the retail price varies in different localities. In Puri district I found that an 

 ordinary rate in good seasons was 210 lb. for two shillings. In Balasor town the price 

 has varied from 240 lb. per rupee in 1850, to 140 in 1870. These ar^ the prices of the 

 common sort of unhusked paddy, the staple food of the people. 



