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PARLIAMENTARY PUBLICATIONS. [Bee. 1894. 



the Government on the subject is dated 20th October 1893, and 

 states that it has been acknowledged for some years past that 

 the Indian wheat sold in England is very impure, and that both 

 the bulk of the trade and the profits of the growers are inju- 

 riously affected in consequence. 



In wheat exported from India, a considerable per-centage of 

 extraneous matter has always been accepted by the trade. Up 

 to 1889 the practice was that, on arrival in England, samples 

 were taken from the various shipments, and an average quality 

 was deduced from these by the Corji Trade Association and made 

 generally known ; and all the wheat sold during the month was 

 represented as of " fair average quality." This system saved a 

 great deal of trouble to home dealers, but it obviousiy placed no 

 check on the amount of impurity that may be mixed with the 

 imported wheat. 



Owing to the system of threshing and storing wheat in India, 

 and to the practice of sowing wheat mixed with other crops, a 

 certain amount of impui ity must always be found in the grain 

 before it leaves the growers' hands ; but a large portion of the 

 impurities in Indian wheat sold in England is inserted inten- 

 tionally after the grain has left the threshing floor. It was for 

 some time contended that in order to stop the practice of inten- 

 tional adulteration, Indian wheat should be subjected on arrival 

 in England to some test of purity similar to that applied to 

 other foreign wheats, and the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce 

 arranged for a maximum " refraction " of 2 per cent. A con- 

 ference was held by the Secretary of State for India in May 

 1889, and the London Chamber agreed to the principle involved 

 so far as to fix rates for the various kinds of wheat ; but the 

 amount of impurity allowed still ranges from 4 to 7 per cent., 

 and the Chamber have refused to reduce the per-centage. 



So far, therefore, the attempt to induce the home dealers to 

 move has been only partially successful. Dr. Yoelcker, in his 

 report on the improvement of Indian agriculture, states his 

 opinion that, failing voluntary help from the trade, legislation 

 may be found necessary, and various proposals have from time 

 to time been made for the introduction of enactments to ensure 

 the purity of exported wheat. The mercantile community are, 

 however, averse to legislative measures, and the Government of 

 India are of opinion that things have not reached a stage at 

 which legislation would be justifiable. 



The possibility of adopting a medium course by subsidising 

 private enterprise, in order to secure the purity of wheat before 

 it leaves the country, was presented to the Indian Government 

 in December 1889. Though it was not the immediate object of 

 the proposed compai\y to introduce elevating machinery on 

 any such complete plan as that adopted in America, they desired 

 to test, at a few centres, the important practices of the American 

 system, such as the cleaning of wheat by machinery, the grading 

 of wheat by responsible officers, and the storing of wheat in safe 

 and convenient places. 



