November, 1910,] 



449 



Miscellaneous, 



by the factory and the isolated factory 

 by the organised trust. Where labour 

 is dear this system has developed most 

 largely and human ingenuity is ever 

 exercised in extending the scale of 

 operations. We have introduced the 

 system into India but it has not yet 

 taken root. We may either regard it 

 as inevitable that it should ultimately 

 be established or we may adopt an 

 alternative and apply the resources of 

 science, engineering and commercial 

 experience to a great extent raise 

 the worker and pit his skill, ingenuity 

 and adaptability against the monstrous 

 growths produced by the abnormal 

 development of the mechanical arts. 

 The problem ever before the modern 

 industrial world is to devise means of 

 dispensing with labour, to cheapen pro- 

 duction by making it more automatic. 

 The success has been remarkable but it 

 has been purchased somewhat expen- 

 sively, it is possible that we might now 

 with advantage turn our attention to 

 developing the function of the man 

 rather than the power of the machine, 

 to evolving a system the object of which 

 should be to employ human labour to 

 the greatest extent possible and in the 

 way most advantageous to the individ- 

 ual man. 



The conditions in India are suitable 

 for such an experiment. It has not yet 

 accepted the factory system nor will it 

 do so willingly, the undivided family 

 has to be reckoned with and the ex- 

 treme subdivision of property renders 

 productive effort on a large scale diffi- 

 cult. Comfort rather than luxury, a 

 moderate rather than a vast fortune — 

 these are the ideals of enlightened 

 Indians. It would be foolish to imagine 

 that as India now stands in relation to 

 the rest of the world it could disregard 

 the external influences to which it must 

 always be subjected, but there is no 

 reason why it should not strive to move 

 forward to a goal more in harmony with 

 its own traditions than is that presented 

 by Western civilisation. 



In England, America and Australia 

 there is widespread movement in favour 

 of small holdings instead of large farms 

 and much evidence is now available to 

 show that where the conditions are 

 suitable this method of cultivation 

 tends to more general diffusion of pros- 

 perity and contentment. In India 

 small holdings are universal. Industrial 

 operations, except in so far as they 

 have also been changed by the advent of 

 Europeans, have also been carried on 

 by men of small means and they have 

 survived to the present day mainly 

 because ot the inherent vitality of such 

 57 



a system. There is no necessity to 

 abandon this way of working but we 

 must improve it and bring the status 

 of Indian artisans to the same level as 

 in other countries which have in recent 

 years made so much progress. 



There are greater prospects of the 

 small maufacturer being able to com- 

 pete with the big than there were a few 

 years ago, as recent progress in science 

 and the mechanical arts has done much 

 to raise the efficiency of working on a 

 small scale. Not by any means in all 

 directions, but in some and those more 

 particularly which are likely to flourish 

 in India. The cost of power has been 

 enormously reduced especially in the 

 case of very small plants, so that the 

 small user of power is in a much better 

 position to compete with the large user 

 than was possible only a few years ago. 

 There is in consequence a perceptible 

 reaction against production on a large 

 scale and a tendency to make greater 

 use of the elasticity which allows small 

 works more readily to adapt themselves 

 to changes and fluctuations in trade, 

 cyclical or otherwise. 



Again, it is evident even in the most 

 highly developed industrial countries 

 that the human factor is becoming more 

 important and in the distribution of pro- 

 fits between capital and labour the latter 

 is demanding a larger share. It must not 

 be imagined that the great primary 

 industries are materially affected in 

 this way ; they are not and it might 

 even be contended that the ever-in- 

 creasing perfection of mechanical appli- 

 ances is rendering the labour question 

 one of constantly diminishing impor- 

 tance. With this phase of industrialism 

 we are not at present concerned. It 

 may be fully trusted to look after itself, 

 but there is no likelihood that it will 

 be greatly developed in India excepting 

 in certain localities. The main reason 

 for this is that over the greater part 

 of the country there are no special 

 natural resources. 



There is no doubt that the various 

 castes and groups of artisans in India 

 maintain themselves against the present 

 competition of European industrialism 

 and that, although they may have 

 suffered severely, they have not suc- 

 cumbed. Equally it is certain that 

 much could be done to render their 

 work more effective both by improving 

 their methods and by supplying their 

 trades with a commercial organisation 

 that would brine their proceeds into the 

 markets where the demand is greatest. 

 Obviously, government is the only 

 agency by which such a change can be 

 brought about, the greatest difficulties 



