1846-47.] ME. FINNIE's FOrE- TEARS IN TINNEVELLY. 105 



erect a cheap house, in which either the gin or the 

 thresher might be worked as circumstances required ; 

 and which would give such a permanence to the busi- 

 ness, as would engage the confidence of the Natives 

 around. 2nd, To purchase a set of new driving ma- 

 chinery which was for sale at Jaffna in Ceylon at the 

 price of £155. Both these two propositions sub- 

 sequently underwent some extraordinary transform- 

 ations. The second however involved the relative 

 merits of cattle labour and manual labour, and there- 

 fore may be first discussed. 



Purchase of Cattle-driving Machinery sanctioned: 167 

 relative cost of cattle labour and manual labour. — 

 Mr. Einnie's proposal for the purchase of Dr Wight's 

 the cattle-driving machinery was strongly letter, nth 

 supported by Dr. Wight, and accordingly pS* Return 

 sanctioned by the Madras Government. (1857), p. 838. 

 There was some discussion about the locality, but 

 finally the village of Sevacausey was chosen Mr -p. j , 

 in the district of Tinnevelly, as being the Diary, 21st 

 centre of an extensive Cotton-growing ££t., 

 country, and also as containing many es- (i857),p. 339. 

 tablishments for separating the Cotton JSteriSfch S 

 staple from the seed with the Madras j^^' 184 ^ 7 

 churka. As regarded cattle labour and 1 ' p ' 

 manual labour, Dr. Wight had already tried both 

 methods in Coimbatore. For the first three seasons 

 he had worked his gins by hand labour, the Dr wight's 

 coolies contracting to gin so many maunds letter, nth 

 of seed Cotton for a certain sum. Sub- Pari'.' Return 

 sequently he had employed cattle labour, (i857),p.338. 

 and then he had discovered that cattle labour in gin- 

 ning was more expensive than coolie labour. But still 

 Dr. Wight strongly urged that the experiment should 

 be tried, as coolies might be dearer in Tinnevelly than 

 they had proved to be in Coimbatore. 



Change in Mr. Finnie's views as regards the Cattle- 168 

 driving Machinery. — By this time Mr. Finnie's mind 

 had undergone an apparently unaccountable change. 

 The proposal for purchasing the driving machinery had 

 been made in October, 1848. In November it had been 



