NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL PRODUCTIONS OP INDIA. 549 
price was sure to be excessive. — Mr. 
Harman Visger supported Dr. Taylor’s 
views. — Colonel Sykes and Dr. Turner 
stated, that from the result of their in- 
quiries It appeared evident that human 
happiness always increased with the 
cheapness of the necessaries of life. — 
Baron Dupin observed, that when he 
said the greatest social happiness ap- 
peared at the intermediate price of corn, 
he did not intend the mean between the 
highest and the lowest, but a price a 
little above the lowest. — After some de- 
sultory conversation, the Delegates from 
the Asiatic Society were called upon to 
state the subject of their mission. 
Col. Sykes said, that a proposal had 
been laid before the Asiatic Society by 
the Right Hon, Holt Mackenzie and 
Dr. Royle, for establishing a commit- 
tee, with affiliated branches, to collect 
statistical information with respect to 
the natural and artificial productions 
and wants of India. The project has 
been already explained in the report of 
the Asiatic Society, published in this 
journal.* Col. Sykes read several ex- 
tracts from the communications made 
to the Asiatic Society, by Mr. Macken- 
zie and Royle, showing that the re- 
sources of India were yet comparatively 
undeveloped, and that a vast supply of 
materials for manufacture might be 
derived from that country. He dwelt 
particularly on cotton, for which we 
were now principally dependent on 
America. — Dr. Taylor observed, that 
our empire over India was completely 
the supremacy of knowledge. He en- 
tered at considerable length into the 
question of the trade between India and 
the ports on the Levant and Euxine, 
which he stated to be constantly and 
rapidly increasing ; and detailed some 
particulars of the markets of Cabul, 
Bokhara, and Herat, obtained from 
recent publications of the Calcutta 
government. He instanced, as a 
proof of the benefit that would result 
from the proposed series of inquiries, 
the advantages which British commerce 
had derived from the information col- 
lected by recent travellers in the East. — 
Mr. Porter confirmed this statement, 
and directed attention to the rapid in- 
crease of trade between London and 
Trebezond. — Mr. Visger stated, that he 
• See Aiheuffiuui, No, 447. 
was engaged in a branch of manufac- 
ture which depended on the supply of 
lichens ; and he could assure the Sec- 
tion that this branch of industry, al- 
most entirely unknown, was rapidly 
rising, both in extent and importance. 
Lichens were imported to the amount 
of lOO.OOOZ. per annum ; but the supply 
of the more valuable sorts was already 
beginning to fail, and gentlemen ac- 
quainted with botanical science had been 
engaged to travel in search of them. 
Should this part of the subject engage 
the attention of the proposed Com- 
mittee, he would gladly supply speci- 
mens of lichens, with descriptions, to 
the Asiatic Society ; for he felt as- 
sured, from all the accounts he had read, 
that India was likely to be the habitat 
of some of the most valuable plants of 
the lichen tribe. — Dr. Robison, of Edin- 
burgh, said, that there were two pro- 
ducts of India likely, when sufficiently 
known, to become valuable articles of 
commerce ; he meant a pulp for the 
manufacture of paper, obtained from 
Nepaul, the paper derived from which 
was the only one that resisted the action 
of worms ; and a wood-oil which, from 
its durability and fragrance, was parti- 
cularly worthy the attention of house- 
painters. — Lord Sandon, after some al- 
lusions to our ignorance of Indian sta- 
tistics, dwelt very strongly on the ne- 
cessity of attending to the cultivation of 
cotton in India. The stock of raw cot- 
ton, on the manufacture of which so 
large a portion of our population depen- 
ded for subsistence, was often in a very 
precarious state. Of his own know- 
ledge, there was a period, about eighteen 
months ago, when the stock on hand 
would not have supplied six weeks’ con- 
sumption. We now depend on the 
United States of America for supply. 
He would not refer to the possibility of 
war with that power. God forbid that 
two nations, bound together by identity 
of origin, interest, and civilizing influ- 
ence, whose bonds of amity were the 
strongest this world ever witnessed, 
should again engage in what was almost 
civil war. But he need not remind the 
Section that the Southern States, from 
which our supply of cotton is derived, 
are in a very ticklish state, owing to the 
existence of slavery, and the question 
of negro emancipation, which is likely 
to precipitate some sudden conclusion 
of no very peaceful nature by the Tex- 
