CHAPTER IV 



Agricultural statistics 90 per cent, of the labouring producers 

 engaged in agriculture 72 per cent, of the population engaged 

 in agriculture Small production of grain per acre William 

 Digby says in the year 1899-1900 the average income of the 

 working classes equalled a halfpenny a day for each man, 

 woman and child In years of scarcity numbers die Digby 

 blames Government Mismanagement Excessive taxes Drain 

 of ^30,000,000 to Britain An engineer finds it difficult to 

 accept this view without qualifications. 



WHATEVER may be the sins of the Indian Govern- 

 ment, at any rate this can be said in its favour, that 

 it has produced and does produce regularly a great 

 mass of statistics dealing with agriculture. These 

 statistics give the acreage of every crop and the 

 production in pounds per acre of every crop ; they 

 give the value of each crop produced. They also 

 give the numbers of cattle of all kinds, cows, bulls, 

 buffaloes, horses, camels, sheep, goats. (But pigs and 

 poultry are not given.) On the assumption that these 

 statistics on the average are fairly accurate, it is 

 possible to arrive at a fair estimate of the productions 

 of India. And in addition to the produce of the 

 fields, the produce of the mines are given in some 

 detail. The statistics also give the price of every 

 production of the fields and of the mines, goods of 

 various kinds, both wholesale and retail. The wages 



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