160 COTTON IN THE MADRAS PRESIDENCY. [1848 49. 



CHAP believe very little." In another letter, referring to Mr. 



Finnie's sample of Tinnevelly Cotton already noticed, Dr. 



Wight severely commented on Mr. Finnie's inconsistency. 

 Su^JS It seems that on the 4th of May 1848, Mr. Finnie had con- 

 P"?L' ^e- suited Dr. Wight officially, as to what measures he should 

 p^Sa. adopt to overcome the obstinacy of Native dealers in with- 

 holding their Cotton at reasonable prices ; whilst on the 

 24th of the same month, only twenty days afterwards, he 

 stated that he had nearly a whole village engaged in pro- 

 ducing Cotton of a very superior quality, and pledged him- 

 self to have ultimately the whole crop of Tinnevelly cleaned 

 according to his particular pattern. 



212 Points of the dispute: summary of the correspon- 

 dence. The rupture betweenDr. Wight and Mr. Finnie began 

 about the time of the change of Governors. Sir Henry Pot- 

 tiDger the new Governor, however, declined to take any 



pottiners notice of Mr. Finnie's sentiments or of Dr. Wight's criti- 



Blinute 



1848 pad' c * sms > an< ^ f course within a few months the correspondence 

 (IS?) n between the two grew warmer and more lengthy than ever. 

 The points in the controversy will now be exhibited in the 

 briefest possible form ; just sufficient to illustrate the stage 

 at which the Cotton experiment had arrived in the season 

 of 1848-49. 



DISCUSSION BETWEEN DR. WIGHT AND MB. FINNIE. 



213 Mr. Finnie to Dr. Wight, 7th November 1848 : " X 

 Mr. Fin- kave had great difficulties in ginning, but have in- 

 7 t h Sle No e v r :duced many Natives to plant American Cotton."- 



E^funf" 1 ' Having been ordered by the Madras Government to assist 

 198. P * you in fulfilling the orders of the Court of Directors for 6000 

 bales of ginned East Indian Cotton, I have to report that I 

 ginned nine candies last season, and thirty-six candies this 

 season, making forty-five in all. I have however had great 

 difficulties in the way of procuring seed Cotton. Brokers 

 here go themselves to the Ryots to buy the seed Cotton ; so 



