626 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [March i, 1898. 
CURRENCY, DEAR MONEY, FINANCE 
AND TRADE IN INDIA. 
A LEADING CALCUTTA MERCHANT 
SPEAKS OUT TO SOME PURPOSE 
“INDIA’S GREAT CURRENCY PROBLEM CAN BE 
SOLVEI> BY OUR FIELDS AND BY HER 
looms and by them alone.” 
We have seklom if ever read a more eoiivinc- 
ing address on the Currency and Financial pro- 
blems which for live years have dislnrbed India 
and Ceylon, than that afforded by Mr. David 
Yale,— a leadingCalcntta merchant,— as I'hairinan 
of the half-yearly meeting of the Bank of Cal- 
cutta, Limited, on the 29th ult. It has readied 
our hands in pamphlet form and we cannot 
refrain, great as is the demand it makes on 
our space from giving it in fail, .so special must 
be its interest to every planter, nay every pro- 
ducer, inerchanui blanker, and trader in Ceylon. 
“ Them’s my sentiments ” may well be the res- 
ponse to nearly every division of Mr. Yule’s 
address and tlie marvel is witli such convincing 
evidence of the evil indicted on the opposite 
Continent— its agricultural millions, its manufac- 
turiim and industrial sections, bankers and 
traders, that no definite action by a Public 
Lea^me has been taken long ago to counteract 
th*” utterly foolish policy of the Goveniment 
Itoanciers. 1 , ^ 1 
We can assure Mr. Yule that all Ceylon 
is ready to back him, and to form a League 
tomorrow to secure a return to the sound 
automatic working of Exchange which pre- 
vailed previous to 1893, a condition winch 
very lately Mr. Henry Dunning MacLeod— ac- 
knowled^ed to be one of the lii^^hest li\ uig 
authorities on Currrency. Banking and binance 
—pronounced to be a perfectly sate and sound 
one for a country situated as India was. We 
can fancy how readily Mr. Bethune ^whose recent 
speech will be found on our sixth page), Mr. 
Joseph Fraser and other leading Ceylon planters as 
well as tne lion. W. W. Mitchell representing our 
solitary Spinning and Weaving Mill, will endorse 
what is said. 
CEYLON TEA IN RUSSIA. 
Mr. T. N. Christie has just received a cutting 
of an advertisement which has been appearing 
recently in all the Moscow papers, and sends 
if t, us to^rether with a translation as being 
of interest to our readers. The translation is as 
follows .— t;,iiNA-CEYLON TEA. 
TBere has of late been a great increase, which 
f:ii enntinues to grow, in ihe use of a tea consisting 
^ mixture of China tea with that of Ceylon and 
without a swjle firm selling such mixture 
others, ,, mention of that fact on its labels. Thus 
rr^‘ennsumer is quite ignorant whether he is 
Sfnking China tea. Ceylon tea, or a mixture of 
‘‘'"Thr^Company has hitherto had and will always 
r to /mwe on sale separately both pure China 
a d pure Ce, /Ion tea. Yielding, however, to the 
J of buyers, the Directors have arranged tor 
th^safe of a tea consisting of a mixture of China 
h (lev loll tea, but m order not to anywise 
wlTstray the public as the tea they are using, have 
lead asti y 1 ^^^^ j„.oper 
decided c 13 primed 
r fh. 1.S B.O.. K. S ». Popwr. 
M'e are extremely pleased to see this im- 
portant Russian Tea House taking so much 
interest in Ceylon teas, and arranging to sell 
our teas pure as well as in blend. 
YOUNG CEYLON IN BRITISH EAST 
AFRICA. 
The following letter received from Mr. A. P. 
Wijeykoon. one of the medical men who pro- 
ceeded to Uganda in December last, will be 
useful to others who intend to follow in their 
wake, says our legal contemporary : — 
“ We reached Klindini on the otii instant and 
reported ourselves to the Chief Engineer, who 
referred 11 s to the P. M. O. Dr. Carie, whose 
instnictions were that we were to remain here 
till we learn the Hindustani language. I am 
House Physician, Oorlolf House Surgeon, and 
De Jong is in charge of the oxygen treatment 
for J leers, &c., wliidi was introduced after our 
arrival. After we pick up a little Hindustani, 
two of us M’ill be sent upcountry to attend to 
the men there. The Department seems to be 
very shortliaiided and I expect that they will in- 
dent for some more men. The place does not 
seem to be so bad as we were led to believe. It 
abounds in fruits, such as bananas, coconuts, 
jak, mangoes, cajunuts, papaya, &c. The watei 
supposed to be drunk is condensed water from 
the sea, but most of the iieople use well 
water. In addition to our pay we get our diet 
which consists of rioe, dliall, curry stuff's, ghee 
and flour, &a», also two lb. of ice a day for 
each mail.” 
Coffee, Coconuts and Cultivation gener- 
ally IN Borneo. — In an official Report for 1897 
on North Borneo, we read : — 
Some gentlemen in Ceylon formed a Syndieate to 
cultivate coconuts in Borneo and Mr. A. E. Wright 
and a Sinhalese expert arrived here during the year 
and reported well on the soil. 
And later on, we have the following record ; — • 
Cultivation. — In general terms the Territory has 
progressed during the past year despite the fact that 
one tobacco estate has closed, with as yet no fresh 
opening, and that one or two products have given less 
satisfactory results than were hoped. Tobacco. — The 
prices as yet realized have been quite up to expecta- 
tion. Bilit Estate was finally closed early in the 
year, but search .has been made for suitable new 
land both on this and the West Coasts. A restricted 
area has been selected at Tawao, but home companies 
require much greater room, and it lA believed that the 
early part of 1898 will see new land opened in 
Province Dent. Coffee. — The fall of home prices has 
had an effect on local enterprize in this direction, 
and it is generally felt that other products must be 
relied upon if money is to be made. The various 
gardens are however looking well and a fortunate 
turn in the market may restore it to former favour. 
Gambier. — This is flourishing and still maintains its 
price. Coconuts. — These seem to offer one of the 
best chances of making profit open to residents. The 
demand for coir, oil, copra, &c., is rather growing 
than decreasing, and the only drawback is the length 
of time which has to elapse between planting and 
gathering the nuts. Hemp. — This is being grown 
successfully at Suan Lambah, the only drawback 
being the want of cheap labour, and it is generally 
admitted that machinery must be used to secure 
profitable results. The next few months will deter- 
mine the question Rhea. — This is also being planted 
extensively and offers a better chance of good results, 
the price being higher than of hemp. But here again 
machinery is necessary and the remarks above made 
apply to this product also. Pepper. — This is grown 
only on a small scale by Chinese and does not figure 
largely as an export. 
