82 COTTON IN THE MADRAS PRESIDENCY. [1ST SEASON. 



chance ; so that it was a mystery to hiin how they 

 obtained a Cotton crop at all. Jf however they could 

 only be induced to pay more attention to the cultiva- 

 tion, to plant their Cotton by itself and after a more 

 regular fashion, and to gather their crops in a cleaner 

 style, the ordinary Native Cotton might soon be ren- 

 dered equal to "Upland Georgia. There would how- 

 ever be considerable difficulty in persuading the people 

 to adopt an improved culture and improved machinery. 

 Europeans might carry on their new methods for ages 

 with the greatest success, but the Natives would never 

 follow their example, but would consider the whole 

 operation to be a peculiar trick on the part of the 

 Europe gentlemen, in which they had no interest or 

 concern. 



128 Suggestion, that by acting as a Cotton Agent, he 

 could induce the Ryots to adopt the new culture. — 



Under these circumstances, Mr. Finnie proposed that 

 he should be allowed to act as an Agent for the pro- 

 duce of Cotton. Thus, whilst as a Government serv- 

 ant he would be teaching the Eyots an improved 

 method of culture, he would as a Commercial Agent 

 be engaged in affording them direct encouragement to 

 carry his agricultural precepts into practice, by offering 

 them higher prices for the Native article. He there- 

 fore proposed to set up a " Tinnevelly Cotton Agency 

 and either to make large shipments of Cotton to the 

 Court of Directors, or to announce by circular to the 

 different merchants at home that he was prepared to 

 supply the article. 



129 An Agency would also increase the profits of both 

 Eyots and Merchants, and double the exports. — Mr. 

 Einnie's arguments were not unlike those of Mr. 

 Eischer already noticed in para. 38, and may be ex- 

 hibited thus. The Cotton in this country goes through 

 too many hands. The Cotton is purchased from the 

 Eyots by the Native Chetties, who again sell it to the 

 European Agents on the coast, who again are not 

 buying it for themselves, but for European merchants 

 in England. Thus the Chetty cheats the Eyot from 

 whom he buys, and the Agent to whom he sells, and 



