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Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2017 with funding from 
 Princeton Theological Seminary Library 
 
 https://archive.org/details/ourdifficultieswOOhoss 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
DEDICATED 
 
 (By permission) 
 
 TO THE 
 
 RIGHT HON. WILLIAM EWART GLADSTONE, 
 
 BY HIS OBEDIENT SERVANT, 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
OUR DIFFICULTIES 
 
 AND WANTS 
 
 IN THE PATH OF THE PROGRESS OF 
 
 INDIA. 
 
 BY 
 
 • 
 
 SYED MOHAMMAD H OSS A IN, M. R. A. C. 
 Of Lucknow. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 W. H. ALLEN & Co., 13, WATERLOO PLACE, 
 Publishers to the India Office. 
 
 Price 3s. 6d.] 1884. [All Rights Reserved. 
 
jr PEIIZCSTC 
 
 ?{ 
 
 preface. \t.:;:oloq.' 
 
 The writer of these pages is well aware of his inabimy 19 'express 
 his thoughts in a language which is not only foreign to him , but in which 
 he has never received a sound and good education. But as the subject 
 treated in this work is too dry for the taste of the majority of his country- 
 men at home who cannot read English , and have not yet learnt to take a 
 hearty interest in such questions , and those few who can read English and 
 take an interest in political and economical discussions , necessarily consider 
 anything of the kind written in any of the Indian tongues not worth 
 looking at ; consequently the writer determined to bring his thoughts before 
 the public , first in the English language , and afterwards to translate them 
 into his own vernacular. Moreover he found that many philanthropists 
 in England are much more anxious to find some remedy for our complaints 
 than our own people ; and anything written in a language strange to them 
 would of course have failed to throw the light of pacts upon their views , 
 and therefore would certainly have been less beneficial for the purpose aimed 
 at. For this reason also writing these chapters in English has been con- 
 sidered a matter of the first importance. 
 
 Although every possible care and great pains have been taken to make 
 the contents intelligible , yet the author fears that, owing to his inefficiency 
 in the language , it is possible that the readers may in many places get 
 puzzled in picking up his meaning , and for this he begs to be excused. 
 
 Further, owing to want of time, the writer is sorry to say that he 
 could not finish the whole matter which he intended to write in this book. 
 He has been obliged to leave the miscellaneous points which have been 
 mentioned in the Introduction untouched. These points are — 
 
 1. — Local Self-Government. 
 
 2 . — Appointment of Natives to high Offices. 
 
 j. — Migration and Emigration of the People. 
 
 This would have added two more chapters at least. If opportunity 
 will permit, he might bring out the remaining matter in a second part at 
 some future time. 
 
 At present the author concludes his preface with the sincere wish that 
 his humble work may be of some use and service to his country. 
 
 S, M, H 
 
gtonfents 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 1 . — Name of the Book ; the cause of writing this Introduction. 2. — Lucknow, 
 my native town — the features of Nawabi (Nababi) Government — the changes. 
 
 3. — My chances of studying rural life and works. 4. — The people sighing for 
 
 the Nawabi time — their superstitious notions — the life they led in that time. 
 5. — The reasons of their misery and sighing for their past time — of their super- 
 stitious belief. 6. — The peasants enjoy very few or no blessings from British rule 
 and free trade. 7. — How they lead their life now (vide the Appendix.) 8. — Why 
 Ondh is selected for illustration in this book. 9. — The question of the Indian 
 peasantry remains in constant discussion and under the view of the British 
 Government — what methods are recommended and tried for stimulating the 
 material prosperity of the country — they do not prove successful, and why ? 10. — 
 
 The reason of my visiting England and studying Agriculture — other pursuits for 
 studying the question of “wages and labour” — the conclusion, i.e. writing the 
 following chapters as the result of the observations. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Government Help. 
 
 1. — By the light of Political Economy, the necessity of a Government — the 
 tendency of a good Government to look after the comfort of the people governed — 
 lazy people put the blame of their faults on their Government. 2. — In India the 
 Government is substituted for “ Kismat.” 3. — By the attempts of the Government 
 to do everything for the people, three great evils generated : — (a) the loss of self- 
 reliance ; (li) the loss of the advantage of division of labour — the prosperity of 
 England is due to individual energy, and not to the direct help of the Government. 
 
 4. — In India the case is quite the reverse, the few officers who govern the people 
 try to do everything for them— a brief detail of the works connected with agri- 
 culture which the Government officers have to do. 5. — (c) the' loss of the advantages 
 of joint interest in a work — the peasants do all the work connected with the neces- 
 saries of their lift' individually — the Government-paid servants who are supposed 
 to make improvements in the works of the peasants, have no joint interest in them, 
 hence the efforts of the Government do not succeed. 6 —The efforts of the Govern- 
 ment to do good for the people prove no success, and create ill-feeling into the 
 bargain. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Modification in Legislation. 
 
 1. — In India legislation is well attended to. 2. — In this chapter the question 
 of the modification of law relating only to Agriculture will be treated ; the question 
 of the relation of landlord and tenant in India is in constant movement ; in the 
 Famine Commission Report the attention of the Government is most particularly 
 drawn to this question ; in ihe United Kingdom also this question has attracted 
 the attention of statesmen. 3. — The Bengal Tenancy Bill : the probable reason of 
 its origin. 4. — It is to be seen to what extent the object in view of bettering the 
 condition of the peasant can be obtained by the proposed modifications : it has no 
 effect on the material prosperity of the country. 5. — The present condition of the 
 peasants : the points of modification. 6. — The advantages and disadvantages of 
 the modifications ; if there is supply of labour, and no want in other work but in 
 agriculture, it is impossible to shut out the labourers from undergoing keen com- 
 petition ; the whole community cannot be protected by the proposed modifications, 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 VI 
 
 and even those few who will be protected will derive little or no benefit ; petty 
 tenants are unable to make any improvement. 7. — The question of the help of 
 Government comes in this problem again ; the Agricultural Banks. 8. — Providing 
 occupancy right is not detrimental to progress and improvement of land, but un- 
 exceptionally putting an end to the rights of the land owners to enhancement of 
 rent is. The land owners can act as an Agricultural Bank if by some means they 
 are compelled to do so, and can advantageously take the work of improvement into 
 their hands. 9. — Summing up the advantages and disadvantages of the subject in 
 question to find out the utility. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Encouragement of Commerce. 
 
 1. — The proposal is a really successful means if there be capital ; without 
 capital it not only proves a failure, but injurious. 2. — The nature of trade can be 
 estimated by small proportions of professional, commercial, and industrial classes 
 in the population — sub-divisions of the professional class, the commercial class, the 
 industrial class — quotations from the Census Reports of N.W.P. 3. — The numbers 
 of the above classes compared with those in England. 4. — It is not all that in 
 India the numbers are very small, but the very nature of the individual occupations 
 is miserable — (1) brokers — dallal ; (2) shopkeepers ; (3) hawkers and pedlars. 
 5. — The foreign machine-made cheap and fanciful articles have ousted home-made, 
 clumsy commodities — grain (or the food) is the current money. For fancy articles 
 people part with their food. 6. — Industrial classes and their income — vide Appen- 
 dix. 7. — Only fouf centres of industry in such a large province. Conclusion from 
 the above remarks. 8. — No difficulty of exchanging food with other necessaries of 
 daily life or fancy articles. The more the railroads are extended the more this 
 exchange is stimulated — the more the people part with their food. 9. — It is a pity 
 that India, with such a thick population and the small out-turn from the land, 
 should be encouraged to part with her food — the population and produce of India 
 and England compared. 10. — The surplus of agricultural produce which can be 
 exported from India is not enough to stimulate the natural prosperity. 11. — Effect 
 of foreign capital — it leaves only a residue In the country by which the labourers 
 can simply make a bare living ; from this residue also a large proportion goes back 
 to industrial countries. 12. — The trade in its present condition has not done any 
 good for the people in India — their wages are decreased indirectly — on the contrary, 
 the agricultural labourers of those countries which possess capital and energy, are 
 profited by the increase of wealth — the agricultural labourers in England. 13. — 
 Financial statistics of India. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Improvement in Agricultwre. 
 
 1. — This proposal is most important, and why ? — Indian agriculture is in need 
 of improvement ; but it is very difficult. 2. — Geological condition of the soil — soil 
 very fine and easy to work, and homogenous in many districts — nomenclature of 
 different soil — subsoil — varieties of soil. 3 — Mechanical conditions of soil, very 
 easy to work. 4. — Physical condition and climate of the country — rainfall and its 
 effects — combined action of rainfall and heat. Glossary of the technical Indian 
 words — nakhats, different crops sown in them and the amount of rainfall. 5. — 
 Chemical conditions of soil — analytical table of Indian soils from various districts 
 of the Province — even the poorest soils contain all the nutritive matters for plant 
 life. Indian soils have stores of plant food. 6. — Indian peasants and tl-.eir expe- 
 rience — mode of life and work. 7. — Owing to the above natural gifts, India is able 
 to produce more than enough for her people. 8. — Example of growing wheat in 
 India and its general treatment — soil — manure — ploughing, &c. — seed — weeding — 
 watering — varieties of wheat — reaping, thrashing, winnowing — average out-turn of 
 grain and straw — cost and return — admixture of other grain — diseases — wheat is 
 not commonly staple food in India. 9. — General treatment and process of growing 
 wheat in England — all the points mentioned in the last paragraph compared — the 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 viii. 
 
 most important question of cost and return compared. 10. — Most important point 
 of the reduction of cost of manual labour — improvement in agriculture is impossible 
 — some outlay will be needed. 11. — The above examples prove that Indian farmers 
 know all the secrets of husbandry, but cannot make improvement when the ques- 
 tion of cost comes in. 12. — Detail of improvements — we agree that improvement 
 is necessary and will do good, but in the present state it is impossible. 13. — The 
 first thing that is required is water — methods that people use for providing water 
 — depth and average cost of wells — people know how to make wells, but are unable 
 to make them — law prevents the progress of making wells — water is the backbone 
 of all the improvements in Indian Agriculture — the help of Government in the 
 matter, and difficulties arising by that — Takawi and Canals. 14. — Manure— the 
 quantity and quality of manure is decreased — khad and pans (farmyard manure) 
 is best of all — -without manure of good quantity and quality, what can scientific 
 farming do ? 15. — Cattle — how they were supplied and why decreased — the plan 
 of improving them, but proves no success — growing food for cattle is recommended, 
 but it is impossible. 16. — Implements — Indian and English implements of hus- 
 bandry and their cost compared — no good implements can be used without large 
 outlay and large farms — reason why English farmer is able to use them and Indian 
 farmer not. 17. — Seed — how the people get it — why they cannot improve it. 
 18. — The conclusion. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Encouragement of General and Technical Education. 
 
 APPENDIX.— PART I. 
 
 Primary Education and the Circumstances of the Population in Oudh and 
 the North-Western Provinces of India. 
 
 Introduction: — Diversity of opinions as to the best policy to be pursued — 
 tests to arrive at the right conclusion. From the questions put by the Commission 
 for enquiring into this matter in India, it would seem that the above tests have not 
 been considered. Proofs : — 
 
 A. (1.) Prosperity of a country does not depend on Primary Education, but 
 the want of education increases with the prosperity of a country. (2.) Primary 
 Education does not give mental culture, and does not improve the faculties, but 
 engenders the evil of making the masses discontented with their position. 
 
 B. The people in India have no use to which they can put it in their social or 
 domestic life and habits. 
 
 C. Whether it would be beneficial or not, the vast majority of the people in 
 their present impoverished condition cannot possibly be educated. 
 
 APPENDIX.— PART II. 
 
 Memorandum. 
 
 1. — Abstract from the Report of 1872. 2. — Percentage of the boys of school- 
 
 going age who have a desire for Education, aud are supposed to be able to afford it, 
 and of those who are incapable of receiving Education. 3. — Statement B., showing 
 census of thirty Villages according to high, middle, and low castes. 4. — Agricul- 
 turists and non-agricultnrists. 5. — Description of the circumstances and work and 
 income of the masses,, snch as petty kashtkars, labourers, petty shopkeepers, 
 artizans, &e. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 i. — Name of the Book; the cause of writing this Introduction. 
 2 . — Lucknow , my native town — the features of Nawabi ( Nababi) 
 Government — the changes, j . — My chances of studying rural life and 
 works. 4. — The people sighing for the Nawabi time — their superstitious 
 notions — the life they led in that time. 5. — The reasons of their misery 
 and sighing for their past time — of their superstitious belief. 6. — The 
 peasants enjoy very few or no blessings from British rule and free trade, 
 y. — How they lead their life now (vide the Appendix ). 8. — Why Oudh 
 
 is selected for illustration in this book. p . — The question of the Indian 
 peasantry remains in constant discussion and under the view of the British 
 Government — what methods are recommended and tried for stimulating 
 the material prosperity of the country — they do not prove successful , and 
 why ? 10. — The reason of my visiting England and studying Agriculture 
 — other pursuits for studying the question of “ wages and labour ” — the 
 conclusion , i.e. writing the following chapters as the result of the 
 observations. 
 
 1. Our Difficulties and Wants.” The name which I have 
 chosen for this little work, I believe, gives a hint of its contents; 
 but it requires some explanation as to what circumstances made 
 me acquainted with our difficulties and wants, how I gathered the 
 ideas about the subject, and what facts and reasons led me to bring these 
 pages before the public. I am afraid I should be condemned for 
 blowing my own trumpet if I tried to give a detail of all the chances 
 and opportunities of which I have availed myself in collecting these 
 ideas ; and to add an account of my long perseverance and labour in 
 studying the subject. However, to assure my readers that the remarks 
 which I am going to give in the following pages are not based simply 
 upon guess work, or merely extracted from the discussions spread 
 so widely all over the world every day by our papers, but are 
 founded on facts gathered by my own long observation and personal 
 knowledge, I feel myself in duty bound to mention briefly, first of all, 
 how I became acquainted with our difficulties and wants. 
 
 2. I was born in Lucknow, the capital of the province of Oudh, the 
 first city in population, and considered at that time the Paris of Upper 
 India. I recollect the history of a! few years of the last period of 
 Nawabi Government, and the lapse of time has not effaced from my 
 memory as yet the magnificent State edifices with golden domes and 
 glittering towers, the apartments, gardens, and parks, the innumerable 
 
2 
 
 lofty and glorious palaces of the nobles, and, by the side of these, 
 the filthy streets and lanes in which the poor people were crowded. 
 
 I still remember, as were it only yesterday, that men from the very lowest 
 condition were sometimes raised in a. few hours to the very highest stage 
 of prosperity, and that others were suddenly hurled from the very height 
 of honor and wealth down to the lowest depths of misery and distress. 
 I remember that more than twice or thrice in my boyhood our doors 
 were locked, and we were prevented from going out, through the fear of 
 disturbances and agitation that were going on in the street. The words 
 “ Government Sepoy is coming,” were used, like the name of Malbrook 
 in France, to frighten naughty children ; and a Sepoy’s visit on a petty 
 matter of police was sure to disturb a whole family. I have seen the streets 
 in every part of the city so crowded with the conveyances, horses, elephants 
 palanqueens, and followers of the wealthy private and court people, 
 that it was not easy for the foot passengers to cross them ; and if a poor 
 man attempted to check the speed of the conveyances by crossing the 
 road he was pushed and knocked down relentlessly. I remember the 
 value of land in the town was 20 times greater than it is at present ; 
 nothing but substantial houses and good buildings -and shops were 
 -seen in every street. The people of Lucknow were as busy as bees in 
 their various kinds of work, and were noted in their day for their gaiety 
 and luxury. They had invented several kinds of entertainments, crude 
 indeed in form, to amuse themselves by day or night ; and such sciences, 
 arts, and literature as were appreciated at that time were considered to 
 be in perfection. Although men say that there was no peace, no 
 security of honor or property, no sanitary arrangements, no law or 
 order, and that might was then right, yet the name of hunger was 
 totally unknown among that population, which many estimated to be about 
 400,000. Some professional beggars, might indeed be heard crying 
 at the doors, but this begging was considered by them as their hereditary 
 vocation. They were much better in their circumstances than many of 
 the working classes, and they were not so numerous as those who 
 now-a-days, in every street, disturb the rest of the people till midnight. 
 
 In 1856 the great change occurred in the affairs of the country ; in 
 other words, it was annexed to the British Empire, and placed under a 
 chief Commissioner. Authority was transferred from the swords of the 
 selfish nobles and self-opinionated land owners to the pens of the 
 statesmen. The people gained peace and freedom, but lost their various 
 occupations. Soon after, in 1857, the great calamity of the mutiny 
 upset the whole country, and inflicted more ruin on the city in 18 
 months than it would have suffered in 80 ordinary years. In 1877 the 
 Local Government of the Province was amalgamated with that of the 
 North Western Provinces, which caused another change in the adminis- 
 tration ; and the business of the townspeople sank again a degree lower 
 than it had been hitherto. 
 
 3. In 1864, 1 , having obtained employment in the Educational Depart- 
 ment, left the city, and found the opportunity of studying the subject of 
 rural life. My being transferred to several districts and places in the 
 country, and my being appointed in 1866 Inspector and Travelling 
 
3 
 
 Officer in this service, allowed me good chances to make myself ac- 
 quainted with the inner life of the rural population, which, according to 
 the Census of 1881, stands as high as 93 t * per cent, of the total pop- 
 ulation of the country, of these no less than 72.6 per cent, have 
 no other occupation, but depend for their livelihood on some sort of 
 work connected with tilling the land. And according to the Famine 
 Commission Report, the number of the people closely connected with 
 agriculture seems still higher, viz. f 90 per cent, of the rural population. 
 This percentage (90) is quite approximate, because it to the former 
 figure, (72), the number of the unproductive population, i.e. of those who 
 do not work, and depend upon the labours ot the others, be added, 
 the total number becomes 90 per cent, or a little more. The nature of 
 my work, as I had to travel in all seasons over every part of the country, 
 and had to mix in a friendly way with the people, and to spend my 
 leisure hours in talking with them in their huts and dwellings, gave me 
 ample chance to become more familiar with them, and better acquainted 
 with their inmost feelings and domestic life, than most of the revenue 
 and judicial Officers, whose very rare visits rather alarm than conciliate 
 the poor people. I have served in this capacity as long as .1 8 years, 
 observing their conditions, and the changes in the circumstances of 
 their life. The more knowledge of the subject I gained, the more in- 
 clined I felt to take interest in the matter ; and as I became more fami- 
 liar with them, the more my heart sympathized with them. 
 
 4. When, in 1864, I first left Lucknow (my native town), I heard the 
 people of all classes and grades deeply sighing for their lost Nawabi 
 time, in which, they said food was abundant for them, seasons 
 favourable, and their fields yielded twice as much as they do now, and 
 they believed that they had recently lost all these blessings. As 
 I they are naturally superstitious, and quite illiterate and ignorant 
 of worldly affairs, and are destitute of the most precious gifts of 
 
 ( nature, the reasoning faculties, they are therefore in the habit 
 of attributing all the good and bad with which they meet in the 
 
 i course of their life, and for which they see no other origin, to some 
 extraordinary change in the world ; therefore this great change of the 
 Government was quite enough to make them believe that the loss of the 
 productive power of their land in spite of their working hard, the bad 
 agricultural seasons, the rise in the price of food, the decrease in the 
 quantity of cattle, milk, and butter, and the calamity of famine, are 
 due to nothing else but to their bad luck, which has been brought 
 about by the English Government. Hearing this universal cry, and 
 having no experience or knowledge of the nature of the New Government 
 i at first, I myself felt inclined to think that really they had lost something 
 I very precious. But I soon became acquainted with the features of it, 
 
 i and was astonished at the folly of the people in admiring and sighing 
 
 for such a thing as the Nawabi time. There are so many private and 
 official records written on the subject, and the facts are so fully described 
 in them, that I need not here give a full description of that time, which 
 
 * Page 89, paragraph 131 C.R.N.W.P. and Oudh : Form xx., col. 20. 
 f Page 89, paragraph 8, R,I,F,C, Part II. 
 
4 
 
 I have only heard of and not seen. However I ascertained that the people 
 in the country were then twenty times worse off than the inhabitants 
 of the town. The Administration Staff was only to a small extent the 
 source of their disturbances ; it was the private struggles and blood-shed 
 by the large land owners, and their rebellion against the Government 
 which chiefly caused their troubles. In these struggles, which were very 
 numerous, they had to desert their huts, property and fields. The 
 estate of one land owner was attacked by another, and the intruders 
 used to do all kinds of mischief, plundering everything they could lay 
 their hands upon : villages and fields were set on fire : and those poor 
 human victims who fell into their hands were tortured to yield money 
 and show their hidden property. For months, (till the matter was 
 settled) the people were obliged to go and hide themselves with their 
 families in the jungle, and to live day and night under trees ; and they in 
 their turn were obliged to do the same sort of mischief in neighbouring 
 villages, for their own maintenance. The tenants were made to pay by 
 their landlords long before the rent was due ; and if the latter rebelled and 
 their estates were taken by any of the Government alliances, or other 
 ursurper, the poor tenants were compelled to pay the rent again. All 
 sorts of shameful means of torture were used by the Government 
 Authorities to exact the revenue from the land owners. Owing to the 
 above reasons, agriculture was full of difficulties, and was considered 
 degrading ; and, as there were many other sources of livelihood, even 
 the large land owners rather liked to keep themselves aloof from agri- 
 culture. In such cases certainly there could be no reason for inducement 
 for other people to become tenants, consequently, the land was not of 
 so much value as it is in these days. Nor were the landlords so 
 scrupulous in the measurement of the area of fields, and the terms of 
 their lease as they are at present. The land was let at very low rents, 
 and on easy terms ; and not only were the poor petty tenants tortured in 
 order to exact the rent, but the same influence was applied to make 
 them take the leases. Further, whenever it happened that the Govern- 
 ment Civil Officers or the Army passed through any part of the country, 
 everything belonging to the people living in that part was considered at 
 their disposal ; the fields were cut for feeding their horses, elephants, and 
 oxen, the poor people had to carry on their heads their thatchings and 
 their beds, for the shelter and comfort of the sepoys in the camp. If 
 dry wood for fuel could not be got from their trees, the shutters, beams, 
 and rafters of their huts were chopped up for the purpose. No wages of 
 any kind were paid for any sort of work. Milk, butter, oil, rations of 
 all sorts required for their use, were taken wherever they could be 
 found, or they were supplied by the landlord of the place. If it 
 were the estate of some rebellious landlord, the plunder was much 
 greater, and was in fact quite unrestricted. The damages, called Pam- 
 ali, of course, were afterward deducted from the revenue budget of the 
 place, and varied according to the influence or the power of the 
 landlord. Sometimes the deduction was only nominal, as one quarter o* ' 
 the actual damages ; and sometimes three or four times the real amount 
 was allowed ! The tenants were relieved in their rent payment by the 
 landlord, on the same principle. 
 
5 
 
 N.B. — Like many other original barbarous customs that still exist in the 
 country, a relic of it still remains : the supply of fuel, grass &c., for the camp 
 of Government Officers prevails to certain extent to this day, and in spite of 
 the exertion of the English Government, it has not yet been uprooted. We 
 are afraid that this and other similar disagreeable customs, such as slavery 
 of the agricultural labourers for debt in some parts of the country (Gonda 
 and Pahraich) will remain in existence until India prospers so much, that 
 shops to supply all necessaries will be found in every part of the country, and 
 until the development of labour enables the poor slaves of hunger to escape 
 from their present painful conditions of life. As long as the time and labour 
 of the people are not more valuable than at present they feel little objection 
 to giving them for nothing ; and all the exertions of the Government will fail 
 to check these evils. 
 
 5. Having become conversant with the nature of the Govern- 
 ment, an example of which has been given in the foregoing paragraph, 
 I was really unable to understand what were the advantages of the old 
 time, which make the people so unanimously sigh for it. But at last, 
 after long observation, and full and continuous attention to the circum- 
 stances of the people, I found out the secret, that the people in question 
 have gained nothing by the change of the Government, or by free trade ; 
 rather they are gradually losing privileges which they formerly possessed. 
 Moreover, the sources of the one thing for which they care, i.e. 
 sufficiency of food, which undoubtedly heretofore had been numerous, 
 have greatly decreased for them. For instance, at first they had entire 
 command and control over agriculture, they had besides many other 
 means within their reach of obtaining a livelihood, consequently, instead 
 of undergoing rack renting owing to the greater demand and hard 
 competition, as is the case at present, they were inclined to avoid 
 field work, because, owing to several reasons which have been, and 
 will be mentioned, the occupation was not at all agreeable, therefore 
 they had to be tortured to do it. The rent was not so high as now. 
 In most parts of the country it was paid in kind, half the harvest being 
 the general rate. Accordingly the tenants had an interest in feeding 
 themselves and their cattle wastefully out of the standing crops. The 
 land owners did not keep a very keen eye over them, therefore, 
 at harvest, instead of one half, they used to receive scarcely more 
 than one quarter of the real produce of the fields from their 
 tenants. The land not being under so many courses of rotation 
 as it is at present, indeed, being rarely cultivated for two or three years 
 consecutively, had much more productive power. There being no reg- 
 ular survey of the fields in each village, a smaller area being under cul- 
 tivation, and the landlords being in every way more careless than to-day, 
 it was usually the custom for a tenant, having a lease for an acre, to 
 reclaim and add to his own as much land as he could find uncultivated 
 on the borders of his fields. The jungles containing fruit trees, mango, 
 mahwa, fig, and tamarind, and bushes of edible wild berries were numer- 
 ous (though there are hardly any now) ; and large orchards of mango 
 and mahwa belonging to the country people or to rich towns-folk, who 
 only had their property in the country, but very seldom lived there, were 
 far more in number and area than they are now, and the fruits of them 
 were free to all the people. This was a considerable source of food 
 
6 
 
 for them during many months of the year. Above all, large commons 
 of grazing lands, the vast numbers of fallow or uncultivated fields, and 
 the local jungles gave them ample room and chance to keep and rear 
 milch-kine and goats, which gave them very delicious and most whole- 
 some and strengthening food. There was hardly any cultivator who 
 had not this means of nourishment for his family, and this was a posi- 
 tive luxury for them. The fodder being abundant, milk was pro- 
 duced in great quantity. There being a larger number of cattle, a much 
 larger quantity of dung was produced, which was used as manure in a 
 comparatively small area. The jungles and trees being numerous, there 
 was no scarcity of fuel, (as is the case now), and therefore much less 
 dung being required for fuel, a far larger quantity of it was left for ma- 
 nure. All having well fed and strong cattle, and less area to cultivate, 
 were able to prepare their fields thoroughly. 
 
 All these natural and accidental circumstances combined were the 
 causes which made their fields produce (when they were allowed to pro- 
 duce at all) twice as much as they do now. 
 
 But by the change of Government, a great revolution occurred in 
 the mode of their life and business. The people of all castes and grades 
 being thrown out of employment, many of the land proprietors returned 
 to their native lands, and after remaining idle as long as their means 
 allowed, they, sooner or later, fell into the agricultural occupation 
 for their subsistance. The value of land, and the number and compet- 
 ition of the tenants increased more and more. Good legislation and 
 order, which were quite new things for the country, and, in addition, the 
 scarcity of other employments, stimulated the competition for farms very 
 rapidly. All the jungles were cut, every inch of possibly productive 
 land was reclaimed, and the landlords gradually found the necessity of 
 clearing their orchards and gardens, and turning the plots as well as the 
 commons and permanent pastures into cultivated fields. Now that the 
 assessment was made by the Government, every field was accurately 
 measured, and no more chance of irregularity or of unfairness in letting 
 or holding remained for landlord or tenant. Under these circumstances 
 the old tenants first lost the monoply of the cultivation of the land. 
 Secondly, nearly all (or, at least, three quarters) of those tenants who 
 used to pay a portion of the produce of their fields as rent are 
 obliged now to pay a fixed rent in cash ; and this change checked their 
 wasteful feeding of their cattle on the green standing crops. Moreover, 
 this change to a fixed rent, in many cases, absorbs a great portion of 
 what, under the old system, would have been their own share. Thirdly, 
 the rent began to increase in proportion to the competition ; and 
 besides this, these poor people have to contribute, either directly or 
 indirectly, all the new rates and taxes which their landlords are made 
 to pay. Fourthly, the supply of food for the cattle diminishing, they 
 gradually died, and at present, owing to the scarcity of food, cattle do 
 not thrive at all. They are neither strong enough for hard work nor 
 for dairy purposes, .as they now give little milk and dry soon. 
 Fifthly, what they used formerly to call a farm of i acre was really 
 \\ or ii acre ; now it has been reduced to i acre. That farm 
 used to be cultivated not oftener than every other year ; now in 
 
7 
 
 many cases attempts are made to take two crops out of it in one 
 year. That farm now receives barely a quarter of the manure 
 which it used to get. The water which that farm used to receive in 
 irrigation is now shared by at least two farms, so that there is no wonder 
 if the out-turn from it is reduced now from 32 bushels to 16 bushels. 
 
 The newly-created tenants have met the same fate as the old. • They 
 don’t know what the circumstances of the old tenants were ; but they 
 find themselves to-day in worse conditions than when they commenced 
 farming, and see that their present occupation, instead of prospering, is 
 sinking. As, for instance, when a man took the tenancy some years ago, 
 he had three cows ; now he has none : all have died. A few years ago 
 the cows used to give 8 lbs. of milk per head, and now they give only 
 1 lb; he notices the same change in the out-put of his fields. Under 
 the above circumstances both the old and the new agricultural classes, 
 not having a correct idea of the causes of their depression owing to 
 their superstitious habits, attribute all this to their bad luck, which they 
 believe has been brought about by the English Government, and they 
 have all joined in the chorus of sighing after the past time. 
 
 6. Really, the changes and improvements made by the present Govern- 
 ment have, as yet, done no good for them, and as long as the people 
 remain the slaves of misery they will not appreciate- these improvements. 
 There are post offices, but as a rule the poor have nothing to communi- 
 cate. There are schools, but they cannot afford to educate their 
 children. There are roads, but they have little or no traffic. There 
 is law, but it has been of very little benefit to them. For instance, in 
 Nawabi time they were compelled by torture to cultivate the land and 
 remain on it ; now the want of food compels them to hold the land under 
 rack-rent, and they cannot leave it. At that time their huts were 
 plundered by the usurpers or by their own landlords, or they were 
 ousted from their holdings at an hour’s notice, and then allowed to go 
 to curse their fates. Now the landlords bring an action against them 
 at a distance of a score of miles from their homes. The poor men 
 are obliged to leave their work, attend the court as many times as the 
 dates of hearing are fixed, and are fleeced by petition writers, revenue 
 agents, &c., &c., and if a decree is made against them their house is 
 legally plundered — the stored provisions, the cooking utensils, the 
 shutters of the doors, the mill stone, &c., are brought to the court and 
 sold ; and beside the landlord’s actual dues, they have to pay the cost 
 of the suit into the bargain ; while, if the decree is made in their favour 
 they suffer by losing their time, by being away from their work, and by the 
 expense to which they are put. And, after all this, they are again 
 obliged to return home to resume their operations, to till the land again, 
 and to acquire the favour of the landlord at any price. 
 
 Formerly, through the fear of torture, and now through fear of law 
 suits, the poor people cannot enjoy the blessings of real freedom ; and 
 they are still obliged to do what the landlords wish in order to keep- 
 their only means of living. 
 
 In those days very little or none of the produce of the country went 
 out of its boundaries. If one village lost anything by being plundered 
 another gained it. Scarcity of food had not then a tendency to flow at 
 
8 
 
 the same level all over the country, and for a long time. The demand for 
 agricultural labour was greater than the supply ; hence it is evident that 
 labour would be more valuable. At any rate the landowners were 
 obliged to keep their tenants (who are really labourers) alive and fit for 
 work. Just like beasts of burden, the labourers were beaten in the day 
 time, but well cared for and fed at night. When, in time of tumult, 
 they had to fly with their landlords, the latter were obliged to support 
 them by all possible means they could, and to give them every help for. 
 settling down when they returned to their ruined and deserted homes. 
 Formerly they were like beasts — were yoked, and whipped to work, but 
 their well-being entirely depended on the care of others who were 
 naturally bound to keep them in good condition and well fed. Now 
 they are made men, and are freed to some extent from the old conditions 
 to which they had been subject, but they now have the care and 
 anxiety of maintaining their own existence. 
 
 Let us now consider for a moment, how far the peace and 
 free trade, which are the gifts of the present Government, have 
 affected the conditions of the class in question. Here we do not touch 
 the question of the Government share from the produce of their labour, 
 the “ revenue,” which in former time used to circulate entirely within 
 the boundaries of the country, and was in fair or unfair proportion 
 divided among all classes of the population ; but we simply take into 
 consideration the share (of the produce of their labour) which was re- 
 served for them and the owners of the land. It seems however quite 
 plain to understand, and needs no logic to prove, that their condition 
 must have been better than it is at present, if we simply take this point 
 of economy in view, that as there were no channels for the produce of 
 the country to go out, the raw materials, or in other words, the produce 
 of the land, which comprises the first necessaries of life, must have been 
 abundant, and therefore must have been distributed among the people 
 with less regard to economy or frugality. Now peace and freedom, the 
 construction of good roads, and the introduction of railways, have made 
 great changes in the economical theories of the past. We have lost the 
 benefits derived from the share of the old Government (the revenue) 
 which was spent entirely in the country ; but on the other hand, we have 
 gained free trade. And let us assume for a moment here, that the gain 
 is equivalent to the loss. Still, as we have nothing to give in exchange 
 but the raw materials, or first necessaries of life, therefore now the pro- 
 duce of the land is certainly more scantily distributed among the people, 
 in order to export the surplus to other regions. By this change of the 
 economical system, it may be considered that the individual prosperity 
 of a few money and grain lenders, and the land owners, who have some- 
 thing to do with the trade, has been stimulated ; it may be admitted 
 that by the change they have not been losers. But neglecting these 
 few, who are only 6.i* per cent, of the population, the other 93.9 per 
 
 * Census report of N.W.P. and Oudh, 1881. 
 
 Total of agricultural populaton, Page 104, Form XII. — 15,030,883. 
 
 Page 121, Section XIX, Paragraph 159— Landowners engaged in other 
 pursuits 854,167 
 
 Tenants — 
 
 Money lenders, 30802 
 Grain dealers, 62737 
 
 947,706=6.3 per cent, 
 on 15,030,883. 
 
9 
 
 cent, as a matter of fact, in respect of the necessaries of life are 
 worse off than before, and on the other hand, derive no benefit what- 
 ever from trade. Because, whereas formerly the product of the land 
 was abundant, and had no way to go out of the country, it is 
 evident that they received a greater share from it than now, when 
 it is very scanty and is divided amongst the people in the same pro- 
 portion. Had they some other means of employing their labour, be- 
 sides producing the thing which they require in order to preserve their 
 life, certainly their condition would have not been what it is, as they 
 would have enjoyed the benefit of the division of labour, free trade, 
 and home industry ; but as they have none of these blessings in their 
 mode of life, they resemble greatly the labourers of the old fable of 
 the pearl fishery in Ceylon, who were employed by foreign dealers in 
 pearl, and used to receive for their labour the oysters, upon which they 
 lived. To those labourers, the pearls (so the story goes) which were sold 
 in India for wonderful prices, were no better than pebbles on the sea 
 shore. 
 
 7. How deep their misery is, how they lead their life at present, how 
 they are treated by higher people, what works they have to do, and what 
 their wages are ; about these points I would not say anything here, as 
 the reader can form a fair idea on these subjects, from the pamphlets 
 which were written by me on former occasions, and will be appended to 
 this work. 
 
 8. The case of Oudh, which I have selected to illustrate the subject on 
 account of my personal knowledge aud observations, I believe, is the 
 best example of its kind, because the changes in the country being re- 
 cent, show the true picture of the facts. For arguments in support of 
 this, we have not to depend upon the pages of a history which records 
 the past, but we can consult eye witnesses. This illustration shows the 
 exact features of the Nawabi Government, an example of every point 
 connected with the subject of Indian politics ; and an unbroken series 
 of the changes which a country undergoes, after losing its native Gov- 
 ernment. Hence it is quite applicable to all other parts of India which 
 resemble Oudh in respect of the density of population and proportion 
 of the urban and agricultural classes. It should therefore be borne in 
 mind, that the observations which we are going to make apply to all 
 such parts of the British Empire, and not only to the small country of 
 Oudh, which has been simply taken for the sake of illustration. 
 
 9. We must confess that the question of the Indian peasants is not 
 one that has been dropped unnoticed. Though the sufferers, like 
 dumb animals, have scarcely voice or sense to complain or try to escape, 
 yet the administrators of the country are always busy in thinking about 
 and discussing the subject. Some investigation or enquiry is always 
 going on, and changes are suggested and made in hope of bettering 
 their condition. Besides the Local and Provincial Government’s exer- 
 tions to find out some means of bettering the peasants, every now and 
 then some special agency is appointed to make enquiries and to con- 
 sider the matter. The following, for example, are of recent date, and 
 have more or less connection with the same subject, viz. : The Com- 
 
missions on the Army, the Famine, Education, Public Works, the Census 
 of 1 88 1. The Bills on the Jhansi and Dacan Riots, Bengal Tenancy, 
 Agricultural Banks, Local Self Government, and others, also affect 
 the condition of the peasant. 
 
 The Famine Commission Report, in two parts, is very complete and 
 thorough, and seems the basis of many recent investigations and 
 changes. 
 
 The subject is constantly discussed, though not with much force, in 
 some of the native papers that circulate in the country ; and a few persons 
 who take an interest in the subject come forward whenever they meet 
 with the chance of advocating the cause of the people. The subject 
 is discussed in England much more than in India ; not only is it kept 
 alive in Parliament, in the office of the Secretary of State, and in large 
 associations, but even in the working men’s clubs it is a favourite subject, 
 and it brings large audiences whenever it is brought forward. 
 
 The modes of elevating the material prosperity of the country, which 
 are unanimously considered most promising are the following : — 
 
 1. The help of Government. 
 
 2. Modification by legislation. 
 
 3. Encouragement of commerce by providing the means of com- 
 munication, such as roads and railways, and reducing cost of freight. 
 
 4. Most important of all — Improved methods of Agriculture. 
 
 5. Providing and increasing the sources of general and technical 
 education. 
 
 Miscellaneous : — 
 
 6. Appointment of Indians to high offices and Local Self 
 Government. 
 
 7. Migration and Emigration. 
 
 N.B. — No doubt these are the real and only means that , in favourable 
 circumstances, make a country prosperous , but the question is how far they 
 have proved successful in the present condition of India , and how far they 
 can be expected to succeed in the future. 
 
 These methods are not only recommended by the politicians and the 
 patriots of the. country, but have been approved and considered worthy of 
 attention by the Indian and Home Governments. Constant attempts and 
 investigations have been made to find out the points for the application 
 of the above-named forces in order to raise the public prosperity. 
 Generally speaking the attempts and methods adopted by the Govern- 
 ment for bettering the condition of the people never go beyond the limits 
 of the above-mentioned theories, but when they are brought into practice 
 they prove to be failures. From this it can be understood that there is 
 something else required to bring these theories into practice. We are in 
 want of a fly wheel to regulate the motion of the machine when put to 
 work, and to prevent the crank from stopping by reaching the dead 
 points. But what the something else is, and how it can be provided, as 
 far as we are aware, very little or no attempt has yet been made to 
 discover. Our attempt in this work will be to show what that thing is, 
 and what is the power that we require at first to put the various parts of 
 the machine for elevating the prosperity of the country into work. 
 
 10. Of the universally acknowledged modes of improvement named 
 
II 
 
 above the following three seem, at first sight, the most important and 
 principal factors for producing material prosperity, viz. : Education, 
 Trade, and the Improvement of Agriculture. As I have served for 18 
 years in the educational department, I know very well that Education 
 (vide appendix No. i) does little in the present state of the country. And 
 the question of Trade can also be dismissed briefly. When we know 
 that there is, generally speaking, no diversity of occupation and no home 
 industry, our trade cannot be of a very prosperous nature ; and as we 
 have nothing to give in exchange but the raw produce of the land, by 
 all attempts and exertions we can neither raise commerce beyond a 
 certain limit, nor increase its profit above a very moderate average. But 
 the third problem, “ Improvement in Agriculture,” attracted my attention 
 especially, and at first led me to believe that this is undoubtedly the field 
 in which improvements will be successful. But, as I have seen with my 
 own eyes for 18 long years, how laborious, persevering, painstaking, and 
 skilful our men are in this occupation, I know very well that no effort 
 is wanting on their part. I had never the least doubt that practically they 
 knew their business thoroughly well and required no teaching in the 
 subject ; I also had been of the opinion that the majority of them were 
 incapable of making improvements in the work ; but at the same time I 
 believed that the large landowners who do home farming were in a 
 position to adopt the new changes and systems that are at present 
 recommended. However, the articles in the papers, which were issued 
 every day about this new and attractive subject — Improvement in 
 Agriculture ; the circulars and reports of the Government Experimental 
 Farms shook the confidence which I had in the tenants, and made me 
 believe that there are some secrets in tilling the earth, by the ignorance 
 of which the poor people could not derive the full advantages from 
 their labour. What made the belief more firm was reading the descrip- 
 tions and hearing discussions on English farming. And according to 
 this theory of modern economy, that “ wages are derived from no other 
 sources but the produce of labour there was no reason to disbelieve that 
 the produce of the fields in England must be 20 times greater in 
 quantity or value than ours, because the average wage of our agricultural 
 labourers per head is, at most, i-Jd. per day, while in England it is, at 
 least, 3od. — 2s. 6d. 
 
 These thoughts made me very anxious to come to England, and on 
 finding the first opportunity, in 1881, I left India. Here I joined the 
 best institution for imparting the knowledge of agriculture — the Royal 
 Agricultural College at Cirencester. Besides trying to learn the subject 
 systematically, I never dropped from my view the question of — '■'•produce 
 of land and labour ” — which had brought me here, and I tried, as far I 
 could, to gather knowledge of the subject from every part of the 
 country. Wherever I met with the opportunity I tried to see the farming 
 of the various districts and the nature of the work of the labourers, and 
 of their domestic life Besides what I saw in Cirencester and the 
 neighbourhood during my daily course of work at the College, I availed 
 myself of every chance of seeing the work in the counties of Oxford, 
 Worcester, Gloucester, Hereford, Chester, and other places; and to study 
 that very point of produce and labour , I went to Ireland, which was really 
 
12 
 
 the most suitable place to find the best example for my purpose. I 
 travelled through the very wildest parts of the counties Mayo, Galway, 
 and Sligo ; the moderately green counties of Kildare and Dublin, and 
 the best agricultural counties of Limerick and Cork. In every place I 
 visited the houses of the people who work themselves on their own land. 
 Whenever I had the opportunity of making acquaintance with the 
 people of the country who knew or took interest in the subject, such as 
 Government officers, bishops, priests, farmers, or workmen, I always seized 
 the chance of making enquires on the point in view. I also paid flying 
 but careful visits to many counties in Scotland, especially to those places 
 which are noted for agriculture, such as Aberdeen, Dundee, Perth, 
 Inverness, &c. 
 
 To study the subject as thoroughly as possible, I paid particular 
 attention to the sea ports, in order to have an idea of the exports and 
 imports of different countries, and especially of my own. I studied 
 very attentively the business going on in the large London, Glasgow, 
 Liverpool, and Belfast (Ireland) Docks, and in many other smaller ports 
 such as Gloucester, Cork, Leith, &c. To know what market value our 
 Indian produce and export have in this country, I went to the London, 
 Liverpool, and Manchester Exchanges. I also carefully noticed the 
 advantages of the division of labour, the sources of producing and 
 distributing wealth, and the causes of the prosperity of the country by 
 going to many other centres of industry and manufacture, such as 
 Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Coventry, Nottingham, Worcester, 
 &c., and to the places in the North of England and in Scotland, where 
 the iron mines and coal pits are worked. In England also I took every 
 opportunity of examining the domestic life of the working classes, and 
 with the aid of courteous officials I visited public institutions for the 
 relief of the poor, and the places where labourers eat, drink, sleep, and 
 enjoy themselves. 
 
 Now, after all this careful study of the subject for 20 years, I have 
 come to the conclusion that all the forces above referred to would 
 remain in equilibrium, and would produce no resultant to elevate the 
 material wealth of the country, unless some other forces were applied, 
 and those other forces can be nothing else but Individual Energy 
 and Native Capital. 
 
 Now, in the following pages we would try to prove that the above 
 recommended remedies have not shown any perceptible improvement 
 as yet, and that there can be no hope that they would ever prove to be 
 successful without bringing our individual energy to bear, and applying 
 the capital of the country to various sorts of productive business. 
 
 N.B. — If the reader will look at the preface of “ Oudk Gazetteer I he will 
 find some remarks in it corroborating the above ideas. The distress atid the 
 indebtedness of the landed classes are attributed to the same reason j that is, 
 they have no other sources of income but the land. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 government $e£:p. 
 
 i . — By the light of Political Economy , the necessity of a Government — 
 the tendency of a good Government to look ajter the comfort of the people 
 governed — lazy people put the blame of their faults on their Government. 
 2. — In India the Government is substituted for “ Kismat .” J. — By the 
 attempts op the Government to do everything for the people , three great 
 evils generated: — (a), the loss of self reliance ; (b), the loss of the advan- 
 tage of division of labour — the prosperity of England due to individual 
 energy , and not to the direct help of the Government. 4. — In India the 
 case is quite the reverse , the few officers who govern the people , try to do 
 everything for them — a brief detail of the works connected with agriculture 
 which the Government officers have to do. J. — (c), the loss of the advan- 
 tages of joint interest in a work — the peasants do all the work connected with 
 the necessaries of their life individually — the Government-paid servants 
 who are supposed to make improvements in the works of the peasants , have 
 no joint interest in them , hence the efforts of the Government do not succeed. 
 6. — The efforts of the Government to do good for the people prove no success, 
 and create ill-feeling into the bargain. 
 
 I F, from the point of view of political economy, we trace the origin 
 of the idea of the necessity of government, and apply the rule of 
 the division of labour to solve the problem, we shall find that the 
 object of “government” is nothing else but to protect Society from the 
 violence of enemies, and to provide peace by keeping down the natural 
 evils of the community. Hence the primitive idea of government had no 
 other aim than the security of society, by which the labour of its members 
 should be productive, and the wealth of the society being thereby 
 increased would add more and more to their comfort and elevate their 
 prosperity. 
 
 But, as the body of a government, as a rule, is constituted of one or 
 more persons who are very powerful, or distinguished in society for 
 their abilities or sympathies with the people, therefore practically the 
 object of such a government is inclined to become, and now generally 
 is that, besides holding the responsibility of the above-mentioned duties, 
 it also looks after public utility and adopts such plans as it may consider 
 effectual in promoting the good of the people. 
 
14 
 
 But now, commonly, there seems also a third object of government, 
 which is to bear on its shoulders the blame for all sorts of grievances 
 that arise in the community by accident, by natural or unnatural 
 causes, or even by the fault of its members. 
 
 It seems natural that it gives some sort of comfort and relief to lazy 
 people who will not do anything for themselves to put the blame of 
 their idleness and of the distress that originates from this source on 
 some other person or cause. In trifling matters they blame want of 
 time and bad weather, and in important matters legislation and the 
 government of the country. We call this habit natural for this 
 reason, that it seems not to be a peculiarity of Asiatic countries 
 only, but we find a good example of it in Ireland, too. This country, 
 like India, not availing itself of its own energy and capital, thereby 
 certainly is in a most miserable condition in comparison with its neigh- 
 bours ; but, instead of seeking out the secret of this great fault of their 
 own, the people console themselves by blaming the Government. It 
 might be admitted, as they say, that certain special laws have put some 
 hindrance in the development of their industry and trade — in other 
 words, in their prosperity ; but a. ter seeing and comparing their circum- 
 stances with those of their rivals, common sense would never admit this 
 excuse into consideration to the extent of believing it to be the chief 
 cause of their distress. 
 
 We Asiatics had, for a very long time, an object for our fault-finding, 
 which we all called “ Kismat ” (luck). Though the introduction of this 
 word was based on the most sensible and philosophical views, yet, 
 unfortunately, the sense of it has been so much corrupted, and 
 the use of it so much exaggerated, that at last it became absolutely 
 detrimental to our progress. We became so accustomed to rely on 
 Kismat that the function of our energy and ambition became dull. In 
 cases of accidents and natural calamities over which no human being 
 has control the word Kismat has always been used as a stimulant for 
 consolation. 
 
 But it seems that for a century and a half past, that is from the time 
 when the star of the old monarchs of the country began to sink, and 
 the changes and deterioration in the mode of life and in the circum- 
 stances to which we had been long accustomed, began to take place, and 
 we were unable to devise any plan for making up our losses, we have 
 been blaming Kismat in cases of the economical defects and failures also. 
 
 Unfortunately, remaining quite ignorant of the new form or theory of 
 political economy which was introduced by the present Government, 
 and which is the only means of producing wealth and thereby bettering 
 our condition, i.e. the bringing out of native capital and individual 
 energy, and the old system of Eastern economical affairs becoming 
 obsolete and useless, we had nothing else to give relief to us in cases of 
 depression but the long known friend “ Kismat ” 
 
 The present Government did the best that it could for us ; it sowed 
 the seed of freedom, justice, education, &c., cleared the jungles, made 
 new roads and railways, facilitated the means of communication, and 
 also the system of Exchange, by which we can derive the benefit of free 
 trade (if we have anything to give in exchange)-, and it tried to spread 
 
1 5 
 
 Western civilization and ideas. As much as convenient, it gave liberty 
 of the Press for expressing our thoughts and wishes. But, unfortunately, 
 the Government gave us no lessons in self-dependence and modern 
 Political Economy. So with all its benefits we did not learn how to 
 produce wealth or to better ourselves ; but we did learn that we could 
 abuse the Government and blame it if we liked ; in other words the 
 ideas of English liberty, and of obtaining the rights* which English 
 subjects possess under their Government, developed more than the idea 
 of English economy, self-interest and private energy. The result which 
 is produced by this is, that now we are abandoning Kismat, which really 
 has ruined us, and have substituted the Government as the object of 
 our censure. In short, as of old, we used to depend on Kismat, hoping 
 that it would do everything for us ; so now we expect that Government 
 will do the same. But Kismat was a power which we could not fight or 
 argue for not doing what we required of it, and we could simply console 
 ourselves by blaming it ; but Government, being a visible object, besides 
 blaming it, we can remonstrate with it, and grumble till our wishes are 
 fulfilled, or show our annoyance if they are not acceded to. 
 
 We do not mean here arguing with the Government in matters of 
 legislation, which is a good thing. (We wish that we did so, for really 
 at present there are too few who have the ability to do it). We simply 
 mean blaming the Government and depending on it in economical 
 matters. Thus, when our fields do not produce as formerly, or our cows 
 give less milk, we are apt to say this is the fault of the present Govern- 
 ment, and we depend on the Government to find some remedy for us. 
 
 Supposing that the decrease or the drawback in our other affairs is 
 due to the change of Government, or, in other words, the change in the 
 form of political economy, we ought to have prevented it by increase of 
 capital, which would have been 'the means of making up the loss ; either 
 by good and improved farming, which we cannot do without capital, or 
 by providing other occupations for the surplus labourers, and so restoring 
 the land to its original , condition and giving it more rest and a larger 
 supply of manure and water (even the present quantity would be 
 sufficient for a smaller cultivated area), and thereby making it more 
 productive. And supposing that we formerly did not know this, and 
 that no one taught us the lesson, yet now we must let bye-gones be bye- 
 gones, we must learn it, we must do it ourselves, and no longer depend 
 on Government help for it. It is quite impossible for the Government 
 to do this or any other thing of the kind for us. 
 
 As, unfortunately, the present Government took upon itself the 
 responsibility of doing everything for us, and, either from some 
 political reasons or because it found us unfit in our present condition, 
 never encouraged or taught us to do anything for ourselves, but 
 rather kept us free from all these troubles, from this over-care for us 
 three very serious evils generated. Firstly, the above-mentioned one — 
 the loss of the functions of self-reliance. We not only depend upon 
 the Government for feeding and keeping alive our poor, but we are 
 taught to look to it for every boon however trifling and unimportant it 
 may be. Now, as a matter of fact, we have neither the knowledge nor 
 the means or energy to do anything for ourselves. For instance, we 
 
i6 
 
 expect the Government to keep our streets clean, to drain our lanes, to 
 supply fresh water for our drink (which, unfortunately, is becoming 
 saltish in many old cities and towns), to tend our sick, to carry our 
 parcels, and so forth ; everything, in short, has to be done by the 
 Government. 
 
 As far as my knowledge and enquiries go, I have never found that 
 such ideas of the responsibility of Government ever existed in the 
 Nawabi time. For the every day necessities, or works of ordinary 
 life, which society naturally is in duty bound to divide among its 
 members, we never depended on the help of the old Government, and 
 never grumbled or blamed it if our plans proved unsuccessful. 
 
 How singular the idea is that we should depend upon the help of the 
 Government for carrying on our ordinary economical transactions. Is it 
 possible for a Government to do these things or to help in doing these 
 things for us ? 
 
 The second evil, which originated in the attempts of the Government 
 to do everything for us, is the loss of the advantage of division of 
 labour. Although all possible exertions are made to promote 
 undertakings of utility, yet practically it is generally found very 
 difficult or even impossible to produce good or satisfactory results. 
 The reason of this is that the benefit and the advantages of the 
 division of labour and of individual energy have never been taken 
 into consideration. It is evident that if one man were obliged to do all 
 the branches of a work the progress would be very slow, and the result 
 would not be good ; and supposing the same man has to do fifty other 
 works with all their details certainly the whole business would be 
 involved in great confusion. We see that progress, improvements, and 
 obtaining good results from work in England is due not to direct help 
 from the Government, but entirely to individual energy and to the 
 theory of political economy — division of labour. For instance, we take 
 agriculture again, which seems in England to be at the highest perfection, 
 and in spite of its very limited profit and the very high cost of labour, 
 to be, as a rule, still profitable to the farmers. Has any Government 
 effort or help done this? No ! it is due to the combined action of 
 society, viz. : the Royal Agricultural College that teaches the science, 
 the Royal Agricultural Society that collects and diffuses all the new 
 ideas, experiments, &c., to the perseverance of Sir J. B. Lawes, of 
 Rothamstead, to the exertion of Drs. Gilbert and Voelcker, who watch 
 all the phenomena and changes connected with the life of stock and 
 crops ; to Messrs. Howard, who invent and make useful implements ; to 
 Messrs. Sutton and Messrs. Webb, who produce and select perfect 
 varieties of seed; to Olendorff & Co., and others, who make good 
 artificial manures ; to the General Land Drainage and Improvement 
 Company, &c., who lend capital (the mother of all improvements) to 
 make improvements ; to their staff who carry out drainage and fencing, 
 erect buildings and the like ; and to the efforts of many others, such as 
 pedigree stock and horse breeders, seed and manure testers, hurdle 
 makers, &c., a complete list of which would add a hundred more names.* 
 
 * These names are given only for example. Such agencies or their branches 
 are found within the reach of every farmer in every part of Great Britain. 
 
i7 
 
 These members, by their combined efforts, are not only useful to 
 society, but by dividing the labour among themselves, thereby they 
 make their own living too, and increase the wealth of the country into 
 the bargain. 
 
 4. N ow, on the other hand, let us contrast with the above the nature of 
 the same work in India; and take, for example, the provinces of the North 
 West and Oudh. At the first glance we see that we have only 79-9 
 persons constituting a staff that is engaged in governing every 10,000 
 people, while England has 95 ‘8* Of persons engaged in the defence of 
 the country we have only 137 (a portion of this force also is composed 
 of foreigners), while England has 123-4 per 10,000. Notwithstanding 
 this lower proportion in the number of persons who hold the office and 
 responsibility of governing us, if we carry our analysis further, and go 
 into detail, we arrive at this result : that a larger proportion of those 
 persons in India are mere menial servants or village watchmen, who 
 merely play the part of a collie dog in the management of a flock of 
 sheep. They are in their habits of life and instincts precisely like the 
 shepherd’s dog. In reality, to govern 44,107,869 people of the 
 province which we have taken for our example, who occupy an area of 
 106,1 1 1 ’5 square miles, of whom 90 per cent, belong to the agricultural 
 class, we have only 51,303! or ii-86 per 10,000 officers who hold all 
 sorts of responsibilities, and try to do everything for us. N.B . — If the 
 reader will look at the preface of Oudh Gazetteer he will find some 
 remarks in it corroborating the above ideas. To make the detail more 
 clear we will take a district — Pratab Garh (Oudh) for example. It has an 
 area of 1436-5 square miles, 2214 villages, 194,308 huts and houses, 
 847,047 population of both sexes. Average number per square mile : of 
 persons, 415 ; of villages, 1-5 ; of occupied houses and huts, 64-7 ; and 
 number of persons per house, 6-4. To govern this district there is one 
 head officer, the deputy commissioner, who is assisted by one or two 
 European assistants, two or three native extra assistants, one district 
 superintendent of police, three subdivisional revenue collectors, three 
 inspectors, and seven sub-officers of police. Beside the above adminis- 
 trative and police staff he has one officer of public works, one of health, 
 one of education, one of salt, one of opium, one postal officer, with their 
 respective establishments, such as three hospitals, about 90 schools, 20 
 post offices, and moreover a staff of menial servants, as porters, peons, 
 constables, teachers. Now the above-mentioned officer, with his two 
 European and three native assistants and some clerks, at the head 
 quarters of the district, and with the three sub-division officers, each 
 having one assistant and about six clerks, is expected to do for us every- 
 thing that is required in the world. He collects Government Revenue, 
 amounting to Rs. 1,043,923. In case of the default in the payment of 
 
 * N. W. P. and Oudh Census Report, page 123 : — 
 
 Per 10,000 people. England N.W.P and Oudh 
 
 Male. Female. 
 
 Persons employed in Government of Country 90-3 5-5 
 
 „ „ Defence „ 123.4 
 
 Male. Female 
 79-6 0-3 
 
 137 
 
 t Page 105 of C. R, 
 
 C 
 
i8 
 
 the revenue by one or more landowners in the district, the officer is to 
 take the management of their estates under his immediate control, and 
 work in every respect as the representative of the landowners. He is to 
 collect the rent from the tenants (nearly all of them having holdings of 
 not more than two or three acres), and in case of their default in payment 
 of the due rent to enter an action against them in the law courts. He is to 
 manage the Encumbered and Court of Wards’ Estate in his jurisdiction 
 in the same manner. In many cases he is to act as a curator and trustee of 
 estates. Collecting rent and the revenue is such a task that only the 
 officers who have to do it know its difficulties well. It is impossible for 
 us to make those people understand the difficulties who have no idea of 
 the nature of the work, and the circumstances of the masses from whom 
 the money is exacted. The officer keeps the whole district in order, tries 
 all sorts of cases — municipal, revenue, and judicial — (but not the civil 
 cases, of which he was relieved only lately). These officers are in duty 
 bound to travel over the district, and make themselves acquainted with 
 the wants and difficulties of the people— to see how far the hospitals, 
 the schools, post offices, &c. have done the work successfully — to see 
 that the cultivation of opium is encouraged, that salt is not manufactured 
 and spirits not distilled. They register many sorts of documents, sell 
 stamps and opium, exchange cheques, money orders, copper, &c. — 
 collect all the returns of the social life and health and of the 
 meteorological variations and market rates. The head officer in the head 
 quarter of the district has to keep an hotel (Dak Bangalow) for 
 European travellers — a park or garden for the supply of vegetables, and 
 for use as a pleasure ground — to manage a club, a library, a racket 
 court, to supply food for all visiting officers, and to the army if ever it 
 passes through the district. , 
 
 Besides all these administrative, magisterial, and voluntary works, he is 
 supposed to encourage industry and manufacture by means of the jail, 
 which he has in his charge — there is no other place for manufacture in 
 the district — to promote female education, art, learning, &c. Moreover, 
 he is bound to look after the works of public utility. He has to 
 superintend all the municipalities in the district, to make roads and 
 bridges, build schools and post offices by means of the public works 
 staff which he has under him — to see that the sanitary arrangements in 
 every village are satisfactory — that the children are vaccinated and sent 
 to school. Above all, he is bound to write a report on the progress of 
 each of the above works — to keep up correspondence with immediate 
 and provincial officers — to make bye-laws — to give his opinion and 
 write reports on local and general legislation. To give a full account of 
 all other important miscellaneous work that he has to do, and of the 
 details of all the above works, every branch of which he has to look 
 after, and is supposed to advance, would be ridiculous, and the detail of 
 all the special work which, in cases of epidemic, famine, etc. he has to 
 do, would unnecessarily enlarge this paragraph. 
 
 Our readers who know India are aware of these facts, and those who 
 do not know them can now form an idea of the complexity of the work 
 which our ten officers have to do for about 850,000 people. However, 
 we should not leave this subject without finishing our object, that is 
 
19 
 
 enumerating the detail of the branches of work connected with the 
 improvement of Agriculture which our ten officers have to do, and we 
 have promised to compare them with the same work as it is divided by 
 the community among themselves in England. The district officer, in 
 addition to collecting all the returns and keeping the records and 
 accounts of the Government Revenue, which is a part of his legitimate 
 duties, has now to collect by means of a very irregular and untrained 
 staff of village clerks, Patwaris (teaching, training, examining the men of 
 the staff, supervising their work are additional branches), the returns of all 
 the gross produce, the area under each crop, the irrigated area, &c., 
 three times during the year, which is one of the most useful of all 
 his many functions. His other duties connected with this occupation 
 are : i. — To encburage the means of irrigation. 2. — To encourage the 
 people to introduce and sow exportable and useful crops, such as China 
 grass, Kulpahar or Bundilkhand, New Orleans or American cotton, 
 Lucern grass, mangold wurzel, by showing experiments in the gaol and 
 public garden. 3. — To introduce and encourage the use of the caisar 
 plough and Behia sugar mill which have been invented in theGovernment 
 Experimental Farm at Cawnpore, 120 miles from the Pratab Garh, one 
 pattern of which has been sent to him in order that he may find out 
 whether the local oxen can drag it and the local blacksmiths repair it if 
 broken. He is supposed to let his people know the results of the 
 experiments tried on the Government Farm, and to make them familiar 
 with the names of bone dust and superphosphate. 4. The same officer 
 gets a few lbs. of seed, improved grain, grasses, vegetables, and fruits, and 
 tries to induce the people to grow a handful of these seeds, and see the 
 benefit of them. 5. He keeps one or two pedigree bulls to cross the local 
 kine, and sometimes they are sent by turn to the head quarters of the 
 subdivisional officers. 6. He is pressed by the higher officer to lend 
 money on terms for improvement (Takawi) after very complicated 
 inquiries. Not only in agriculture but in arboriculture also, he has to 
 superintend all the details connected with this work. 7. He has a nursery 
 connected with his own head quarter and those of his subdivisional officers, 
 
 ! and the process of planting trees on roads and other places is continually 
 going on. In the same manner, in horticulture also he is considered in 
 duty bound to make progress. 8. He tries experiments in planting dates, 
 palms, and other foreign fruit trees, and has to encourage the sale of 
 graftings and other improved fruit trees which he has grown or wishes to 
 introduce. The same is the case with flowers, &c. We are again afraid 
 that a full list of subdivisions of agricultural work would be long and 
 tedious. And again we are afraid that those who are not fully convers- 
 ant with the actual nature, difficulties, and rate of progress of such 
 | work, will not understand why the officer, who has an establishment for 
 I each branch, finds a difficulty in supervising these details. Perhaps 
 many of the Government officers, too, who seldom find a chance of 
 [witnessing the facts with their own eyes, but have to gather their 
 I knowledge from the returns and the reports of their subordinates, would 
 not agree in this remark ; and we have no time at our disposal to give 
 [ the whole description and history of each work from the beginning up 
 [ to this time, or to point out and explain all the difficulties ; and to 
 
20 
 
 compare the amount of work that has been done with the amount oi 
 time, labour, and money, that has been spent, and to quote from official 
 papers and reports the passages corroborating our remarks. But we are 
 sure that if the nature of the district officers’ chief and ligitimate works, 
 and the nature of the subdivisions of these works, which again split intc 
 hundreds of branches, could all be taken into consideration, with a little 
 thinking it would be seen what a complicated net work all these branches 
 coming together will make ; and common sense will admit thal 
 this problem can never possibly be carefully worked out. However, the 
 following paragraph will give some general notion of the reasons whj 
 the labour of our officers and the outlay produce so little result. 
 
 5. It is a recognised fact of the old and modern political economy thal 
 there is a good deal of difference between the work done under the 
 influence of joint interest and that done for wages. However advanced 
 in civilization, straightforward and conscientious people may be, they have 
 a natural tendency to spend more time, care, and exertion on piece work 
 than on work which is paid for by daily wages ; because in the formei 
 case they work under the influence of joint interest, and in the second 
 case under the mere influence of wages. Moreover, there is a greal 
 deal of difference between the interest taken in work of our own and 
 that taken in the work of others done simply for the sake of wages. 
 
 Now take the case of India, and apply the above rule, and considei 
 the condition and the wages of the people by whom work has to be started 
 and has to be carried on to certain stages. For example, take again thf 
 work connected with the improvements of agriculture in the district o 
 Pratab Garh, having an area of 1436 5 square miles, and 2214 villages 
 the average holding being only 7.78 acres per farmer having a family o 
 4 persons, or 176 acre per head. * The farmers of such small holding! 
 take a lease from the land owners, and, of couse, generally workthemselve: 
 with the aid of their family ; some also employ labourers. In other words 
 for their respective farms they have to provide every thing— labour 
 manure, seed, water, and implements ; and as a rule, they make ever] 
 sort of improvement which they can by means of their labour and smal 
 income individually f ; and besides the field work the majority of then 
 pasture their cattle, dig their own wells, build the mud walls of their huts 
 thatch their roofs, bring their fuel, grind their corn, draw their water, anc 
 spin cotton for their clothes. Division of labour and combined action ir 
 producing or improving anything, owing to their poverty, is totally un 
 known except sometimes in the form of exchange of labour amongsi 
 themselves. Besides a few corn dealers (5 per cent, of the total) 
 who lend the farmers, at an interest of 25 or 50 per cent., seed foi 
 sowing, and food when they have no crop in the field or grair 
 at home to live upon (the full description of their business and term! 
 will be given hereafter), there are no other private persons who hav< 
 
 * Census Report, page 134, paragraph 172. 
 
 t The proprietors of these holdings, if well to do, as a rule, do genera 
 improvements, as providing the substantial or permanent means of irrigatior 
 and occasionally help by lending money in case of the death of plough oxen 
 and also by giving wood and straw for thatching to the most helpless. 
 
21 
 
 any transaction connected with this occupation. No firms for the supply 
 of implements, seed, manure, &c., and had there been such, no money 
 to buy with. 
 
 Now, in the absence of private enterprise and means, Government 
 considered it to be its duty to try and make some improvement in this 
 important occupation, which, if it ever became flourishing, would 
 certainly flourish to the advantage of the State as well as of the 
 individual. But, instead of making the people able to look after their 
 own success and interest, in other words making them see the necessity 
 of proposing these ideas to themselves, and of carrying them out if 
 they had the means — (of course it was a very difficult task, as they are 
 generally miserably poor) — took the task into its own hands, and 
 provided those means which we have mentioned in the foregoing 
 paragraph, such as pedigree cattle, specimen caisar ploughs, handfuls 
 of seed, &c. The success of such works is aimed at by those ten 
 officers of the district, who are, of course, paid servants, and have 
 no joint interest in the business, and by a few of their ill-paid 
 subordinate clerks and menial servants. The officers, if ever they find 
 time or opportunity of doing this extra work, have no other means of 
 enforcing their advice but the influence of their official rank, which, as a 
 rule, is never agreeable, and in the case of India always very troublesome. 
 The people are not educated, and accordingly a simple notice or 
 written article would not be enough to explain to them what the 
 Government has proposed for them ; and, owing to the'same reason, it 
 is impossible to let all the people know the plans for their good which 
 are designed by the Government. A very few, perhaps a score, out of 
 847,000 people, who are considered most enterprising, are summoned 
 at the head quarters of the officers, of which there are only three 
 within an area of 1436 square' miles. They have to walk this distance, 
 as they have no railroads (because they cannot afford it), and, as a rule, 
 
 | they have to bear the expense of serving the summons, and are obliged 
 to leave their work. Now, after all this they receive, say an ounce of 
 | beet root seed, and are instructed how to cultivate it, and ordered to come 
 back again to report its result. They were ordered to explain to their 
 neighbours the advantages of the root, which is very nutritious for cattle, 
 and also yields sugar. The poor people, being ignorant, at first naturally 
 have great prejudice against new ideas ; secondly, they have never seen 
 | the seed or heard the name of the root before. They do not know how 
 to cultivate it properly, indeed they do not try to cultivate it for fear of 
 having to undergo these troubles every year. So, after two or three 
 years’ troubles, and hearing no report of success, the officers reported to 
 their superior officer — “ Experiment made, no success,” and the question 
 of encouraging the cultivation of beet root is dropped for ever, 
 j We have no time and do not think it necessary to give details of other 
 | similar efforts, or to explain in what troubles the people are involved, 
 j how far the attempt to do good becomes a nuisance for them, and how, 
 at last, the expenses and exertion give no good result, but, on the 
 contrary, awaken ill feeling. We believe that the above example is 
 enough to give an idea; and to prove that such attempts have 
 never as yet been successful, and therefore probably believe never will 
 
22 
 
 be. We refer further to the patent facts visible in Oudh. That 
 although Government has been making efforts for our improvement for 
 a quarter of a century, yet (except the main works of public utility, such 
 as roads, bridges, schools, post offices, &c.) no perceptible success or 
 result can be noticed anywhere in the country of the efforts with regard 
 to the national welfare of the people. We mean (referring again to 
 Agriculture) its efforts to improve the breed of oxen by keeping bulls 
 for crossing — to increase production by the use of the caisar plough and 
 bone dust — to raise good food for cattle by cultivating beet root and 
 lucerne — to increase our export trade by introducing and cultivating 
 china grass, American tobacco, cotton, hemp, &c. Some success, but 
 not much, has attended the efforts to plant shade trees from the 
 Government nurseries on the road sides ; so also something has been 
 done for permanent improvement in irrigation by means of Government 
 loans. But the people are most unwilling to take the Government loans 
 even at low interest, owing to the trouble connected with the transaction ; 
 and this fact alone is sufficient to prove that the attempts cause 
 difficulties, and are therefore useless. Could the money have been 
 obtained from the Government with fewer obstacles, there would have 
 been no reason for the farmers preferring to borrow it at 25 per 
 cent, interest from local Mahajans, and their being consequently 
 slack in making the improvements. 
 
 Secondly, we refer to the evidence collected by the famine com- 
 missioners, and to the many passages in their reports ; for example, page 
 31, paragraph 1 — “The success which has been obtained hitherto by the 
 efforts made by Government to improve Indian agriculture has not been 
 very encouraging ; but an account of these efforts is not without interest, 
 although they include a large admixture of failures and mistakes.”. 
 Pages 143 and 14, paragraph 1 — “Advances for the improvement of 
 land are now made for the most part under Act xxvi. of 1871.” 
 Paragraph 2 — “The evidence we have received regarding the working' 
 of this Act renders it unquestionable that it has failed to realise the 
 intention of promoting improvements, and there is a very general 
 reluctance to make use of its provisions.” “ The sums which have been 
 advanced under the Act are extremely small, and bear no proportion! 
 whatever to the need which the country has of capital to carry out the 
 material improvements. This result is alleged to be due to several 
 causes, among which the following are most important — the obstacles 
 created by inefficient native subordinates, to whom the granting of such 
 advances gives extra trouble ; the delay and expense of the initial 
 procedure, under which the first application has to be stamped, the 
 bond for repayment stamped and registered, and a minute and trouble- 
 some enquiry has to be made into the nature of the applicant’s tenure 
 and its value ; the necessity of paying interest, which is usually fixed at 
 6i per cent, per annum ; the small number of years over which repay- 
 ment may be spread, and the consequent largeness of the annual 
 instalments ; the early date at which they begin to fall due, even before 
 the improvement has begun to realise a profit, and the rigidity of the 
 rule for punctual payment.” 
 
 Thirdly, we refer to the reader’s own judgment, that taking all the 
 
23 
 
 disadvantages in view, such as the fact that the work is done for 
 wages, not for joint interest, by a few men who have a hundred other 
 administrative labours to attend to under the influence of the governing 
 power, the complicated rules and regulations, the fewness of the centres 
 in a large district which obliges the people to undergo expenses and 
 the trouble of walking, leaving their work ; the ignorance, the prejudice, 
 the poverty, the incapability of the people ; he should consider himself 
 whether any help of the Government in such cases is likely' ever to 
 produce any satisfactory result, and encourage the people to derive 
 benefit and learn a lesson from them. 
 
 6. — Now a few words about discontent. The efforts of the Govern- 
 ment and the public outlay prove not only to produce no good 
 result, but they even give rise to bad feeling into the bargain. As for 
 every thing in the world some expenditure is necessary, so in most cases 
 for these works also the Government extract the cost from us. There 
 being no joint interest the people feel that they have to contribute 
 money, so every new proposal for our good gives a new shock to the 
 people, who say, “ Another new plan to take money.” It is quite natural 
 that we ruin ourselves by expenses for works in which we have an 
 interest or which we do ourselves, however unproductive they may be ; 
 and this we do not feel ; but we grumble if we are forced to give any- 
 thing to others, and at the same time if we were doing our own work 
 we should not only give to it our best attention, but we should be 
 careful to do it with as little expense as possible. Both of these 
 advantages are lost in case of the work being done by the Government 
 officers, and the people feel it deeply when the money is taken from 
 them. 
 
 They do not see any good result, rather they don’t know where the 
 money goes and what is done with it, but they are made to contribute 
 now and then for something or other (not directly by Government, but 
 indirectly through their landowners) ; and sometimes they have to pay 
 direct taxes, and therefore sarkar to loot ti hai (Government is robbing 
 us) has become a common phrase. 
 
 Now, at the conclusion of this chapter, we ask of those who recom- 
 mend and cry for Government help for our good, to show what are 
 the advantages and which are the reasons that make them rely upon 
 Government help for bettering our condition. Is it not what the Govern- 
 ment is doing already too much ? Is it possible to do anything more 
 than this ? Has it given any good result that we expect the same in 
 other cases ? 
 
 Now let us take a new starting point, and suppose for awhile that the 
 Government should cease from its present efforts. Let it only defend 
 the country, make and carry out the laws, which are the chief and 
 the only duties of the same Government in its native country. Let the 
 Government cease to meddle with our economy, or, as they propose at 
 present, let us govern ourselves, forming local self governments, what 
 would be the result ? Would the country be able to derive any benefit 
 from this change in its present condition ? Supposing the Imperial 
 Government made over that money which is annually extracted from 
 the country for public beneficial works to the members of the proposed 
 
*4 
 
 local self government, who would be io or 12 in number, and, like our 
 old municipal and jury members, be made to assemble once in every 
 month to play the part of dumb puppets on the stage ; and supposing 
 the model caisar plough, the pedigree oxen, and so forth were given 
 to their charge, and they were asked to place their signature on the pay 
 bills of the local menial servants, what would be gained ? Even 
 supposing the district officer never meddled with their business, and 
 they were allowed to do what they liked, the question still would be how 
 much would this add to the material prosperity of the country — 
 nothing but an empty pride and a new name. 
 
 This plan of joint labour and interest , or, in other words, local 
 self government, which we are really in want of, is, no doubt, the 
 seed from which our prosperity must come. But if sown in the 
 present condition of the soil and in the usual way, that is by the 
 choice and labour of the Government officers, we are afraid it will 
 produce no healthy growth. Like all other efforts for our good, 
 either this also will die soon, or in the official books by the side of the 
 municipal members, jury members, we shall see a few more names of 
 corporation members also, but no result whatever. 
 
 Moreover, supposing that the time were come (which is really 
 impossible to come unless with the increase of material wealth of the 
 country) that our governing men or Corporation members were selected 
 by our own- people from our own able men, who really are not scarce in 
 the country ; and the members exercised the same power with the same 
 talent and zeal as their fellow subjects in England, and we had gained 
 them by full advantages of joint labour and interest, yet this will be 
 only in the matters of local government. At any rate this alone would 
 not be enough for what is called the material prosperity of the country. 
 
 We want the benefit of joint labour and interest in every branch of 
 our work. For example, again take agriculture ; we want good imple- 
 ment makers, good cattle breeders, seedsmen, chemists, manure makers, 
 money lenders, &c., &c., within the reach of all our farmers, Govern- 
 ment experimental farms, of which there are only three or four in the 
 whole of India, are not enough. And not merely this, but we also 
 want money for our farmers to employ these persons. Now the answer 
 comes again that we cannot do all this without capital. 
 
 The first obstacle which we see in our way towards realizing these 
 imaginations is nothing else but the want of capital , and why is there 
 no capital ? because there is no individual energy. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 Modification in Jtegistation. 
 
 i, — In India legislation is well attended to. 2. — In this chapter the 
 question of the modification of law relating only to Agriculture will he 
 treated ; the question of the relation of landlord and tenant in India is in 
 constant movement ; in the Famine Commission Report the attention of the 
 Government is most particularly drawn to this question ; in the United 
 Kingdom also this ' question has attracted the attention of statesmen, 
 j. — The Bengal Tenancy Bill : the probable reason of its origin. 4 . — It 
 is to be seen to what extent the object in view of bettering the condition 
 of the peasant can be obtained by the proposed modifications : it has no 
 effect on the material prosperity of the country. J. — The present condition 
 of the peasants : the points of modification. 6. — The Advantages and 
 disadvantages of the . modifications ; if there is supply of labour , and no 
 want in other work but in agriculture it is impossible to shut out the 
 labourers from undergoing keen competition ; the whole community cannot 
 be protected by the proposed modifications , and even those few who will be 
 protected will derive little or no benefit ; petty tenants are unable to make 
 any improvement, 7 . — The question of the help of Government comes in 
 this problem again ; the Agricultural Banks. 8. — Providing occupancy 
 right is not detrimental to progress and improvement of land , but un - 
 exceptionally putting an end to the rights of the land owners to enhancement 
 of rent is. The land owners can act as an Agricultural Bank if by some 
 means they are compelled to do so, and can advantageously take the work of 
 improvement into their hands, p. — Summing up the advantages and 
 disadvantages of the subject in question to find out the utility. 
 
 1 . This means of improvement of the country is also considered 
 very important. Scarcely a year runs by in which two or three new 
 Acts are not passed and old ones are not amended. This is really a 
 blessing for the country, and it shows that due regard is paid by our 
 Government to our wants and difficulties. This true emblem of 
 civilization, i.e., change and modification in law, is by all means 
 commendable, and nothing is more beneficial for a country than 
 changing the laws from time to time in accordance with the change in 
 circumstances and wants of a society. No doubt the more sensitive the 
 machinery of laws is the more beneficial it will be. In India we are 
 well protected by the Local and Provincial Laws. Every matter 
 connected with our necessities and our well being, and which promises 
 benefit to us, however trifling it may be, is sure to attract the attention 
 
26 
 
 of our statesmen when it is brought to their notice. We have not only 
 Penal and Civil Codes, Hindoo, Shaster, and Mohamedan Laws, but 
 have many other general, special, and local Acts connected with public 
 utility, and the protection of health and property ; we have also Acts that 
 would keep open the roads to prosperity if we had means to avail ourselves 
 of them. The ignorance of our people and their having no voice to 
 explain what they really want are great drawbacks in matters of 
 legislation. Like children or dumb animals, they cannot tell the 
 symptoms of their pain, so the diagnosis of their disease is simply- 
 made either by the patent symptoms or by the experience or guess-work 
 of the physicans who have to treat them, and this causes a change ot 
 prescription more frequently than would have been the case otherwise. 
 
 2. Generally speaking, as a whole, our country is agricultural, and 
 as we have taken this industry for the example in this work, so in this 
 chapter we do not think it necessary to discuss the laws connected with 
 other political matters, which would be going beyond the limits of our 
 example. 
 
 As really the whole business of the country is connected with 
 Agriculture— the revenue of the Government, the rent of the landlords, 
 the food of the tenants and labourers, the merchandise of the 
 commercial class — properly speaking almost everything is derived from 
 it, and our legislators are always ready and busy in finding out and 
 correcting the defects of the laws. This shows that this important 
 question of Agricultural laws would never have been out of sight, and 
 so it is, somewhere or other in British India official details and 
 correspondence with regard to it are always in movement. Sometimes 
 the laws relating to the rights of the Government and landlords is in 
 consideration, and sometimes the question of the landlords and tenants 
 is in discussion. The majority of the people being tenants and 
 labourers (60 per cent.), and in such a miserable condition that a human 
 being, after being conversant with their circumstances, cannot pass by 
 without sighing for them, therefore the attention of the politicians is 
 always particularly drawn to this question of landlord and tenant. 
 However, since the Famine Commission, it seems that this point has 
 become universally attractive, and a matter for immediate remedy. In 
 several places in the reports of the Commission amendments of the 
 laws are suggested. Page 117, paragraph 19 — “Although the intention 
 of the legislation of recent years has already been to define and protect 
 the rights of tenants, it is proved by the evidence before us that the 
 effect produced has been very different from the object aimed at.” 
 Paragraph 21 — “The Commission have received a large amount of 
 evidence, remarkable in its weight and unanimity, to the effect that in 
 the Bengal Province the relations of landlord and tenant are in a 
 specially unsatisfactory condition,” &c., &c. 
 
 Not only in India, but in Ireland also, it seems that the politicians, 
 in the same sort of question, consider it prudent to give more liberty to 
 a tenant in his rights. By many witnesses before the Irish Land 
 Commission the necessity has been alleged. For instance, page 64, 
 Suggestion on the State of Ireland by Professor Baldwin, says, “ What I 
 do say is that the moment the Land Act told the Irish farmer that he had 
 
27 
 
 an interest in his holding under the several sections and claues, then 
 the Act ought to be consistent, and say, ‘ Sell whatever you have.’ ” 
 
 In another place the same eminent authority says (pape 42 ) — “ I 
 wish to state my belief that if you are to do anything you must curb 
 those bad landlords, the same as you make laws to check every bad 
 member of society. You want some measure that will have the hands 
 of all good men perfectly free, and do something to curb the few who 
 are really bad, and who are driving terror into society.” 
 
 Mr. Marcus J. Ward, of Belfast, Ireland, in his paper read in the Ulster 
 Minor Hall, on the distress in Glencolumcill, says (page 27) — “ The 
 second cause of the distress was said to be bad farming, due to farmers’ 
 insecurity of tenure , ignorance, and want of capital.” 
 
 In this mother land of freedom, England, at the present day it has 
 also been considered necessary to provide, to some extent, the means 
 of protecting the tenants’ interest in his tenure by legislation, and 
 therefore the Agricultural Holdings Act was passed in 1883. 
 
 The Act alters the laws existing formerly, especially on the following 
 points : — 1. The notice to quit now must be one year instead of half a 
 year. 2. The right of a tenant to fixtures and holdings erected by him, 
 which now he can remove on giving a month’s notice to the landlord. 
 3. The law and procedure under distress, in many particulars, is 
 modified in favour of the tenant ; thus efficient bailiffs are nomin- 
 ated by the judges ; he may set off compensation due to him against 
 arrears of rent due from him, &c., &c. And the chief and most 
 important of all the provisions is that the Act makes compensation to 
 the tenant for unexhausted improvements compulsory on the part of the 
 landlord. And all agreements by which a tenant attempts to deprive 
 himself of his right to the benefit of his own enterprise are rendered 
 void by a special section. 
 
 But the other provisions of this Act are permissive, i.e. those who 
 wish to contract themselves out of it. can do so; and by experienced 
 people it is considered that in the majority of cases the covenants of 
 leases will exclude the other provisions of the Act, as such agreements 
 are generally better when matters of free will than when ordered by a 
 compulsory Act. An Act dealing on the same lines with Agricultural 
 Holdings in Scotland has also been passed. 
 
 3. All these universal opinions in the matter of the relation of 
 landlord and tenant, and several local and special causes combined 
 together have recently led the attention of the Indian legislative 
 members to the subject with greater earnestness than at other times. 
 The first result of this is the Bengal Tenancy Bill, which seems to have 
 caused no less excitement in the part of the province where it is meant 
 to be enforced than the other bill which is known by the name of the 
 Ilbert Bill. It is hardly necessary for us to quote here the reasons and 
 arguments from the speeches of the honourable mover, seconder, and 
 other members of the Council, or to quote the opinion of others who 
 are in favour of the proposal. All the reasons and the arguments are 
 based mainly on one of the patent facts, (x) Modification of the laws 
 has been considered necessary, because the tenants are living in 
 
28 
 
 unbearable poverty, * and (2) because it is a fundamental maxim of a 
 civilized Government that the most helpless need more protection ; or 
 perhaps from a law of political economy that always has been in 
 discussion, but is not yet decided, and which we can explain better by 
 quoting passages from the works of other authors. As the modern 
 American politician, Henry George, in his work, Progress and Poverty , 
 page 27, recommends — “ And all this relative wealth, which in common 
 thought and speech, in legislation and law, is undistinguished from 
 actual wealth, could, without consumption of anything more than a few 
 drops of ink and a piece of paper, be utterly annihilated. By enact- 
 ment of the sovereign political power debts might be cancelled, slaves 
 emancipated, |nd land resumed as the common property of the whole 
 people without the aggregate wealth being diminished by the value of a 
 pinch of snuff, for what some would lose others would gain.” 
 
 Another writer says — “Wholly unjustifiable rents. These are for 
 things which are not, and which it is criminal to consider personal 
 or exchangable property. Bodies of men or women (and much more 
 their souls) must not be bought or sold. Neither must land nor water, 
 nor air, these being the necessary sustenance of men’s bodies and 
 souls.” — Time and Tide , 161. 
 
 John Stuart Mill, although he does not agree in the theory that land 
 is not personal property, but rather proves that it has all the qualities of 
 individual property, yet he says — “ Whenever, in any country, the 
 proprietor, generally speaking, ceases to be an improver, political 
 economy has nothing to say in defence of landed property as there 
 established.” — Principles of Political Economy , by John Stuart Mill, 
 Book 11, Chaper II., Paragraphs 5 and 6. 
 
 Many other authors have also been in favour of this theory — giving a 
 list of their names and quoting passages from their books would be too 
 long for this little work, but we must add one word more, that although 
 some have approved of this theory, which is quite inapplicable to the 
 existing laws of the social philosophy of the present age, yet there are 
 many who are not in favour of it, and have opposed it successfully. 
 
 4 It is not within the scope of our attempt to treat the subject of 
 political economy in these pages, and therefore we turn our attention to 
 find out the utility of this economy, which is rather philosophical than 
 political. Further, we know that the law of Sparta will not soon be intro- 
 duced into the world. According to the existing social condition of the 
 world, specially of India, we are in want of a powerful Government of 
 capitalists, and where the proprietary right, however it may have been 
 established, is of long existence, and is to remain recognized by law it 
 would be a useless effort to decide the question of this theory. 
 Moreover the subject which we have taken in question is confined to 
 
 * The poverty of the people in question is not so microscopic that a 
 magnifying glass is required in order to see it. How they live, what they 
 eat, and how hard they work, and how the produce of their labour is divided 
 among themselves, the landowners, and the mahajans (money or grain 
 lenders), is manifest in every corner in India. Those who have seen India 
 know this very well. Describing the features here is unnecessary, but those 
 readers who want to know about this should read part 1 1 of the Appendix. 
 
2 9 
 
 the material prosperity of the country , therefore we must simply try to 
 find out how far the object in view can be obtained by the modification 
 of law in this proposed form, which is taking something from the land- 
 owners and giving it to the tenants, or drawing a rigid line between the 
 interests of the landlord and tenant, so that the former cannot encroach 
 an inch on the rights of the latter. 
 
 Now, by simply giving a cursory glance at the nature of this problem, 
 and without any further investigation, at first sight it seems that what- 
 ever advantages the proposal of modification of law may have from a 
 judicial, sentimental, or sympathetical point of view, with regard to 
 increasing the maternal wealth or prosperity of the country, it would 
 have no effect whatever. 
 
 It will make no difference in the total wealth of the country if one 
 person gains at the expense of another Although it may be admitted 
 here that by securing and protecting the interests of the tenants they 
 will be encouraged to make improvements in the land, yet it will make 
 no difference, because landlords can do the same thing even better if 
 forced or encouraged by law. As the same Henry George, who thinks 
 that the land should not be considered as individual property, says in 
 the paragraph quoted above— “ Increase in the land value does not 
 represent increase in common wealth, for what landowners gain by 
 higher prices the tenants or purchasers, who must pay them, will lose.” 
 In our example the case is the reverse, as the landowner will lose, while 
 tenants are supposed to be benefited by it. 
 
 Professor Baldwin, also, in his evidence before the Irish Land 
 Commission, alludes to the same point ; he says — “ I think that if at 
 any one time the whole property is worth a certain sum, and if at that 
 time you transfer the slightest part of it to one man, of course you take 
 it away from the other man ; but I should say that the policy of the 
 Land Act was that it was hoped it would cure the political evils of 
 Ireland and pacify, and that in consequence property would increase in 
 value, so that the landlord would be ultimately compensated for the 
 loss ” 
 
 So far about the common wealth or general prosperity of a country, 
 which, from the above remarks and the aid of common sense, we see to 
 be unaffected, whether tenant lose and landlord gain or the contrary. 
 We admit that it is quite prudent and lawful to disregard the interests 
 of a few if, at their expense, a majority of their fellow citizens can better 
 their condition. But we have to ascertain whether, in the present 
 economical condition of India, the object aimed at — bettering the 
 condition of the masses — can be attained by modification of the law or 
 not. 
 
 5. Now for a moment we should analyse the question, but before 
 touching the points which are recommended for the modification of the 
 law, and pointing out the obstacles and the difficulties which block the 
 passage of their success, it seems necessary to give some hint about the 
 present condition of our people who are meant to be protected by the 
 modification of the law. The present economical condition of India 
 is this : we are in need of a powerful Government, for which we must 
 pay. We have a landlord class above us to share more or less in the 
 
3 ° 
 
 produce of our labour : this class will not be done away with altogether 
 (and it is ridiculous to think that it ever would be) ; so whether we make 
 them useful to society by obliging them to take in hand the work of 
 improvement of the land, as they are the only persons who can do 
 this, or whether we encourage them to sit idle by cancelling their 
 interest in the increased profit of the land, in either case we have 
 to contribute to their existence. We are slaves of poverty : we have 
 no other occupation from which to gain a livelihood except the tilling 
 of the land. Our holdings are very small, only 7-5 acres per family of 
 four persons on an average, and we are quite thriftless ; therefore we are 
 individually unable to make any improvement. We are unedu- 
 cated, and little better than the oxen of the plough, for we don’t 
 know what the people in other parts of the world are doing; we 
 do not know how to improve ourselves, and have no tongue to 
 complain, whether we sutler from the cruelty of the landowners, or the 
 extortion of the mahajons, or the unkindness and neglect of the officials 
 and servants of the Government who are appointed to take care of us. 
 We have no means within our reach of improving either ourselves or 
 our lands ; no choice of occupation, no capitalists, no money lenders. 
 We have no journals, no patriots who, in case of our being illtreated 
 either by landowner or Governments, would make our wrongs public 
 and bring them to the notice of those who have the responsibility of 
 protecting us. The only means we have for our defence is to leave our 
 work to walk ten miles, to pay for stamps for petitions, for summonses, 
 &c., and then bring an action against the offender, and thereby create 
 enemity with the officer under whose care and protection we have to 
 return, or with the landlord with whom we have to live ; and further, 
 it is not certain that we shall obtain justice even at this cost. 
 
 All these points must be borne in mind. These are the obstacles 
 which we have in our way in reaching the point of success, even though 
 it may be tried by means of the modification of the law. These points 
 will help the reader to understand better what we are going to say in the 
 following paragraphs. 
 
 Of modification of law various plans have been recommended, and a 
 good many points suggested by different authorities — Local Govern- 
 ments and private persons who have taken an interest in this matter. 
 The two following seem to be the most important, and, as far as we are 
 aware, it appears that particular attention has been paid to them : — 
 Firstly — The establishment of occupancy right and the discouragement 
 of tenancy at will. Secondly— The limitation of the period for 
 enhancement of rent by a system under which the landowner would be 
 deprived of the right to increase the rent of the land, and the rent 
 would be revised at fixed periods by competent officials in accordance 
 with the Government assessment. No doubt the reasons on which the 
 proposed modification of the laws rest are based on sentimental and 
 sympathising feelings ; and if the modification were carried out with the 
 same feelings and kind regards for the people by the ill paid menial 
 servants (patwaris and other clerks, &c.), with whom the poor victims 
 of misery come into immediate contact, and who lay the foundation 
 stone on which is built the whole administrative edifice, the poor would 
 be greatly benefited. 
 
3i 
 
 The advantages of making these provisions in law have been fully 
 described and logically proved ; however, owing to our poverty and the 
 above-mentioned reasons, and especially to our having no way of escape 
 from this laborious means of subsistence, by the side of the 
 advantages a great many disadvantages are to be seen. Many of the 
 more important drawbacks have been poipted out by the Famine 
 Commissioners in their reports ; so, by a careful analysis of the subject, 
 from the remarks alone of these eminent authorities, this result is 
 obtained that, although the proposal seems to be very promising at the 
 beginning, it will prove to be of no great importance in the end. 
 
 6. We now would try to lay before the reader some of the advantages 
 and disadvantages of the proposal ; and the result of this comparison 
 would be a proof by itself of this fact — that the proposal is no remedy 
 for our difficulties and wants ; indeed, it would seem to be injurious to 
 some extent in causing ill will between the two classes with very little 
 or no benefit to the tenants, and in raising other new difficulties. 
 
 It is evident that by establishing tenancy right, and depriving 
 landowners of the right of increasing rent at will, the advantages which 
 are aimed at are the following : — i. The first and most important is to 
 create for the tenant an interest in working his land. 2. To provide 
 security for him. 3. To encourage him in making improvements on 
 his land. 4. To enable him to borrow money for improvements on 
 the security of his tenant right. 5. To give him the monopoly of the 
 profit made during a certain time, by which it is supposed he will 
 become thrifty and prosperous. 6. To save him from the misery into 
 which competition and rack-renting are sinking him down. 
 
 These six are the most important advantages that are aimed at by the 
 proposal. We will now give briefly a general account of the most 
 probable disadvantages which occur to us. 
 
 7. All the above advantages and a hundred others of the kind 
 added together will have no weight if balanced with this one ever 
 beneficial and universally recognized theory of Political Economy, that 
 there should be freedom in the relation of wages and labour ; and of 
 commodities and price. In every matter that comes under this rule, 
 and at all times, this law has proved certain and unvariable. In reality 
 this is the boundary line between Barbarism and Civilization. The 
 simplest school books in political economy lay stress on this law, and 
 show that every interference in this, either by State or by what is 
 called trades-unionism or strikes, has always disturbed the harmonious 
 transactions of a community, has been found injurious to the public 
 interest, and has never lasted long. Therefore as long as land is 
 considered the property of the landowners, or, in other words, as long as 
 the tenant has to pay something to someone else for the use of land the 
 matter would come under the above rule ; consequently any interference 
 
 I in the freedom of the contract or transaction must be detrimental to 
 both parties in the end, though such interference may appear very 
 prosperous in the beginning. Any such interference by law in the 
 contract of landlord and tenant is a form of trades-unionism, i.e. one 
 party compels another party to pay higher wages or to give less price 
 for a thing. There is no difference between this and the matter in 
 
32 
 
 question. In the case of land, under such interference, the tenant 
 would compel the landowner to give him possession of the land on 
 certain terms, and the first' result of this would be that an enmity 
 between the parties would be created. The loser will look out for a 
 chance to destroy the usurper, and as the loser (the landlord) is 
 powerful there is every chance for him to be successful in his designs. 
 The fact is alleged in the Famine Report, page 1 17, paragraph 19 — 
 “ From all quarters it is reported that the relation between the landlord 
 and tenants with occupancy rights are not in a satisfactory state, and 
 are becoming yearly more and more hostile ; so much so that a landlord 
 will generally refuse any aid to is occupancy tenants when they are in 
 difficulties, and will do all that he can do to ruin them and drive them 
 off the land.” . . . 
 
 Not only in India, but in England also, the evidences of this natural 
 hatred can be found ; these trades-unions have been the cause of many 
 violent disturbances which we need not enumerate here ; the reader can 
 easily learn all about the drawbacks of trades-unions, the chief of which 
 is bad feeling between the two parties concerned, from any book on 
 political economy. However, for example, we will quote a few lines 
 from the joural ot the Royal Agricultural Society of England for the 
 year 1878, part n, page 586. Mr. J. H. Little, of Coldham Hall, a 
 well-known authority on the subject of Agriculture, writes — “ In 1871 an 
 Agricultural Labourers’ Union was formed for the avowed purpose of 
 increasing wages. . . . The relations of master and man which, 
 
 up to this time, had certainly been of a far more cordial and sympathetic 
 character than those engendered by the manufacturing system, have 
 thus lately received a rude shock, and one from which it may be 
 doubted whether they will ever recover. The effect in the long run will 
 be, probably, advantageous to both parties ; but in the mean time a 
 certain soreness has manifested itself on the part of the farmer, and a 
 certain dogged intractabily and surly independence of control on the 
 part ot the labourer, which does not augur well for the return of the old 
 friendship in their future relations.” . . . 
 
 Now, in case of the rise of this mutual hatred and enmity, the land- 
 owner wants to destroy his enemy, and wishes to regain the full control 
 and mastership over the land that he had lost, but he has no other 
 chance to succeed except by grinding his tenant in a legal mill, that is 
 by bringing actions against him in Courts of Justice, and thus forcing 
 him to leave his work, to incur expenses, and to meet with all sorts of 
 difficulties and troubles. “ When it has been effected the landlord’s 
 object is to harass the tenant and to diminish the value of his occupancy 
 right by bringing suit after suit for enhancement of the rent. The 
 probable result of such a struggle is in favour of the more powerful 
 contestant, and there is reason to fear that in many parts of the country 
 the occupancy rights have been irretrievably impaired.” . . — Famine 
 
 Report, part 2, page 117. The poor man also, unfortunately, has no 
 other means for defence against this lawful tyranny and his powerful 
 combatant’s direct assaults but to seek for justice in the law court. 
 
 We have no space in our pages to describe how very disagreeable and 
 troublesome this long struggle is for both parties, especially for the poor 
 
33 
 
 penniless tenant. It would require quite as many pages more as we 
 have already written to explain all the visible and invisible difficulties 
 which a man of his position has to face by meddling with a law suit ; 
 and to give the causes and reasons of these difficulties (which chiefly 
 arise from his ignorance and poverty, by his living on daily wages and 
 at a distance from the court) would take too much time, and indeed be 
 rather outside of the present question. Those who know the inner life 
 of Indian peasants know this very well. Although some measures have 
 been framed and remedies suggested to destroy the root and shut up 
 the sources of this antagonistic feeling between landlord and tenant, yet 
 it is impossible that law can change bad feelings into good ones ; 
 therefore, as long as this unhealthy feeling and the desire of the 
 landlords to regain their lost position and profit exist, this legal struggle 
 will not die. If one way is shut up, ten new ones will be opened. It 
 is quite plain to understand that the more law is interwoven with a 
 business, the more the parties concerned will find the necessity of 
 coming in contact with the law ; and in the case of India the more the 
 poor people come, or are made to come, to meddle with law suits, the 
 more their difficulties will increase. They may obtain justice, and may 
 get themselves released from illegal treatment by the landowners, but it 
 will be at the expense of their comfort, of their time, of their little 
 savings, &c., &c., and then they are not released for ever, but only till a 
 new opportunity of harassing them presents itself to the landlord. 
 
 B. In addition to the above-mentioned injurious result which is 
 anticipated from the interference of the law, it would seem not to do 
 much good to those tenants whom it was specially meant to protect ; 
 and in general it would undoubtedly prove a failure, because, as long as 
 the world exists, this law of political economy, that “ the increase or 
 decrease of price or wage depends on the ratio between the supply and 
 demand,” will never be altered ; neither can it be cancelled by the law 
 of a sovereign, nor can it be checked by trades’ unions. If the supply 
 is greater than the demand, price will decrease. If the demand is 
 greater than the supply price will increase. As this law is applicable 
 in the case of tenant and landlord, therefore if tenants are more 
 numerous than the land requires, the competition must be keen and the 
 rent of land must increase. For example, a landowner has a piece of 
 land, and a tenant pays a certain amount of rent for it ; now were there 
 no other tenant willing to pay more, the owner would never think to 
 oust his tenant or ask him to pay more ; but if he does so, there must 
 be some other man in greater necessity than the old tenant, who is 
 satisfied to do the work on less profit ; now if the first tenant 
 has the same amount of necessity he will be ready to continue 
 the work on less profit, if not he will leave it, and the man of 
 greater necessity will make his living by it. This law will prevail 
 as long as the class which wishes to exchange its labour for the means 
 of living can gain its bare existence from the work, or, in other words, 
 till the margin of profit sufficient to keep up a bare existence is equally 
 divided among the whole class ; then the rates of supply and demand 
 will become equal, and there will be no more increase or decrease. And 
 in case of the increase of population, if the necessity of finding a liveli- 
 
 D 
 
34 
 
 hood still increases the surplus of the population will die. Or, on the 
 other hand, if by abnormal death or some other cause, such as some 
 new means of livelihood being created, the necessity for tilling the land 
 decreases, the price of their labour will increase, or, in other words, the 
 rent of land will decrease. Like all other phenomena of nature, such 
 as heat and expansion, force and motion, this phenomenon of supply and 
 demand also has a natural tendency to rest only at an equilibrium point ; 
 and by the increase or decrease of the one changes will occur in the 
 other. This competition, or passing the land from one hand to the 
 other, seems to be one of the laws of nature, because all the new 
 members that increase in a society and seek a means of living, can 
 make others give them a share from the store that they (the old members ) 
 have in their possession only by this means. From this point of view 
 we can say that the action of the landowners in ousting the old tenants 
 and giving the land to new ones is not at all bad, because they turn out 
 those who can do without the land and take those who cannot do 
 without it. However, this, perhaps, appears very cruel ; we do not 
 mean that the landlord who takes advantage of his fellow creature’s 
 hunger to reduce him to a very skeleton in order to satisfy his own 
 selfishness, should be allowed to do this. It was all right had he not 
 been increasing his own profit by this. But at the same tim.e we must 
 say that if the tendency is to increase the rent of land, there is a supply 
 of labour greater than the want, and there will be some individuals in 
 want of employment ; therefore if law is to prevent adding new and 
 needy hands to the agricultural work it must first provide some means 
 to support the surplus supply of labour. Otherwise either those who 
 are in want of labour, without finding some means of subsistence, will 
 die ; or, however the law may hinder, they will go to the work which 
 alone is within their reach, and will lead a life a hundred times more 
 miserable than before. We mean they will go to the tenant whose rights 
 have been secured by law, and will work for almost nothing, for only a 
 handful of grain, in order that they may not die at night. And it is quite 
 natural that when the tenants see that their work is done for almost 
 nothing, and they lose nothing by it, they would rather prefer to sit idle 
 and make the poor creatures work for them ; thus a system of sub- 
 letting will be created. This great evil is also pointed out in the Famine 
 Commission Report, page 120, paragraph 31— “But this question of 
 sub-letting seems to us of greater importance. The more valuable the 
 occupancy right becomes by reason of such measures of protection as 
 we have advocated, the more need there will be of guarding against a 
 custom which is every where prevalent in India, under which the 
 privileged tenant is apt to turn into a middle man, sub-letting the land, 
 and living on the difference between the rack-rent and the privileged 
 rate secured to him by the law. . . We therefore recommend that 
 
 concurrently with the extension of the right of transfer the practice of 
 sub-letting by an occupancy tenant should be discouraged, or even, if 
 possible, forbidden.” 
 
 What we have described in the foregoing paragraph will be more 
 clearly understood if simply the above lines quoted from the Famine 
 Commission Report and the following sentence from the same report 
 
35 
 
 are considered well. Paragraph i, page 34 — “ A main cause of the 
 disastrous consequences of Indian famines, and one of the greatest 
 difficulties in the way of providing relief in an effectual shape, is to be 
 found in the fact that the great mass of the population directly depends 
 on agriculture, and that there is no other industry from which any 
 considerable part of the community derives its support. 
 
 From this it can be well understood why the custom of sub-letting 
 prevails in India, because there is scarcely any other source of living, 
 therefore as long as the necessity of keeping life exists either law will 
 be unable to prevent it or the result will be quite fatal to a part of the 
 community. 
 
 C. Now admitting this fact that in the present state of India it is 
 impossible to do good for all, and leaving the consideration of those 
 who will not directly derive a fair benefit from the modification of the 
 law, or perhaps will suffer from it, viz., the tenants at will and the sub- 
 tenants that are expected to spring up, let us consider how far that 
 portion of the community which is to be strengthened by all means, and 
 even at the sacrifice of the interest of others, can become prosperous 
 by the proposal. To find the result we first of all take example from 
 the condition and circumstances of the people of the same type that 
 for a long time have existed in many parts of India, (a) The Govern- 
 ment ryot of Southern India, who have no landlord at all, and pay the 
 rent directly to the Government, (b) The privileged tenants of the 
 North West Province (that come under Act X. of 1859) whose 
 occupancy right is well secured. For the evidence about their circum- 
 stances firstly we refer to the Famine Commission Report, which is the 
 best authority on the subject. Although we see many suggestions and 
 remarks in the report in favour of the system, such as “ Wherever 
 enquiry has been made, it has been found that in all matters relating to 
 material prosperty, such as the possession of more cattle, better houses' 
 and better clothes, the superiority is on the side of occupancy tenant, 
 and the figures in the preceding paragraphs also show that as a rule 
 they hold larger areas of land .” — Famine Commission Report, page 118, 
 paragraph 24. Yet in the same report we meet with many passages and 
 remarks which are very discouraging, such as enmity with the landlord 
 being created, and the unhealthy system of sub-letting coming into 
 practice, &c., &c. as we have mentioned above. Moreover, about the 
 ryot of Southern India, we see in page 112, paragraph 5 — “ Turning to 
 the more general effect of the different tenures held directly under the 
 Government we find no clear evidence that the tenure of the land- 
 holders, whether it be ryotware or zimindare, # has any direct 
 connection with their power of supporting themselves in time of famine, 
 or that in order to increase that power it is desirable to revise or reform 
 that tenure.” Further, we find evidence in the report of a still more 
 deteriorating evil that is engendered by securing the tenancy right to 
 the people — page 131. It is commonly observed that landowners are 
 more indebted than tenants with occupancy right, and tenants-at-right 
 
 Ryotware — tenure directly from the Government. Zimindare — 
 tenure directly from the landlord. 
 
36 
 
 than tenants-at-will, a result obviously attributable to the fact is that the 
 classes which have the best security to offer are the most eligible 
 customers of the money-lenders. . . The following sentence of the 
 
 report mentions that by certain causes the agriculturists of Punjab, 
 Eastern Bengal, and Central Provinces are not under the burden, rather, 
 are highly prosperous, and further, it says — “ On the other hand the 
 precarious out-turn of the crops, with other adverse circumstances, has 
 grievously depressed the landholders of the Bombay Decan and 
 adjoining districts of Madras as well as those of the somewhat similar 
 region of Jhanse ; and many of the talukdars (big landlords) of Oudh, 
 of Sendh, and of Guzrat, without such excuse, have been led by a 
 course of extravagance into a state of bankruptcy, to relieve them 
 from the consequences of which special legislative measures have been 
 framed.” . . . Page 133, paragraph 13 — “ whereby the landholders, 
 
 under cover of the proprietary rights they had acquired, were tempted 
 to improvident borrowing.” . . . The proportion of landowners 
 
 seriously embarassed does not appear to exceed 30 per cent., but the 
 proportion of debt to income is heavier than that stated to exist in the 
 provinces, and about two-thirds of the debt is said to be secured by 
 mortgage of land.” 
 
 Secondly, for the evidence we consult our own personal 
 observations and knowledge of the facts. There is no difficulty in 
 comparing the condition of life of the two classes in question. In the 
 districts of Oudh, on the borders of the districts of permanent settlement, 
 what they call Donkince Bandobast, such as Jounpore, as well as on the 
 districts of the North West, where the privileged tenants have long 
 existed, such as Allahabad, the fields, the houses, &c., of both kind of 
 tenants (at will and of occupancy right) lie side by side ; and in that 
 place one can easily pick up an idea of the difference between the two. 
 In my own twelve years’ careful observations and enquiries I have not 
 yet seen anything to induce me to give preference to either of the two. 
 Among the tenants at will I have seen, not less than in the other class, 
 that people in easy circumstances keep their fields equally in improved 
 condition, and laboriously worked and equally supplied with the means 
 of irrigation ; while I have seen among the privileged tenants men 
 that are starving equally with the tenants-at-will. Having spoilt and 
 lost all the privileges of their tenures they are working like farm 
 labourers for daily wages under other farmers. From this we can 
 understand that no doubt security in their right gives them a good 
 chance to better their condition, but in practice the security alone does 
 not better them. It is nothing but prudent habits, thrift, their having a 
 command over good management, intelligence, and means of improve- 
 ment that can really benefit them ; and on possessing these gifts the 
 tenants-at-will can do just as well. Many who have the privileged right 
 in large holdings are certainly better off. Our tenants-at-will are ever 
 the same ; having nothing to sell, nothing to mortgage, and being 
 entirely dependent upon their own thrift, they have no security to run into 
 much debt. Really about three-fourths of them (as well as of the 
 other class) remain constantly in debt to the grain dealers, who give 
 them seed and support them ; but this debt is cleared off at each 
 
37 
 
 harvest, and does not make the burden heavy by double interest. On 
 the other hand, my own observation has shown me that the poor 
 privileged tenants of large holdings are in great trouble and in a most 
 uneasy sort of life. The landowners hate them — try to keep them 
 always under some obligation or expense. They are therefore 
 invariably in debt to money lenders. Their being subject to, and in 
 transactions with, two masters instead of one (landowner and money 
 lender) brings them into double connection with the law-courts ; 
 accordingly they remain in more trouble and expenses than the others. 
 Their possessing the means to incur debt is not a less misfortune for 
 them. It would not be bad were it only possible to incur debt for the 
 sake of improvements ; but more than three-fourths of their indebted- 
 ness is due to the necessities of legal costs and their natural habit of 
 improvidence. The natural habits of Indians, especially of those poor 
 people who have not much reasoning power, and don’t see or know how 
 and where to apply their trifling savings are also important and not to 
 be left aside. Their habits and customs have taught them that the 
 necessity of working hard, saving, and of possessing property, is for 
 nothing else indeed but to meet the expenses of marriages, births, and 
 deaths, ceremonies, and to have the means of celebrating the annual 
 religious festivals and large social gatherings “ Beradrika Bhat, or 
 Bhoj.” By their social customs they consider themselves bound to do 
 all this. The necessity of expense for the marriage of daughters in 
 India is a great and almost inevitable cause for their incurring debt. 
 They must do all these things even at the sacrifice of their next days’ 
 meal. I have seen hundreds of families with my own eyes who live for 
 weeks without eating salt with their bread, and even accumulate a small 
 saving from the grain they get for their daily wages, for such occasions. 
 Our Indian officers know very well how often they have to try and 
 punish the people in cases of this nature, i.e. when, for instance, men 
 borrow money from Government (Takawi) under the pretence of 
 making improvements, and lay it out in such expenditures. 
 
 This second form of the misfortune of the people is not of such a 
 nature that it could be left unnoticed. 
 
 The necessity of enactment for securing the landed classes from this 
 second enemy — debt — was first felt in Bombay. We are not prepared 
 to say what have been the other reasons why the people have sunk so 
 deep into misery in that part of the country that it provoked the 
 attention of the Government to save them ; still it is clear that the 
 security of their tenures went far when they had been released from the 
 hands of one tyrant — the landowner, and put them into the hands of 
 another blood-sucker — the money-lender. There is not the least doubt 
 that the same case will happen in every place where the security is 
 given, and the Government will never be freed from anxiety for them, 
 and from the care of protecting them. Sometimes help would be 
 necessary to save them from being drowned in the waves of rack- 
 renting ; and sometimes aid would be required to protect them from 
 being crushed under the burden of heavy debt and interest. 
 
 This point is also worth paying attention to, that after the kindness of 
 the Government in saving them from the tyranny of the landowners, 
 
38 
 
 when the poor people (owners of tenancy rights of three or four acres 
 of land) are hard pressed by necessities, accidental causes, or the 
 temptations of improvidence, they will be naturally tempted to meet 
 their wants by pledging the security which they possess ; and the first 
 men who will take advantage of this chance will be the landowners, who 
 will always try to regain their lost position by means of lending money, 
 and will entice the poor tenants into this new trap. Even supposing 
 that they were not allowed to put their hands to this affair, the other 
 money lenders would advance money on mortgage of the land, or would 
 simply lend it on the security of the land, and receive high interest ; 
 what difference in either case would there be between such a condition 
 of the poor men and their present state ? None but this — now they 
 are the slaves of one master, and then they would become the slaves of 
 two. 
 
 There is another point to be considered before leaving this question : 
 that is, it has been proposed and recommended that the occupancy right 
 should not be recognized by law as mortgageable or saleable property, 
 and should be exempt from seizure under the decree of a Civil Court. 
 What would then be the benefit of the right ? In this case it is merely 
 a cypher. Simply by the security of the right they would gain nothing. 
 It is supposed that with such security they will improve the land, and 
 so increase the profit, the whole of which (after payment of the fixed 
 rent) they will keep for themselves without giving a share to the land- 
 owner. But improvements require outlay and capital, and it will be 
 proved hereafter that their small profits are quite insufficient for making 
 any improvements. How, or on what security, would they be able to 
 get the money ? and how, in the time of necessity, would they be able 
 to save themselves ? It is suggested that fellow tenants may be permitted 
 to buy and sell their rights of each other, and continue the business 
 among themselves. But as all are equally poor, we cannot understand 
 how these poor people, who live from hand to mouth, would be able to 
 play the part of the capitalist and borrower within the circle of their 
 otfn society. There may, perhaps, be here and there one who is 
 nominally reckoned among them that is called a tenant, and who is well 
 to do : such a one might perhaps lend money and buy tenancy rights, 
 but he would soon make a fortune by this business, and would become 
 a capitalist ; but then there would be no difference between him and 
 the other money lenders or the landlord. In a few years’ time he 
 would be just as oppressive to his fellow tenants as the other two classes 
 are ; he would deprive several people of their rights, and would become 
 himself a large owner of land or of tenancy right. It is impossible for 
 all to prosper without some being losers. The same sort of drawback 
 appears in the proposal as to sub-letting. If the tenants are allowed to 
 sublet, the under tenants will have to work at a rack rent, and will make 
 the secured tenants idle ; if sub-letting is forbidden, the land of the 
 weak and poor, and of the families who have not enough hands to work 
 it would remain useless, while those who can work more land, and desire 
 it, will not find enough for their requirements. 
 
 In short, however law or private interference may check or stop the 
 currents of the economical transactions of the country, either the 
 
39 
 
 currents will rest at their own level, or, instead of being beneficial the 
 checks will produce injurious effects. 
 
 After all there is the last point in the question still to be considered. 
 Suppose we ignore those for whom law cannot do anything, and make 
 them responsible for their own acts who, after being protected, fall 
 again into misery through their own fault or misfortune. Suppose the 
 proposal exclude these, still there will remain a majority which has its 
 own means to make improvements, and is careful enough to protect 
 itself from the above anticipated drawbacks. This portion of the 
 population will derive the full benefit of the proposal. In reply to this 
 we can say (i) This does not mean the material prosperity of the 
 country. (2) Even at present there are many who make improvements 
 and thereby increase their profit. These are the men who are expected 
 to invest more money on the land and receive its profit. But these 
 gain the profit of their prudence, hard labour, and outlay even now. If 
 it were admitted that they, having no security, do not try to improve 
 their land, still it is a known fact that they turn corn dealers, and there- 
 by increase the profit of their outlay by robbing their poorer brethren. 
 (3) For the sake of improvement, if these few, or say a few more, make 
 a few more wells (as they cannot do anything more than that) this 
 cannot increase the produce of the land so much as to produce any 
 effect on the common wealth, so that the others would be able to receive 
 a share from it. (4) If this proposal added something more to the 
 individual prosperity of those who previously had some means, or if it 
 slightly increased the number of this type, what good would it do for 
 the poor? Those who. are in need will still remain in need. (5) As 
 long as the amount of the wealth of the country remains the same and 
 does not increase, it is evident that whoever is benefited must be so at 
 the expense of the others. 
 
 Here another suggestion occurs, that as a fact by their improvements 
 the produce of the land will increase, and thus the amount of the 
 common wealth will increase. But we hope that after taking all the 
 above-mentioned difficulties and disadvantages into consideration, -the 
 reader will admit that there will be little or no difference between the 
 present and future number of those who already make improvements ; 
 and the number of such men will not be enough to raise the prosperity 
 of the country in any perceptible degree. However, we would try to 
 prove hereafter that these poor tenants, a great majority of whom have 
 no more than three or four acres of land per family, can indeed do very 
 little or nothing in respect of improvements. 
 
 D. Considering all the above-mentioned difficulties, and natural 
 and habitual hindrances in the way of the progress of the people, 
 it seems quite a round-about path which is supposed to lead to 
 public prosperity. We mean the proposals for providing security 
 to the tenants in the interest of their holding, and for preventing 
 the landowners from claiming any share from the future improve- 
 ments ; and by this to suppose the tenants will be encouraged 
 to make improvements, and by overcoming all the obstacles, will 
 do so in their respective holdings, and thereby the produce of the land 
 will increase ; and that thus either they alone, without giving any share 
 
40 
 
 to their superiors or inferiors, will enjoy the benefit of the whole ; or, 
 that after a certain time the Government, through its officers, will make 
 a revision and redistribute the sum of wealth among all the members of 
 the community. Not only is this a round-about way, but many evils seem 
 to be engendered by such a plan, some of which have already been ex- 
 plained. N otwithstanding all these drawbacks the plans may be considered 
 very good if they could increase the produce by improvement As far 
 as we see by our own experience and knowledge of all the circum- 
 stances to which the men are subject, as a matter of fact it seems quite 
 impossible on their part to fulfil this hope. We have more than once 
 agreed that some of its features will prove successful ; but there will be 
 exceptions, and the whole cannot be expected to prosper. The reason 
 of this is as follows : — We take the North West Province, again, for 
 illustration. From the Famine Report, part 2, page 116, paragraph 15, 
 we find — “ The occupancy tenants hold 41 per cent, and the tenant-at- 
 will 31 per cent, of the cultivated land, the balance being tilled by the 
 proprietors themselves. It is estimated that the former class number 
 1,500,000, and the latter about 1,200,000 ; the average area cultivated 
 by each tenant being 4‘8 and 4 acres respectively. . . In Oudh 
 
 there are nearly two million tenants holding on an average 3'i acres each. 
 
 According to the Census Report of 1881, form xxi., page 4, the 
 average number of cultivated and uncultivated acres per head of the 
 agricultural population of the said provinces is 1-67, and the average 
 incidence of rent paid per cultivated acre is Rs. 3. 5. 1 r *=5/6 per acre 
 In other words, in the said Province there are four million seven 
 hundred thousand cultivators of land. Each of them (on an average) 
 has a farm of 3^9 acres, by which he supports his family, and pays total 
 amount of rent for the holding, in round numbers, about 14 Rs. per 
 a|R , um=2 3s. 4d. 
 
 From the amount — 14 Rs. or 23/4 — which he pays as rent (in round 
 number again) 8 Rupees are paid to the Government as revenue and 
 local rates. Revenue, 1.11.5 Rs. ; rates, 0.4.0 Rs. per acre. A 
 balance of 6 Rs. net per holding is left to the landowner. In Ireland, 
 where the distress of the peasants has produced so much agitation, the 
 holdings are not less than about 25 acres. Out of 600,000 holdings 
 two-thirds are between 20 and 30 acres, and one-third are more than 30 
 acres. The average rent paid by the tenant is from ^4 to ^5, or from 
 48 to 60 Rs. per annum. Rent varies from at least 18s. to ^5 at most, 
 or from 1 1 to 60 Rs. per acre. 
 
 Now the reader may judge for himself that a tenant in India, having 
 a holding of three or four acres, and four men in his family, would 
 simply exist by living from hand to mouth. How is it possible for him 
 to do any substantial improvement in the land ? However his tenancy 
 right may be secured, as a fact, it is a matter of impossibility', not of 
 chance, for him to do anything in the way of progress. We call this a 
 matter of impossibility for this reason, that it is not only a supposition 
 that the poor uneducated penniless tenant in a country destitute of 
 capital like India, would not be able to do any improvement, but in 
 
 16 annas, or is. 8d.=i rupee. 
 
4i 
 
 England also where capital overflows, the task has proved to be 
 impossible. The assistant commissioners of the Royal Commission on 
 Agriculture — Messrs. Little, Druce, and Colman — the best authorities 
 in England, in their Reports of 1882, have alluded to this fact thus — 
 Mr. Little’s report, pages 35 and 36 — “ In the parish of Stogursey about 
 650 acres of land are still held subject to certain common rights . . . 
 
 The ‘ fields ’ and ‘ moors ’ are divided into ‘landshire ’ or ‘ ropes,’ i.e., 
 separate plots or parcels of ground, the ownership of which is ‘ several,’ 
 that is, the particular portion which a man owns is defined. . . 
 
 Under drainage is much needed, but in the present division of owner- 
 ship any complete drainage, or indeed any improvement of the land is 
 impossible.” — page 47. The margin of profit is so small upon a venture 
 of this kind that the owner of only moderate means does not make 
 improvements unless he is compelled, and when he does build or drain, 
 he does it in a temporary or make-shift fashion. But if small estates, 
 whether settled or not, are too commonly badly supplied with the 
 ! necessary buildings, I cannot help remarking that frequently on large 
 estates more has been spent than was neccessary. 
 
 Mr. Druce, in his report, page 6, says — “ The few peasant proprietors 
 that exist were, in the opinion of the Bedford Agricultural Society, less 
 prosperous than tenant farmers. They are scarcely known and the few 
 do not succeed.” Even in the case which some of our politicians recom- 
 mend that land should be considered common property, and the tenant 
 should keep the whole rent which he now pays to the landlord, and the 
 1 system of middle man (landowner) should be abolished altogether ; 
 
 ] then although out of the 14 Rs. that he now has to pay as rent he 
 
 | would give 8 Rs. directly to Government, and keep 6 Rs. for himself, 
 
 I still he could do nothing in respect of increasing the wealth of the 
 
 1 country (the produce of the land) together with the increase of his 
 
 small income by 6 Rs. per year. As a rule his wants and ambition of 
 living a little better would increase. He would like to add to his dry 
 bread of the coarsest grain, and wild herbs, the luxuries of the purchased 
 salt and vegetables. The six pieces of silver in the ocean of human 
 ambition, like six drops, would not be seen where they have been lost. 
 We admit that all would not act thus ; many would try to make 
 improvements, but even these would not be able to do much. 
 It would be said “ he will borrow money,” but where is money : where 
 is capital ? Had there been capital the matter would not have come 
 to its present state. This is the thing that is required for the country. 
 There are a few money lenders, but the suppy is less than the demand. 
 They will not lend money at less than 25 per cent. Can the tenant 
 do anything at this rate? No. Well, let us suppose that he would be 
 able to get the money at 6 per cent. This is the rate of interest in a 
 highly wealthy and civilized country ; but with his 6 Rs. income he can 
 only borrow 100 Rs., and the first necessity in the direction of improve- 
 ment is water. The cost of a well of 8 feet diamter, according to the 
 circular No. 80 A of the Government of the North West Province, 
 dated 14th November, 1877, is no less than 620 Rs. And according to 
 the experiment of the Agricultural Department, 943 Rs. — page 12, 
 report 1882 ; and is certainly never less than 300 Rs. on an average in 
 
42 
 
 the most fortunate districts. Therefore with these ioo Rs. he can do 
 nothing. Moreover, these works done on a smaller scale would be 
 more expensive and less durable than the works done on a large scale 
 by skilful men with the aid of large capitalists. 
 
 7. Here the question of the help of Government is met again ; and 
 it has already been proposed that the Government should provide the 
 capital for this ; but as, in consequence of their small means of paying 
 interest, the money which they borrow would be insufficient for the work, 
 it therefore would be necessary to propose, in addition, that the 
 Government should take the works in hand, because there is no other 
 means to carry them out in an efficient manner and on a large scale. 
 
 The first proposal as to providing the capital has already been 
 brought into discussion. Sir William Wedderburn, of the Bombay 
 Civil Service, has written a very elaborate paper on the subject of 
 providing agricultural banks in Southern India. He has given a full 
 history, and account ,of the necessity and advantages of similar banks 
 which have been lately established in many countries of Europe, 
 notably in Prussia and France. This honourable statesman recommends 
 that, with the guarantee of the Government, European capital would 
 flow into India on a high tide, and would cause the fertility of the 
 country. In 1882, in the Legislative Council of the Government of 
 India, Mr. Crossthwaite also presented a Bill on the same subject 
 (Takawi for landed classes). The Honourable Sir Stewart C. Bally, 
 K.C.S.I., &c., and the Hon. Major Baring seconded the motion, and 
 recommended that the plan of Sir William Wedderburn should be 
 adopted in carrying out the proposal, for which many methods had been 
 suggested. The result ot all these schemes seems to be that although 
 it is intended that the banks should work as private institutions, yet, in 
 every branch of it the Government connection and responsibilities in the 
 end will be interwoven. No doubt, in the absence of private energy and 
 native capital, such exertions and proposals are something better than 
 nothing ; but, as we have proved in the first chapter, this will indeed 
 add a good deal more to the legitimate duties and the immediate 
 responsibilities of the Government officers ; and if the Government is 
 to take into its own hand the making of improvements also, a hundred 
 more troubles will spring up from each branch of the work. We need 
 not repeat the tale which we have related before, that instead of easing 
 difficulties such efforts can only block still more the course of progress. 
 And it would be too much on our part to prophecy whether this second 
 plan of offering the peasants pecuniary help will be successful- or 
 injurious to the common interest. But the reader cannot, without being 
 illogical, deny these two facts, (a) That by the application of foreign 
 capital, a share, at least, of the products of the industry of our labours, 
 whether they sink a degree lower or rise 50 degrees higher, must go out 
 of the country for the capitalists ; while, on the other hand, if the 
 capital were our own, and applied in the same way, and on the same 
 terms as the foreign capital, we should have the full benefit of onr 
 industry. In the latter case our country would not be a loser whether 
 the peasant sank or rose. In case of his sinking down, our capitalist 
 would gain what he lost ; and in each case of his rising the country 
 
43 
 
 would retain both the capitalist’s profit and the increased product ; not, 
 as in the former case, only the balance of the increased product minus 
 the interest on the foreign capital. (B) That in proportion as foreign 
 capital circulates in the country, the capital of our present blood- 
 sucking money lender will become unproductive, and therefore our net 
 profit (if any) would be the increased product minus the interest on the 
 foreign capital, and also minus the advantages of the money-lenders’ 
 capital. 
 
 Here we expect to be contradicted again, because it may be said that 
 the capital of the money-lenders would be applied in some other 
 productive works, and will be more beneficial because it will add to the 
 benefit of the country. But our readers should remember the postulate 
 which we have made use of in this work, — our own energy (or enterprise) 
 and capital. For introducing every new work energy is required, and 
 we consider it as a recognised fact that we in India lack energy. Had 
 we been favoured with this gift of nature nothing more would have been 
 required for us. But for this very want we would have started 
 agricultural banks ourselves. India is not destitute of what we should 
 term “ individual capital,” but she is destitute of national enterprise, 
 therefore she does not know how to avail herself of the capital of the 
 country. The only help which we need and the only lesson which we 
 require to be taught is how to bring our own energy into motion. 
 Foreign money and the exertions of paid officers are ot little use to us. 
 We must not hope, against the law of nature, that our work will be 
 done for us if we do not do it, or at least attend to it ourselves. Nothing 
 can be a greater curse to a country than its being dependent on foreign 
 capital and the help of others. 
 
 8. Turning to the above question of tenancy right and enhancement 
 of rent, we have to say a few more words. But first of all it should be 
 remembered that the foregoing remarks have been made on a very 
 general view of the question, and must not be accepted as rules without 
 exception. Thus, while I have mentioned three or four acres as the 
 average size of the holdings, many are of one or two acres only, or 
 even less than that; and many are ot io or 12 acres, and some still 
 larger, from 15 to 40 acres. The larger the holdings, the more beneficial 
 in their behalf the modification in law may be expected to prove. 
 From all the above circumstances, as far as we are able to judge, and from 
 our long experience and knowledge of the question, providing 
 occupancy rights to the tenants seems to be likely to do something 
 better for a certain class of agriculturists. Not the nature of the 
 proposal itself, but the surrounding circumstances of the life of the 
 agricultural class will be the cause if it proves a failure in gaining the 
 object aimed at. If the security of the occupancy right puts some of 
 them into new difficulties it will probably release others from difficulties 
 that now lie in their way. On the whole until all the surrounding 
 disadvantages are cleared away, and the people find the opportunity of 
 enjoying the full benefit of the modification, it seems that the amount 
 of the disadvantages resulting from the change would not be greater 
 than the amount of expected advantages. But the benefit of the other 
 point — deprivmg the landowners of the right of enhancement of rent 
 
44 
 
 cannot be made out ; indeed, nearly all the above-mentioned difficulties 
 and evils seem to be the result of this cause and not of the other one — 
 the security of occupancy right. At present, by the law the landlords 
 are recognized as the owners or proprietors of the land, and tenants 
 have to pay something to them. This means that in a property two 
 persons have joint interest — the owner and the labourer. As long, 
 therefore, as both have a concurrent right in the farm their joint or 
 co-operative interests will remain alike. The right of permanent 
 tenancy to be given to tbe tenant is recommended on the ground that a 
 co-operative interest be created for him ; but as soon as the right of 
 enhancement of rent is barred for the owner his co-operative interest 
 dies. It is rather a difficult problem to understand that for the sake of 
 improvement an interest is created solely for a class of men who are 
 unable to do anything in that respect, while the interest of the class 
 which is able to do something is killed. 
 
 The only capitalists we have in India at present are the large land- 
 owners ; or we should rather say, in other words, that the only individuals 
 that we have in our society who can be made to work as capitalists are 
 the large landowners. If then, instead of going so far round about to 
 encourage the tenant to make improvements by giving him the right of 
 occupancy, and by providing him with capital for the purpose, and the 
 like ; if I say, instead of adopting these difficult and complicated 
 measures the landlords were compelled or encouraged to improve the 
 land and then receive interest on their outlay the result would indeed 
 be much better and more business-like than that of the other plan ; and 
 really there would be just as much success in gaining the immediate 
 object in view — the improvement of the soil. In order to produce a 
 greater quantity from a piece of land, the labourer must pay something 
 for the increased outlay ; and whether it be called interest or rent it will 
 make no difference to him. How much benefit could not the country 
 expect to gain, and how peacefully could we not hope to see the 
 business go on, if these landowners were forced by law or encouraged 
 by other means, to assume the position of capitalists or agricultural 
 banks, and so provide for the needs of the community. These people 
 are able to do the work on a large scale. Many of them have such 
 ample means that for doing these works they need depend only on 
 their own purses. Only a part of them would be in want of pecuniary 
 help. The means of borrowing money would have to be provided for 
 these only. It would be most prudent to adopt such measures and 
 frame such plans that an owner in need of money could, as far as 
 possible, get it from his own community ; or that, failing this, some other 
 institution or banks from which he might seek help should be within 
 his reach. It is clear that the proposed banks could open accounts 
 with these owners of large permanent proprietary rights (who are 
 comparatively very few in number) with far more convenience, economy, 
 greater security, and less trouble than with the petty tenants, 4,700,000 
 of whom have less than four acres of holding, and, as security, only 
 their tenancy right. This form of transaction, viz., the connection of 
 the banks with the owners of land, making the class (who at present do 
 nothing for the community in return for their share from the product of 
 
45 
 
 1 labour and land) useful by placing the work of improvement in their 
 hands, seems to be far simpler, far more beneficial and business-like, 
 j This plan prevails in England, where the General Land Drainage 
 Improvement, the Land Improvement, or Land Enfranchisement 
 Companies, &c., provide the capital, and, if required, do the work, but, 
 
 ! as a rule, on the security of the proprietory right, and not on that of 
 ij simple tenancy right. 
 
 How very injurious the stopping of the co-operative interest of the 
 I land owners’ class would at once be to the improvement of land. 
 
 As soon as they were deprived of the right of enhancement of rent 
 t what on earth could induce them to lay out their money in improve- 
 j ments. However the yield of the land might increase it would be no 
 profit to them. Till the end of the existing settlement the tenant would 
 monopolise the whole ; and after the next settlement the Government 
 I would demand increased revenue. However much or little they now do 
 for improvements, as soon as such a law comes into force they will at 
 once withdraw their hands, and will sit perfectly idle, and content 
 to enjoy themselves on their fixed and unalterable income. This would 
 be a third deduction from the common wealth of the country, besides 
 (i) the interest on foreign capital ; ( 2 ) the capital of the money lenders 
 becoming unproductive. 
 
 The advantages of the agricultural banks would entirely exclude this 
 class, because they would not want money for any improvement, as they 
 could not raise the rent. And if they could raise rents, after impro\ e- 
 ments, there would be no new benefit from the law , because, as far as 
 we can gather the evidences from facts we see that in the majority o ( 
 cases they do this at present. Firstly, they make wells, dig tanks, make 
 dykes, and then claim increase of rent. They understand their 
 business very well. They do not oust a tenant as long as he simply 
 makes a bare living by the work ; and if they do oust a tenant they do 
 it through the fear of his obtaining the occupancy right. There are 
 many exceptions also in this rule. 
 
 Now the question is (a) whether they do such works at present or 
 not ; (b) how they could be made useful to society and obliged to do 
 this work. We would not say much about these questions, as we have 
 already given more space to this subject in our pages than we had 
 j intended to. Moreover, it is quite out of the matter which we have 
 undertaken to prove, to draw up a scheme and show how the work 
 should be done. However, about the first question, we refer to the 
 schedules of such works which, from time to time, are published in the 
 Government Gazette of our Province, and also to the facts that are 
 patent in the districts of Oudh, and which have converted tracts of 
 I uncultivated land and jungles, into high rent-paying fields. 
 
 And as for the second part of the question, we believe that it will be 
 more easy to force or to teach this class of agriculturists, who are few in 
 number, are more sensible, and, for the most part, in easy circum- 
 stances, to do the work than to try to carry it out by means of the 
 other class — the poor victims of misery. If by some means these 
 landlords could be brought to the knowledge that their capital, besides 
 increasing their income by purchasing other landed properties (the only 
 
46 
 
 way which they know now of making their capital productive) * can 
 become just as productive by improving the land they already possess ; 
 and if, moreover, no hindrance were put in their way to check their 
 investing money in improvements, then their money, which now really 
 lies dormant, would become the country’s capital. 
 
 There seems no impossibility in their being taught this new and 
 second mode of earning interest ; and there is no reason why they 
 should not appreciate it. Let them either lay out their money 
 themselves, and when they have increased the produce of the land, 
 take a share of the profit and call it rent, or let them lend the money 
 to their tenants to enable them to do the improvement, take their share 
 of the profit and call it interest. They should not be allowed to ask a 
 penny of increase from the tenant except on one of these two grounds, 
 and they should not be allowed to oust their tenants. 
 
 There is a great comfort in giving a share from the produce of the 
 hard labour of the peasant to the owner if the amount which is paid to 
 them becomes capital for the country. That is, money being accumu- 
 lated in one man’s hands can do much good ; whereas, if scattered 
 among a hundred it can neither do good in improvement nor add much 
 to the comfort of the poor labourers. But if no attempt is made to 
 derive benefit from that share of the produce of the land which is paid 
 to the owner, that share will be as if carried into dead account, and 
 will be of no use except simply to make idle a class that might be 
 useful, and to provide it with luxuries. 
 
 In attempting to make improvement through the tenants, that is, on 
 a small scale, the slowness of progress, and the relation between that 
 progress and the period of the Government settlement (which is now 
 only 30 years) is a point of no less importance ; but we prefer avoiding 
 political points as much as possible, and leave the question as it is. It is 
 not our intention to criticise political proposals, which are the result of 
 long experience and investigation There must be some secrets which 
 it is beyond our knowledge to understand ; and there is no doubt that 
 all such proposals are based on no other motives but to give aid to the 
 poor helpless class. Our object in all the foregoing remarks in this 
 chapter is simply this, to show that modification of the law is not 
 enough to improve the material prosperity of the country. 
 
 9. Therefore by summing up the main advantages and disadvantages 
 which have been pointed out in these pages, we should see this result : 
 
 ADVANTAGES. 
 
 1. — Creating joint co-operative 
 interest of the tenant in his holding. 
 
 2. — Providing security for him. 
 
 3. - — Encouraging him to make 
 improvements in his holding. 
 
 4. — Enabling him to borrow 
 money for improvements. 
 
 DISADVANTAGES. 
 
 1. — Raising enmity with superior 
 landlord. 
 
 2. — Increasing of complications 
 with the law courts. 
 
 3. — Acting against the rules of 
 political economy, as for instance 
 checking the freedom of contract 
 
 * This does not increase the public wealth, as one loses what the other 
 gains, but turning their hoardings into capital would do so. 
 
47 
 
 5. — Giving him the monoply of 
 the profit thus made for a certain 
 time. 
 
 6. — Saving him from the misery 
 into which competition and rack 
 renting are sinking him down. 
 
 in relation of wages and labour, 
 &c. 
 
 4. — Reducing a class of people 
 to the choice of either working on 
 mere nominal wages or finding no 
 work 
 
 5. — Encouraging improvidence 
 and debt in the people. 
 
 6. — Making the tenant subordin- 
 ate to two masters instead of one. 
 
 7. — Stopping the joint co-opera- 
 tive interest of the land-owner in 
 making improvements in land. 
 
 8. — Making landowners’ capital 
 unproductive. 
 
 9. — Stopping the means of im- 
 provements being carried out on a 
 large scale. 
 
 10. — Creating a very complicated 
 method in borrowing money for 
 improvements by which (a) 
 tenants of small holdings will gain 
 no advantage ; (b) the Govern- 
 ment will have to intervene in all. 
 
 11. — Neglecting the advantages 
 of division of labour, and not 
 making the landlord do something 
 for society. 
 
 12. — Trying to settle the terms 
 of contract between the landowner 
 and tenant at a period fixed by a 
 third party, by which either the 
 one or the other will probably 
 suffer, and in the present state of 
 India most probably the poorer of 
 the two will suffer, &c., &c. 
 
 As the disadvantages are greater than the advantages, the result of the 
 problem is that, as proposed, it cannot increase the natural prosperity 
 of the country 
 
 Further, every branch of the proposal comes finally to rest on the 
 point of capital, so in any case this strengthens our postulate that the 
 first thing which is wanted is capital in the country. But is there 
 capital? No. And why is there no capital? because there is no 
 enterprise. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 Encouragement of Commerce. 
 
 i. — The proposal is a really successful means if there be capital ; without 
 capital it not only proves a failure but injurious. 2 . — The nature of trade 
 can be estimated by small proportions of professional , commercial , and 
 industrial classes in the population — sub-divisions of the professional class, 
 the commercial class, the industrial class — quotations from the Census 
 Reports of N W.P. 3 . — The numbers of the above classes compared with 
 those in England. 4. — It is not all that in India the numbers are very 
 small, but the very nature of the individual occupations is miserable — ( 1 ) 
 brokers — dallal ; (2) shopkeepers ; (3) hawkers and pedlars. 3. — The 
 foreign machine-made cheap and fanciful articles have ousted home made, 
 clumsy commodities — grain ( or the food ) is the current money. For fancy 
 articles people part with their food. 6. — Industrial classes and their 
 income — vide Appendix, y. — Only four centres of industry in such a large 
 province. Conclusion from the above remarks. 8 . — No difficulty of 
 exchanging food with other necessaries of daily life or fancy articles. The 
 more the railroads are extended the more this exchange is stimulated — the 
 more the people part with then food, p.— It is a pity that India, with such 
 a thick population and the small out-turn from the land should be 
 encouraged to part with her food— -the population and produce of India 
 and England compared. 10. — The surplus of agricultural produce which 
 can be exported from India is not enough to stimulate the natural 
 prosperity. 11. — Effect of foreign capital — it leaves only a residue in the 
 country by which the labourers can simply make a bare living ; from this 
 residue also a large proportion goes back to industrial countries. 12.— The 
 trade in its present condition has not done any good for the people in India 
 • — Their wages are decreased indirectly - — on the contrary, the agricultural 
 labourers of those countries which possess capital and energy , ate profited 
 by the increase of wealth — the agricultural labourers in England. 13. — 
 Financial statistics of India. 
 
 1. This universally acknowledged and really successful means for 
 promoting the prosperity ot a country is unanimously recommended in 
 the case of India also. Without doubt commerce is the force by which 
 the prosperity of the people will be elevated if we can only find the 
 power that produces this force. What is that power ? Everyone knows 
 that it is “ capital.” In the absence of capital our commerce, like all 
 other good and beneficial motive powers, such as the help of Govern- 
 ment and the modification of law, not only practically proves to be 
 
49 
 
 unsuccessful, but become a source of our thriftlessness and poverty. At 
 first sight it seems rather ridiculous that by encouragement of commerce, 
 by freedom of trade, and by facility in the means of communication 
 and exchange, the blessings of which India was destitute in former times, 
 it seems ridiculous, I say, that India, after obtaining these blessings, not 
 only remains incapable of deriving any benefit from them and from the 
 encouragement of them, but should, instead of rising by them, absolutely 
 sink down. But if we pay attention to the law relating to trade, which 
 is described in one line of the Persian poet Nizami, we see that nothing 
 more remains to be proved, that is — “ Ke zer zer kashad der jahan ganj 
 ganj which means “ In the world the larger sum of money or treasure 
 has a tendency to attract the smaller sum of its kind to increase its 
 bulk,” or, as the vulgar English phrase has it, “ money breeds money.” 
 When the interchange of trade is open between two countries which are 
 comparatively rich and poor in capital, the current of wealth obeys the 
 same law as that of a stream, that is, all the little shallow springs collect 
 into the large deep basins. Under the same rule the more channels of 
 i communication are opened, the greater will be the loss of India with 
 i respect to wealth and the necessaries of life. 
 
 Further on we are going to prove this by facts, and show that this 
 j proposal also is useless in the present condition of India, for gaining 
 [ the object in view. Firstly, we will try to seek our example in the 
 I present condition of our trade ; that is, we will consider how far it does 
 ! good to the country, and what sort of trade we have at our disposal. And 
 secondly we will try to see whether in our present circumstances we can 
 make any improvement or not. 
 
 For illustration we take the North West Province again. 
 
 2. The circumstances and nature of our trade can be well understood 
 | without any further explanation if we only look at the trifling proportions 
 
 I of our professional, commercial, and industrial classes in the population. 
 From the Census Report of 1881, we see that out of a population of 
 more than forty-foiir millions we have (excluding females) 33 - 3 per cent, 
 of the males returned with no occupation. This means that every 
 two males in the population have one male dependent on them. Leaving 
 out this unproductive population, which, more or less exists in every 
 country, if we look at the remaining 66 - 6 per centage of males we find 
 that only 2-5 per cent, of them belong to the professional class. This 
 class, of course, indirectly influences trade. Most of these 2-5 per cent, 
 belong to the Government offices, or are engaged in the defence of the 
 country. Excluding those sub-orders of this class which cannot be said 
 to have direct connection with trade, such as the Government officers, 
 soldiers, priests, musicians and teachers, &c., if we look at the other 
 I sub-orders which can be called directly concerned with trade, we find 
 1 that there are only 7431 lawyers, law stationers, and law-stamp vendors ; 
 237 authors and literary persons ; only 228 artists and 522 scientific 
 persons in a population of 44,000,000 of all ages and sexes. 
 
 In the commercial class also there are only 2-5 per cent, or 133,882 
 males. A detail of the orders and sub-ordfers of this class will be 
 interesting. 
 
 Order 1. (vi) Persons who buy or sell, keep, or lend money, houses 
 
 E 
 
5 ° 
 
 or goods of various kinds, Mercantile Men, 91,823, other general 
 dealers, 41,059. 
 
 Under the sub-orders of this order of the commercial class, the 
 figures are as follows ; the tables with the foot notes are copied from 
 the Census report of the Province. 
 
 Merchants 
 
 4855 
 
 Bank Service ... 
 
 89 
 
 Brokers’ Agents ... 
 
 13,111 
 
 Auctioneers’ Agents 
 
 12 
 
 Commercial Clerks 
 
 7963 
 
 Money-lenders or Bill Discounters 
 
 37)9°° 
 
 Money-lenders’ Establishments ... 
 
 19,341 
 
 Money Changers 
 
 7547 
 
 Lessees of Markets 
 
 1004 
 
 Shop-keepers & General Dealers ... 
 
 16,641 
 
 Hawkers' and Pedlars ... 
 
 24,411 
 
 Lth reference to these remarks, in 
 
 order to show clearly the 
 
 structure of this section of the commercial class, we should omit the 
 clerks, unspecified, and lessees of market from order vi ; we should in- 
 clude in one group, as distributors of produce and manufacturers , the 
 merchants, agents, auctioneers, commercial clerks, (proper), shop-keepers, 
 hawkers, and throw the remainder dealers in money into one group. 
 We shall then have our mercantile class as follows. Distributors of 
 produce and manufacturers 61,906, and money-lenders, money-changers 
 and bankers 64,877.” “ This brings out very clearly the important fact 
 
 that more than half of our mercantile class consists of money-lenders 
 and their subordinates.” 
 
 Page 107 Census report, N.W. Province of Oudh. 
 
 Order 2. (vii) Persons engaged in conveyance of men, animals, 
 goods, or messages. 
 
 Carriers on Railways ... ... ... 9066 
 
 „ „ Roads ... .. ... 159)527 
 
 „ „ Canal and Rivers ... ... 21,946 
 
 „ engaged in storage ... ... 14, 739 
 
 Messengers and porters... ... ... 45,558 
 
 Class 5.— The Industrial Class. — The fifth or the industrial class 
 numbers 2,429,788 males, equivalent to 15.8 per cent, of the occupied 
 males. Under this class are included six orders as follows : — 
 
 1. Persons engaged in arts and mechanics, in which all kinds of mat- 
 erials are used in combination... ... 155,525 
 
 2. Persons working and dealing in the textile fabrics and dress 985,226 
 
 3. Persons working and dealing in food and drink ... 521,796 
 
 4. Persons working and dealing in live stock and products 45)45° 
 
 5. Persons working and dealing in vegetable substances 215,132 
 
 6. Persons working and dealing in minerals ... ...506,659 
 
 It is necessary, we believe, to add a brief detail of this division also. 
 
 “ The most numerous order is the one including workers in textile ] 
 
 fabrics, weavers, cloth dealers and tailors, next in rank come the persons 
 dealing in food and drinks, the grain and flour dealers, the sweet-meat 
 sellers, condiment dealers, (pansari), potters, blacksmiths, water carriers, 
 
&c.” “ Taking the principal sub-orders of each order, we find in sub- 
 
 order i, of order x, the following persons classed as workers in books, 
 booksellers 594, bookbinders 424, printers 1656, librarians 8; a poor 
 fraction indeed among a population exceeding 44 millions ! ” 
 
 “ In sub-order 7, under the head of philosophical instrument makers 
 are shown 16 males, viz:- 15 sellers of spectacles, and one spectacle 
 frame maker.” “ In sub-order 10, the 186 men shown as tool-makers, 
 are sangar or edge-tool sharpeners, the 1200 cutlers, comprise the metal 
 polishers, sakalgar and clasp knife makers, &c.” “Among the 16,366 
 workers in chemicals, are included 11,239 manufacturing chemists, this 
 group is made up of salt-petre makers 9513, reh and sajji makers &c.” 
 Only 361 dyers and calenderers are shown, these are the men shown 
 in the schedule as calenderers (kundigar), dyers, (rangrez), 
 
 “ In order xi, textile fabrics, the workers in wool consist principally of 
 13,57° blanket weavers, (gararya), of the 436,017 males engaged in cotton 
 manufactures 367,774 are weavers, (jolaha), 62,644 cotton cleaners, 
 (dunia), and 3397 cotton spinners.” “ The workers in dress includes, 
 172,418 hair dressers, (nai), 84,332 tailors, (darzi), and 43,842 shoe- 
 makers, (mochi or chamar).” 
 
 “ In these Provinces we have indeed the well defined mountain tract 
 of the Himalyas, but the hill men are almost exclusively agriculturists ; 
 the local iron and copper smelting works have almost, if not entirely, 
 disappeared. In Agra, Mattra, Nirzapore, there is some specialisation in 
 stone-cutting industry ; with these exceptions, the north Privinces and 
 Oudh consists of a merely uniform tract, washed by rivers of similar 
 character and consequently homogeneous throughout. Hence we have 
 no special industrial centres, developed in the neighbourhood, of places 
 where a special class of raw material can be obtained with facility, with 
 the exception of the stone-cutting industry just noticed, there is hardly 
 a single instance of any important industry localized many particular place.” 
 3. In the above referred report the numbers of people of different 
 I occupations, are compared with the same classes in England. For 
 comparison the occupation tables of the provinces of the North West and 
 Oudh, and of England of 1871, have been reduced to a common basis 
 of 10,000 of population of each sex (Census report of N.W.P. pages 
 1 04- 1 14). The table in which the occupations, orders and sub- 
 
 1 orders of the different classes are compared is very interesting ; 
 but we have no space in our pages to copy the whole, so that 
 the reader might form an opinion therefrom, as to how nominal 
 our trade must be in such scarcity of the commercial and industrial 
 
 classes. Those who want to see the details can do so on page 
 
 123 of the report. However, a few very important orders and sub-orders 
 of the commercial and industrial classes, are shown here as a specimen. 
 
 CLASS 3.— COMMERCIAL. 
 
 Occupation. Males, No. per 10,000 Females, No. per 10,000 
 
 Engd. N.W.P. Engd. N.W.P. 
 
 - Order 6. Persons who buy 
 or sell, keep or lend money, 
 
 houses, or goods ... i 65’5 4°'i 5‘8 
 
 3'4 
 
52 
 
 Occupation. 
 
 Order 7. Persons engaged 
 in conveyance of men, 
 animals and goods 
 Sub-order 1. Carriers on 
 railways 
 
 Sub-order 3. Carriers on 
 canals and rivers 
 Sub-order 4. Carriers on 
 sea and river 
 
 Males, No. per 10,000 
 Engd. N.W.P. 
 
 76-5 
 
 4'° 
 
 297 
 
 9-6 
 
 27-5 
 
 O'O 
 
 Females, No. per 10,000 
 Engd. n.w.p. 
 
 0*2 O’O 
 
 o - 4 o'o 
 
 o - 4 o‘o 
 
 CLASS V.— INDUSTRIAL CLASS. 
 Order 10. Persons engaged 
 in arts and mechanical 
 productions 
 
 Sub-order 1. Workers and 
 
 dealers in books ... 58-0 
 
 Sub-order 3. Workers and 
 
 1*2 
 
 8-8 
 
 0-0 
 
 dealers in printing pictures 5-0 
 Sub-order 10. Workers and 
 
 0*0 
 
 °'3 
 
 0*0 
 
 dealers in machines & tools 1 5 1 '4 
 Sub-order 14. Workers and 
 dealers in houses and build- 
 
 06 
 
 6"2 
 
 O'O 
 
 ings 523-9 
 
 Order 1 1 . Persons working 
 and dealing in the textile 
 fabrics and in dress 
 
 Sub-order. Workers and 
 
 566 
 
 1 1 '9 
 
 00 
 
 dealers in wool ... 1 16‘6 
 
 Order 15. Persons working 
 and dealing in minerals 
 
 Sub-order 8. Workers and 
 
 63 
 
 106-9 
 
 5'o 
 
 dealers in gold and silver 2 1 ■ 1 
 Sub-order 9. Workers and 
 
 3°'° 
 
 3‘2 
 
 - 1-0 
 
 dealers in copper ... 5-1 
 
 Sub-order 10. Workers and 
 
 0*0 
 
 O-I 
 
 O’O 
 
 dealers in tin... ... 21-0 
 
 Sub-order 13. Workers and 
 
 1*0 
 
 25 
 
 0*0 
 
 dealers in brass ... 45-2 
 
 Sub-order 14. Workers and 
 
 12.4 
 
 3-8 
 
 °’3 
 
 dealers in iron and steel 309-2 
 
 36*0 
 
 15-8 
 
 O'l 
 
 The general remarks on the comparative tables in the report are as 
 follows. “The garrison of these Provinces for defensive purposes a- 
 mounts to only 64 men to 85 in England.” “ In England 34 men live 
 by the law to 3 in these Provinces, not one in 10,000 of our males be- 
 long to the literary class, but in England 55 are included in it.” “ But 
 the most important contrasts are in the commercial and industrial] 
 classes; in England 3,955 men in every 10,000 are included in these: 
 classes; while in this country the number is 1,227, the difference arising! 
 of course, from the fact that 4,586 in 10,000 of the natives of these 
 Provinces, are employed in agriculture, while in England the proportion 
 
S3 
 
 is only 1242.” According to the last Census returns of England, that 
 of 1881, table 4 of occupations, volume 3, page 6, and the above men- 
 tioned Census of N.W.P, India, the numbers under the important heads, 
 Professional, Domestic, Commercial, Industrial and Agricultural, stand 
 thus. 
 
 Total population. 
 
 N.W.P., India, 44,107,869 
 
 England & Wales, 25,974,439 
 
 Commercial. 
 
 N.W.P., India, 
 England & Wales, 
 
 399) 2 5° 
 
 980,128 
 
 Professional. 
 
 444,077 
 
 647,075 
 
 Industrial. 
 
 4,429,874 
 
 6,373,367 
 
 Domestic. 
 
 169,590 
 
 1,803,810 
 
 Agricultural. 
 
 I S, I2 4,9 22 
 
 i, 3 8 3> i8 4 
 
 4. This is not all, we have shown the extraordinary small proportion 
 of the commercial and industrial professions in a population nearly 
 double that of England, in the Province of India which is, in every respect, 
 considered the heart of the country, the one which was for thousands of 
 years the seat of the Hindoo gods and powerful rajahs, such as Rama 
 and Kirishna, Pithowra or Prithe Raj, &c., and was the seat of the 
 Mohamedan kings and emperors of the Gazni Gori,Toglock,Syed, Lodhia, 
 and Mogul dynasties* ; the country which has always been considered 
 the seat of oriental literature and science, the centre of all industry and 
 arts, fashion and invention, and was the place for manufacture and com- 
 merce, and which, at this day, unquestionably stands first in many of the 
 above respects. The N.W. Province lies in a very fertile and well 
 watered plain of richest soil, bounded and intersected by the Himalaya 
 and'Vindia Mountains, it is more thickly populated than any other part of 
 the country. The people are naturally strong, courageous and intelligent ; 
 the native army is largely composed of them. From this example the 
 condition of the trade of other parts of the country may be estimated. 
 Yet a fact even more important to bear in mind than the mere propor- 
 tion of numbers is this : that even these small numbers in India com- 
 prise occupations of a kind that in England would hardly be called 
 commercial or industrial. For instance to a foreigner, or to those people 
 who do not know what India really is, 444,000 people in the professional 
 class will not look bad; but when they know that 117,000 of these 
 numbers are chawkidar village messengers and watchmen, whose pay is 
 from 10/- to at most ^3 a year, (inclusive), and patwaris village clerks, 
 whose pay is from £1 to ^8 a year, then really they will understand 
 what professions are in India. In 444,000 we have only 18 authors and 
 editors, and only 206 painters. 
 
 It would be very interesting to draw an outline of the work and of 
 the income of all the orders and sub-orders of the above numbers ; but 
 as these classes, professional and domestic, do not come directly within 
 the scope of the subject of this chapter, therefore we think it out of 
 place to go through the details Moreover we are afraid that a full 
 account of the orders and sub-orders ot the industrial and commercial 
 classes also, though they come directly under our heading, would 
 excessively enlarge the work. However, in order that the reader 
 
 * In Agra and a few miles off in the Delhi which is now included in the 
 Province of the Panjob. 
 
54 
 
 may know the real nature of the trades, we must give one or two 
 examples of the business of our commercial and industrial classes. 
 For instance, under the commercial class, in which 132,882 males are shown, 
 large numbers are returned under the following heads. (1) Brokers 
 13,111, these are called dallal. The occupation of these people is well 
 known to every one who only once in his life has had an occasion to 
 shop in an Indian town market. The greatest nuisances and the great- 
 est rogues that we have are these dallals. This word dallal being of 
 universal hatred, has become an adjective which is applied to signify the 
 character of a person who does nothing but make his living by cheating 
 and deceiving other persons. It is not an exaggeration, but a fact, that, 
 when one goes to a market to buy a shilling’s worth of calico, or a pair 
 of common shoes for a shilling, two or three, and sometimes more, of 
 these dallals will follow him, and try their best to deceive the purchaser 
 in making the bargain. It also should be borne in mind, that in India, 
 time is not so valuable as in England, and that in buying or selling men 
 are not afraid of wasting time in making a bargain. It is not extraordinary 
 for a man to spend an hour in buying a shilling’s worth of calico, after 
 seeing and entering about a dozen shops ; and the dallals would not leave 
 him if the purchaser remained a whole day in running from one end of the 
 market to the other. One of them at least will remain with him if the 
 others leave, and all of them will take their share of the commission, 
 (even were it only a ^d.,) which the shop-keeper gives them after the 
 bargain is settled. If the purchaser is too particular, and will not easily 
 buy any thing, or avoids their company, after showing him every shop, 
 they will leave him alone ; but if he buys the article from any of 
 the shops on the same day, or on some other subsequent day, the shop- 
 keeper will not sell it without adding the commission of the dallals. 
 The rate of commission differs in every town, and in every market, and 
 is quite a private thing, which is known only by the shop-keeper and the 
 dallals. It is usually about a id. in the shilling; but if the purchaser 
 is simple and inexperienced, they cheat him as much as they can, often 
 a purchaser buys a 6d. or even a 4d. article for 1 /- and the balance is 
 divided between the shop-keeper and the dallals. In the course of 
 business they speak their own slang, which the purchaser cannot under- 
 stand. In the purchase of valuable goods, such as silk, embroidery, 
 and jewellery, no end of these dallals will accompany the purchaser. 
 In Benares I have seen as many as 25 taking their share of the com- 
 mission on a piece of embroidery cloth purchased by a gentleman ! and 
 they say that there was a time in Benares, that out of 16 annas, (1 rupee) 
 10 annas were taken by the dallals, and 6 annas covered the value of 
 the thing purchased and the profit of the seller. One fact about them 
 is worth mentioning, that they were not so numerous in former times, 
 as they are now. But it must not be thought that their number is in- 
 creased by increase of trade. According to the social rules of the 
 Agarwallas and Khetris, who form the mercantile castes, they are sup- 
 posed to be bound to help their caste people. Formerly, in very remote 
 periods, in case of the bankruptcy or failure in business of one of their 
 members, they were bound to start him again by contributing a fund for 
 him, and to give to the members of their caste incapable of doing 
 
55 
 
 business a share of their own profit in the shape of commission. Al- 
 though this is the origin of the custom, yet up to this time they feel them- 
 1 selves socially bound not to refuse any one belonging to their castes a 
 i share of the commission which is called dallali. By the increase of 
 population and failures in business, all the bankrupts in the commercial 
 line, when they find no other means to live upon, turn dallal. This is 
 the reason that their number is very much increased and is increasing 
 every day. As the tenants in the agricultural line, who by dividing 
 the land among themselves, as has been explained in the fore-going 
 chapter, have no longer more than enough to keep their existence ; so in the 
 commercial line, the number of these dallals increasing and business 
 I decreasing, all of them have to share the margin of profit called dallali 
 among them, and are consequently reduced to living from hand to 
 i mouth, and have no means to earn more except by more cheating, 
 i Those who have seen Indian markets know very well what those broker 
 dallals are. People of all ages from 14 to 70 are seen in the class, and 
 many of them will be seen in rags, and shoeless. 
 
 Our reason for giving the above remarks is this : that by the word 
 broker, it should not be considered that they are anything like the 
 j brokers in England, and that the amount of our trade should not be 
 estimated by their numbers. They are nothing but a pest in the country 
 and have nothing to do with what we should call trade. 
 
 These dallals are found in many trades, in the law, in the country 
 markets, among weavers, and are most numerous in the sacred places of 
 the Hindoos. In different businesses they are known by different names 
 To give a full history of all the classes of dallals is unnecessary here. 
 
 (2) In the same class, (commercial) 16,641 shopkeepers are shown, 
 but what these shopkeepers are generally, it is very difficult to explain. 
 
 I Those who have travelled in the country, know well what commodities 
 can be obtained in these shops. We have shown above, that on the 
 I whole only 10 per cent, of the population in the Province is urban ; 
 therefore the above number of shopkeepers includes so few town shop- 
 keepers, that they hardly can be taken into consideration. The majority 
 ' of them are those people who keep shops in villages and country bazaars, 
 and three-fourths of these sell nothing else but parched grain, salt, cane 
 sugar, rice and coarse grain, meal, and some other little odd things. They 
 deal chiefly in the produce of their own country. For a further 
 description see Appendix No. 1 under the head of tradesmen. 
 A short account of the important class of shopkeepers, of their trades, 
 and of their income, will be seen in the Appendix. 
 
 N.B . — The Appendix No. 1, Part II., which contains a short 
 account of the life and income of the people, of nearly all occupations 
 | and businesses in the Province was written by me in 1875. 
 
 I I do not think it necessary to give a description of the same here ; 
 but, by reading the Appendix above referred to, the reader will under- 
 stand the nature of our trades well. 
 
 (3) In the commercial class in question we see a large proportion of 
 hawkers and pedlars, there being no less than 24,418 in number. This 
 total includes Khoncha-wala of the towns, i.e. sweetmeat sellers, sellers 
 of vegetables, and other petty dealers, and most of the Bhounri-kerne- 
 
5 & 
 
 wala of the country, who, owing to the scarcity of shops and markets 
 in the country, carry salt, tobacco, and raw sugar on their backs or on a 
 pony, and exchange these things in the country for grain. A few carry 
 cloth, brass utensils and brass ornaments in the same manner, and 
 exchange them for the broken utensils of the same kind. 
 
 5. There is one thing worth mentioning and remembering in this 
 place, that formerly the country shopkeepers and hawkers used to sell 
 almost exclusively things which were produced in the country. The 
 articles were clumsy, dear, and not so numerous as now. But with the 
 increase of railways and other means of communication, the cheap 
 and imposing-looking foreign articles are increasing, and taking the place 
 of home-made articles in the bags of the hawkers, and these are spread 
 in the country much more than formerly. I remember that some 20 
 years ago, on my igniting a match in a village the people considered it 
 one of the wonders of the world, and now I see in the house of almost 
 every large farmer a box of matches kept carefully in case perhaps it 
 may be required one night owing to some accident. Needles, thread, 
 nails, machine-made knives, scissors, boxes of different kinds, pencils, 
 pens, French-made fancy things in large quantities ; toys, such as 
 bangles, marbles, &c., &c., though not required by their necessities, yet, 
 being very cheap, as worth only a farthing or a half-penny, and being 
 curious to them, have a great attraction and temptation to make the 
 people part with their very food ; that is, they give grain in ex- 
 change for them. This also should be remembered, that among the 
 60 per cent, of country people to whom we always refer for the sake of 
 example in this work, grain is, in many transactions, the current money. 
 Whatever they buy less than 3d. in value they buy directly with grain ; 
 and for articles of more value, such as brass utensils, Manchester 
 printed calico, &c., worth, perhaps, 2s. or 3s., they will first exchange 
 the grain for money, and will then give the cash for the thing. If they 
 buy luxuries for themselves, as salt, tobacco, vegetables, &c., they have 
 to pay for it out of the surplus of their food ; or, if they buy something 
 more valuable they have to part with the same article of food. In the 
 months of harvest the markets are more flourishing than in the other 
 months, and many of the more improvidents (not thinking of the 
 morrow) satisfy their curiosity and luxury at the cost of their food, and 
 thus fall victims into the hands of the grain dealers, who support them 
 when their own food is exhausted, and make them pay interest at 50 per 
 cent, on the grain lent for their support. (A full account of the trans- 
 actions by which the grain dealers support the people and charge 50 
 per cent, interest, will be given in the 4th chapter). 
 
 We do not think it necessary to give a description of all the orders 
 and sub-orders of the commercial class that we have mentioned in the 
 foregoing pages of this chapter, though it would be interesting enough. 
 We have, however, no time for this, therefore we leave the second order, 
 that of persons engaged in carrying men, animals, &c. This order 
 includes our Kahars, the palanqueen bearers, and the large number of 
 Bardhia, the people who carry grain to country markets either on their 
 own backs or on the backs of oxen and ponies. This is the largest 
 means of traffic that we have ; and to know the nature of their occupa- 
 
57 
 
 I tion, the amount of grain they carry, would be very interesting, but we 
 cannot prolong these remarks. Readers can form an idea by reading 
 the Census Report, also vide Appendix (Part II.) under tradesmen. 
 
 6. After this we proceed to the industrial class, which contain 15 ‘8 
 per cent, of the population, or 2,429,788 males, and write a few words 
 to give the reader a correct notion as to what this class is composed of. 
 The passages from the Census Report, which give some account of the 
 sub-orders, have also been quoted, but as the report is not meant to give 
 a full history of the business and income of the people, and accordingly 
 they are insufficient to explain to the reader, who does not know India, 
 what the real nature of our industry is. An Englishman should not 
 form his idea of our workmen in textile fibre from the men in Manches- 
 ter engaged in spinning and calico-printing factories ; of our workers in 
 
 1 wool by the men in the factories of the Western Counties of England 
 (such as Stroud in Gloucestershire) ; of our tool makers by the people 
 I in Sheffield and Birmingham ; or of our workers in chemicals by the 
 men engaged in the works of the same name in the Northern towns of 
 England, such as Manchester and St. Helens. Nor can we explain 
 much about them here, but we refer him to the Appendix, where a short 
 account will be found. In a general sense the people in question in 
 condition of life are just the same as the people of the agricultural class. 
 The industry is not fit for any foreign market ; even with a bare living 
 I the workers can hardly compete with foreign machine-made goods ; 
 
 1 consequently industry is in a very decreasing state. There is no diversity 
 of s occupation, no division of labour. For instance, the same man who 
 cuts the wood, brings it home, saws it, makes a clumsy sort of wheel 
 from it, and takes it himself to some town to sell it for a country cart. 
 On an -average the income of these industrial people in the country is 
 not more than 2d. or 3d. a day per head, and of the men in the sub- 
 order of workers in textile fibre, the cotton and blanket weavers, and the 
 workers in chemicals, the salt petre makers, even less than this. For 
 further particulars of the class in question, as detailed in page 50 and 5 1 
 of this book, see the Appendix, where they are arranged as follows : — 
 
 Cotton Weavers under Jolaha. 
 
 Tailors under Darzi. 
 
 Sweetmeat Makers under Halwai. 
 
 Condiment Dealers under Pansari. 
 
 Dyers under Rangraze. 
 
 Cotton Cleaners under Dhonya or Behna. 
 
 Shoemakers under Chamar. 
 
 Potters under Komhar. 
 
 Blacksmiths under Lohar. 
 
 Workers in chemicals and salt petre makers under Lonya. 
 
 Water Carriers under Kahar. 
 
 Blanket Weavers under Gararya. 
 
 Hairdressers under Nai. 
 
 7. In the report of the Department of Agriculture and Commerce of 
 the Province for 1882, page 9, a list of 16 manufacturing towns is given, 
 such as Mizapore, Marolabad, Lucknow, &c. ; but except of brass ware 
 of Mathra and Mirzapoor, inlaid ware of Morodabad, silver and 
 
5 » 
 
 embroidery work of Lucknow, carved work of Nagina, and scent of 
 Jounpore, hardly any other manufactures go out of their native district. 
 Further, many of these things are somewhat fancy articles, and not 
 goods required for the necessaries of ordinary life. Throughout the 
 Province, with a population of 44 millions, there are only four places 
 the manufactures of which take a place by the side of foreign-made 
 things. These manufactures are necessaries of life, and are found in 
 the markets of other towns also in India, besides the places where they 
 are made ; but they have no value whatever in foreign countries. They 
 are (1) silk, plain and embroidered, of Benares; (2) Leather work of 
 Cawnpore ; (3) Carpets of Mirzapore ; and (4) last, furniture of 
 Barelly. Lastly the chased brass ware of Benares and inlaid ware of 
 Moradabad go as fancy goods to foreign countries in small quantities, 
 but by the side of the fancy goods of those countries they command no 
 attention. As it is only their novelty, and not their usefulness that tempts 
 the purchasers to have them, as soon as the novelty is worn out, the 
 little demand which they have will also die. 
 
 Now from the above remarks we believe that the true features of our 
 present trade can be perfectly understood. It is seen that with reference 
 to commerce, we have nothing to exchange but the raw materials that we 
 produce from our land, or, in other words, the first necessaries of lite, 
 viz., food; and from our own industry and manufacture we have neither 
 foreign, nor even much inland trade. To corroborate this statement 
 we find a paragraph in the F.C.R., part n, page 97, “Out of a total 
 recorded export of 58! millions in 1878-9 only 6\ per cent, represent 
 the value of what can properly be called manufactured goods 93^ per 
 cent, being raw produce. 
 
 8. As many wealthy and manufacturing countries depend on us for 
 their food and raw materials, we have no difficulty in exchanging our 
 produce for silver, which is a necessity for paying revenue and rent. 
 Moreover, we are tempted to purchase the cheap articles of fancy, dress, 
 &c., which, by the increase of railways and means of commnnication, 
 are now seen in every village market. We have, then, no difficulty in 
 exchanging our land produce either for silver to pay the rent and 
 revenue, or for boxes of matches or bunches of glass beads to satisfy 
 our fancy. The more the means of communication are facilitated, the 
 more rapid becomes the circulation of our imports, which consist of 
 articles of fancy or of bodily comfort, and of our exports which are 
 nothing else but articles of the first necessity of life. The conse- 
 quence of this is that our home industry is in the same proportion 
 dying away. Our coarse but long-lasting home-dyed Pheryas (a piece of 
 cloth by which a country woman covers her body) is changed for the 
 more gaudy but less durable Manchester printed sari or American dyed 
 cloth, which is becoming cheaper, and consequently at the same 
 proportion our food is becoming dearer. It is a fact that requires no 
 arguments. It is proved by the evidence of all official records of the 
 financial budgets of the country, of the writings of hundreds of 
 politicians. For instance, in the Financial Reform Almanack for 1883, 
 page 169, we see the following remarks : — “ The poverty of the Indian 
 people is almost beyond the realisation of English imagination, as it is 
 
59 
 
 certainly outside the realm of British experience.” “ One-fifth of the 
 people in British India, that is 40 millions, go through life on insufficient 
 food.” “ From the special returns prepared by the Madras Board of 
 Revenue for the Famine Commission it will be seen that from 1814 to 
 1874 the cost of second sort rice has doubled.” “ That is, while in 
 England the process of the law has had the effect of reducing the price 
 of the staple article of food, and making it cheap and plentiful for every 
 one, the exactly opposite principle has prevailed in India.” “This 
 statement is as true of the dry grain food, i.e., millet and the like, as of 
 the ‘wet,’ viz., rice. Ragy, a species of dry grain during the period 
 mentioned has doubled in price, the number of seers per rupee being, 
 in some cases, 52'6 in 1819-23, against 35'4 in 1870-74. . . “ Again, 
 
 testing this by an English standard, it is as though the 4 lb. loaf in 
 England had gone up from 6d. to 2s. on exceptional occasions, and had 
 permanently increased to is. without corresponding advantages to the 
 purchaser in the way of larger means of earning money. Indeed when 
 the prices have been at their highest range, the opportunities of earning 
 money have been the fewest.” 
 
 The Government statistics of the cost of food to the native army 
 establishes the fact of a great increase in price. The average monthly 
 consumption of food by a sepoy, and its price in 1848 and 1875 
 respectively were found to be as follows : — 
 
 1848 1875 
 
 30 seers, 60 lbs. flour ... 
 
 Rs. 
 
 1 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 Rs. 
 
 2 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 3I seers dal 
 
 Rs. 
 
 0 
 
 3 
 
 0 
 
 Rs. 
 
 0 
 
 5 
 
 O 
 
 1 fifteen-sixteenths ghee 
 
 Rs. 
 
 0 
 
 7 
 
 0 
 
 Rs. 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 O 
 
 Sugar and Salt ... 
 
 Rs. 
 
 0 
 
 4 
 
 0 
 
 Rs. 
 
 0 
 
 9 
 
 O 
 
 Firewood 
 
 Rs. 
 
 0 
 
 4 
 
 0 
 
 Rs. 
 
 0 
 
 10 
 
 O 
 
 Tobacco 
 
 Rs. 
 
 0 
 
 2 
 
 0 
 
 Rs. 
 
 0 
 
 6 
 
 0 
 
 Total .. 
 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 0 
 
 
 5 
 
 8 
 
 0 
 
 Now can it be said that this trade, or any further encouragement of 
 this sort of trade, could be beneficial to the country ? Simply common 
 sense will tell us that it could not be so. 
 
 9. It is a pity that our well wishers, without considering the circum- 
 stances of the people and the density of the population, conclude that 
 the encouragement of trade (in its present state), and increasing the 
 means of communication will do good for India. They ought to 
 consider that England, with a population of only 390 * per square mile, 
 cannot produce enough Tor the consumption of its people, and has to 
 depend upon the produce of other countries. In 1882 of wheat alone 
 (omitting grain of all other kinds and meat) no less than 64,171,622 
 cwts. were imported from other countries into England, and of these 
 8,477,479 cwts. came from India . — Journal of Royal Agricultural Society , 
 1883, page xix. ; while India, with a population of 416* per square 
 mile, is expected to enlarge her trade by exchanging her food for mere 
 fancy articles and luxuries. We should go further in detail on this 
 point, and contrast briefly the agricultural condition of both countries. 
 
 N. W. P. Census Report, page 135. 
 
6o 
 
 According to the Census Report, the North Western Province (which we 
 have taken for our illustration) contains a cultivated area of 540,420 
 square miles, which is equal to 34,586,880 acres ; and the population 
 being 44,107,869, the average cultivated area per head is 78 (Form xxi., 
 page 2). The cultivated area of the United Kingdom is 50,432,988, 
 and the population is 35,278,999 (the Financial Reform Almanack, 1883, 
 pages 76 and 135), or 1-42 acre per head. Now, with all her improved 
 and scientific agriculture, with the outlay of large capital, with artificial 
 manures and the aid of machinery, with an average yield of 30 bushels per 
 acre England cannot support her people ; yet India, with her miserable 
 modes of farming, with such insignificant farms and implements, with a 
 scarcity of manure and means of irrigation, with an average yield of only 1 3 
 bushels (as per Famine Report) or 187 bushels (per “ Oudh Gazetteer ”) 
 per acre, is expected to prosper by her trade, viz., exportation of grain 
 and by the increase of the means of communication. The result of 
 this trade is that when a bad year comes, or if in any year there is a 
 falling off in the quantity of rain-fall, famine threatens the country, 
 thousands of people helplessly die, and the whole affairs of the country 
 are disturbed. In ordinary seasons, during four months of the year, 
 May, June, December, and January, the lower class of peasants support 
 their existence by living on wild herbs and wild grass seeds, the Mango 
 and Mohwa fruit, or taking loans of grain from grain dealers. For 
 further particulars see Appendix under Agriculturist, also Famine and 
 Relief Work in Oudh and North West Province by the Author. 
 
 10. According to the Famine Commission Report (part 1, page 50) 
 in a season favourable throughout India, that is, if there be no load 
 requirements in any part of the country owing to famine or a bad year, 
 India has a surplus of 50,000,000 tons of grain for exportation from her 
 produce. To make up this amount Bengal is estimated to contribute the 
 largest quantity, i.e. 1,200,000 tons, and the other eight Provinces an 
 average of less than 300,000 tons. Of these our Province (N.W.P., which 
 is taken for our example) can send from its produce, after the consumption 
 of its population, 660,000 tons. Now we can calculate how much the 
 Province could enrich its population simply by exporting its surplus 
 food. It has been proved above that the Province has nothing from its 
 manufactory and industry to send abroad ; and, as a matter of fact, 
 besides a little opium and indigo, it does not grow any more valuable 
 thing, such as tea, coffee, or even cotton to such an extent that the 
 produce need be taken into consideration. After all, then, there is 
 nothing else left but grain for our trade. Now, for the sake of example, 
 suppose that the Province yields, in an average year, a surplus of 660,000 
 tons, and that there is no increase of population to affect the surplus 
 quantity, and that the whole quantity consists exclusively of wheat, and 
 that it is sent to the market of extreme profit, say to London. Suppose 
 further that our wheat is, in quality and in price equal to the American 
 and Russian wheat in the market, and that the demand for and the 
 price of wheat (which has an inclination to fall) also remained as it is at 
 present, and let the rate of exchange be taken as not worth considering, 
 then I say, under all these favourable circumstances, our 660,000 tons of 
 wheat, which are equal to 1478,400,000 lbs., at the present average rate 
 
of (round number), (a) 27 Rs.=45s. id. per quarter (or 500 lbs.), (b) would 
 be worth in round numbers 79,900,000 Rs. (c) Excluding all other charges 
 such as commissions on both sides, local freight, &c. the mere carriage 
 of this quantity from India at the rate of 40s. or 24 Rs. per 2000 lbs. 
 (d) amounts to Rs. 17,740,800. Now after deducting this sum from the 
 total value of the wheat, our net income is 62,159,200. The population 
 being 44,107,869, therefore income from this trade per head per annum 
 including cost and profit, is, at most, 1 rupee and 7 annas=2s. 4d. 
 
 N.B. — The question of the charges of local carriages need a full 
 discussion in two respects : — 
 
 (1) The heavy rate, which is fully treated by Major Baring in his 
 resolution, in which he proves that carrying 1 ton of wheat for 600 miles 
 costs in India as much as it costs in America for carrying the same 
 quantity more than 1000 miles, &c. 
 
 (2) Owing to the railways being made with foreign capital our country 
 derives very little benefit from what we pay for carriage. But we have 
 no time to say anything about this here. 
 
 The reader should judge for himself, and consider whether this sort 
 of trade has a tendency to increase the material prosperity or to cause 
 the underfeeding of the people. 
 
 11. We next proceed to consider the effect of the foreign capital on 
 our trade, and decide how far it is beneficial to the country, and what 
 portion from that actually remains in the country. 
 
 In the Famine Commission Report, part II., page 94, we see the 
 following remarks : — “The excess ot the value of export over import 
 indicates the entire sum which India has to send to England to pay for 
 all the charges connected with the administration, the interest on 
 English capital invested in India, and the profits of private trade and 
 savings from salaries remitted by Englishmen, minus the new capital 
 sent out from year to year for investment in the country.” “ So far as the 
 excess of export is due to the investment of English capital in India, it 
 is difficult to conceive the conditions under which the remittance of 
 interest on foreign capital judiciously applied could be onerous to the 
 country which pays it, for the investment must necessarily have led to 
 the outlay of a larger sum than the interest sent away, and the balance 
 which is thus produced remains in the country.” “ Thus in the case of 
 guaranteed railways, almost 100 millions of capital have been raised 
 and spent in India, and about 5 millions a year have to be paid in 
 England as interest on that capital.” “ The railways pay those 5 millions 
 by earning a gross income of 10 millions, five of which are spent in 
 wages, and afford occupation to the people of the country.” “ The people 
 who voluntarily pay the 10 millions tor the use of the railways are 
 themselves largely benefited by them, and would have had to pay much 
 
 (a) Royal Agricultural Journal of 1883, table xii. (b) Standard weight 
 of bushel varies from 62 to 80 lbs. : the London standard is 62 lbs. : a 
 quarter=8 bushels or about 500 lbs. (c) 1 Rupee=is. 8d. (d) Journal of 
 
 Royal Agricultural Society of 1878, page 280=14 : — “ The cost of transport- 
 ing (wheat) a quantity equal to the produce of an acre=4 quarters or 32 
 bushels, or 2000 lbs. to England is seldom less and often more than 40s. (24 
 Rupees.” 
 
62 
 
 more had they been obliged to use ruder means of conveyance. The 
 remittance of 5 millions of interest to England therefore indicates the 
 investment of a sum of money in India, which, in numerous ways has 
 conferred both direct and indirect benefit on the country.” We are not 
 prepared to criticise the above remarks, because we are afraid that their 
 being the result of thorough investigation and long experience, might be 
 based on some secrets that we are unable to understand. Moreover, it 
 is quite plain that in the absence of native capital had there not been 
 the foreign capital invested, India would still have remained in 
 the same crude state as it was a hundred years ago We should neither 
 have had railroads or canals, nor tea or coffee plantations. The large 
 area which we have now assigned indigo plantation would have still 
 remained under the ordinary cereal crops — the grain for food. The 
 houses of our rich landowners in every nook and corner of India would 
 have been destitute of even the few articles of decoration of which 
 they boast at present, such as chandeliers, mirrors, lamps, drapery, 
 pictures, &c. Our middle-class people in the same place would not 
 have abandoned their home-made copper plates, and would never have 
 adopted china ware in their place. The cashmeres, home-dyed and 
 printed chintz of their coats would never have been changed for cheap 
 fine broadcloth and tweeds. They would not have found means to 
 purchase patent leather boots. In short, the people o ( the above classes 
 would mostly have remained in possession of the old hand-made clumsy 
 articles of all kinds, and would not have half so many as they have now. 
 
 All our poor classes would have still spun thread for their covering, 
 because, however cheap the things are, it is beyond their power to 
 purchase them. Our weavers would have woven the cloth, dyers and 
 printers would have made the cloth after the pattern of their fancy. For 
 a box of goods to be fetched from Calcutta to Cawnpore we should still 
 have been obliged to pay the bullock cart men or our boat men, for 
 carriage, nearly half as much as the value of the goods, as we had to 
 pay 50 years ago ; and it would have reached Cawnpore in two months’ 
 time. Our own Mahajans would have insured it at a very high 
 commission and so forth. By the outlay of foreign capital in India, and 
 by the increase of communications, we have gained the advantages of 
 obtaining the commodities of life very cheap and plentiful in every 
 corner of India ; and the more these means of prosperity increase the 
 more the people will find them very handy ; but no doubt this expendi- 
 ture replaces that which formerly passed from one hand into another in 
 the country, and had no tendency to run out of India. 
 
 N.B . — At present, besides the grain and meat or vegetables which they 
 consume from the produce of the country, nine-tenths of all the neces- 
 saries of life which the urban people, and half of the necessaries which 
 the rural people of the above classes use are manufactured in foreign 
 countries, and are neater, cheaper, and more decent than the things for 
 which they are substituted. 
 
 Also there is no doubt that a portion of the capital which is paid in 
 wages as stated in the above quotation from the Famine Report, is 
 spent in the country. For instance, in making and working State 
 Railways, although a large share of that also is taken in high wages by 
 
63 
 
 the officers of higher rank, the guards, the drivers, the plate layers, the 
 contractors, the superintendents, the clerks, &c , most of whom are 
 foreigners, yet a residue is still left for the native common labourers. 
 At any rate, from the amount of wages, as much as is necessary for living 
 is spent in the country by all, whether foreign highly-paid servants or the 
 native common labourers. But after all this the questions are — (i) 
 Whether the portion of the profit of the foreign capital spent in India 
 remains in the country or not ? (2) Whether the trade in its present 
 
 condition, that is with the investment of foreign capital, and our exports 
 being hardly anything else but the produce of the land, has improved 
 the material prosperity of the country — India— or of the country to which 
 the capital belongs. 
 
 As for the first question it is a patent fact, and needs no explanation, 
 that as much as is necessary for keeping our existence, whether 
 with dry coarse bread of millet meal, or with the luxurious dinner of five 
 courses, either by low, middle, or high classes of natives or by foreigners, 
 this, of course, remains in the country. Further, the surplus of the 
 I individual unproductive wealth, which is locked up in boxes or buried 
 in the ground, also remains in the country. Besides these, whatever is 
 spent on other things, be it a penny or a pound, whether it passes through 
 one or two or ten or twelve hands, at least nine-tenths from the towns and 
 one half from the country go to the foreign countries to employ their 
 labourers in productive works, in making articles of fancy or comfort for 
 us. For example, of the wages that are given by the State Railway to a 
 signal watchman or a ticket collector, or of the pay which is given by an 
 English officer to any of his domestic servants, say a tailor, only as much 
 as he spends in eating (which is not much) is of profit to the country, 
 
 I that is he employs labour to produce food for him. Besides this 
 the other things which he is in want of, and on which he spends any- 
 thing of his wages, are almost all made outside the country. To make 
 this more clear we give an illustration. Say the signal man who receives 
 8 or 10 Rs. per mensem, spends three-quarters of it in food for himself 
 and his family, and the remaining 2 Rs. per month he spends in odd 
 things, such as a sheet of paper and an envelope for writing a letter, a 
 pen knife to make a pen, two yards of linen for his coat, a needle and 
 thread to sew it, a box of matches to light his lamp (chirag), a box of 
 blacking. None of these things are home-made Further, he wants a 
 bed to sleep on for which he employs a carpenter, and pays 4 annas 
 (quarter of a rupee) per day. The carpenter receives his wages, and 
 out of this spends only as much as he eats to the advantage of the 
 country. He equally spends the rest in purchasing tools and all other 
 foreign things. Now, by the foregoing remarks it can be clearly under- 
 stood that with foreign capital nearly all that is spent in the country 
 leases India, and goes to the conntries which are rich in capital. But 
 I here one would think that this is not against the law of the world, and 
 there is no difference in either case. The people of the country where 
 the capital is do not eat twice as much as their appetite requires, nor do 
 they sleep on two beds. They, in reality, also spend only as much as is 
 necessary for maintaining their existence. If there is any difference it 
 is this, that we produce for them food while they make for us cloth, 
 
64 
 
 needles, thread, tools, paper, &c. ; and, by the exchange of the 
 products of the two countries and by spending the foreign capital in 
 India, not only the signal man but the carpenter, the dealers in tools, 
 cloth, paper, &c., all make their livings. And so they do, but there is 
 one great point to be considered, which is the end of all the theories 
 and laws of Political Economy, the end of all the politics in the world, 
 and the aim of this book, viz., what sort of living they make, whether 
 anything has been added to their comfort, whether the material 
 prosperity has increased to some extent ; and whether we can hope that by 
 enlarging the means it will increase further still. But when we carefully 
 pay attention to this point we arrive at the conclusion that in India the 
 case is quite the reverse. On the other hand the countries which do 
 not part with their food, and make their living by their industry, 
 diversity of occupation, and the division of labour, and the possession 
 of capital ; either they apply their capital in their own country, 
 or they lend to India or other countries ; the increase of these two 
 important wealth-producing factors, viz., energy and capital, betters the 
 condition of life of their own people. 
 
 We believe that we have proved in the foregoing pages that the 
 condition of our people is not improving, and is rather going down ; and 
 further, we will speak about this in the answer to the second question 
 which has yet to be decided, viz. : (2) Whether the trade in its present 
 condition has improved the material prosperity of India, or of the country 
 to which the capital belongs. 
 
 i2. For estimating the material prosperity of the country, leaving 
 aside the aid of arguments and logic, we have a very authentic and 
 accurate natural meter , and here we test the fact by applying it. The 
 meter is the rate of the wages. For the test of the subject in question 
 we here also take the agricultural labour, as we have chosen this great 
 factor of producing wealth in our country as a standard throughout the 
 work. First, in the case of India we see that the wages of our agricul- 
 tural labourers, indirectly if not directly, have very much decreased. 
 We mean that, although they still receive the same wages for their daily 
 work as they used to receive 20 years ago, i.e., about 4 lbs. of grain for 
 1 2 hours’ work, yet they have lost many perquisites that they enjoyed in 
 former days. Some of the most important of them were the following : 
 1. Large grazing commons which enabled them to keep cows and goats 
 in much larger numbers than at present. 2. The large fruit orchards 
 which were entirely at their disposal, which are considerably reduced 
 now, and to which at present the owners do not allow them free access. 
 3. Making salt and spirit for themselves which they now have to buy 
 with the grain that they receive as wages. 4. The wild fruits and the 
 fuel that they used to bring from the bushes, which were abundant in 
 every village. 5. The wood for beams and rafters and the straw for 
 thatching their huts which they used to receive from their masters. 
 6. The hides of the dead cattle which now almost all the masters take 
 themselves. 7. The large pieces of waste land which they used to 
 attach to their huts, and on which they cultivated green vegetable for 
 themselves ; such land is now very much reduced or is entirely absorbed 
 in fields. 8. The whey ( matha ) being abundant, used to be given to 
 
65 
 
 them by the masters, who now have scarcely more than they need 
 themselves. 9. The privilege of permanency of labour. As the 
 | labourers were not so many as now, their masters were obliged to 
 support them all the year round in order that they might have them at 
 ; hand when wanted ; but now the number of labourers being considerably 
 s increased there is no such fear, and most of them have turned mere daily 
 ji labourers, who are employed when there is work and left to starve when 
 ' their labour is not wanted. 10. The most valuable and durable 
 j perquisite which they have lost was this, that it was not at all uncommon 
 that for long and good services they received from their masters pieces 
 of land for planting one or two mango trees, of which they enjoyed 
 possession as long as the trees stood. Now, owing to the land being 
 I more valuable, is never given to them. 11. Pieces of land which they 
 received for beggar work, i.e. extraordinary services rendered gratis to 
 Government or landlord, are not given to them now ; but by the long 
 established custom they are still considered bound to do such services. 
 
 Our agricultural labourers have lost all these sources of indirect 
 income, but of course there is no decrease in the standard amount of 
 ! daily wage, which is 4 lbs. of grain per day. Perhaps it will be said 
 that as grain has nearly doubled in price it should be considered that 
 | their wages are doubled indirectly, too. But the reader should think 
 [ (a) that as long as they have to consume nearly all the grain themselves 
 it will make no difference to them if each grain became as valuable as a 
 pearl. For the little savings out of which they buy odd things, as 
 American cloth, &c., they receive more than formerly, but firstly this 
 t advantage is infinitesimally small, and secondly, even this makesvery 
 I little difference, because the machine-made things which they getcheaply 
 
 I are not half so durable as the hand-made ones. And all the hand and 
 home-made articles have increased in price with food, i.e. they are not 
 
 II so cheap as they were before, (b) For wages no wheat or rice or other 
 I valnable grain which have risen in price are given, but they are infact 
 1 paid in grain which have not really risen in price. They commonly 
 
 receive sorts of grain which are rather grass seeds than grain — Sawan, 
 I Makra, Kodon, Kakoon # =(Pannecum Italicum) ; these are particularly 
 cultivated for paying as wages. They are consumed by no other people 
 i but the labourers : hence never go out of the village market, and 
 I therefore there is not much variation in price, (c) When they are 
 I employed for other work by people who are not farmers they are paid 
 I in cash at an average rate of 1 anna— 1 Id. per head per day, which has 
 I been the same for almost 20 years. From all these facts we can say 
 I that the wages of our labourers, instead of increasing, have materially 
 I decreased. Therefore the trade has not been beneficial to the material 
 prosperity of the country. We find evidences of this fact in many 
 I works and records connected with politics, for instance in the Financial 
 I Reform Almanack, 1883, page 168 — “The increase above shown (in 
 I the exports of India) is not wholly a gain for India. Increased Indian 
 export trade does not mean for the people of India the same thing as 
 
 * See in Chapter IV. — Sometimes barley, millet, and pulse, or Mahwa 
 (fruit) is also given. 
 
 F 
 
66 
 
 increased English exports mean for the people of England. The 
 profits made in manufactories and by capitalists in this country swell the 
 value of England’s wealth. In India export trade is almost entirely in 
 the hands of foreigners, who spend only a portion of their profits in the 
 land wherein those profits are attained ; they send the larger part to 
 England. In spite of her growing trade India is becoming poorer every 
 year, not richer.” Page 169 — “While the price of food has thus 
 enormously increased wages have not risen.” 
 
 Now, to prove the above remarks we should apply the same test in 
 case of a country which has the blessing of energy and of capital of its 
 own, and see the effect of it on the same class — the agricultural 
 labourers. We should take the United Kingdom, as it has close 
 connection with us, and has the largest interchange of trade with India, 
 The accuracy of the t^st is well proven when we see well-marked 
 distinction between the circumstances of the people of the different 
 parts of this kingdom. It is plainly visible that even in this country, 
 in proportion of the energy and capital, there is the demand for labour 
 and the difference between the condition of the class in question. 
 First we should give a glance at Ireland, which is in the United 
 Kingdom. We see that although the country has the same climate, the 
 same sort of soil, the same minerals (or is near enough to obtain the 
 minerals easily) as England ; though the people are physically and 
 intellectually of the same type as the English. The education of the 
 masses, though not compulsory, is yet such that every labourer can read 
 and write, and knows as much politics as his fellow workman in England. 
 Though the climate produces good soldiers, the University great men of 
 letters and statesmen who are by no means inferior to their neighbours, 
 yet the Irish have not an equal amount of energy or capital, and the 
 consequence is that all their natural gifts and accomplishments are not 
 of much use. In every respect Ireland is far behind from the point of 
 what is called prosperity. Comparatively speaking, it has no trade of any 
 kind, no manufactures,* not many railroads in the interior of the country, 
 no advancement in agriculture, no drainage, no good fencing, no large 
 farms in many of the counties ; and I have seen peasants and labourers 
 in the counties of Mayo, Galway, and Sligo living in cottages far worse 
 than an English pig-stye. In respect of the condition of the poorer 
 classes Scotland stands between England and Ireland, and for the same 
 reason, i.e. the proportion of capital and energy. England having the 
 advantage of being the centre of energy, wealth, and civilization, her 
 people are more fortunately circumstanced than any other people in 
 Europe. 
 
 Now we should say a few words about the agricultural labourers of 
 England, and instead of giving our own opinion it is better to quote the 
 opinions of the best authorities. Sir James Caird writes, “ The general 
 condition of the agricultural labourer was probably never better than it 
 
 * The trade and manufacture of beer and spirits in the country, or some 
 other special thing in particular places, such as linen in Belfast, or cattle and 
 butter in Cork are comparatively so small that they are hardly worth noticing 
 in the United Kingdom. Though in India it would seem very valuable. 
 
67 
 
 is at present.” ... In 1846, immediately before the repeal of the 
 Corn Laws, wages were is. 7d., when wheat was 53s. At the present 
 day wages have risen 60 per cent., while wheat has not increased in 
 price. In other words, the labourer’s earning power in procuring the 
 staff of life, costs him five days work to pay for a bushel of wheat in 
 1770, four days in 1843, and two and-a-half days in 1870. He is better 
 lodged than he ever was before, though in many parts of the country 
 there is still much room for improvement in that respect. (J. R. A. see 
 page 302-36.) 
 
 Mr. H. J. Little of Coldham Hall writes : “ The twenty years which 
 followed Mr. Caird’s enquiry, in 1850, were distinguished beyond any 
 similar period in the history of the country by the growth of wealth and 
 manufactures. The railway system, which now covers the whole king- 
 dom as with a net work, was, at the end of that period, all but complete, 
 It will, therefore, be interesting to see how far the labourer has benefited 
 
 in actual wages by this vast extension of commerce “In 
 
 the Fen districts of Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire a strong man will 
 consider himself very ill-paid in harvest if he cannot earn 9s. or 10s. 
 (=Rs. 6) a day in following the reaper, and 7 s. or 8s. when housing the 
 corn.” . . 
 
 “ Here are the actual sums paid by the farmer to his man and his 
 family in the past year.” 
 
 Earning of John Jones and family from Michaelmas 1876-7. 
 
 £ s. d. 
 
 Mari 52 weeks (average 15s.) 
 
 Wife occasional earning ... 
 
 Girl occasional summer work 
 Elder boy constant work ... 
 
 Young boy summer and occasional 
 
 Harvest account 
 
 Gleaning ... 
 
 39 17 0 
 
 4 16 10 
 
 5 9 5 
 1284 
 
 5 11 4 
 24 17 io| 
 400 
 
 Total Rs. 1154 80 97 ° 9 i 
 
 . . . I will suppose my specimen to be in regular receipt of 14s. a 
 
 week ; then the following is I believe, a fair example of his weekly 
 expenditure. 
 
 s. d. s. d. 
 
 2 stone of bread at 2 s. 4d. 4 
 
 8 
 
 | lb. of tea at 2 s. 6d. 
 
 ... 0 
 
 7 i 
 
 | stone flour at 2s. 6d. ... 1 
 
 3 
 
 1 lb. of soap 
 
 0 
 
 4 
 
 4 lbs. meat at 8d. ... 2 
 
 8 
 
 1 lb. of soda 
 
 0 
 
 1 
 
 i lb. butter at is. 6d. ... 0 
 
 9 
 
 i-| cwt. coal 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 1 lb. lard ... .. . ... 0 
 
 ioi 
 
 Paraffine oil for light 
 
 ... 0 
 
 4 
 
 2\ lbs. sugar at 3^d. ... 0 
 
 8f 
 
 Total 
 
 .. 13 
 
 9 t 
 
 “ I have selected a very unfavourable case for exemplification, but 
 inasmuch as such instances are not unknown, I have taken some pains 
 to ascertain the mode in which under such circumstances the money is 
 usually spent. With the help of gleaning corn and garden produce the 
 figures for flour and bread would be considerably decreased. . . . 
 
68 
 
 “ Perhaps no better test of the working classes of the greater part of 
 the country can be found than in the consumption of butcher’s meat. 
 In this matter a wonderful increase has taken place of late years ; and 
 although the consumption of farm labourers does not yet equal that of 
 the higher paid artisans, it is much greater with that class than for- 
 merly.” 
 
 From the above remarks, the present condition and the prosperity of 
 an agricultural labourer in England can be compared with his fellow 
 workmen in India, whose daily wage is i^d., and whose food is \ lb. 
 of parched grain (chabena), as breakfast at noon, and 2 lbs. millet meal 
 girdle cakes, with a little pulse or green vegetable, or wild herbs, with 
 or without salt at night. Wages as a rule are derived from the produce 
 of the labour. The increase in quantity, and the profit of agricultural 
 produce are naturally always limited, that is, the produce cannot be 
 increased beyond a certain extent. Of late in England there has been 
 no increase in the profits of agriculture ; nevertheless, owing to the 
 general rise of wages in England, which is due to the increase of rail- 
 roads and the rapid exchange of commerce, the agriculturists also could 
 not help increasing the renumeration of their labourers. And at 
 present the rate of wages has reached such a point, that, in spite of 
 all skilful husbandry, reduction of manual labour, by use of machinery, 
 farming is hardly considered a paying business. The consequence of 
 this is that every day the area of pasture is increasing and the arable 
 area is decreasing. In the reports of the Assistant Commissioner of 
 the Royal Agricultural Commission of 1882, Messrs. Little,* Dr uce, and 
 Coleman, and in other Parliamentary Blue Books, the evidence of this 
 fact can be found in hundreds of places. This increase in labour is 
 unanimously considered one of the important causes of the ruin of the 
 farmers and the failure in the profits of husbandry. Mr. Little in his 
 report page xi, says: — “The cost of labour has increased consider- 
 ably.” I am told that in 1859, 9s. a week were the ordinary wages. In 
 1880 they were 14s. to 15s., a rise of 25 per cent. .... 
 
 “ Then the cost of labour, which (on a farm) in many counties equals 
 rent, and is generally not less than 30 per cent, of, the total expendi- 
 ture.” . . The four-course system has been usually followed, but of 
 
 late years the term has been extended to five years, by keeping the 
 clover or artificial grasses down, for two years instead of one, with a 
 view to save labour (page 15.) Much land has been laid down in grass 
 of late years, and a still larger quantity is said to have “ fallen down,” 
 as it was too poor to cultivate. One farmer whom I called upon had 
 laid down 90 acres of land as he said “ because of the dearness of 
 labour,” (page 32), &c., &c., &c. Mr. Druce’s report page 106, “ The 
 increased cost of labour on the farm, was repeatedly brought forward as 
 a further cause of depression, and in all the fifteen counties of my 
 district, there was the greatest unanimity of opinion among the farmers 
 that such cost has materially increased during the past few (say ten or 
 fifteen) years, &c., &c. Mr. Coleman’s report page 11. “Thousands 
 of acres of inferior wheat-growing land have within the last decade been 
 sown down in grass, and much labour thrown out in consequence,” &c. 
 
 All the above remarks strengthen the argument, that lately there has 
 
6 9 
 
 been a general rise in wages, and that the condition of the labourer is 
 far better than it was twenty or thirty years ago ; and this is due to the 
 progress of railroads and trade. 
 
 , We hope the reader, after taking all the above points in view, can 
 form a fair opinion of the effects of our present Indian trade ; and will 
 understand whether it is more beneficial to the country which has only 
 labour and not capital of its own, or to that which has capital and pur- 
 chases our labour with it. 
 
 13. We should not conclude this chapter without giving a glance at 
 the general nature and the details of our present trade in India, and 
 seeing what our imports and exports are, and how far they benefit the 
 country’s material prosperity under our present conditions i.e. (a) of 
 depending on the investment of foreign capital, (b) of giving our food in 
 exchange. The features of the general trade of India may be grasped 
 by simply paying attention to this fact, that along about eight or nine 
 thousand miles of Indian coast line there are only four Ports for foreign 
 trade — (1) Calcutta, (2) Bombay, (3) Madras, (4) Karachi ; and the 
 number of Vessels belonging to the country or to other foreign 
 Companies in the country are comparatively so very few that they hardly 
 deserve to be taken into consideration. Further, if we look at the 
 Commercial statistics and consider carefully every item of our exports : 
 we see how little the trade is concerned with home industry, and how 
 far it needs diversity of occupation and the division of labour.” 
 
 With reference to the Commercial Returns of the country, the trade 
 of India in 1882-83 is shown as follows. (Whitaker’s Almanack for 
 1884, page 289.) 
 
 IMPORTS. EXPORTS. 
 
 Lacs 
 
 of Rupees. 
 
 
 Lacs of Rupees. 
 
 Cotton manufactures 
 
 21,43-2 
 
 Cotton 
 
 16,04-9 
 
 Metals 
 
 4,6r6 
 
 Opium 
 
 11,48*1 
 
 Cotton twist 
 
 3 5 37'8 
 
 Rice 
 
 8,47-6 
 
 Machinery 
 
 L 34’2 
 
 Oil seed 
 
 7,20- 
 
 Liquors 
 
 I ,33"S 
 
 Wheat 
 
 6,06-9 
 
 Railway plants 
 
 i,ii-6 
 
 Jute (raw) 
 
 5,84-7 
 
 1 Provisions 
 
 1,08-7 
 
 Hides 
 
 4,44-4 
 
 Sugar 
 
 1,08-7 
 
 Indigo 
 
 3,9 I "3 
 
 Silk (raw) 
 
 i,o7-4 
 
 Tea 
 
 3,69'9 
 
 Coal 
 
 1,02" 
 
 Cotton twist 
 
 1,81-7 
 
 Woollen goods 
 
 98-5 
 
 Jute manufactured 
 
 1,48-8 
 
 Silk ditto 
 
 97-8 
 
 Coffee 
 
 i,39" 2 
 
 Mineral oils 
 
 86-6 
 
 Wool (raw) 
 
 80-9 
 
 Hardware, &c. 
 
 79'2 
 
 Cotton (raw) 
 
 79" 
 
 | Apparel 
 
 77' 
 
 Lac 
 
 699 
 
 Salt 
 
 s^s 
 
 Teak wood 
 
 6ri 
 
 Spices 
 
 511 
 
 Silk (raw) 
 
 54-4 
 
 The following statement exhibits the distribution of the foreign trade 
 of India — 
 
?o 
 
 
 MERCANTILE. 
 
 TREASURE. 
 
 Countries. 
 
 Imp. 
 
 Exp. 
 
 Imp. 
 
 Exp. 1 
 
 
 Lacs of Rupees. 
 
 Lacs of Rupees. 
 
 United Kingdom... 
 
 ... 40,36-6 
 
 35,43’ 
 
 5,78-4 
 
 19. J 
 
 China 
 
 ... 2,07-2 
 48-4 
 
 i3, r 6‘ 
 
 2,43’4 
 
 i"9 
 
 France 
 
 7,20-7 
 
 5’2 
 
 1-4 
 
 Italy 
 
 44'4 
 
 3,38’4 
 
 1,58-2 
 
 
 Straits Settlements 
 
 ••• U597 
 
 3,639 
 
 7-6 
 
 i’9 
 
 United States 
 
 ••• 93’4 
 
 3,34’3 
 
 Austria 
 
 27-0 
 
 260-3 
 
 34'4 
 
 
 Australia 
 
 477 
 
 1,089 
 
 1,42-6 
 
 
 Ceylon 
 
 ••• 5 7 '4 
 
 I 39'3 
 
 3° '4 
 
 46-9 
 
 Belgium ... 
 
 7-8 
 
 2,15-2 
 
 Persia 
 
 ••• 57'4 
 
 1,22-4 
 
 I 9'3 
 
 7-3 
 
 Arabia 
 
 28-2 
 
 77 '6 
 
 44 ’9 
 
 5’ 
 
 Mauritius 
 
 ... 88-3 
 
 59'3 
 
 ’3 
 
 Turkey in Asia ... 
 
 23-3 
 
 41-4 
 
 40-2 
 
 "9 
 
 Zanzibar 
 
 26-7 
 
 4i'5 
 
 1 ’9 
 
 5 ’5 
 
 Germany ... 
 
 9' 1 
 
 5 !-8 
 
 Other countries . . . 
 
 37-6 
 
 6,o6'i 
 
 83,4°’ 
 
 387 
 
 8- 
 
 Total 
 
 50,00 
 
 i3,45’3 
 
 98- 
 
 The following remarks are given in the said Almanack from which 
 these figures have been copied : — “ In the last ten years the imports of 
 Merchandise have risen 58 per cent., precious metals 132-25 per cent. ; 
 exports of merchandise have risen 51-75 per cent. ; while the export of 
 precious metal has fallen 48 per cent, all signs of a general rise in the 
 standard of comfort. Nevertheless, the proportion per head of the 
 population is still no more than 5^ rupees, against £20 7s. rod. (144 
 rupees) in the United Kingdom.” “ The average annual excess of 
 exports over imports in the same period, has been 1,82! lacs.” The 
 import trade, however increasing as it should, somewhat faster than 
 the exports, “ The actual figures show an increase of 69-57 per cent, of 
 imports, and 48-46 per cent, of exports.” “All imports are now free, 
 excepting arms and ammunition, opium, liquor, and salt.” The bills 
 drawn by the Secretary of State on India, during the year, amounted to 
 ^15,120,521, the equivalent of 1858^ lacs at the average of is. 7 -5 2d, 
 or very nearly the amount of the year’s excess of exports, and of the 
 average excess for the ten years. 
 
 We have no time to go further into this subject, but we must cast a 
 very cursory glance at the items of our exports and imports. A full 
 investigation of these points would be very interesting, but this chapter 
 has grown so large that we cannot say more than a few words now. In 
 our list of exports we see scarcely anything but what we produce from 
 our land. They are either articles of food, or tea, coffee, and indigo, 
 which have been introduced into India, by foreign capital, and which 
 have a tendency to oust the first necessaries of life, which are therefore 
 becoming more and more scarce every day. The above items, tea, 
 coffee, and indigo, and opium which shows the largest sum on the 
 export side with the exception of cotton (1,148-1 lacs of rupees) are 
 
7i 
 
 merely a nominal counterpoise to our imports, and are of as little real 
 profit to India as a weight in scale is to its owner. 
 
 From receipt for these we derive no other benefit generally speaking 
 but this, that our common labourer instead of growing corn for himself 
 and eating it, grows these things and receives wages, not less, perhaps 
 a little higher, than in the other case. The remainder of these receipts 
 goes in interest on the capital, and the items of opium, salt, canals, 
 State railways, &c., though they appear in the Financial Budget of the 
 country have nothing to do with its material prosperity. There are some 
 other things in this subject worth consideration ; the facts, for instance, 
 of there being scarcely any duties on imports in India ; while European 
 countries levy a high duty on our tea, coffee, tobacco, and silver articles, 
 &c., for the manufacture of which India still has a reputation. But in 
 order to avoid touching on political points, we will say nothing on those 
 matters. Excepting these, the exports which are produce of native efforts 
 and capital include nothing else but the first necessaries of life— the 
 grain. It is quite clear that an encouragement of such exports must be 
 at the cost of our food. 
 
 Now briefly as to the imports — 
 
 The most striking items on this side are Provisions 1,087 lacs, sugar 
 1,057 lacs, and salt 51 '5 lacs of rupees. It is really unfortunate that 
 though we produce and possess all the ingredients of the above items, 
 yet we cannot manufacture them fit for use. We pay for making them 
 and bringing them back to India three or four times the price for which 
 we had sold raw materials out of the country. 
 
 We export wheat and pay highly for making it into biscuits, vermicelli 
 and macaronie, &c., &c. We produce sugar, and pay again for manu- 
 factured loaf sugar. We produce tobacco, but pay again for birdseye, 
 &c. We export hides, but pay again for saddles, harness, patent 
 leather, boots and shoes, &c., &c. From these few hints the 
 nature of our business should be judged. And one thing more 
 about the wages of our workmen should be taken into notice 
 here : for example, take hides ; first we send them abroad ; then we 
 re-import them in the shape of patent leather, and pay four or five 
 times the price which we received originally for the hides ; we then make 
 the leather into shoes, and sell them at half the price of English made 
 shoes of the same stuff and style, sold in our own country. This is 
 owing to the cheapness of wages. Notwithstanding this, we do not make 
 even these trifling articles in quantity : and why is it we do not do so ? 
 Because we have no capital. And why is there no capital ? Because 
 there is no individual energy. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 gmproremenf in Agriculture. 
 
 i. — This proposal is most important and why. — Indian agriculture is 
 in need of improvement ; but it is very difficult. 2. — Geological condition 
 of the soil — soil very fine and easy to work , and homogenous in many 
 districts — nonenclature of difficult soil — subsoil — varieties of soil. j . — 
 Mechanical conditions of soil — very easy to work. 4. — Physical condition a?id 
 climate of the country — rainfall and its effects — combined action of rainfall 
 and heat. Glossary \of the technical Indian words- — nakhats, different 
 crops sown in them and the amount of rainfall. 5. — -Chemical conditions 
 of soil — analytical table of Indian soils fromvarious districts ofthe Pro - 
 vince — even the poorest soil contain all the nutritive matters for plant 
 life. Indian soils have stores of plant food. 6. — Indian peasants and their 
 experience — mode of life and work. 7 . — Owing to the above naural gifts 
 India is able to produce more than enough for her people. 8. — Example 
 of growing wheat in India and its general treatment — soil— manure , 
 ploughing , &=c. — seed — weeding — watering — varieties of wheat— reaping, 
 thrashing, winnowing — average out-turn of grain and straw — cost and 
 return — admixture of other grain — diseases — wheat is not commonly staple 
 food in India, p. — General treatment and process of growing wheat in 
 England — all the points mentioned in the last paragraph compared — the 
 most important question of cost and return compared. 10. — Most iniportant 
 point of the reduction of cost of manual labour — improvement in agriculture 
 is\impossible — some outlay will be needed. 11. — The above examples prove 
 that Indian farmers know all the secrets of husbandry, but cannot make 
 iniprovement when the question of cost comes in. 12. — Detail of improve- 
 ments — we agree that improvement is necessary aud will do good, but in 
 the present state it is impossible. 13. — The first thing that is required is 
 water — method that people use for providing water — depth and average 
 cost of wells — people know how to make wells, but are unable to make 
 them, law prevents the pi ogress of making wells — water is the backbone of 
 all the improvements in Indian Agriculture — the help of Government in 
 the matter, and difficulties arising by that — Takami and Canals. 14 . — 
 Manure — the quantity and quality of manure is decreased — khad and 
 pans (farmyard manure ) is best of all — without manure of good quantity 
 and quality what scientific farming can do ? 13. — Cattle — how they 
 
 wete supplied and why decreased — the plan of improving them , but proved 
 
73 
 
 no success — growing food for cattle is recommended , , but it is impossible. 
 16. — Implements — Indian and English implements of husbandry and 
 their cost compared — no good implements can be used without large outlay 
 and large farms — reason why English farmer is able to use them and 
 Indian not. if. — Seed — how the people get it — why they cannot improve 
 it. iS. — 7 he conclusion. 
 
 i. This plan, namely an “ improvement in agriculture,” for bettering 
 the condition of the people of India is the most important of all the 
 plans that are recommended for the purpose; some of these have 
 already been dealt with in the foregoing pages, and some are yet to be 
 considered, and will be treated in the following chapters. Why is this 
 the most important of all ? This question needs no explanation, 
 because our readers after reading the previous chapters will be well 
 aware that agriculture is everything in India. It is the occupation of 
 90 per cent, of our people ; it is the chief factor of the revenue of the 
 Government, it is the source of the extravagance of our large land pro- 
 proprietors, and of the maintenance of our tenants and labourers, (60 
 per cent.) who thereby keep their bare existence. To a greater extent 
 than money the agricultural produce of the country acts as bullion for 
 providing the necessaries of daily life to our peasants ; it comprises the 
 items of capital and interest of our grain lenders, who like the bankers 
 of a wealthy country keep an account open with the tenants, but instead 
 of money, advance grain, and take the same back with 25 or 50 per 
 cent, interest. It is the principal factor of our trade and export, thereby 
 itnot only keeps open the arterial channels of the economical affairs at 
 home, but it provides business and occupation for the people abroad. 
 Had we not to export the agricultural produce so many foreign ships 
 and large vessels would never have touched the Indian ports as they do 
 now. In short, all the political, legal, economical, industrial, and com- 
 mercial affairs in the country art entirely interwoven with the agricul- 
 ture. Under such circumstances, certainly this question is such a one 
 as to command primary and thorough attention ; and improvement in 
 agriculture means the improvement in everything ; in other words 
 improvements in the prosperity of India. Also, there is no doubt that 
 our agriculture is in a very crude state, and in every respect is in need 
 of improvement. As a rule in all worldly affairs, there is no limit to 
 improvement ; in the case of Indian agriculture, which, like all other 
 affairs of the country is of a primitive nature, there is no reason to 
 doubt or deny that there is room for improvement, and that after 
 improvement it will be beneficial to the country. But the questions 
 are Firstly. Whether in the present condition of India, it is possible 
 to make any improvement or not ? Secondly. How far such improvements 
 which have been and will be done by the outlay of foreign capital have 
 proved and will prove of any good to the country? As far as our 
 experience and knowledge go, we have no hesitation in believing, that 
 like all other plans for raising the people from depression, this plan also 
 has as yet proved and in the present condition of India will ever prove 
 a failure. There is a good deal of difference between saying and doing. 
 For saying, simply colloquial arguments are required, but for doing, 
 
74 
 
 material and natural favourable circumstances. The problem of the 
 improvement of Indian agriculture is very easy to describe but seems 
 very difficult to work out. As this is a very important question, and I 
 have taken a particular interest in this for a long time, and as far as 
 possible have also studied it theoretically, therefore, I should like to 
 treat it more fully than the other questions described in the foregoing 
 chapters. To make the matter as clear as possible, it seems necessary 
 that, firstly, we should give some hints about the nature of the soils and 
 the climate, and about the features of the present practical work and of 
 the industry of our people, and secondly, should show in what respects 
 the improvements are most particularly needed, but at the same time 
 should point out that improvements of the kind cannot possibly be 
 executed in the present condition of the people. As for our example we 
 will take the same country, namely, “The North-Western Province and 
 Oudh,” of which we have personal knowledge, and which from the 
 beginning of this work has been selected as a standard for illustration. 
 
 2. The geological, physical, and chemical conditions of the soil 
 seem to be in all respects naturally most favourable for agricultural 
 purposes. The constituents of soil and climate are suitable for all sorts 
 of crops ; such as cereals — wet and dry. Roots : — potatoes, turnips, 
 swedes, mangels, carrots, radishes, &c. Fibre plants : — Cotton, hemp, 
 china grass, jute, &c. Colouring substances : — -Indigo, kusam, (saf- 
 flower), &c. Artificial grasses : — Sainfoin, lucerne, &c. And besides 
 these, for the crops of mercantile and exportal value, such as poppy for 
 opium, sugar cane, &c., which are grown in most districts of the pro- 
 vince ; as well as tea in some districts. In addition to the above, 
 several other indigenous and catch crops are taken in different parts of 
 the year. So • e description of the above crops will be given hereafter. 
 
 Geological conditions of soil . — The Province which has an area of 
 106,1 1 1 -5 square miles is almost a flat plain, having throughout homo- 
 genous soils of two or three different kinds ; but not differing much in 
 mechanical, physical, or in chemical conditions. According to the 
 geological classification, it is a part of the Indo-Gangetic alluvial low 
 lying plain, and almost in every part the soil is alluvium, which is 
 supposed to be deposited by fresh water during very late geological 
 times. Except in the mountain ranges of Himalaya and Vindia, 
 which roughly speaking comprise the boundaries of the Province, and 
 the Vindiachal (a part of the Vindia chain), which crosses Mirzapur and 
 other districts, no other stony hills or elevated tableland can be seen 
 throughout the plain. No reliable history or satisfactory proofs of the 
 age and the origin of the deposition as well as of the agencies by 
 which the soil has been formed have as yet been traced out, but the 
 particles of the soil being so very remarkably fine, show that the 
 weathering and disintegrating of the same must have been a work of 
 innumerable years. Except in the above-mentioned mountainous parts, 
 and their vicinities not a single fragment larger than sand particles of 
 any hard rock, common stones, or any mineral is seen. No sign of 
 any igneous or eruptive rocks, or of any volcanic disturbances. Generally 
 speaking in the whole plain, even in mountainous parts not very many 
 fossils of any kind occur, and there is especially a total absence of 
 
75 
 
 marine fossils. Some kind of shells are found, but they are supposed to 
 be fresh water ones. In the chemical analysis, which I have made of 
 the soils of several districts of the Province (especially of Oudh) on 
 examining the sand or insoluble part, there seemed no other mineral 
 but pure silica, in form of quartz, and some mica. The particles were 
 very very fine, and even under the microscope no other minerals could 
 be distinguished. The whole alluvial area is composed of some form 
 of clay more or less sandy. 
 
 According to “ The Geology of India,” by H. B. Medlicott, M.A., 
 even in the Vindia chain (the nearest mountain to Allahabad the capital 
 town of the Province), although the lowest beds are of the Silurian Age, 
 yet there seems to have been very little disturbance after the formation 
 of the beds. The upper bed is almost conformable to the lower bed. 
 The top bed is of red sandstone, with subordinate bands of slate and 
 lime stone- — and the lowest bed is of metamorphic or gneissic rock. In 
 a bore of 700 feet deep no marine fossils were discovered. On the 
 other side (North-Western) in the lower Himalaya chain, Kumaun and 
 Nanital, &c., there are found also bands and beds of eruptive and 
 igneous rocks, which penetrating the sandstone make a kind of granite. 
 About Nanital lime stone (Oolite), and a kind of conglomerate dark 
 slate are abundant. There are too, some metamorphic rocks, more 
 commonly schist, but it is not much like slate. Near Almora there lies 
 a broad band of granite for a good long distance. And here the sign 
 of the disturbances in the beds is also well marked. From Kumaun 
 after a blank of 250 miles, are the Nepal mountains (a series of lower 
 Himalaya.) Here the rocks differ from the above. Sandstone lies 
 over a thin band of blue limestone, underneath which is a thick band 
 of schistose slate, with a layer of impure coaly matter. (Perhaps 
 lignite.) In these mountains is found a white crystalline limestone, but 
 it is not dolomite. Towards Bundelkhand the soil is a kind of gneissic 
 clay. Here among the minerals crystalline hornblind as well as (in 
 Rewan Estate) diamond is found. 
 
 As we have no necessity and also no- space in these pages to deal 
 with the details of the geology of the Province, and since roughly 
 speaking the whole cultivated and fertile area of the plain in question is 
 alluvial sandy clay and more or less homogenous throughout ; therefore 
 we will confine our remaaks to this kind of soil only, and will take the 
 only crops that are grown in it. The provincial nomenclature which is 
 given to the sub-divisions of the soil is Bhangar, Khadar, Terai, and 
 Bhabar ; but more technically from the agricultural points of view, 
 in whole Oudh and all other neighbouring districts they are classed as 
 follows : — 
 
 1. Matyar : — Clayey. 
 
 2. Domat : — Sandy clay or loam. 
 
 3. Bhoor : — Bandy. 
 
 4. Dhankar : — Low-lying hard 
 
 clay. 
 
 Bijar : — The same as No. 4. 
 Kachar : — Reta or Baluhi, 
 pure sandy. 
 
 U sar : — Partly barren (steril. ) 
 Banjar : — Quite barren. 
 
 The above local names change in other districts. Besides the above 
 classification of the soil, there are other local names of the plots 
 according to the site, position, manurial and agricultural value of the 
 
76 
 
 fields ; such as Uperhar or Choumas, land where water does not stagnate. 
 Goindfor Kachhyana, land near population, having good productive value, 
 and rich in plantfood constituents and having a good supply of water. 
 Do-tur or Do-fasli, land of the above qualities from which two crops can 
 be taken in a year. Majhar, of medium qualities — not sufficient water 
 being in reach. Bhoor, land of inferior quality, water for irrigation being 
 scarce. 
 
 The subsoils and the underlying strata of this aluvial plain throughout 
 the country are of the same nature and kind ; but the more remarkable 
 features are, that in some places they vary and differ in thickness, and 
 arrangements, even within a few yards distance, and nowhere in the 
 country they exist for a considerable distance without faults. The strata 
 are — (i) Silt or aluvium ; surface soil ; a fine powder-like sandy clay, 
 containing more or less organic and vegetable matters. (2) (a) “Pendole,” 
 a sticky clay, rich in alumina, fine particles, and well compacted, gray 
 or cream colour ; (b) or in place of the above Kapisa, also in some 
 places called Kabis or Koril, yellow, well compacted clay. (3) Pure 
 sand, black and white. (4) Granular clay or sand. (5) Kankar, earthy 
 lime stone, varying in shape and size, scarcely ever in the form of 
 unbroken band or pan, but generally broken in fragments of different 
 shapes and sizes. As far as the observations are as yet made, 
 the same layers are seen to occur again in a regular or irregular 
 series downward. But there is no rule or regularity in the arrangement, 
 formation, or thickness of these strata. In some places kankar is 
 found immediately below the surface soil ; in others, sand above and 
 kapsa or pendole underneath. 
 
 (1) Uperhar Matyar is the best soil for wheat and all other cereal 
 crop sand low-lying matyar for rice. 
 
 (2) Domat is the best soil for all crops ; cereal, sugar-cane, indigo, 
 opium, &c., especially for root and green, or market-gardening crops, 
 such as potato, radish, and cucumber, &c. 
 
 On (3) Bhoor soil generally, a kind of pulse (Mothi) is grown ; 
 but barley, and rape (sehun-a) are also not uncommon. By improving 
 Bhoor , all other rabi * or winter crops can be grown. 
 
 (4) Dhankhar , or low-lying stiff clay (often brown in colour) is 
 suited for rice only, but if in good condition, some of the winter 
 crops (as peas, &c.) are^also sown ; or in dry seasons rice is changed 
 with other Kharif f or rainy season crops, as Makra or Sawan 
 varieties of Millet (Panicum Italicum). 
 
 (5) Bijar soil is that which does not produce any other crop but rice. 
 In its nature this soil resembles this last named one, but remaining long 
 under water, cannot grow any other crop. 
 
 (6) Kachhar , Beta, or Baloo is pure sand, generally on the slope of 
 the rivers and running streams, and in the deltas of the rivers and 
 in their vicinity, and valleys, tracts of this soil lie. The places 
 which are above the levels of the flood of the rivers are entirely 
 barren, and are unfit for growing anything. On these sand dunes 
 
 * Rabi = winter crops that can be produced by irrigation, 
 t Kharif = crops grown in rainy season, and requiring water in excess. 
 
77 
 
 here and there sometimes a wild plant called Madar is seen, but it 
 is of no use. But on the slopes of the streams where, after flood, 
 a layer of silt, even though only two or three inches thick, is deposited, 
 the soil remains fertile as long as it is not washed away. In this case, all 
 rabi crops, even wheat, but especially barley or pulse ( mothi ) are grown. 
 In the vicinity of streams, where there is no silt, deposited on pure 
 sand alone, Melons, especially Water Melons, grow and thrive well ; a 
 large plant called Jhaw , and a bushy thorny plant Jawansa grow 
 abundantly. The former is very useful for fuel, basket-making, and 
 thatching, &c., and the latter a very good fodder for camels. 
 
 (7) Usar , this is another unproductive kind of soils, the large or small 
 tracts of which lie in almost every pargana (parish) of the Province. There 
 is not any fixed condition for its locality. It is not uncommon to come 
 across a piece of this Usar soil amidst a group of very fertile fields. 
 Except a few very rough and coarse perenial natural grasses, most of 
 which are peculiar to the soil and grows here and there in tufts, and 
 some wild plants and trees, no crop of any kind can be cultivated. It 
 is impregnated with some kind of saline matter or efflorescing salt, which 
 is poisonous to plant life. Generally the salt in largest quantity is 
 sodium sulphate. As the Usar land is not worked, tilled, and secured 
 from inundation, generally its level is seen to be a little lower than the 
 surface of the adjacent ground; and therefore except the overflow of 
 water, which generally makes its way through the natural falls, slopes, 
 and streams to the neighbouring rivers, scarcely any water goes out of 
 the plain. The soil being itself rich in Sodium salt, has a greater 
 retentive power for moisture ; therefore in the rainy season it becomes 
 like a sloppy paste, and the water remains stagnant in it for a long time, 
 the salt being dissolved but remaining in the same place, penetrates into 
 the subsoil ; and in the dry and hot season, by evaporation, it is brought 
 again on the surface, and there hardly remains any moisture therein. 
 This constant circulation of the injurious salt keeps the land unfit for 
 agricultural purposes. No successful method has, as yet been devised 
 to get rid of this obnoxious matter. There is another peculiarity of this 
 salt that it creeps to the neighbouring fertile fields and spoils them. The 
 reason of this is quite plain, i.e. through the medium of water it is 
 transferred to and saturates the soil of the good field, and accumulating 
 in large quantity shows its effect.* Mr. Wilson, an officer in the department 
 of Agriculture and Commerce of the Province by his experiment, has found 
 that the attempt to wash away the salt has, owing to inundation, proved 
 more fatal to plant life than the original soil. 
 
 (8) Banjar ; this is an Usar soil of still worse kind. Even those 
 grasses and plants that grow in Usar cannot live in this. Generally 
 the pieces of banjar land are very rich in reh, sodium sulphate, or 
 carbonate — a very crude kind of glass (Kanch) is made of this, for 
 making bangles, by Manihar (a caste, vide appendix under Manihar). 
 Also it is used by the washermen as washing soda On the whole, 
 except the Usar land, the area of which is comparatively very small, 
 
 * (Report of Department of Agricultural Commerce of 31st March, 
 1882, page 46.) 
 
 
7 8 
 
 the geological condition of the soil is most favourable to agriculture. 
 The particles of surface soil are remarkably fine and not difficult to 
 work ; neither does obnoxious subsoil containing iron, moorland, pan, 
 or lime, and magnesia, &c., &c., occur in injurious forms. 
 
 3. Mechanical condition of soil. There being no hard gravelly soil, 
 no stiff clay, no hard pans and no sticky calcareous soil to work, is a 
 great advantage to the farmers. By a very crude implement of the 
 simplest construction, which, in comparison to an English improved 
 implement of the kind, can hardly be called a plough, the land is torn 
 easily. The instrument consists simply of a beam, a sole, and a stilt, 
 all of wood ; to the sole of which by means of a wooden wedge, an iron 
 tire, about two feet long, and three-quarters of an inch wide, is attached. 
 By this home-made instrument, which they call a plough, they tear (plough) 
 three-quarters of an acre in one day. In place of the plough, which is 
 dragged in England by a pair of horses, the average cost of which (the 
 horses) is ^60 or Rs. 720, and the cost of feeding is calculated at £i\o 
 or 1320 Rs. per annum the instrument for the same purpose in India 
 is drawn by two miserable oxen, which cost from or 12 Rs., at the 
 lowest to ^5 or 60 Rs. at the highest; and whose feeding comes to 
 almost nothing. For breaking clods and making the surface of the fields 
 smooth, instead of crosskills and Cambridge rollers, drag, Norwegian, 
 and many other harrows, which, altogether cost several thousand Rupees, 
 they simply have a log of wood, which answers their purpose quite as 
 well as the above named instruments. Besides these two crude and 
 clumsy implements for tilling land, and preparing fields and for sowing 
 seed, they hardly have or know any other instrument, or ever feel any 
 want of it. Working with these kinds of implements means a great loss 
 of time, and improvement in them would be of great advantage ; but 
 the fact is, that this improvement would cost -money, which is quite out 
 of their reach, and consequently has to be replaced by an expenditure of 
 time, which, at present, in India, is of but little value. 
 
 4. The physical condition and climate of the country are still more 
 favourable for agriculture. The annual crops that are grown over the 
 whole world, from the hottest to the coldest climates, are already mostly 
 grown, and all of them can be grown in the country. The seasons generally 
 being regular, and divided into fixed periods, there is not a chance, 
 but a certainty of being successful in all the processes of agricultural 
 work. Owing to the advantages of the fixed and gradual changes of the 
 season, the work of husbandry is divided by long experience in such a 
 manner that, in no respect is there a loss of economy in the distribution 
 of labour and in the expenditure of sowing or harvesting. The heat being 
 moderately high, all chemical changes necessary for plant life take place 
 more perfectly and readily ; also manure, and all nitrogenious matter, 
 roots, and stubbles of the previous crop, undergo chemical re-action and 
 decomposition more quickly than in cold climates, and become available 
 for plant food. The thunder storms in the rainy season being so constant 
 during four months, that the atmosphere is almost continuously bright 
 with lightning, a comparatively large quantity of the nitrogen of the air 
 enters into combination with the oxygen, and becomes available for plant 
 food. This combined nitrogen is brought down by the rain, nearly one 
 
79 
 
 half of which during the first month is absorbed by the soil which has 
 been parched for four months by the summer sunshine, and the heat of 
 May and June, and thus this essential constituent is supplied for the 
 growth of the plant at the time of immediate want. Besides the heat of 
 the summer the atmosphere at the beginning oft rainy season one month 
 before the germination of seed becomes so muggy and close, and the 
 heat so excessive, that all vegetable or organic matter left on the ground 
 gets fermented rapidly. All these combined actions of heat, atmosphere, 
 rain, and lightning, physically help and hasten to a great extent in 
 preparing the plant food in an available form. At the beginning of the 
 rainy season first slow and slight showers come down, and moisten the 
 dead leaves of the trees that have all fallen in heaps in summer, and all 
 other organic matters that have been dried and burnt by the sun, as well 
 as the roots and stubble of the last crops ; and thus these get fermented. 
 The muggy atmosphere as stated before, stimulates the fermentation and 
 putrifaction. At the same time, i.e. immediately after the first rain the 
 fields are ploughed and left loose for a few days. Then the rain gradually 
 increases, and passing over the fermented organic matters, carries their 
 manurial constituents in a liquid state to the fields which absorb the whole 
 moisture for a few days. The fields till the fall of the heavy rain begins 
 are stirred once or twice again, thus the oxygen gets free access ; the 
 carbonated water of the soil dissolve the ash constituent and the 
 minerals therein. The other natural agencies, as heat, &c., assist the 
 chemical re-actions, and prepare ammonia from the organic liquid. By 
 the time seed is sown, all necessary constituent get accumulated in the 
 soil in an available state. If there be the matter that is essential for 
 plant growth in or about the soil, there is no want of any of the natural 
 and physical agents to make it ready for use. The farm yard manure 
 which is applied a little before the Monsoon begins undergoes the 
 necessary changes quickly. During the rainy season the rain stops for 
 a few days, the clouds get cleared away, and a bright and warm sun 
 appears ; then owing to the great heat of the sun all nutritious matters 
 from the sub-soil are brought to the surface, or within reach of the plant 
 by means of evaporation. The changes and progress in vigour and 
 growth which sunshine after long rain and rain after long sunshine 
 instantly produce in plants, are marvellous and remarkable, and can only 
 be seen in India. Dhan (rice) and Juar (millet), which often by unusual 
 and long sunshine in rainy season seem to be burnt down and totally 
 destroyed, by only one heavy and sufficient shower in 24 hours increase 
 to three times the size they had before. It is not unusual to see these 
 plants grow several inches in one day. The sight of these fields which 
 meeting with the favourable condition, make a rapid progress at once is 
 really astonishing, and can never be seen in cold climates. One species 
 of Dhan (rice), named downsi, which is sown in deep watering places, 
 as jheels (large water tanks) grows several feet in one night — when the 
 jheel fills. 
 
 The direct rays of the sun in the rainy season alternating with heavy 
 rain, and the muggy and close atmosphere, have a great effect in bringing 
 the plant food from the subsoil by evaporation to the reach of the plant. 
 For this reason, not only the wet crops but the winter crops also mature 
 
8o 
 
 very quickly. For instance, wheat sown early in November, is, as a 
 rule harvested by the end of March. Many of the karif (rainy season) 
 crops, such as maize, several kinds of millets and pulses mature in six 
 or seven weeks only. 
 
 As the rainy season or periodical monsoon in India is very important, 
 all agricultural prospects entirely depend on the rain, therefore it seems 
 necessary to give in detail its amount and the time when it occurs, and 
 also the crops that are sown corresponding to the amount of the rainfall, 
 as well as the minimum quantity of water which is required for each 
 crop. The rainfall and the crops also in the Province vary in various 
 parts. In mountainous and hilly parts of the country there is a much 
 greater rainfall than in the plain. But our remarks about the rainfall 
 and also about the crops are confined only to that part (central), a little 
 description of the geology and the climate of which has been given in 
 the foregoing paragraphs. The extract shortly to be given from the 
 pamphlet “ The Famine, and the Relief Works in Oudh, and the N.W.P,” 
 by the author, will give a brief account of the rainfall and the crops 
 sown during the year. 
 
 As many of the grains that are sown in India have no common 
 English names, and specimens even of some of them are not seen in 
 foreign countries, therefore their vernacular names will be used in the 
 following paragraph. But for the sake of English readers a glossary of 
 some names by which they will be able to form some idea of the grains 
 is given here : — 
 
 1. Kharif : Rainy season crops sown in June and July, harvested in 
 September or October. 
 
 2 . Rabi : Winter crops sown in October and November, harvested in 
 March or April. 
 
 Sawan (Panicum Italicum) : A crop much more like grass than grain, 
 generally taken as a catch crop, but often in rotation takes the place of had 
 (paddy), in the fields which do not retain enough water. This is a crop 
 that can be grown at any time of the year, even in the hottest months of 
 summer. There are several varieties, the two most common are — 
 
 A. Jethaoo, also called Chaina, this is sown about May, and is harvested 
 in eight weeks. As it takes good watering, therefore only well-to-do 
 kashbar (petty tenants) sow as much as half an acre. 
 
 B. Bhadela, sown in June, harvested early in September. Seed is 
 round, and of the size of mustard, with a very coarse coating ot husk. 
 Makes a very coarse sort of food. By well-to-do kashkars is sown to 
 give in wages to the labourers, and to get from the straw early fodder for 
 the cattle, and by poor people to get food for themselves and for their 
 beasts. It is a food of the peasant only, and lasts only a few days during 
 the year. It is never exported to any town or foreign markets. 
 
 Kakoon , belongs to the same natural order, but different species. 
 
 Miakra ditto. But the two last-named crops, do not grow in summer, 
 and kakoon is used in towns for seed to give to small birds, hence is seen 
 in town markets. 
 
 Kali Urdi or Bhadela Urd: A kind of pulse, early variety of proper 
 urd or mash. (See urd), a staple food of the people, by boiling of which 
 (alone) a sort of soup is made, which is eaten with other grain cakes. 
 
8i 
 
 They also make cake of the meal of this grain. This early variety is a 
 local crop and is only used by country people. 
 
 Chhoti Jtiar , millet (dori seed), meaning small maize plant is of the 
 same natural order, but a different species. Staple food of country people. 
 
 Arhar : A kind of pulse quite different from urd, but used in the same 
 way. 
 
 Kodon : Not quite, but something like makra or sawan seed in shape. 
 Used in the same way as makra and sawan. Straw used for bedding by 
 country people in cold season. 
 
 Asami or Kashtkar : Literal meaning cultivator or petty tenant, i.e. the 
 people who take a lease of a small holding about half to ten acres, and 
 work with their own hands. In English there seems no word giving the 
 full and exact meaning of kashkar, but “ peasant ” is the nearest approach. 
 
 Mothi or Moth : A variety of pulse, see urd. Special food for horses. 
 
 Urd or Mash : A kind of pulse, staple food for all people. Use is the 
 same as of Bhadela urd. 
 
 Bajra : Plant of the same kind as maize, but grain much smaller and 
 of different taste and appearance, staple food of the people in its harvest 
 time ; especially in hilly parts of the country. 
 
 Mung : A variety of pulse of the same family as urd or mothi. Used 
 in the same form as urd, especially in towns and by high class people of 
 refined taste, and is a regular food for invalids in the up country. 
 
 Chowmas : Fallow fields for wheat or other rabi crop. 
 
 Gram or Ghana : Gram is supposed to be the English name of chana ; 
 but in England people have no idea of it. Next to wheat it is the most 
 important grain in India. In India it is what the oat is in Scotland. The 
 grain has a peculiar shape, and the husk which is very course, is of a 
 peculiar colour. Several varieties, about the size of a pea, but quite a 
 different plant, though the order is the same, viz., Leguminosae. Makes 
 hundreds of dishes, greatly used in confectionery. In a very large quantity 
 it is parched in red hot sand, and thus makes the breakfast and luncheon 
 of millions. Is a luxury of well-to-do and refined people. And is the 
 food for horses. 
 
 The grains which make the staple food of the people are only used at 
 the time when they are harvested, and they come on in such a regular 
 succession that they keep up a regular supply of food. The people begin 
 to eat a crop, when it begins to mature, but stands green in fields, and 
 it is exhausted by the time the next crop reaches the same stage. The 
 staple food grains of the country people, which are stored and eaten at 
 all times are the following : — 
 
 (A.) The grains which form the principal part of the diet, and of which 
 girdle cakes are made, or which are boiled — 
 
 1. Barley. 
 
 2. Joars, maize — dori seed. 
 
 3. Chana, grain. 
 
 4. A mixture of barley and peas, or barley and chana, (Bitra.) 
 
 5. Coarse rice. 
 
 (B). The grains of which soups are made, and which take the place of 
 meat, fish, fowl, and eggs, &c., are Urd and Arhar. 
 
 About 2 Jbs, of the meals of the (A) grains or rice, and 4 ounces of 
 
 a 
 
82 
 
 (B) grain, with a little salt make a full meal for a male adult, which he 
 takes only once during 24 hours. Besides, this, at noon for their break- 
 fast the people have half a pound of one of the above grains, either 
 steeped in water or parched in hot sand. This is the food of 60 per 
 cent, of the population, half of whom scarcely have even this food 
 throughout the year. 
 
 Rainfall and crops sown aocordingly. — From Asarh (15th June) the 
 rainy season commences ; and it is considered very useful and a favourable 
 season if the clouds appear and rains begin just after the expiration of 
 Mirghisra nakhat. 
 
 Nakhats. — According to the Hindu chronology the year is divided 
 into 27 nachatras or nakhats. Of these, the rainy season nakhats are 
 most commonly known throughout India, and all agricultural business 
 is carried on accordingly. There is no exact or fixed time for these 
 nakhats corresponding to that of the English months, because sometimes 
 their length increases or decreases according to the difference between 
 the dates of the lunar months and the length of the Shankrant, (solar 
 month) but their names and probable time from Asarh (June) to Chait, 
 (March), viz., during the kharif and rabi seasons, are as follows : — 
 
 Asarh from 15th June to 14th July = (1) half of Mirghisra, (2) 
 Adra complete, (3) three-quarters of Punarbas. 
 
 Sawan from 15th July to 14th August =one-quarter of Punarbas, 
 (2) Piikh or Chiraiya, (3) Shalekha complete. 
 
 Bhadon from 15th August to 14th September = (1) Magha, (2) 
 Purba complete, and (3) one-quarter of Uttra. 
 
 Kuar from 15 th September to 14th October = (1) three-quarters of 
 Uttra, (2) Hast or Hathya complete, and (3), half of Chitra. 
 
 Katik from 15th October to 14th November = (1) half of Chitra, 
 (2) Sowati complete, (3) three-quarters of Bisakha. 
 
 Aghan from 15th November to 14th December = (1) one-quarter of 
 Bisakha, (2) Anarodha, and (3) Jestha complete. 
 
 Pukh or Pus from 15th December to 14th January = (1) Mul, (2) 
 Purbakhar, (3) one-quarter of Uttrakhar. 
 
 Magh from 15th January to 14th February = (1) three-quarters of 
 Uttrakhar, (2) Sarwan complete, (3) half of Dhanestha. 
 
 Phagun from 15th February to 14th March = (1) half of Dhanestha 
 (2) Sutlebekh complete, (3) three-quarters of Purbhadrapad. 
 
 Chaitra or Chait from 15th March to 14th April =(1) one-quarter 
 of Purbhadrapad, (2) Utrabhadrapad, and (3) Rewti complete. 
 
 The rain generally begins and is wanted from Adra (about 15 th June), 
 nakhat and is always local. A good heavy shower sets in motion at once 
 all sorts of agricultural activity : the ploughing commences, and all kinds 
 of kharif grains, as sawan, bhadela, kakun, makra, kali, urdi or bhadela 
 urd ; maize (Indian corn) and hemp and early, or coarse rice 
 and in some places chhoti juar, arhar, kodon, oil seed, and patwa 
 are sown and seeds of fine rice, late varieties, are sown in seed plots. 
 The most favourable conditions for sowing rice are when the fields are 
 full of water and ploughing them in the same state the seed is cast 
 in the slime. This is called leo. Another manner of sowing, called 
 dhorya (broad-cast), is that when there is not sufficient water, the fields 
 
8a 
 
 are well turned up and the seeds are scattered in the dust. In jhils and 
 talabs, water reservoirs, water nut is planted. 
 
 The best time for sowing rice is Adra nakhat. As the proverb goes : 
 
 “ Chitra gchun, Adra dhan ; 
 
 Na unka girwi, na inka ghdm 
 
 i.e., “ wheat sown in Chitra and dhan in Adra ; the former cannot be 
 spoiled by smut, nor the latter be destroyed by the sun.” 
 
 If there be no rain in Adra, the kashtkars, though not very much 
 disappointed, yet are very sorry to lose the golden opportunity. If there 
 oe only a little rain, but water in the tanks be available, they first 
 rrigate (i) the sugarcane fields, and then, if possible, keep (2) the fine 
 •ice and (3) coarse rice plants alive ; then irrigate (4) makra, (5) kakun, 
 6) sawan, and (7) maize. The last-named corns (from Nos. 4 to 6), 
 oeing early crops are of great help to the kashtkars, and are only sown 
 or the purpose that they may get bread soon. After about three or at 
 nost four nakhats they are reaped. Too much rain in Adra is also 
 injurious, because the fields cannot be worked and sown, and the rice 
 )lants, being drowned, get rotten. 
 
 Punarbas, (about 15th July.) — In this nakhat mostly juar, arhar, oil 
 iieed, patwa, and also rice are sown. It is the latest time for rice. The 
 'speeding of the fields is commenced. Heavy rain, after the juar seed has 
 germinated, is very useful for all crops, specially for rice ; and slight or 
 10 rain increases the labour of irrigation, but would not destroy any- 
 thing. 
 
 ; Pukh or Chiraiya (about the end of July.) — This is the best time for 
 [owing moth or mothi and transplanting fine or late varieties of rice 
 the proverb is: “ Chiraiya men lai uchar puchar ; Shalekha menlai : 
 ahut nihar ; Magha men jin layo bhaiya; ek-ek dhan men doe doe pia ; 
 \e., “ in Chiraiya transplant rice in any way ; in Shalekha with care 
 •ut, my son, do not transplant rice in Magha, because for each seed you 
 /ill find two pias” (empty cells), and this nakhat is the best time for 
 |illing the fields for rabi crops, wheat and barley ; it is the earliest time 
 jbr sowing urdi, mash and bajra, arhar, mung, and kala til, and preparing 
 bed-plots for tobacco. Heavy rain is bad for young jarhan plants just 
 j(ansplanted. Urdi, sawan, and kakun suffer ; mothi and bajra cannot 
 j|e sown. But if no rain sets in, it makes the cultivators perform the 
 jkbourious work of irrigation, if there be water in the tanks. Very much 
 :/ork in weeding the fields opens for labourers. 
 
 ! Shalekha (about 10th August.) — Proper and best time for sowing bajra 
 jnd.urdi or mash, and latest time for mothi, arhar, and transplanting 
 ice (fine.) The choumas fields are prepared and the weeding of the 
 harif crop continues ; and if there has been sufficient rain in previous 
 [akhats, or should there be sufficient water in tanks for irrigation, the 
 parcity of rain in this nakhat is not very injurious, rather is good to dhan, 
 iiothi, and bajra. As the proverb goes : “ Sawan sukha dhan Bhadon 
 jkha gehun “ by passing sawan dry, the rice crops yield very well ; 
 ind if there be no rain in Bhadon, it is very good for wheat.” 
 
 Magha, (about 20th August), is one of the most important nakhats of 
 he rainy seasons ; very much water is required at this time. If there be 
 I o rain in this nakhat, and the previous nakhats have passed with little 
 
8 4 
 
 or no rain, the kharif crops suffer very much indeed, and the cultivator 
 lose all their hopes of agricultural prosperity. This is the nakhat ii 
 which rain is prosperous to every crop, as the proverb is : “ Magha k 
 bursai , mata ke purse ; ” viz., a child is well satisfied if for him dinner i 
 served by his mother, and the earth remains no longer thirsty (or is wel 
 satisfied) if there be rain in Magha. The choumas fields are readil; 
 prepared in this nakhat, which are expected to yield very good rabi crops 
 It is too late for transplanting rice ( vide the foregoing proverb unde 
 Pukh,), but rarely in very rich fields mash is sown. Tobacco seeds ar> 
 sown in seed-plots. Maize is reaped. 
 
 Purba (about 5th September.)— Heavy rain is required in this nakhat 
 which is most necessary. If there is no rain, rice mostly, and all othe 
 crops also suffer, except choumas fields that can be well prepared ( vid 
 the proverb under Pfikhj. As a rule kakun and maize, and rarel; 
 sawan and kali urdi, begin to be reaped and give food to the poor culti 
 vators, who up to this time depend merely on mahajan’s favour. Ver 
 rarely in the fields from which sawan had been reaped, if they be ver 
 rich, mash is sown. 
 
 Uttra (about the 20th September). — Rain often accompanied by strong 
 wind generally falls in this nakhat, which is rather injurious to early-sowi 
 millett and bajra and is good for rice and other crops more lately sown 
 Nothing is sown in this nakhat. Sawan, bhadela urd, makra, and ver 
 early-sown rice are reaped, and the cultivators become happy. 
 
 Hast or Hathya (about 10th of October). — In this nakhat the rain i: 
 generally accompanied by stronger storms of wind, which proportionate^ 
 to its force is injurious to millet and bajra, the plants of which are beatei 
 down and spoilt and their blossoms are washed away. The water is alsc 
 killing to til, kodon, and cotton. As the saying is : “ Hathya bursa tit 
 hot , lai sakkar, mash ; Hathya bursa tin jat, til , kodon , kapas that is 
 by the rains in Hathya three things yield well — (1 st) rice (fine), 2nd sugar 
 3rd mash, and three things are destroyed ; til (oilseed), kodon, and kapa 
 (cotton). All the early rice and remaining makra and tili are reaped, anc 
 if it passes dry there is no harm. 
 
 The choumas fields are well prepared, and in some places peas, gram 
 and alsi (linseed) begin to be sown. This is an early, but a good time 
 for sowing the above named crops. The notice of the zemindars’ demanc 
 for the first instalment of rent is announced, and on the Dasahra (; 
 festival), the ryots make shagun, viz., give something of what is due fron 
 them. 
 
 Chittra (about 20th October). — The rain in this nakhat is considerec 
 a plague to wheat crops. It is said that a few drops in this nakhat destroy 
 even the grass on the ground, and spoil the unsown wheat fields and th< 
 blossoms of mash, mothi, and of bajra lately sown. It is an early anc 
 the best time for sowing wheat ( vide the proverb under Adra) and the 
 limited and proper time for sowing peas, gram, and linseed. In short 
 except barley, all other rabi crops begin to be sown from this nakhat. 
 
 Kodon and rice early transplanted, are reaped, and the rent demanded 
 
 Sowati (about 10th November). — Rain in this nakhat is believed to be 
 a blessing of Providence. It is a pious belief among the people tha 
 this is the rain that produces pearls in the seas, camphor in kela, anc 
 
85 
 
 i 1 anslochun in bamboos; and to wheat it does considerable good. As 
 ; ,ie proverb says: “ Ek lahra jo barsai Sowati ; Kunbin pahnai sone 
 ( ' epati i.e., if a slight shower of rain fall in Sowati, the wife of Kurmi 
 I pest wheat-cultivating caste) will wear golden earrings. But a heavy and 
 1 ontinuous shower destroys wheat seed and lately sown bajra and millet, 
 t is the proper and a very busy time for sowing wheat, barley, and 
 j 11 other rabi crops; and the reaping of millet, bajra, kodon, and tili 
 jommences. 
 
 I Bisakha (about 20th of November). — In this nakhat slight rain is 
 welcome, but failure of the same does no harm to the rabi crop, though 
 juch failure increases the labour of irrigation. By this time, as the seeds 
 lave just germinated, irrigation from tanks becomes injurious, specially 
 Jo wheat, but from wells it is very beneficial. On the whole, for rabi 
 ijrops irrigation from tanks, in comparison to that from wells, is valueless, 
 ,.nd is rather considered injurious. In very rich fields, from which bajra 
 |as been reaped, sometimes peas are sown ; but it is too late for sowing 
 I wheat and barley, as it is proverberial : “ Sawan sawan, Bisa jao ; jitna 
 from , utna lao that is, by sowing sawan in Sawan and jao in Bisakha, 
 |ou will reap only as much as there was thrown of seed. However, on 
 jjhe slopes of the banks of rivers, all the rabi crops are generally sown by 
 Ihis time and produce well. 
 
 I The reaping of late rice, mothi, mung, urd, millet, kala til, patwa, 
 kc., is commenced ; tobacco is transplanted. 
 
 1 Anoradha and Jestha (about 10th December). — In these nakhats 
 [month of Aghan) all the above-named crops are reaped entirely, and 
 iugarcane-milling commences. The zemindars try to collect all their 
 lemands and mahajans realize their dues. Slight rain does much good 
 ;o rabi, but heavy rain damages the kharif harvest. There is generally 
 10 rain in these nakhats, the want of which is not felt at all. 
 
 Mul and Pwbakhar (about 20th December). — In these nakhats 
 'month of Pus) sometimes frost injures several crops. Heavy rain and 
 :loudy atmosphere affect them ; slight rain is very good ; but if there be 
 no rain the fields can be well protected by irrigation. Sugarcane is 
 ibundantly milled, which gives some work for labourers, and provides 
 food both to the cultivators and cattle ; otherwise the time is hard for 
 poor peasants, specially the labourers. The cultivators are pressed by 
 the zemindars and mahajans for their respective demands. 
 
 Uttrakhar , Surwan, and Dhanestha (about 15th January to 14th 
 February). — In these nakhats (month of Magh) if in Sawan east wind 
 had been blowing, there will be frost which will surely spoil the crops, 
 specially arhar and peas, but if there be rain it does not affect them. 
 East wind, cloudy atmosphere and frequent rain create smut, a very bad 
 disease for wheat and barley. The fields sown lately in Bisakha specially 
 suffer by the disease. Sugarcane is abundantly milled. The poor asamis 
 have almost nothing to eat, except raw ears of wheat, jao, and peas. 
 Very early sown peas are reaped, and there is no fodder for cattle, except 
 the leaves of the sugarcane. 
 
 Suttlebekh and Purbhadrapad (about 15th February to 14th March). 
 — In these nakhats (month of Phagun) peas are reaped abundantly and 
 early-sown wheat also ; sugarcane is nearly milled ; zemindars demand their 
 
86 
 
 third instalment of rent ; this settles their account. By rain wheat plants 
 are beaten down and the produce is very much reduced. The condition 
 of the kashtkar grows a little better. 
 
 Uttrabhadrapad and Rewti (about 14th March to 15th April). — In 
 these nakhats (month Chait) nearly the whole of the rabi crops are reaped. 
 Rain does much harm to thrashing, &c. The kashtkar get a full meal. 
 Mahajans and zemindars press them for their demands, and work in the 
 fields is at an end. The only business they now have to do is thrashing 
 the corn and in many places making preparations for sowing sugarcane 
 and sawan. Every individual in the country as well as cattle get enough 
 food and seem quite happy, for about two months, Chait and Baisakh. 
 During the full months of Jeth and Asarh, till the rains begin, the people 
 have no work in the fields, but the labourers and poor cultivators (asamis) 
 earn their bread by being employed in repairing the houses in their own 
 villages or in the neighbouring towns, whither they go in crowds every 
 morning or live there. 
 
 Mahua and am fruits are another means of their support ; but as soon 
 as the rain begins in Asarh all the people return to their respective 
 agricultural business for the new year. 
 
 What quantity of rain at the least can produce crops , and by failure of 
 the same how far irrigation can protect them. — The want and benefit of 
 rain in several nakhats for various kinds of kharff and rabi crops have 
 already been mentioned ; in other words, between 30 and 35 inches of 
 rain during the whole year, at the proper times, is quite sufficient to 
 produce all sorts of crops. For the past five years the quantity of rain 
 in this district has been as following : — 
 
 1873 ... ... 32-2 inches 
 
 1874 
 
 1875 
 
 1876 
 
 1877 
 
 33‘2 
 
 4 1 ’! 
 
 36-03 
 
 2 3‘°3 
 
 In the year 1875, the rain being 41 inches, was considered very injurious 
 to many of the crops, such as juar and bajra ; and in many low-lying places 
 thousands of acres of rice being drowned, were destroyed entirely. 
 According to my estimation and enquiries, about 1 6 inches of rain in the 
 whole year, viz., 4 inches in Adra (June), 2 inches in Pukh (July), x inch 
 in Ashlekha (August), 3 inches in Magha (August), 2 inches in Purba 
 (September), 2 inches in Ultra (September), x inch in Sowati (about the 
 end of November), and 1 inch in Purbakhar (January), can produce 
 about three-fourths of rice and makra and the whole of all other crops, 
 both of kharff and rabi. Moreover, if there is a good rain in Adra, about 
 2 inches at least, and about the same in Magha, and a slight rain in Pukh, 
 Shalekha, and Hasthya, — about 8 or xo inches altogether, — the fields can 
 be sown and reaped, provided the people have means of irrigation. 
 Rice crop would, however, be nearly destroyed. About one-half of all 
 the other kharff and full or three-fourths of rabi crops can be saved 
 in the first year, and about three-fourths or half of the quantity in the 
 next, and half of that in the third. 
 
 5. Chemical condition of the soils . — It is almost impossible to say 
 anything at present authentically or authoritatively on this behalf, as 
 
8 7 
 
 even the very name of the science of chemistry, except within the walls 
 of the few colleges, is not heard or known in the whole country. Of 
 course the same is the case with geology and physics or any science, but 
 by long experience and observations, although the people do not know 
 them theoretically, yet they have become acquainted with the principles 
 of the latter sciences. But the phenomena of chemistry being quite 
 inperceptible, generally speaking, no one has as yet heard or has any 
 reason to believe that their earth, mountains, and plants are composed of 
 63 different elements. It is entirely beyond the knowledge and under- 
 standing of the people to have any idea of any of the constituents of the 
 soil or the plant food. Practically, of course, they know the benefit and 
 use of manures, and thereby supply the deficiency of plant food, but 
 they have no idea whatever of their elements, constituents, and of the 
 reactions they are subject to. With the exception of a very few and 
 especial occasions, no extensive efforts have as yet been made by the 
 Government also to obtain a thorough knowledge of the chemical com- 
 position of the Indian soils, of manures, of plants, and of human food, 
 &c. However, from as much knowledge of the subject as has been 
 obtained as yet, it seems that, like other gifts of the nature (geological 
 and physical), the chemical conditions of the plain in question, are 
 naturally favourable to agricultural purposes, and the vitality of plant 
 growth. From the following table of the analysis of Indian soils, which 
 have been compared with the analysis of the soils of England, it will be 
 seen that even the sterile soil (usar) shows not a single constituent that 
 could be accounted detrimental, but, on the contrary, the constituents 
 that are essential for plant life are in a fair proportion. It is cer- 
 tainly the case, that ordinary chemical analysis is not sufficient to 
 indicate the actual fertility of the soil, because the conditions in which 
 the different compounds undergo changes, and the elements act upon 
 each other in a field under the influence of the natural agents and sur- 
 rounding causes are quite different from their being analysed in a chemical 
 laboratory ; still at any rate from these analyses it will be understood, 
 that naturally they are not different in matters essentially necessary for 
 the growth and nourishment of vegetation. 
 
 For making analyses the samples have been collected from different 
 parts of the Province. Three samples were obtained through the officer 
 of the Department of Agriculture and Commerce of the Province, and 
 many other samples were obtained from Oudh. Three or four from each 
 division, and from different districts of the division. Also care was 
 taken to collect samples of different varieties of the soils such as Matyar, 
 Domat, Bhoor, and Usar ; and of the surface as well as of the sub-soil. 
 A few of the important ones have been analysed by myself, and for the 
 sake of accuracy one Domat soil from District Roy Bardi, village Dedour, 
 and one Usar soil from Lucknow District, village Kanousi, were analysed 
 by Mr. Edward Kinch, F.C.S., F.I.C., &c., Professor of Chemistry, at 
 the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester. The Professor remarks 
 about the soil as follows : “ These two soils (Nos. 1 and 3), are evidently 
 formed from the same rock, the sand is principally quartz, with a good 
 deal of Mica.” “ No. 1 (Domat), contain much more of the valuable 
 plant food constituents, phosphoric acid, lime and potash, and is more 
 
PARTIAL CHEMICAL ANALYSES OF SOILS FROM THE - 
 WITH THE CORRESPONDING ANALYS 
 
 1 
 
 Description of Sample 
 
 Name of the place from which 
 Sample was obtained 
 
 Moisture 
 in Air- 
 dried 
 
 Orgt 
 
 mat 
 
 
 
 Division and 
 District 
 
 Village 
 
 
 bir 
 
 Wt 
 
 1 
 
 From Uprahar — Choumas. ) 
 
 Wheat field — (Surface soil) ) 
 
 Roy Bareli 
 
 Didour 
 
 1-48 
 
 2*1 
 
 2 
 
 From Matyar — 
 
 Manured field — (Surface soil) 
 
 Nawab Ganj ) 
 Lucknow ) 
 
 Gadya 
 
 292 
 
 
 3 
 
 From Usar land — (Surface soil) 
 
 Lucknow 
 
 Kanousi 
 
 •46 
 
 •1 
 
 4 
 
 From Usar land — (Sub-soil) 
 
 ( Pratab Garh ) 
 
 ( Roy Bareli ) 
 
 Bazidpur 
 
 25 
 
 - 
 
 5 
 
 Not known, No. 1 
 
 r FromDepartmi 
 < culture and 
 ( N.W.P. and ' 
 
 sntof Agri- 
 Commerce, > 
 Oudh ) 
 
 2-45 
 
 - 
 
 6 
 
 Do., No. 2 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 1-79 
 
 - 
 
 7 
 
 From Bradwell Grove — (Surface soil) 
 
 Oxfordshire 
 
 Burford 
 
 3-82 
 
 40! 
 
 8 
 
 From Experimental field of R.A.C. ) 
 Farm, on Oolite — (Surface soil) ) 
 
 Gloucestershire 
 
 Cirencester 
 
 7*4 
 
 9-6 
 
tj OF NORTH WESTERN PROVINCES AND OUDH, INDIA, 
 SAMPLES OF SOILS FROM ENGLAND. 
 
 
 
 Percentage Composition of Soil dried at 100° Cen. 
 
 
 
 J land and 
 jl Silicates 
 if insoluble 
 di Hydro- 
 i chloric 
 
 T Acid 
 
 Oxides 
 of Iron 
 and 
 Alu- 
 mina 
 
 Lime 
 
 CaO 
 
 Mag- 
 
 nesia 
 
 MgO 
 
 Potash 
 
 k 2 o 
 
 Soda 
 
 Na 2 0 
 
 Phos- 
 
 phoric 
 
 Acid 
 
 PaOs 
 
 Soluble 
 
 Saline 
 
 Matter 
 
 §§ 
 
 
 Remark s. 
 
 ; 89 38 
 
 411 
 
 •69 
 
 - 
 
 •68 
 
 11 
 
 •26 
 
 
 1 
 
 Analyst — 
 
 Professor E. Kinch, R.A. 
 College, England 
 
 84-70 
 
 9-34 
 
 •30 
 
 - 
 
 1-20 
 
 •40 
 
 •19 
 
 •60 
 
 The Author 
 
 93-94 
 
 3-83 
 
 •38 
 
 - 
 
 •24 
 
 11 
 
 •07 
 
 •78 
 
 
 Professor E. Kinch 
 
 9009 
 
 9 04 
 
 •37 
 
 •19 
 
 •35 
 
 •78 
 
 T7 
 
 •39 
 
 The Author 
 
 82 77 
 
 - 
 
 1-91 
 
 - 
 
 •06 
 
 •89 
 
 •09 
 
 1-49 
 
 
 Ditto 
 
 85-5 
 
 - 
 
 1-23 
 
 - 
 
 •76 
 
 •53 
 
 •19 
 
 •86 
 
 
 Ditto 
 
 84-05 
 
 903 
 
 106 
 
 - 
 
 •69 
 
 - 
 
 •20 
 
 •97 
 
 
 English soils for com- 
 parison with above soils 
 
 65-28 
 
 17-73 
 
 2-95 
 
 •88 
 
 111 
 
 •39 
 
 •39 
 
 " 
 
 J 
 
 §§ Qualitative test shewed 
 presence of Nitrates, 
 Chlorides and Sulphates 
 
9 o 
 
 retentive of moisture than No. 3.” “ No. 3 (The Usar) contains 
 
 very little organic matter, and being almost entirely sand, has scarcely 
 any retentive power for water, to this its sterility must in a large part be 
 ascribed ; it contains all necessary plant food, but some constituents as 
 phosphoric acid in a very limited quantity. The amount of saline 
 matter present, though rather large, is not sufficient in itself to cause 
 sterility.” 
 
 From the quantitative analyses table, it will be seen that the quantity 
 of the various constituents differ very much in Indian as well as in 
 English soils. This variation of course depends on many circumstances 
 to which the soil is subject. For instance, the Burford soil (Oxford- 
 shire), pretty nearly resembles the Indian soils in all constituents. 
 While the soil of field No. 2, used for experimental plots (at the College, 
 Cirencester) in comparison with the above differs in per centage, 
 having water 3-58, — nitrogen equivalent to ammonia, '175 — phosphoric 
 acid, ‘19 — potash, "42 — and lime, i' 89 more, and sand 1877 per cent, 
 less than the other. The great difference in the quantity of sand and lime 
 is due to the experimental plot being on an oolite limestone bed, while 
 the other is on clay. And the difference in the amount of phosphoric 
 acid, potash and nitrogen is perhaps due to the latter having been more 
 richly supplied with artificial manures. But this difference does not 
 mean that the difference of the productive power of the two fields would 
 be in the same proportion. As a rule, the fertility of a soil depends on 
 the minimum of all the valuable constituents, and not on the maximum 
 of one of them. 
 
 From the above mentioned example, we can assume, that although 
 the Indian soils show differences and low percentages in some of the 
 valuable matters, yet they are by no means inferior to the soils of 
 England, which produce more than the fields in India. It is only due 
 to artificial means and not to natural causes that our land does not yield 
 so much as land in England. 
 
 N.B.— For providing artificial means money is the chief power which 
 our farmers do not possess. 
 
 The most essential and valuable constituents for plant life and growth 
 are : 1. Nitrogen in the form of ammonia and nitrates. 2. Phosphoric 
 acid. 3. Potash. 4. Lime. Further, these should be in an avail- 
 able form. And the most hurtful are : 1. Compounds of iron in the form 
 of ferrous salts. 2. Saline matters in excess. 3. Lime and Magnesia 
 in caustic form. Moreover, only an excess of these is hurtful, and in 
 certain quantities they are even beneficial. From the few analyses that 
 have been made for the sake of example, it seems that all the soils 
 contain all the essential and valuable matters in sufficient quantity, and 
 in an available form, while the hurtful matters seem to be absent. 
 Even the analysis of the very sterile soil (Usar of Kanousi village) 
 made by Professor Kinch, does not show any chemical defect ; on the 
 contrary, the saline matters which are generally supposed to be the cause 
 of sterility of this land are quite below the amount that would be 
 considered necessary to account for it. One of the samples of a subsoil 
 of the same nature (No 4 of the village Bazidpur, District Pratabgarh) 
 has given still better results. The quantity of nitrogen, of phosphoric 
 
9i 
 
 acid, of potash, and of lime is very fair indeed, and of soluble salts, very 
 low. Moreover, on testing the soluble salt obtained from the soils in 
 question, there were found hydrochloric, sulphuric, and nitric acids in a 
 very fair quantity. These conditions are all favourable to vegetation, and 
 show that the barrenness of the soil is not due to its composition, but 
 that there are some other conditions which have made the vast tracts lie 
 useless. It is evident that all the difficulties that are not due to natural 
 causes can be overcome by the artificial means, and persevering exer- 
 tions. But, of course, this requires nothing else but energy and capital, 
 and these unfortunately we do not possess. 
 
 Not only the chemical analyses, but certain facts also prove that our 
 soils are naturally very rich in the valuable matters necessary for plant 
 food, or have some means of accumulating them by the influence of some 
 natural agencies. The patent fact is this, that from time immemorial the 
 land has been under cultivation, and still is not exhausted. The name 
 of artificial or purchased manures is totally unknown in the country. 
 The only manure which costs something to the farmers, is the excrement 
 obtained by keeping the shepherd’s flock at night in the field. But very 
 few people can afford it, and they employ the flock only for their wheat and 
 sugarcane fields. (For other particulars of this, vide the paragraph on 
 wheat cultivation.) The only artificial stimulant for the growth of the 
 crops they provide, is the farm yard manure, or animal excrement. Many 
 of the poor asamis who have not plough oxen of their own, for years and 
 years do not supply even this manure ; they simply burn the stubble and 
 some wild plants or their leaves, and thereby produce something from 
 their fields. What is termed mineral or cinereal manures no one has ever 
 heard the name of. To some crops such as tobacco, melon, cucumber, 
 and sawan, the scrapings from the old mud walls, which very likely contain 
 potassium or sodium nitrate are applied. Besides these, no other manure 
 is known. This itself shows that the wants for the vitality of plants is 
 mostly supplied by the soil or by nature. There can be no doubt of the 
 truth of the above remarks when we see that the land in all parts of the 
 Province is so very rich in saltpetre (potassium nitrate) and in sodium 
 nitrate, as well as in common salt, (sodium chloride,) that they could 
 become a source of fortune if we could avail ourselves of their manufacture 
 and their trade. In some places the deposits of these compounds are 
 so excessive, that they have become the cause of the sterility of the soil. 
 It is certainly a blessing of Providence to provide these stores of the 
 essential matters of plant food, but we do not know how to derive the 
 full benefit from them, how to distribute them to those parts of the 
 country where they are deficient. From these stores the necessity of 
 cinereal and nitrogenous manure is supplied. What the farmers in 
 England purchase and have to pay for, viz., nitrate of soda, or chili, 
 saltpetre and sulphate of ammonia, our soils have got natural stores 
 hidden in them. The phosphoric manures only seem to be wanted 
 from outside, and they are more or less supplied by means of the farm 
 yard manure from dung and from its ash. But owing to the ignorance 
 and poverty of the people, the full advantage of these is not and cannot 
 be drawn. The reason of this will be given hereafter. 
 
 Had nature not been so bountiful as to supply us with these 
 
92 
 
 inexhaustible stores; and had the natural agencies not been so 
 favourable as to prepare and make them available for plant growth, — in 
 such a miserable condition it would have been quite impossible for so 
 thick a population as 582 per square mile in the Province, to not oniy 
 maintain their own existence, but also to send abundantly the produce 
 of the land to foreign countries. 
 
 6. We should not pass on without adding a few words about our 
 people belonging to the agricultural occupation, and let the reader 
 know how industrious, hard working, and thoroughly experienced in 
 their business those men are. 
 
 As we have stated above, the average holdings in the united provinces 
 of N. W. P. and Oudh per farmer, having a family of four persons, is only 
 7*78 acres. Some of them might have larger farms than that — about 50 
 acres at the most — but the majority of them are peasant farmers, who 
 take leases of still smaller holdings, generally of two or three acres, and 
 work on the farm by themselves, assisted by the members of their family. 
 Most of these peasants have their own plough oxen, but some unfortunately 
 have no means even to buy a small team, which costs no more than 30 or 
 40 shillings. To work their land, they either borrow the oxen from their 
 relations, or hire them. 
 
 A peasant gets up before the break of day and goes to work in his 
 field. If there is not enough work in his own holding, the other members 
 of his family, in order to earn their daily bread, will go to work as labourers 
 for other farmers who have not enough hands or possess large holdings. 
 The peasant begins ploughing, watering, or any other work that is required 
 in the field from before sun rise, and will leave it for an hour just at noon 
 without drinking a drop of water or eating a mouthful of grain during this 
 time. Now at 12 o’clock he will wash himself and take his breakfast, 
 which generally consists of fresh water and parched, or water-steeped 
 grain. Those who can at this time also afford a meal of the cakes of 
 coarse grain, with vegetable, raw sugar (gur), or whey, are considered 
 well to do. At one o’clock he again begins to work, and leaves it an 
 hour after dusk. Now he returns home, cuts the chaff for the oxen, and 
 afterwards takes his full meal ; cakes of millet meal or rice, (coarse) 
 2lbs. and pulse vegetable, or whey enough to give flavour to the cakes 
 Sometimes for luxury the cake is fried in mustard oil, milk, and millet 
 meal puddings are made ; green grains — as peas, &c., mahwa and 
 mangoe fruits in season make a variety of dishes, and are substituted for 
 the cakes, to some extent. After finishing his meal, he comes out of the 
 hut, and sits at his door under a tree, to enjoy the fresh air, and rest after 
 the hard work ; and at the same time he remains chewing or smoking 
 his tobacco, and designing plans of the next day’s work. At 1 1 or 1 2 
 o’clock he will sleep either under the same tree or inside the hut on a 
 cot. In summer there is no mattress on it, and in winter the beddings 
 are generally made of straw. 
 
 This is the routine of the simplest daily life of our peasant farmer. 
 The farmer of a high caste, such as a Brahmin, a Chhetri, or a Kaeth, 
 or the farmer who has a large holding, generally does not work with his 
 own hands, but employs labourers, and himself supervises them during 
 the whole time. In his mode of life he is not so badly off as the other ; 
 
93 
 
 and his full meal consists of the cake of barley, Dori seed, or wheat flour 
 and other purchased vegetables, such as potatoes, &c. Milk, butter, and 
 whey (if he has milch beasts) are his luxuries ; and he possess stronger 
 cattle, a better house, linen, blankets, and mattresses for his comfort. 
 
 Of course the peasant has received no technical education of any kind 
 in his business, except some of the local proverbs, a few of which, for 
 example, have been written in the foregoing paragraph, No. 4 of this 
 chapter; theoretically, he does not know anything about his occupation, but 
 his long experience has made him master of every secret upon which the 
 success in producing crops depends, and has taught him every method 
 which is required for the improvement of agriculture. He of course does 
 not know how and why such and such a process does good, or such and 
 such work is necessary ; but certainly he is thoroughly aware, and perfectly 
 confident that the different processes and works will produce certain 
 results. For instance, he does not know that by tillage, and making the 
 particles of surface soil loose, and stirring the subsoil, the air and water 
 get free access into the pores of the soil ; so that by the action of oxygen 
 and carbonic acid the organic matter from stubble, and inorganic or mineral 
 matters from the soil, will be available for plant food ; or that the locked-up 
 nutritive substance will be converted into useful forms ; but he knows that 
 by making the surface soil porous, and leaving it exposed to the air and 
 rain, he will produce a good crop. He does not know that organic 
 manures, such as farm-yard manure or fresh dung, require to be oxidized 
 in order to convert nitrogenous matters into ammonia, so as to ferment 
 them before application ; but he knows the advantageous results of this 
 process ; and consequently he prepares khad from fresh pans , viz., he 
 mixes the dung and litter, &c., and makes a heap of it, in order to rot 
 them. In the same manner he does not know the reason that the ash 
 constituents are added to the soil by burning the organic matters, and 
 spreading the ashes ; but he knows the good of this process, and therefore 
 burns the wild herbs in his field, and mixes the ashes of the fuel and the 
 dung which he uses for cooking his food to the heap of the khad 
 (farmyard manure). In short, on the whole there is nothing which is 
 practically necessary for the agricultural purposes, of which he has not a 
 thorough and a sound knowledge. 
 
 7. All the above-mentioned natural facilities in the way of agricul- 
 ture, and in addition, the abundance of labour, through there being 
 no other work for such a thick and an increasing population, and the 
 people having consequently to work hard for their one daily meal, con- 
 sisting of dry cake of the coarsest grain, in order to keep their existence ; 
 these reasons combined are the cause why India with such crude 
 methods of farming, little outlay, and no artificial means of improve- 
 ment, produces so much that she keeps thereby all her economical 
 transactions alive. 
 
 Agriculture not only keeps the existence of the poor victims of misery 
 (60 per cent, in population), but provides a good Government, to govern 
 a powerful army to defend and protect, police and choukidars to keep 
 order and peace, and law courts to do justice. Not only this, but pro- 
 vides luxuries for landowners, business for money lenders, interest for 
 foreign capital, treasures for the selfish rich people, who carry the wealth 
 
94 
 
 into the dead account, by keeping it locked up in their boxes. Not only 
 this, the agriculture requires and .provides the making of railroads, and 
 the traffic of steamers full of cargoes on the Indian coasts, and above all 
 it causes the industrial people in other countries to make everything for 
 us that is useful, or is supposed to be needed for the improvement of 
 the country, be it a pin or a railway engine. Yet, whatever progress in 
 the exports and imports the Financial Statistics may show, whatever 
 development of highways, railroads, and canals, the administrative 
 report record ; however individual wealth may flourish ! alas ! the cir- 
 cumstances of the people who are the backbone of all this national 
 business, viz., of those who till the land, is going from bad to worse, and 
 no regard whatever is paid to the nature of their hard work and their 
 harder life. - 
 
 8. We believe that by giving an example of all the processes of the 
 cultivation of a crop from the beginning to the end we shall make the 
 matter of this chapter more clear. The reader by this will be able to 
 form a clearer idea of the productive power of the land, of the expense 
 and the produce per acre — of the simplicity of the work in India — the 
 crude methods of cultivation — the difficulties of the poor farmers — 
 their hard work, and small remuneration. And above all he will be 
 able to understand, what we have to treat of hereafter, that is, the 
 needs of the farming interest in India, and the difficulty of introducing 
 the necessary improvements. For my example I take a typical crop 
 of wheat, and append herewith a memorandum written by me on the 
 same subject in 1878, which is as follows : 
 
 The soil and conditions suitable for wheat crops. — The best fields in 
 which wheat is generally sown are choumas.* * * § 
 
 Choumas are the fields which are left under bare fallow for a year. 
 Generally in a year only one crop (wheat) is grown in choumas, but 
 sometimes with hard labour and the aid of manure, a catch crop (of 
 Jethaoo Sawan) is taken from Jeonar. The wheat also grows in the 
 fields called Jhotail, from which a kharif catch crop of makra, kakun, 
 sawan, kuari rice have been reaped early in the month of September 
 (kuar.) But in a jhotail field a crop of wheat can only be grown with 
 hard labour and by putting abundant manure. Barley is generally 
 sown in such fields. However the crop raised in jhotail is not usually 
 so good in quality or quantity as that of the choumas. 
 
 Besides choumas field wheat is generally cultivated, and thrives very 
 well in khutail,f masail J and peri § fields, but very seldom in jeonar 
 field, and if ever it requires great labour, expense, and a good quantity 
 of very rich manure. Sowing wheat in jeonar, which means wheat after 
 
 * Fields in which wheat is to be sown are called choumas, and after the 
 crop being reaped are termed jeonar. So also barley field after being reaped 
 is called jeonar. 
 
 t Khutail = The field in which Til (oil-seed), juar (millet), arhat (pulse) 
 have been sown in Asarh (June or July), and reaped about the beginning of 
 October. 
 
 t Masail = the fields from which Mash (pulse) has been reaped in 
 October or November. 
 
 § Peri = field in which sugarcane has been cultivated. 
 
95 
 
 wheat, or after barley exhausts and impoverishes the land and crop does 
 not thrive well. 
 
 Manuring . — -The first process in cultivation of wheat is putting 
 manure in the field, which is generally done in May and June, when 
 harvesting of the year is finished, and no work of farming is in hand. 
 Thirty large basketfuls per acre (one load per biswa) of farm yard manure 
 is put down, and it is spread and ploughed in at the beginning of the 
 rainy season. After the ploughing is done and the field well prepared, a 
 few days before sowing seed thrifty farmers employ a shepherd to keep 
 his flock of sheep for one or two nights in the field. This is considered 
 the most beneficial manure for the crop, and is the only manure for 
 which they have to pay something. ,For providing this manure for one 
 bigha two-thirds of an acre, they have to pay to the shepherd 24 to 3olbs. 
 of grain. The shepherd keeps his flock of sheep for two or three 
 nights in the field, and remains himself there, shifting the sheep a whole 
 night from one place to another. The sheep of course belong to the 
 shepherd (Gararya.) Vide gaiaiya in Appendix. 
 
 Ploughing . — The best mode of preparing choumas field for wheat is, 
 to plough it once in every nakhat, which there are 27 in a year. ( Vide 
 nakhats in paragraph No. 4.) But in the Province they commence 
 ploughing choumas from Asarh (June or July) Adra nakhat, and finish 
 it in the month of Katick (November), till Chitra and Sowati nakhats, 
 when the seed is sown. 
 
 N.B . — The implement which is used for tilling land in India in com- 
 parison to the English implement used for the same purpose can hardly 
 be called a plough. Its cost is about two shillings, and being of the 
 very simplest kind, necessarily, it has to be dragged several times over 
 and over to prepare a wheat field thoroughly. No improved implement, 
 for two reasons can possibly be adopted at present in India. Firstly, 
 on account of its cost, which the farmers generally are unable to bear, 
 and secondly, owing to the weakness of the plough oxen, which cannot 
 drag a heavier implement. 
 
 The more a field is ploughed the more productive it is. The minimum 
 number of turnings over or ploughing of the soil, is 10, and the maximum 
 30. But Kumbi and Moorai (the best farmers) usually plough their 
 fields 20 times, and a common Kashtkar about 10 or 15 times. The 
 way of ploughing in the rainy season is different from that adopted after- 
 wards. In the rainy season the furrows are cut deep and broad ; while 
 after the rain — from November — they are made very narrow and deep. 
 With one plough, worked by two good bullocks and one man, a 
 bigah (two-third of an acre) or at least 1 5 biswas* of land is turned over 
 in one day in the rainy season ; but from Katick (November), not more 
 than from 8 or 12 biswas can be ploughed. In some districts when the 
 soil is not hard clay, but is sandy or mixed with sand, neither very hard 
 labour, nor very strong bullocks are required for ploughing ; the plough 
 tail is made short and the ploughshare is more upright, so that in a few 
 turns the fields are torn to the required depth. In lands having hard clay 
 soil more labour and stronger apparatus are required to bring the fields 
 
 * 30 biswas ==? 1 acre. 
 
9 6 
 
 into useful order. After every ploughing the clods are well broken by means 
 of a heavy piece of wood dragged by four bullocks. This operation is called 
 Sarawan or Pahta karna (rolling.) After this the smooth surface of the 
 field is divided into beds ; if they are to be irrigated from wells, the beds 
 are made smaller, viz., from 150 to 200 in one bigah, (two-thirds of an 
 acre), but if by doogla they are made larger, from 80 to 100 in a bigha. 
 
 Sowing . — The month of Katick (about the end of September), when 
 Chitra Nakhat commences is considered the best time for sowing the 
 wheat, and it continues till Sowati Nakhat and rarely till Bisakha. 
 The Brahmin of the village is consulted first to fix the moment or time 
 to begin sowing, and at that very moment, a man of the family whom 
 the Brahmin nominates, as likely to bring good luck, if he commences 
 the sowing, goes to the field, and with his own hands sows a handful of 
 seed in a corner of the field which is selected by the Brahmin. After 
 this, all the fields belonging to the man who thus performs the ceremony 
 (called mooth lena) can be sown at any time, when leisure permits, and 
 by any man whether a member of the family or a hired labourer. 
 The same sort of ceremony is performed at the commencement of 
 ploughing ; Brahmin Chatris and Kaiths do not touch the plough with 
 their own hands, their labourers act for them. When the seed 
 is taken from the house into the field the mistress of the house 
 keeps back a small quantity of it, and when all the fields are sown, she 
 adds more grain to the portion retained, and distributes it to the 
 Brahmin, the ploughman (Harwaha), and the other labourers and drivers 
 who were engaged on the work. Sometimes the Brahmin gets other per- 
 quisites for fixing the time ( for “ Harahi and Moothleni.” In this 
 country as far as I have seen, sowing is invariably done by hands 
 The ploughman drags the plough ahead, and a woman or a man 
 follows with a basket of wheat on the head, and with one hand throws 
 the seed into the scratches made by the plough. 
 
 Seed . — In 1 puka-bigha (two-thirds of an acre) from 45 to 50 seers 
 (about 100 lbs ) of seed are sown, but the average rate is about 50 seers 
 per bigah. When the seed is taken for sowing by the petty cultivators, it 
 is sifted and cleared before being sown, in order to get rid ot weeds ; but 
 the cultivators of large farms cannot do this. The well-to-do farmers 
 who have seed [called Bisar] of their own, are at a great advantage ; but 
 the poor assamis who are generally obliged to borrow it, pay dear. The 
 conditions of advancing seed (Bisar) are different, but the most common 
 terms are Sawai, Deorhi , and Barmola. In the month of Katick 
 (October) the seed is borrowed by the asamis (petty tenants) from the men 
 who have stores of that grain in the neighbourhood, and who are called 
 Beohars, Mahajans, or Maldhanis. 
 
 Sawai is i£, i.e. for every seer of grain lent in the month of Magh 
 (January), seer would be taken when the products of the asamis fields 
 are thrashed (25 per cent.) 
 
 Deorhi prevails more commonly in this eastern part of the country. 
 By it, for every seer of grain, 1 J seer is repaid (50 per cent.) However, 
 though this rate is called Deorhi, it is not generally reached strictly, and 
 they have to repay at the rate of 1 1 seers for 8, though 1 2 would be the 
 full number. 
 
97 
 
 In some places for the Bisar borrowed in Kuar (September) 50 per 
 cent, is taken as interest, but if it is borrowed in Katick (October) 1 x 
 seers for 8 seers would be given. 
 
 When the grain is very dear, I have noticed in many places in this 
 district that the Biohars are not satisfied with the above terms ; they then 
 value the grain with money. For instance, if the market rate is 10 seers 
 per Rupee in Katick, they would 'give 10 seers to the asami ; and if in 
 the next Chait, the market rate decreased to 30 sjers (though it might 
 not remain long at that price), they, instead of receiving but 15 seers, 
 would receive 45 seers (the value of i£ Rupees.) This term is called 
 Barmoli. 
 
 Weeding . — Although many weeds grow in wheat fields, and their seed 
 being mixed with the grain, spoil the purity of the sample, yet no weedings 
 are done. Were the fields cleared of the wild grass, the produce would 
 undoubtedly be more profitable ; but owing to the expense, farmers never 
 attempt to weed any rabi or wheat fields ; indeed they consider it useless 
 and even injurious to the field, because they say if they attempt it, their 
 crop is seriously injured, through being crushed under their feet, as the 
 seed is very thickly sown. 
 
 The following weeds grow with wheat : — Akri, akra-chapri (leguminous 
 herb — wild vetches), titli, kauriana (or bundal), bhaloli, munmona (or 
 mada), gajra, mikha, bathwi, and gobbi. 
 
 Akri and akra produce a sort of pea-like seed, which is very poisonous 
 if eaten in large quantity. I have heard that a man would die if he ate 
 a meal of it. However, poor men collect the seed, and after steeping it in 
 water for two or three days, make flour of it, and mix a small quantity of 
 it with other meal, to make bread. It is good fodder for cattle. 
 
 Bhaloli and Munmona are given as food to domestic fowls. 
 
 Gajra and Batwi are eaten as vegetable herbs. 
 
 The latter is considered very wholesome when boiled with “ Mashki dal.” 
 Cattle also are fed upon them when the herb is green. 
 
 Mekha and Bahloli mostly grow in the fields in Kachar (river side). 
 
 In these fields which are not sown with sifted seed, sometimes the seeds 
 of these weeds form as much as one-fourth ; but the average proportion 
 is from two to five seers per forty seers (one Maund). If the farmers 
 sowed only sifted seed or found opportunities to weed their fields, the 
 produce would certainly be greatly improved. 
 
 Watering . — The watering depends on the means of the cultivators 
 and the kinds of soil. In matyar clayey land, by rich cultivators as well 
 as by Kurmis or Murayis, the fields are irrigated three times, but in 
 balua (sandy) from once to twice. In low and moist land and generally 
 on kachar (banks of rivers) no watering is required ; but when the soil is 
 too moist the crop suffers. The methods of irrigation" are different 
 and greatly depend upon the proximity and command of water ; but 
 commonly there are three methods : dugla, pur, and dhekli. Dugla, 
 beri, or douri are the same. It is a light basket with four cords 
 attached to the rim, which are held by two men, and is always used for 
 raising water from tanks, jhils, and sometimes from rivers and nalas. 
 The dugla basket is plastered either by bel fruit pulp or resin dissolved 
 in oil in order to make it watertight. If the water be near and the 
 
 H 
 
9 8 
 
 ground from the field to the water level, they carry on their work with 
 one dugla only, but otherwise sometimes with four or five. For each 
 dugla four men are employed who work by turns, and their wages are 
 greater than those of the harwaha ,* but they have to work from about 
 2, 3, or 4 a.m. to 6 p.m., viz., from 14 to 16 hours. To each of these 
 men from 30 to 34 gandasf of grain are given by the zemindars and 
 beohars,| but the common people have to give something more as 
 tobacco and chabena. This is the average rate of wages, but the terms 
 vary in every paragana, though not very much. From one dugla, if 
 the water is not very close and there is no strict supervision, only 2 
 bighas (ii acres) of land are irrigated in one day; but if the water is 
 close by the field and the surface of the field is level, from 2 to 3 and 
 sometimes 4 bighas are irrigated in one day with one dugla. The 
 aggregate cost of irrigation of 2 bighas with one dugla, if the grain be 
 sold at 20 seers per rupee, is about Rs. 0-7-0, or 3-5 rupees per bigha. 
 The grain of the cheapest kind of the time or mahua is given in wages, 
 and whether corn is cheaper or dearer, still in the rate of wages as a rule 
 there is no difference. 
 
 Watering from tanks, &c., with the dugla is not considered as good for 
 the crops as irrigation from wells. Just after the seed of wheat has 
 germinated, watering from dugla is injurious. 
 
 Watering from wells is done in three ways — (1) Gharra, (2) Pur, (3) 
 Dhekli. Also, the wells are of three kinds — (1) Large brick cylinder 
 wells (Indaras), (2) Katcha wells on firm clayey land, (3) Temporary 
 wells. Nearly in the whole of Patti tahsil the water being very near, is 
 generally drawn by men instead of bullocks. This is called gharra. In 
 one gharra from five to nine men are employed, besides the man who 
 holds the water bag ; but generally seven men do this work here from 
 sunrise to dark, and in some places they have no interval even at midday. 
 The wages of these labourers vary from 24 to 30 gandas of grain per 
 diem. From one gharra 7 or 8 and sometimes 10 biswas§ of land are 
 well watered ; but from pur, which is drawn by bullocks, if the water is at 
 the depth of 60 feet, from to 3 biswas only can be irrigated in one day. 
 The average cost of irrigation from gharra per bigha is about Rs.|| 1-8-0, 
 and from pur, if the bullocks and coolies are all hired (the rate of which 
 is about, 6 annas per diem), is about Rs. 2-8-0 ; but the cost increases 
 or decreases according to the depth and distance of the well, labour 
 of the coolies, and surface of the field. If the surface is uneven, more 
 labour is required to finish the work, near large jhills, and on the banks 
 of the Ganges dhekli is used for irrigation. A very small kutcha well is 
 dug for the purpose, and at a little distance from the well a pillar is 
 made and a long pole of wood is placed upon it. The longer part of 
 the pole remains towards the well and the shorter part on the other 
 side, on which, to keep a balance, a load of mud is fastened, and to the 
 longer end of the pole towards the well a small rope is attached, and to 
 the rope an earthern pot called kund is tied ; and a man standing o 
 the well lets it down and draws it up when filled ; the lever which bears 
 
 * Ploughmen. + 14 gandas=2 lbs. J Mahajan who lends grain to asamis. 
 § 32 Biswas=i acre. || 1 R=i6 annas, or 1/8. 
 
99 
 
 the weight on the other end helps to lighten the weight of the kund. 
 These dheklis are used only by the Kewats, Kachis, and Murayis, &c., 
 in their own fields, who by this means and with hard labour, cannot 
 irrigate more than one or two biswas, because they cannot get sufficient 
 water out of the well. 
 
 Besides pucka indaras (large wells), small kutcha temporary wells 
 are also dug near the fields in some of the places where water is out 
 " of reach and the soil is not quite sandy ; but such wells are of use only 
 for the time the watering for the fields is required, and being useless, 
 are filled up afterwards. So the cultivators have to make such wells 
 every year. 
 
 Times for Watering . — The time of watering is once in from 12 to 20 
 days, or at least a month after the seed germinates, and secondly, when 
 ; the field is about to blossom, that is, a month after ; and thirdly, when 
 the field is in ear, viz., 20 days after the second irrigation. This (viz., 
 three times) is the maximum amount of watering required for the wheat 
 fields. Only very laborious and well-to-do Kashtkars, Kurmis and Murayis 
 can afford three waterings ; others leave them with one or at most two only. 
 In ordinary seasons barley and peas require only one watering and yield 
 ‘f. very good crops ; but if there is not sufficient rain in the rainy season, 
 
 * especially if the Purba, Uttra, Hast, and Sowati nakhats pass dry, before 
 » sowing seed, the fields are once filled with water in order that they may 
 
 be ploughed and the seeds may germinate. 
 
 Diseases of wheat . — Clear sky and west winds are very favourable for 
 wheat, and if in Katick and Aghan (November and December) there is 
 a little rain, it does much good to the crop, but east winds and damp 
 atmosphere are injurious to the crop. 
 
 Garwi (dust bran). — Dhora — Gando are the pest or diseases that do 
 most damage. Garwi is a reddish dust like fungus begins to creep 
 upon the plant from the root and spoils it, as well as the seed in 
 ears If a little rain falls, followed by west winds, the fungus is swept 
 away, and if the sky remains clear it dies out altogether. A crop injured 
 by Dhora (perhaps smut), becomes yellow, and the ears black. If the 
 Jf weather improves soon after the beginning of the disease, the crop 
 
 * recovers, otherwise it is spoilt altogether. Gando (bunt) is a disease 
 •in which seed becomes black and bitter. Besides these frost and hail 
 
 /( damage the crop considerably. Some flies (of deptera and neuropter 
 J tribes), especially locusts, are very injurious pests. Heavy storms of 
 rain in the months of Phagun and Chait (March and April), and stormy 
 winds, by which the crop gets lodged are injurious. The average 
 | losses from these causes seem to be about the same as in the nawalic 
 time. 
 
 ® ' Varieties of wheat generally sown in this country are (a) Tunrwa 
 (bearded or awned), (b) Murwa (beardless or un-awned). In the 
 f neighbourhood of Lucknow and other districts, I have seen many other 
 ® varieties, such as Tamila — Daud-khani — Katya Medahi, &c The 
 two kinds above are, however, by far the most generally used throughout 
 Oudh, Tunrwa, and Murwa. — These are quite differentfrom each other in 
 ' external appearance and also in internal qualities. The ear of the 
 Murwa wheat grows smooth, i.e., has no hair (Tunr) ; the Tunrwa on the 
 
IOO 
 
 other hand, has it. The Murwa seed is whiter in appearance and more 
 healthy than Tunrwa ; but for ease of grinding and for purposes of food, 
 the latter is far better. I am told that the Murwa is hardier, and its 
 fields require less ploughing and rolling. The Murwa is of two kinds, 
 
 (a) (white), Sapeda or Daodi (probably the same as Daud-khani), and 
 
 (b) (red) Lall or Lalkawa. Tunrwa is also of two kinds (a) Seta 
 (white), and (b) Somanwa or Lalkawa (red). In the market there is 
 very little or no difference in price. 
 
 Reaping . — The wheat sown early in Chitra Nakhat (October) is 
 reaped in the month of Phagun (March). But the proper time 
 for reaping common sowing is in the month of Chait (April). The crops 
 become ripe within four-and-a-half or five months on an average. 
 When they have to reap the field the Brahmin is consulted first. One 
 bigha can be reaped by eight or ten men in one day ; and if the 
 Pharwar or Aphar (stackyard) is within a quarter or half a mile the 
 same men can carry the outturn of the field to the place. The rate of 
 wages, as I have mentioned above, varies in different places. In some 
 places the labourers get 16 gandas of grain per day ; in others one 
 sheaf for every thirty sheaves reaped ; but if they reap or carry the pro- 
 duct to Pharwar, thrash it and carry the grain and straw to the house of 
 the owner, they receive one-sixteenth of the grain, and for Binya 
 (gleaning), or picking up the ears left here and there after the field has 
 been reaped, the regular workmen of the field would get one-third and 
 the outsider one-fourth. But this work is optional to the workmen ; 
 the owner cannot force them to do it, or appoint any other men for it. 
 When the regular labourers have leisure they do it without any super- 
 vision, and bring the ears thus collected to the owner. Then, when it 
 is thrashed, the grain is divided between the men. After this gleaning 
 or Binya the field is swept, and the dust sifted, in order to gather the 
 grain that has been mixed with it in reaping or by accident ; this is 
 called Bahama. In some places, the harwaha receives all the grain 
 thus collected, but in some places one-third of it would be taken by the 
 owner. But if the field has been destroyed by hail, or the crops have 
 been beaten down by unseasonable heavy rain, in such cases the owner 
 would receive one-third of the quantity. Besides the wages of his 
 labourers the owner of the harvest has to give out of his crop a share 
 to the Brahmin (the priest), Dhobi (washermen), Darzi (tailor), 
 Mehtar (sweeper, if any in the village), Bhat and others who had been 
 working tor him, or by the custom of the place are entitled to tithe, 
 and he has also to pay to the Mahajan the seed with interest. ( Vide 
 appendix.) 
 
 Thrashing . — As the wheat straw is used here for two purposes ; namely, 
 for thatching and for fodder, it is thrashed in two different modes. If 
 the straw is intended for thatching, which is called Narai, the grain is 
 separated by beating the ears with wooden hammers and the narai is 
 then tied in bundles which are sold at the average rate of a rupee for 
 200 bundles. But most commonly the wheat is thrashed by dainris, 
 that is the treading of oxen, of which four are usually employed. If 
 the wind blows from the west, the work is done sooner than during 
 an east wind. At an average rate, two dainris or eight oxen can tread 
 
IOI 
 
 out the out-turn of one bigha in four days. But if the wind is quite dry 
 | it takes less time. 
 
 Winnowing. — Winnowing also depends entirely upon the force of the 
 wind. If the wind is strong the out.turn of the bigha is winnowed by 
 j three or four men in one day. Standing against the wind they lift up 
 j the baskets filled with the mixture of straw and grain which has been 
 trodden by the oxen and then pour out the contents ; the straw being 
 I lighter is swept away by the wind, while the grain being heavier is 
 separated, and falls straight to the ground. 
 
 Average out-turn per bigha ( two-thirds of an acre.) (A.) Grain, i. 
 
 { Wheat alone. 2. Wheat with other grain. (B.) Fodder and straw. 
 
 It is impossible to fix a standard rate for the out-turn per bigha. It 
 depends on various circumstances, as the quantity of soil, nature of 
 j labour, the means of irrigation and more particularly on the super- 
 i vision of the “ masters eyes,” and the goodness or badness of the 
 season. 
 
 If the work is carried on mainly by hired labour, the profit to the owner 
 i is of course small. However, the following calculation is the approxi- 
 mate average of the value of the out-turn per bigha. 
 
 A Bigha of Matyar land, of a rental value of Rs. 6 = 10s. per 
 i annum, kept choumas, or after bare fallow with 20 times ploughing, 
 three times watering at the due and proper times ; attentively supervised 
 by the owner — in favourable season, and uninjured by accidents and 
 diseases (smut and bunt), should yield an out-turn of 40 loads, each load 
 containing one Katcha Maund* of grain, and from to if maunds of 
 straw ; in other words, 14 puka seers (32 lbs.) of grain, and 16 or 20 (40 
 to 48 lbs.) of straw. Thus in a bigha = to two-thirds of an acre, there 
 are 14 pucka maunds (1280 lbs.) of grain and 16 to 20 maunds-pucka 
 (1606 to 2007 lbs.) fodder. 
 
 On the head-land of the fields and the borders of the beds, it is common 
 to sow with the wheat, either Kusum-Barrai (Saf-flower), or Mustard. 
 Eight lbs. of Barrai seed yield about two stones (14 seers), besides the 
 flower which is used for red dye. One lb. of Mustard produces 10 seers 
 I seed. The sowings, however, materially diminish the yield of the wheat. 
 
 The above example has been selected from the comparatively very high 
 condition of farming, and all sorts of favourble circumstances. On the 
 whole, farmers very seldom find such good opportunities, and are able to 
 grow the crop by such perfect methods of husbandry, therefore the average 
 yield of the whole country is what has been stated in some other places, 
 j and is given in F.C. and the Census reports, viz., 10 or 11 Maunds. The 
 reader must remember this fact, and should not make confusion between 
 the two estimates. 
 
 Cost and return of a crop op , Wheat per Bigha , two-thirds of an Acre. 
 — It seems necessary to give a detail of the cost of growing a bigha of 
 wheat, work of husbandry as above mentioned, and yield the same— 14 
 Maunds of grain ; as well as the' return from this crop and the net profit 
 
 * 7 gandas=i lb. 14 gandas=i bazaar seer. 40 seers=i Imperial Maund. 
 16 gandas=i Pucka seer. 40 seers=i Pucka Maund. 
 
 1 Pucka Maund=to 3 Kutcha Maunds. 
 
102 
 
 to the farmer ; the following calculation will give a fair idea of the outlay 
 and of the profit : — 
 
 The cost of raising a bigha of wheat to a farmer who owns the 
 agricultural apparatus, oxen, and seed, and who does not work with his 
 own hands, would be as follows : — 
 
 Rent of land of moderate quality, not too far from his dwelling, Rs. 6. 
 
 Cartage, &c., for manurage in the months of Baisakh (about May and 
 June), Jeth, Asarh, &c., Rs. 2. 
 
 55 Seers seed, at the rate of 20 Seers per Rupee, Rs. 2-12. 
 
 Harwahi ploughing (at 4 lbs. grain per diem, the average value of 
 which should be calculated at about one anna) for 20 banhs, i.e., 20 
 times ploughing Rs. 1-4. 
 
 Boai (sowing), four men at the above rate, Rs. 4. 
 
 Purwahi (watering) three times by Gharra, ,the depth of the w r ell 
 being 60 feet exclusive of charges of apparatus (63 men at the above 
 
 Rs ' 3 ' 1 5 - 
 
 Katai and Dholai (reaping and carrying), eight men at 2 as., Rs. 1. 
 
 Maudai (thrashing), with fair (west) wind, 10 men, Rs. 10. 
 
 Usai (winnowing), with fair wind, three men, Rs. 3. 
 
 Total, Rs. 18, or 1 10s. 
 
 If in the next year the price of the wheat were the same as estimated 
 for the seed, viz., 20 Seers' per Rupee, and the crop were favourable 
 enough to yield the quantity estimated above, viz., 14 Maunds; at this 
 rate the receipts for the wheat would be Rs. 28. The owner would 
 receive in addition, Rs. 4 or 5, the value of the fodder, at the rate of 
 4 Maunds per Rupee. 
 
 The total value of the product is therefore Rs. 33 (^2 15s.), leaving 
 a balance of Rs. 15 as profit to the cultivators. Those Kashtkars 
 (cultivators) who have to hire apparatus and oxen, and to borrow seed, 
 derive very little profit from their industry, as they have to give if seer 
 for every seer of seed, 4as. a day for ploughing, and 8as. a day 
 for watering. Those who work with their own hands, of course save 
 considerably in labour. 
 
 Admixture of other grain with Wheat . — No other grain is sown in the 
 same field with wheat, because wheat lands are necessarily prepared with 
 so much cost that it would be unprofitable to sow anything else in them. 
 Sometimes, however, Jhotail fields (field in which a catch crop had 
 been sown) are sown with an admixture ot wheat and barley in equal 
 proportion, called gojai. No other mixture of grain has been seen. 
 
 The wheat flour is often adulterated by bazaar Bunyas with barley and 
 millet. 
 
 Average Market price of Wheat . — The price of wheat for many years 
 past can be ascertained from the Tehsil and Chungi office records. The 
 average rate in the month'of Chait (March) the month of harvesting wheat, 
 during the. last five years, has been about 20 Seers per Rupee, and in 
 Kuar and Katick (September and November), the months of sowing 
 wheat, about 16 seers. I have, however, known one puka Maund of 
 wheat to be sold for one Rupee in Nawabi time. 
 
 Wheat is not commonly staple food in the country . — Although wheat is 
 cultivated on about 20 per cent, of the cultivated land in this country, for 
 
io3 
 
 a cultivator possessing io bigha of Matyar or Domat (not Bhoor land) 
 would certainly keep two bighas as Choumas for wheat, yet according to 
 my observation and knowledge, wheat is commonly used here, not as a 
 staple food, but as an article of trade. The petty Zemindars (land owners) 
 Kashtkars (tenants), Beohars (dealer in grain on the terms Derhi and 
 Sawai), who are in easy circumstances, do not live upon wheat entirely. 
 They store the grain with as much frugality as possible, in order to increase 
 their profits, by means of Deohi and Sawai. The petty Kashtkar (asamis) 
 sow the grain, in order to pay the demands of the landlord. And the 
 poor labouring class of people are never so fortunate as to get wheat, 
 because they receive in their wages the coarsest kinds of grain, and 
 whenever they receive a share for reaping a wheat field, or by means of 
 gleaning a Baharwa, the poor men often exchange it for some coarser 
 grain, in order to have a fuller meal. Sometimes they keep the wheat, 
 and use it in festivals or for the dinners of their most honoured relatives, 
 such as their sons-in-law or brothers-in-law, when they come to visit them. 
 Wheat is of course a chief article of diet of the great Talukdars (large 
 landholders) and rich Zemindars (landholders) ; and all their sepoys 
 (attendants) who get their food, will have wheat flour. All their guests, 
 relations, and khidmatgars (domestics) get the same«diet ; and in all their 
 large invitations, religious and nuptial ceremonies, wheat flour is used. 
 When wheat is dear, they substitute rice. Now of these men in Nawabi 
 time, and only a few of them in these days cultivated land for themselves ; 
 they used to buy their grain at the bazaar. However, those who manage 
 the seer (homefarms) for them, and sow all sorts of grain (especially the 
 petty Zemindars) do not feed their household servants with wheat bread, 
 but have some other coarse grain cooked for them. Poor people of high 
 caste, and well-to-do people of low caste, very seldom eat wheat. Barley 
 and Juar (millet) is their most common and favourite food. In some 
 houses of these two classes, the head man of the family and some 
 favourite children eat wheat, but the other members most commonly 
 live upon barley (or millet) ; but in their festivals, invitations, and religious 
 ceremonies wheat is used by all ; and to their guests also, they always 
 give wheat flour. Their household servants receive coarser grain. In 
 short, in the houses of the two above mentioned classes, much less wheat 
 is used, in comparison with other grains. In other words, the common 
 article of diet among the highest class of people, is wheat and fine rice ; 
 and among the middle class coarse rice and barley. In the lower classes, 
 wheat is rarely used, even in their invitations. The rich and upper class 
 of people of low caste, such as Kulwar, Bhooj, Moorai, Mokeri, Manihar, 
 Bahalia, Bari Baria, Lohar, Barhai, Komhar, &c., give rice in their large 
 festivals and gatherings; and the Chamar, Pasi, Kewat, Kumbi, Lodh 
 Ahir, Dharkar, Beria Beldar, Gararya, &c., give jow (barley), juar (millet), 
 Bajra, Sawan or Makra, &c., a kind of very coarse grain, &c. 
 
 The consumption of wheat flour among the rich and high class people 
 depends upon the number of the members of the family ; for each member 
 from i to 1 1 pound of flour is used to make the girdle cakes. 
 
 9. It would be interesting to add a few words with regard to the 
 cultivation of wheat in England ; showing the cost and the yield per 
 acre, and for the sake of comparison, reducing it to bigha scale. 
 
104 
 
 Soil and condition of the field. — In England generally, wheat grows on 
 all kind of soils ; but as in India in this country also, clay ( Matyar ) is 
 the most suitable soil. On clay it is generally sown, and thrives well. 
 The best treatment of the field for this crop is to give it bare or summer 
 fallow ; what is termed in India, choumas. That is, the best fields for 
 growing wheat are those which have been left unsown for one year, and 
 during that time had been several times turned up, the soil made loose 
 and the weeds up-rooted, exposed to the sun, and burnt. If bare 
 fallow is not given, wheat takes its place in rotation after “ Seeds ” (grasses), 
 and clover, &c., which correspond to our masail field, viz., after a legu- 
 minous crop. In other words it is sown after clover, and in India it 
 follows mash, both being leguminous crops. On heavy soil it is sown 
 in the field from which beans have been harvested, this corresponds to our 
 khutail field. Wheat after wheat, (sowing the grain in jeonar field), 
 has proved disadvantageous in England also, unless manured. 
 
 Manuring. — If after summer or bare fallow, farmyard manure or 
 dung, 1 5 tons per acre (or one load per biswa) is put down and ploughed 
 in, sometimes a crop of mustard is sown and ploughed down as 
 green manure. If after clover the crop is eaten by sheep, it means just 
 the same as our plan, of keeping a flock of sheep in the field. We don’t 
 know any other artificial manure in India, but in England if the weather 
 is dry, and the crop does not seem to thrive well, the field is top-dressed 
 with from one to two cwt. of nitrate of soda per acre. Sometimes 5 or 
 6 cwt. of common salt (sodium chloride) are applied per acre. If the crop 
 appear to be growing too luxuriantly, sometimes it is fed off by sheep, 
 but not later than March. 
 
 Drainage . — For growing wheat advantageously, the land must be well 
 drained. As the fertility of the soil and successful farming in India 
 depends first of all on providing water ; so in England the first necessity 
 in farming is to provide the means of drawing out the excess of water from 
 the land. For the protection and improvement of our agriculture, we 
 require an outlay to dig wells for water ; here in England the farmers 
 require money for drainage. But there is one great difference, that 
 besides the expenses of providing the means, we remain always under 
 the necessity of outlay, for the motive power to irrigate the farm ; while, 
 when drainage is once made, there is no more expense. 
 
 Preparation of field and general ptocesses of cultivation . — For the 
 wheat sown after summer fallow, which corresponds to our choumas 
 field sown grain ; (1.) The first ploughing is commenced in autumn, 
 about September or October. First the stubble is cut and the land is 
 torn by the skim plough ; then, (2), it is ploughed four inches deep by 
 a common wheeled plough. If the land is heavy (clayey), it is torn in 
 March by a steam plough or cultivator.* Many practical farmers are 
 against deep ploughing ; it is no doubt injurious when the subsoil con- 
 tains obnoxious matter. On very large farms, the farmer might have 
 his own steam plough ; but generally there are one. or two steam ploughs 
 in an agricultural district, and these are hired by the neighbouring 
 
 * Cultivator or grubber is the name of an implement used for stirring and 
 tearing the land for obtaining fine tilth. 
 
farmers at the rate of ios. an acre for ploughing and 7 s. for cultivating : 
 for heavy land something more — water and eoal supplied. The fields 
 being very large from about 20 to 100 acres (30 to 150 bighas), and 
 well surrounded with roads, there is no difficulty in letting and hiring 
 the mechanical power. 
 
 N.B . — Of course, in India, where the fields are of one acre or less, at 
 an average, and two or three of them make a holding of one farmer, the 
 steam plough can hardly be introduced. 
 
 After ploughing on stubble, the field is left till the following March, when 
 (3) once more cross ploughing is done. After cross ploughing, if the soil 
 is light, it is (4) rolled either with a Crosskill, Cambridge, or flat smooth 
 roller. If the soil is heavy and lumpy, it is dragged by a heavy four- 
 horse drag harrow. (5). If necessary, it is dragged once more with a 
 light harrow. (6). In April, it is ploughed again. (7). In May, 
 harrowed. (8). In June, cultivated. (9.) If not clean, it is again 
 cultivated. In July (10) if necessary, harrowed again. In most cases 
 now, ( 1 1) the farmyard manure is applied and ploughed in. Now by 
 the end of September, or generally in October the seed is drilled. One 
 drag harrow, drawn by four horses if the land is heavy and lumpy, goes 
 in front of the drill, tearing the surface of the field. After it, the drill 
 follows, drawn by four horses having 1 1 to 13 coulters, from six to seven 
 inches apart, which make the scratches for seed beds of equal depth, and 
 by a mechanical arrangement the seed finds it way into the beds. A light 
 harrow drawn by two horses follows the drill, covering up the seed. 
 
 In order to get a field thoroughly cleaned from couch (a grass like 
 doob) and other weeds — to give the land perfect rest — to allow the free 
 access of water and air for chemical actions, and for improvement of the 
 condition of the field physically ; as well as to get the essential matters 
 of plantfood, and to make them in available form, the bare fallow is 
 given and the field is thus prepared. The couch and other weeds are 
 uprooted, and brought upon the surface, and then burnt in summer, and 
 ploughed in ; thus the materials which they had taken for their growth 
 from the land is restored again to it, for the wheat crop. For the same 
 purpose, the farmer in India has to cultivate the choumas field 20 or 
 30 times before it is prepared. There is no other difference between 
 the two systems of wheat cultivation, but this ; that, in India time being 
 of much less value, and money scarce, the former is applied more to save 
 the latter, while in England the case is vice versa. We mean to say that 
 in England by means of machinery, and the aid of various sciences, 
 although the soil is much more difficult to work than that of India, 
 yet instead of 20 or 30 ploughings, it is made suitable for the purpose 
 by the above mentioned ten or eleven processes, and in much less time 
 than is spent in doing the same work by our Indian method. It would 
 be rather difficult, and too much for us to compare and find the ratio 
 between the time and the manual labour per acre, which is consumed 
 in raising a crop of wheat in the two countries. But roughly speaking, 
 a fair idea can be made by this estimate ; that a farm of six or seven 
 acres keeps four members of a family, and a pair of oxen busy all the 
 year round in India ; while the same number of hands and three horses are 
 quite enough for 100 acres of medium land in England; or a fair 
 
estimate can be made by the rates of the wages. In India the wage 
 which we pay to a farm labourer is, including extras, at most 2d. per 
 day ; and here in England, including piece work, &c., the average for 
 the year is at least 3s. or 36d. After taking the difference in the product 
 of an acre in the two countries into consideration, which, roughly, is 
 one-third greater in England than in India, and comparing these items 
 of wages and product on the same scale, there is still a ratio of 2 : 24 
 in the wages of the two countries ■, consequently one man in England 
 must be doing that amount of work which twelve men do in India, 
 There is no doubt that the facility in work is due to the costly and 
 improved implements which are used in English farms. Those few that 
 have been mentioned above are not all. A complete set of apparatus 
 which is required for a very large farm will make a long list. For 
 instance, there are not less than ten different sorts of plough, such as 
 swing, wheeled, single mould-board, double mould-board, double furrow, 
 subsoiler , potato digger, and skim plough, &c., &c. The same is the 
 case with harrows, there are drag, chain, zigzag, Norwegian, and light 
 harrows, &c., &c. The rollers too are of different kinds. The imple- 
 ments for hoeing, mowing grass, and harvesting cereals, are different 
 to those named above. The scarcity of manual labour has been the 
 cause of their invention ; and the farmers having the command over 
 capital, have compensated, by the outlay of money, &c., the want of 
 manual labour in the substitution of machinery. The scarcity of 
 manual labour is of course due to the increase of the public wealth, 
 and to the diversity of occupations, as has been proved in the foregoing 
 chapter. On the other hand, in India it is necessarily found advan- 
 tageous and cheaper to produce crops by the expenditure of time. 
 
 The seed and sowing . — The very best seed, true to its sort, perfect in 
 itself, and full matured, is sown. The firms and seedsmen, who are 
 almost within the reach of every farmer, produce seed. It is very 
 interesting to see their experimental plot, and the attention and care 
 which they bestow on improving the varieties of seed. One simple 
 glance at the office premises, and the seed plots of Sutton and Sons, 
 of Reading, will make a stranger open his eyes, and prove that no 
 further efforts seem possible in respect of . seeds for producing, 
 good, pure, and healthy crops. The seeds are changed from one 
 soil to another, from one climate to another, and from early to late dis- 
 tricts. If the law with regard to seeds, that they should be changed as 
 stated above,. be assumed true, it seems surprising how in India the 
 9eed, which generally does not leave its own soil for centuries, produces 
 a good crop. 
 
 N.B . — It has been stated above that in India seed is lent by the 
 Mahajar in villages, who take it back with 50 per cent, interest, 
 give the same seed again to the same people for the fields in the same 
 village next year. This circulation seems to have been in existence 
 from all time. 
 
 Before sowing, the seed of wheat is pickled, one pound of blue vitriol 
 (sulphate of copper) is dissolved in half-a-gallon of boiling water, with 
 which one pint of tar is mixed ; this is enough for one sack of grain, 
 that is, four bushels or 2481bs. The seed is sown in two ways (1) 
 
io7 
 
 Broadcast (chitkao-wa’n). (2). Drilled. Broadcasting is done with 
 the hand, a man carrying a basketful of seed, which remains hanging to 
 his neck, throws the seed with his two hands on either side. Ten or 
 twelve acres are sown by one man in a day. By this method more seed 
 is used than if it is drilled. Another disadvantage in this is, that the 
 seed does not find beds of equal depth. A third objection is that horse- 
 hoeing cannot be done on a broadcast sown field. The other method is 
 drilling by a mechanical apparatus as described above. The cost of 
 drilling is greater ; with four horses and four men, only 1 2 acres can be 
 •drilled in a day; but there is a saving in seed, &c. An acre requires 
 from two to two-and-a-half bushels of seed of winter wheat, which is 
 sown in September and October, and from two-and-a-half to three 
 bushels of seed of the spring varieties. 
 
 Varieties of wheat . — Roughly speaking, there are hundreds of varieties 
 of the grain known in England. Of these seven leading species are 
 described in books, and each of these has more or fewer varieties and 
 sub- varieties. Two of these seven, that are most commonly grown, are : 
 (I) Troticum Sativum, or common wheat; (2.) Triticum Turgidum, 
 or turgid wheat. The first is arranged into two principal divisions. 
 (A.) Bearded (Tunrwa). (B.) Bearded (Murwa.) Of the bearded there 
 appears to be seven, and of the beardless, twenty-seven distinct varie- 
 ties. The second species, turgidum, has also two principal divisions. 
 (A.) Having simple ears. (B.) Having compound ears. Eleven 
 distinct varieties of turgidum have been enumerated. But the varieties 
 that are most commonly sown are of (A) winter wheat. (1.) Square- 
 headed; [2.] Hunter’s white; [3] Red Nursery. Of [B.] Spring 
 wheats ; [i.J Red Nursery ; [2.] Bearded or April wheat. The winter 
 wheats are sown in autumn from September up to November ; but never 
 or very seldom in December or January. Red Nursery is also sown as 
 late as February, or even March. The spring varieties are sown in 
 March and April. Both kinds are harvested in August, the winter 
 wheats a few days earlier, than the spring wheats The winter or 
 autumn-sown wheats mature and are harvested in about ten, and the 
 spring wheats in about six months. The former of course remain longer 
 in the fields, but require less seed, and thrive well ; in these respects 
 the latter are not so good, but takes less time to mature. 
 
 Weeding . — As many weeds grow with the corn, and some of them are 
 very luxuriant ; weeding is necessary. One great advantage of drilling 
 over broad-cast sowing is this, that the field can be cleared, and needs 
 clearing off by machine and horse-power, which is called horse-hoeing. 
 
 . Hoeing or cleaning the field is considered most advantageous ; and is 
 therefore recommended even on the cleanest farm. With one horse 10 
 to 12 acres of land can be cleaned, and the hoeing is done from two to 
 five times at suitable intervals, and according to the special needs. In 
 many cases, especially in broad cast sown fields, hand-hoeing is done ; 
 but a man can clean only half an acre in a day. By hoeing, not only are 
 the weeds cut, but the field is dug to a certain depth (what is called in 
 India Gorna). Of course the weeds are not so thick and intermixed as 
 in our Kharif crop fields in India, which require 30 to 40 hands to clean 
 one acre ; and when the fields in England are choked up by the weeds 
 
xo8 
 
 as much as in India, no attempt is made to clean them ; but they are fed 
 off by stock. Hundreds of weeds grow in the wheat fields ; but the most 
 common are — (i) Charlock (wild mustard) ; (2) Poppy (lala.) Sometimes 
 these weeds form one-fourth or one-half of the produce of ill-conditioned 
 fields. (3) Couch (doob) is the greatest pest here ; just as doob in India, 
 which sometimes becomes a great nuisance to the farmers ; (4) Coltsfoot ; 
 (5) Crowfoot ; (6) Nettle ; (7) Dock ; (8) Garlic (wild lahsun) ; (9) Several 
 varieties of plantain; (10) Wild oat; (11) Plant from the last cropseed 
 (lamer). 
 
 Reaping and Harvesting — Reaping is done by sickle, scythe, and 
 reaping machine. The last is the most common method. Next 
 to it comes reaping by scythe. In harvesting time, many labourers 
 from Ireland are seen in England, carrying the large sword-like 
 scythe on their shoulders. In many parts of the country they cut 
 the crop by piece-work. One scythe can cut from if to 2 acres 
 in a day; the cost is from 5/6 to 7 shillings per acre, including 
 cutting, and making sheaves. A reaping machine cuts about 10 
 acres in one day, and the cost is about five shillings per acre. Some 
 reaping machines are self-binders : that is, they reap and at the same 
 time bind the sheaves. There are many varieties of these machines 
 and some are very costly too. A self binder costs ^60, or about Rs. 
 700. After reaping, in the case of wheat, it is necessary to make the 
 sheaves about one foot in diameter ; and the sheaves are stooked ; that 
 is, 10 or 12 of the sheaves are made to stand together in the field, where 
 they remain for about a week. After this, the out-turn of the field is 
 stacked on stoddles. If it is to be thrashed at once, it is necessary to 
 get it perfectly dry in the field ; otherwise it will not hurt if it is stacked 
 while still a little green. The out-turn of ten acres can be carted about 
 the distance of a quarter-of-a-mile, by three carts, in a day : — one man 
 will pitch the sheaves on the carts, while two men will build the stack. 
 If the distance is greater, the number of carts will be increased. 
 
 Thrashing and Winnowing. — The oldest method of thrashing by flail 
 is not in use now, because it is most expensive, costing as much as 3/6 
 per quarter. The flail is a stick, or club, by which the sheaves being 
 beaten, the ears were separated. Now steam or horse-power thrashing 
 machines are in use, horse-power costs 2/- per quarter, and steam-power 
 only 1/4. There are many kinds of thrashing machines ; some of them 
 are very costly ; and thrash as much as one hundred quarters per day. 
 A moderate sized one will thrash about 50 quarters per day. The cost 
 of this is Rs. 2,600 to 3,000. Winnowing is done in the same machine. 
 
 Average Out-tu?'n ; Admixture of other grain with Wheat ; Market 
 price ; Wheat as staple food. — The average out-turn of wheat is about 
 four quarters or 32 bushels per acre at the most ; and according to the 
 “ Chemistry of the Farm,” by R. Warington, F.C.S., 30 bushels 
 = 1530 lbs. dry grain, and 2653 lbs. of straw. This would be equal 
 to 1220 lbs., or about 15 Maunds of grain per bigha ; and according to 
 the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society for 1878, page 198, the 
 average out-turn is a little less. No other grain is mixed with wheat when 
 sown ; but sometimes seed (grasses) is sown on wheat, i.e. when the latter 
 is about two or three inches above the ground seed is drilled across the 
 
io9 
 
 wheat furrows ; but this seed does not interfere with the purity of the 
 crop. 
 
 The market price of the wheat decreases considerably. Twenty 
 years ago, the price was nearly double what it is at present. In 1867 
 the price was 64/6 per quarter; it varied much; but up to 1876 never 
 went below 45/-. At present it is 36/- only; and the price of the very 
 best wheat is about 40/-. The reason of this decrease in price is — firstly, 
 foreign competition ; and secondly, the meat becoming more and more 
 the staple food of the common people. Though America supplies meat 
 very largely, as well as wheat, yet the price of meat is increasing, while 
 that of wheat is decreasing. It is a recognized fact that growing wheat 
 in England is now not at all paying to the farmer ; they rather lose a great 
 deal by producing the grain. And to a greater extent, therefore, wheat 
 is now excluded and meat is substituted for it ; we mean that the land is 
 used for cattle in order to avoid the loss on cereals. 
 
 As to wheat being a staple food, we have no hesitation in saying that 
 it is not only the staple food of the human being of all classes, but is 
 also the staple food of pigs at present in England. A large quantity of 
 wheat which is imported or grown here, is consumed in fattening pigs. 
 
 Now we have arrived at the important question of the cost of raising 
 one acre of wheat, which is never less than ^5 or Rs. 60 per acre. The 
 detail of the approximate cost per acre given by Robert Wallace, F.H.A.S., 
 &c., Professor of Agriculture, at the Royal Agricultural College, 
 Cirencester, is as follows : — 
 
 COST OF CULTIVATING WHEAT IN A MEDIUM 
 LAND AFTER CLOVER. 
 
 £ s. d. £ s. 
 
 Cost per acre of preparing fields before sowing. 
 
 1. Ploughing [2 horses, 1 man, 1 acre] 12s. 
 
 per acre 012 o 
 
 2. Crosskill or Cambridge roller [4 horses, 1 man 
 
 8 to 10 acres per day] ... ... per acre 016 
 
 3. Double harrowing, twice each, 1 s id. [2 horses 
 1 man a single time, 16 to 20 acres per day] 
 
 per acre 022 
 
 Cost oj sowing and other processes after sowing. 
 
 4. Drilling [4 horses, 4 men 10 to 12 acres 
 
 per day] ... ... ... ... per acre 
 
 5. Harrowing [light] [1 horse, 1 man 16 to 20 
 
 acres per day] ... .. ... per acre 
 
 6. Deepening furrows for “ flush ” water „ 
 
 7. Seed, at 40s. per quarter ... „ 
 
 8. Pickling seed ... ... ... „ 
 
 9. Bird scaring ... ... ... „ 
 
 10. Rolling [2 horses, 1 man 8 to 10 acres per day] 
 
 per acre 
 
 020 
 
 006 
 
 010 
 
 0100 
 
 002 
 
 010 
 
 009 
 
 0 iS 
 
 d. 
 
 8 
 
 Carried forward 
 
 £® 1 5 5 0 i5 8 
 
no 
 
 X, s - u. 
 
 Brought forward ... ... ... o 15 5 
 
 n. Horse hoeing 3 times each at 6d., [1 horse, 1 
 man 10 to 12 acres per day] ... per acre 016 
 
 1 2 . Hand hoeing [once] ... ... „ 040 
 
 Harvesting and Marketing per acre. 
 
 13. Cutting [by machine] and binding ... .. o 4 6 
 
 14. Stacking ... ... ... ... .. ...o 2 6 
 
 15. Thatching o 1 6 
 
 r6. Thrashing ... ... ... ... ...o 5 6 
 
 17. Carriage to market [possibly] ... .. ... o 2 6 
 
 £ s. d. 
 0158 
 
 1 on 
 
 o 16 6 
 
 Total cost of cultivation ... 
 Manuring, &=c., per Acre. 
 18. Dung, 15 loads at 5/- 
 1 9 Carriage and spreading 
 
 20. Nitrate of soda 
 
 21. Common salt .. 
 
 Rent and Taxes. 
 
 22. Rent 
 
 23. Taxes 
 
 £2 13 1 
 
 3 15 0 
 
 090 
 ... I CWt. O 12 3 
 
 five cwt. 052 
 
 5 1 5 
 
 I 10 o 
 040 
 
 I 14 o 
 
 Grand total 
 
 £9 8 6 
 
 Sometimes extra outlay is necessary for the following works : — Skimming 
 2/-, reaping by hand 4/-, extra hand hoeing 3/- per acre. 
 
 The cost of growing wheat after bare fallow is about £3 12/- more 
 than growing wheat after clover. It is calculated as follows - 
 
 £ s. d. 
 
 1. Ploughing three times at 14/-, other two at 12/- ... ... 3 6 o 
 
 2. Double harrowing 6 times at 1/1 ... ... ... .066 
 
 3. Gathering and removing weeds ... ... 050 
 
 4. Seeds, furrow, ploughing on heavy land ... ... ... 010 o 
 
 5 . Sowing broad cast ... ... ... ... ... ... o o 6 
 
 Total 
 
 ■■•£4 8 
 
 According to the cultivation book of the Royal Agricultural Farm 
 at Cirencester, the cost of cultivating wheat in the fields Nos. 1, 5, 15, 
 and 16 [about 70 acres], in 188?, appears as follows: Hand labour, 
 £38 14s. Horse labour, £go is. 3d. Seed, &c., ^39 18s. Manure, 
 £28 2s. Or the average cost per acre of simply cultivating, sowing, 
 and reaping amounts to £2 16s. 4d., = Rs. 33-10 per acre. If the 
 cost of stacking and thatching, which comes to 4s., and the cost of 
 thrashing 5s. 6d., as well as-the rent £1 10s., and the rates 4s., be added 
 
Ill 
 
 to the above, the total cost will be ^5 3s. 6d., about = Rs. 62. per 
 acre, or roughly speaking, Rs. 40 per Bigha ; and the average out- 
 turn per acre, roughly much less than 30 bushels per acre ; i.e. 20 
 bushels [ = 15 maunds and 20 seers] per bigha. Now, for the sake of 
 comparison, and finding out the profit of the farmers of both countries, 
 we prefer to take, not the maximum estimated cost given by the 
 Professor, which is over per acre, and includes a number of extras, 
 as dung which will enrich the land for succeeding crop, but the average of 
 the actual cost of four different fields, of about 70 acres,, on the Royal 
 Agricultural College Farm. We then find the result thus : The present 
 market price of wheat in England is from 36s. to 40s. per quarter ; for 
 some years past it has been continually falling, and still seems inclined 
 to go down further ; but we will calculate at the rate of 40s.* per quarter, t 
 Supposing the produce to be all of the first quality, and we do not take the 
 carriage charges to market into consideration. Then we see that the 
 total value of the grain [out-turn of one acre] is ^7 10s. or ^5 = 
 Rs. 60 per bigha. The straw as a rule is not sold in this country. 
 Generally, under the covenants of leases, it is obligatory that the tenant 
 must use the straw on the farm, and either have it consumed by the 
 stock, or get it converted into manure. The wheat straw is especially 
 used for thatching ricks and stacks of crops, ewe-pens, and root-pits ; 
 for litter ; and in cases of scarcity of fodder it is given for food to the 
 store stock ; commonly, however, it is mixed in the farmyard manure. 
 However its value is assumed at an average rate of jQz per ton. The 
 yield being ij tons per acre, the total value therefore is ^3 = Rs. 36 
 per acre, or Rs. 24 per bigha. Thus the approximate gross income of 
 an English farmer is Rs. 84 per bigha ; from grain Rs. 60 and from 
 straw Rs. 24. The cost being Rs. 40, the net profit is therefore Rs. 44. 
 In India the cost per bigha, as shown in the foregoing example, £1 10s. 
 == Rs. 18 per bigha ; the total income is 2 15s. = Rs. 33, viz . ; from 
 the grain Rs. 28, and from the straw only Rs. 5. The net profit is 
 therefore 5s. • Rs. 15., or in other words, roughly calculating, the 
 
 net profit to an Indian farmer is about 83 per cent on the outlay, and to 
 an English farmer is no per cent on his outlay exclusively. But it 
 must be noticed that the great difference is in the value of straw ; the 
 ratio of the value of straw to the value of grain is in India as 1 to 6 6, 
 and in England as 1 to z m g. The enoi'mous increase in the value of 
 straw in England is due to the same reason that has been stated above 
 i.e., that the price of meat is increasing. The food or other commodi- 
 ties required for beasts in England is more costly than the food of the 
 peasants in India. It is, therefore, not fair to induce the item of straw 
 in the comparison. Moreover as the straw as a rule, does not actually 
 bring any money to the farmer in England, it is used either for the 
 bedding of cattle (litter), or is mixed with manure and returned to the 
 field ; therefore we must exclude it in comparing the items of the income 
 and the net profit of the farmers of the two countries Or on the other 
 hand, if some allowance be made for other admixtures that the farmer 
 
 40 shillings — 24 rupees. + 1 quarter, 4961bs ., or 7 maunds and 8 seers ; 
 so, in round numbers the price equals Rs . 4 per maund . 
 
1 1 2 
 
 in India generally grows with wheat and sells, such as mustard, barrai, 
 and kusum (safflower), and if also some allowance be made for the quan- 
 tity which some of the farmers consume themselves, (Hola and Unhi) 
 when the crop is standing green in the field, the percentages of the 
 profit would then be much more nearly equal. 
 
 io. But there is one important matter worth consideration, which is 
 this : In the above example the total cost of the manual labour for 
 cultivating, sowing, and cutting the wheat in 70 acres is only ^38 14s. 
 or about ns. per acre. The average daily wage on this farm for the 
 above mentioned work, according to the cultivation book, is about 
 2s. 6d. per man. If we divide ns. by z\ we find 4^4 as the number 
 of men per acre : i.e., 4^4 men have raised a crop of wheat from one 
 acre, or, reducing it into bigha, which is two-thirds of an acre, the 
 number of hands is 2^9 per bigha. But in our example of producing a 
 wheat crop from one bigha in India and for doing the work up to the 
 stage of reaping, (including watering), no less than 95 hands were 
 employed. Had the English farmer been obliged to produce a crop by 
 employing 95 hands, and had he to pay all at the rate of 2s. 6d. each, 
 the bill of wages alone would have amounted to ;£ii 17s. 6d , or about 
 Rs. 143, which is nearly double the value of the whole crop, including 
 both grain and straw. Including all other expenses of seed, horses, 
 implements, manure, rent, &c., the total cost would amount to no less 
 than four times the actual value of the produce. It is then owing to 
 the scientific agriculture, and the aid of machinery, that an English 
 farmer, in spite of the rate of wages being so high, the land being so 
 much more difficult to work, and the climate being less favourable, 
 nevertheless, makes no per cent profit from wheat growing. 
 
 Now after taking all the above mentioned matters into consideration, 
 let us try to solve the problem of improvement in Indian Agriculture. 
 It is unanimously agreed that we must introduce machinery and arti- 
 ficial manures. At first- sight, we now see clearly that we get a profit of 
 Rs. 10, by an outlay of Rs. 18 ; while for the same crop (grain alone) 
 an English farmer spends Rs. 40, and gets Rs. 20 as profit. There is 
 not much difference in the quantity of the produce, as we raise 14 
 maunds, and they raise 15 or 15! maunds per bigha. Nor is there 
 much difference in the profit of the grain, our net profit (exclusive of 
 straw) being 55 per cent, while the Englishman’s profit (exclusive of 
 straw) is exactly 50 per cent. It is not the case, however, that the 
 Englishman makes a profit of Rs. 20, and we a profit of Rs. 10, on the 
 same outlay ; but that the Englishman, by a larger outlay, extracts 
 Rs. 20 from one bigha, while we, with our smaller outlay, can extract 
 only Rio ; hence the larger the outlay, the larger the return. It is 
 quite clear, that if owing to the favourableness of our soil and climate, 
 with such crude methods of farming, and so small outlay, we produce a 
 quantity nearly equal to that which in England is produced by scientific 
 agriculture, with the application of improved methods and machinery, 
 our produce will greatly increase. But in bringing this proposal into 
 practice, we at once meet with two great drawbacks. [Firstly], the want 
 of the principal, the vital power capital , without which thinking of 
 improvements would be simply like the dream of Alnaschar [and it will 
 
XI 3 
 
 be shown here after how much capital an English farmer requires for 
 implements alone]. 
 
 [Secondly.] The throwing of millions out of work. For if our big 
 landowners, who possess capital, employ it ; and after turning out all 
 their petty tenants of the small holdings of three or four acres, rearrange 
 their estates in large farms of five or six hundred acres, and by intro- 
 ducing improved methods of farming, thereby reduce the number 
 of labourers for raising a bigha of wheat from 95 to 3, what 
 fate will occur to those 92 poor labourers, who are thus deprived 
 of their means of livelihood ; and to the 100 tenants by dispos- 
 sessing whom, for the sake of scientific and improved method of 
 agriculture, the large farms have been formed ? Is there any other 
 means of livelihood by which these poor men, when excluded from 
 agiculture, would be able to maintain their existence ? The improved 
 agriculture seems then to do little good besides, and to be impossible in 
 the present condition of India. Moreover from the above examples, it 
 is clearly seen that the improved methods would not be profitable in the 
 case of India ; because, while the ratio of profit in England is, 50 per 
 cent, and in India our percentage of profit is 55. Now, if we introduce 
 improvements, such as machinery or artificial manure, which can be got 
 only from England, we should have to pay for them perhaps double as 
 much as the Englishman ; therefore, the whole cost would become so 
 heavy to us that it would probably leave no margin of profit. It may 
 be said that we need not depend on England for our improvements ; 
 and that we should make the necessary machinery and manures ourselves. 
 Certainly this would be profitable ! but here the question comes again, 
 where is the native energy and the native capital to do all this ? This is 
 our one difficulty and this is our one want. We must first find other 
 occupations for our labourers ; and then improve our agriculture. 
 Thus we shall reduce our cost, and thereby increase our profits in 
 growing wheat, without injury to our poor. But until capital is applied 
 for other occupations in India, besides agriculture, the proposal to make 
 improvements is simply a talk ; but it is impossible to be carried out. 
 
 Here perhaps we shall be checked by the advocates of the proposal, 
 that they do not mean, that all the plough oxen in India should be 
 changed for horses, and the labourers turned out of the farm, by steam 
 cultivators, but that the produce should be increased as far as possible 
 in the present circumstances, without reducing the hands or introducing 
 costly machines, viz., simply by good cultivation, good seed, good tiltth, 
 and by the application of new kinds of manure. But alas ! those who 
 say this have a very superficial knowledge of the question. They must 
 know this, that the whole secret of scientific agriculture is, [A] the 
 reduction of the cost of the motive power ; [and this motive power in 
 India is simply human labour] ; [B], increase of profit by the increase 
 of outlay : For instance, by top dressing wheat with nitrade of soda, 
 [one to two cwt. per acre], they increase the produce, but it costs 12s. 
 per cwt. The Indian farmer, if he could always give three waters to 
 his fields, and had money to buy good seed and good manures, would 
 certainly increase his profit, but this would not be the result of any 
 new mode in his work, but simply the result of his larger expenditure. 
 
From careful observations it is seen that husbandry does not disobey 
 the general laws of political economy, viz., (i) that wealth or (as we call 
 it) profit, is the results of combination of labour and materials ; and this 
 combination is produced economically by the application of capital. (2.) 
 That profits can be increased, either by reducing the cost of the motive 
 power (labour), in such a manner as not to lessen the quality or the 
 quantity of the product ; or by increasing capital as far as demand 
 allows, and thereby increasing the two wealth-producing factors — 
 labour and materials. In the absence of these no wealth or profit 
 can be produced. Hence capital is the primary power, or factor, 
 for producing wealth. For example in India labour is abundant ; but, 
 owing to the scarcity of capital, not enough materials can be got ; there- 
 fore wealth or profit cannot be increased. We have natural materials 
 for agriculture, the land, rain, &c. ; and by the application of labour to 
 these, we produce wealth for the country. The amount of capital which 
 we spend at present in providing labour and material, seed, &c., pro- 
 duces a certain quantity of wealth or profit ; and it will remain stationary 
 as long as no change occurs in these factors (or in natural causes). But 
 if by the increase of capital we increase either of the two means that may 
 be deficient and necessary — labour or materials — the profit will increase. 
 For instance, if we give three waters instead of two, and besides 
 dung, purchase nitrate of soda, the produce will increase to a 
 certain point ; and it will increase with the increase of capital 
 till one of the two, either the labour or any of the materials 
 necessary for the product, reaches its extreme point. After this 
 there will be no increase in the produce of wheat. If there is still 
 excess capital, and also excess labour, we might provide work for the 
 people, in other words, increase the wealth of the country by pro- 
 viding other materials to be worked on ; such as we could make 
 needles, thread, and pins for ourselves. On the other hand, if there is 
 excess capital and excess of materials, but a scarcity of labour, as is the 
 case in England, then by the aid of science we might invent a steam 
 engine. In short, our first and last need at present is the want of the 
 primary power, “ capital to make improvements in our agriculture ; and 
 except this nothing else is yet wanted for the proposal. 
 
 11. From the above examples of the cultivation of wheat in the two 
 countries, it is manifest, that there is not any secret in the mode of 
 husbandry which is not known to our illiterate cultivator. The processes 
 of the whole work from the beginning to the end, such as summer 
 fallow, fine tilth, burning noxious weeds, making farm yard manure, the 
 time for manuring, the effect of stubble, and sheep folding, the 
 quantity of seed, of manure, and so forth, seem to coincide with each 
 other. But the Indian farmer stops when the question of expense 
 comes in. We are positive, that if he found means, no effort would be 
 wanting on his part to make improvements. He knows all that 
 is required there in the way of improvements. The first thing which 
 he would make and secure would be the substantial means of 
 supply of water. (2.) He would provide strong plough oxen and dairy 
 beasts, so as to make profit by the dairy produce, and to get dung into 
 the bargain. (3.) He would select his seeds and introduce sugarcane 
 
Ir 5 
 
 into his rotation, which is a most valuable crop, and the best preparation 
 for wheat. 
 
 12. After these general remarks about improvement, we should 
 proceed further and go into the details of the question. But before this, 
 we must remind the reader that he should not make a mistake . of 
 thinking that we are against all those proposals for improvements which 
 have been treated in the foregoing chapters ; such as the help of Govern- 
 ment, modification of law, and improvements in trade, &c., and he 
 should not think that we oppose the new ideas ; or that we are of 
 opinion that in India nothing needs improvement. We have repeated 
 this tale over and over, that we consider all the economical affairs 
 of India to be in a very rusty condition, and to be in want of polishing ; 
 and any improvement in those affairs would be a cause of prosperity. 
 But the real object of all our arguments is this, that, without first having 
 a command of capital and energy, it is impossible to derive any actual 
 benefit from the proposals. Indeed in absence of that primary power, 
 
 ‘ the wealth of the country ,’ not only will the proposals prove unsuccessful 
 but they will be even injurious. It is a mistake to believe that these 
 proposals and plans will produce the same effect in India as they do in 
 rich countries. They cannot do this for us. They are the seed of 
 prosperity, no doubt ; but this seed will never germinate except on rich 
 soil. America would have never prospered, had it been a poor and 
 unenergetic nation like ourselves ; the settlement of capitalists has 
 made it prolific. First of all we want our own means to carry 
 out the plans and then they would be able to increase the 
 wealth and we should thereby enjoy the benefit. In this chapter, 
 by what we have already said, and what we are going to say, we do not 
 mean, that we are of opinion that, because, owing to the natural gifts 
 which India possesses in agricultural matters, our illiterate peasant pro- 
 duces with little cost as much as the scientific farmer of England, and 
 has knowledge of all the secrets which the other has learnt in the Royal 
 Agricultural College, therefore no improvement is required or is neces- 
 sary. Undoubtedly we confess that husbandry in India is in such a 
 crude form that every branch of it, however trifling in its nature it may 
 be, is indeed in want of improvement ; and when the improvement by 
 some means shall be admitted successfully it will give no other result but 
 good for us. Bnt the question is that they cannot be admitted , and cannot 
 be beneficial unless we do them ourselves and with our own money. 
 Now we should commence the detail and try to show our difficulties and 
 wants with regard to each of the branches of husbandry ; and also 
 briefly state what means the people have got in their possession, how 
 they make use of them, in what respect they are in want of improve- 
 ments, and why they are incapable of admitting such improvements, 
 
 13. The first necessity which lies in the way of the progress of an 
 Indian farmer, and which requires first attention for improvement is the 
 means of water supply. As drainage is in the United Kingdom and other 
 European countries, so irrigation is the backbone of all the improve- 
 ments and the mother of the success of farming in India. In former 
 days when there was not such an extensive area under cultivation, the 
 natural and artificial means of water supply were sufficient for the 
 
ii6 
 
 purpose. By the increase of population and the other reasons mentioned 
 in the introductory part of this book, the cultivated area has increased 
 enormously, while the supply of water has remained almost stationary. 
 Indeed, many large natural reservoirs of water, i.e., tracts of low land, in 
 which rain water used to accumulate and stand during a large part of the 
 year, have been drained, and, being dried, converted into cultivated 
 fields. The people did, and do their best to meet the want, but were 
 not able to do enough. The drawback has been, and is, greatly due to 
 the poverty, and the poverty to the multiplicity of the tenants, and the 
 small divisions of the holdings. The holdings of the large thrifty and 
 provident farmers, and the home farms (seers) of landowners, are as a 
 rule well protected by means of 'irrigation, while the small farms are 
 generally in want of the same. There are three methods in use of pro- 
 viding water, (i.) Putting a dyke round the area of the outlet of tain 
 water in a plain, and thereby stopping the water from making its way to 
 the streams. As this work requires large outlay, it is done only by large 
 landowners in the centre of two or three villages, this is called Bon. For 
 the irrigation of rice in the hard season and rabi crops, Dooglas are used 
 with this system, and the whole cultivated area round the bon is well 
 protected from the severity of a hard season. (2.) The second method 
 is digging tanks. By the religious notions, it is considered an act of 
 virtue and charity, and by the social laws a memorial and mark of 
 distinction, to dig a tank ; hence it is very common that the people of 
 all kinds and classes in the country, even those who have nothing to do 
 with agriculture, for the sake of leaving a token of their memory, and in 
 hope of future rewards, lay out their fortune in this work ; but these are 
 particularly of use for cattle, and less valuable for irrigation purposes. 
 These are of two kinds, kutcha without brickwork, and pucka, with clay 
 burnt brick bonds. Generally people of fortune and widows without 
 issue provide this means of water supply. (3.) The third, the most 
 common, useful, and handy method, is digging wells. As they are not 
 very expensive every one, even the peasants of very little fortune, can do 
 this. And the greatest advantage of this system is that they can be 
 made, in every place, high and low, on every kind of soil, at all times, 
 by the labour of the very men who want them. As it has been stated 
 above, the large and well-to-do farmers have sufficient numbers of wells in 
 their farms. But there are not yet one-fourth of the number that would 
 be necessary to save the country from the calamity of famine and the 
 severity of one or two dry seasons : or to allow the improvements in 
 husbandry which all entirely depend on the good supply of water. The 
 water bearing strata vary in depth in the country, being only 15 feet, in 
 the Tarai (valleys of mountains), and in the central districts of the 
 Province from 25 to 60 feet, and up-country still more. In Bondel- 
 khand the water sometimes lies at a much greater depffi. Up to the 
 depth of 80 feet, irrigation can economically and advantageously be 
 done from wells. The quantity of water is estimated in the country by 
 the numbers of “ Pur.” A pur means the quantity of water drawn by 
 two-ox power in twelve hours, two pur means four-ox power, and three 
 pur six-ox power, and so on. A four-pur well, about the depth of 60 
 feet, is considered enough to protect ten acres in a very dry season. 
 
*7 
 
 And this standard well is known to be constructed at a cost from one 
 to five hundred rupees. The cost varies not only according to the 
 locality and the kind of soil, but it greatly depends upon the self labour 
 of the producer. Some peasants who have enough hands in their family 
 to do the labour, or live in a centre where the labour is exchanged, 
 require only the wages of the masons who build the cylinder and sink it, 
 while others who have to pay for all sorts of labour have to pay a good 
 deal more. It would have been very interesting to describe how the 
 poor men work, what are the terms of their interchanging labour, what 
 materials they have to collect for the work and wages, how they burn 
 the brick, and what religious and social ceremonies they have to perform 
 at the beginning and the end of the work ; but we must pass over them 
 as it will be too much for this little work and outside of the question. 
 The average cost of such a well by very careful enquiries in many districts 
 of Oudh and the other neighbouring districts of the North-Western 
 Province has been estimated to be about Rs. 300 — £ 25, but where the 
 water is nearer the surface, the cost is no more than Rs. 100 = ^8 or 
 j£(). However even in those parts of the country where the cost is very 
 moderate, the wells are insufficient. When the people feel the necessity, 
 know the advantages, and can do the work themselves, why are they lax 
 in doing it ? It requires no argument to prove, and no one could deny 
 that there can be no other reason for not making more wells except their 
 poverty. Indeed it is beyond their power to provide their comfort even 
 at such a small cost as ^10. Perhaps it would be supposed that the 
 insecurity of their tenure is the main and chief cause of the drawback, 
 and this reason may be admitted to a certain extent ; but it would be 
 quite unjust if we throw the whole blame on this trifling cause. We 
 believe, that it has been proved enough in Chapter II. of this work 
 that even with security of tenure, the poor people would not be able to 
 do much in improvements. Although the advocates of modification of the 
 law believe, that the object will be gained by providing the tenant with the 
 right of permanency in his holding, yet we are very much afraid and have no 
 hesitation in stating that the interference of the law, instead of facilitating 
 the matter, will put a great hindrance in the way of progress. When a 
 work is done against the wish of the parties concerned, and is carried 
 out by force, either legally or otherwise, there is no doubt that the party 
 against it will leave no stone unturned to stop its progress and to prevent 
 it from being carried out. In such a case what will the poor tenant of a 
 four acre holding do, when for making a well the landlord will not allow 
 him to cut wood from his trees, for burning the bricks, or to dig the clay 
 for the bricks, or to make the kiln on his land, and so forth. Is it 
 possible for the poor tenant to provide all these things from his four 
 acres ? Is there any contractor or builder who will take the work for the 
 tenant and provide the materials for him ? Perhaps it will be supposed 
 that he would not care to get the wood for the kiln grates from the land- 
 lord, but would buy it from other neighbouring people, and the right of 
 taking mud, &c., would be made common to all, and that landlord who 
 interfered would be liable to an action. There we are ! bringing actions 
 and getting cases decided is not an easy matter, and so difficult that we 
 can hardly explain it. Perhaps the whole money intended for the work 
 
i8 
 
 will be spent in obtaining justice, and the work will be postponed to some 
 other opportunity. 
 
 We must not omit mentioning here that as far as our enquiries and 
 observations go, we know that all the people who have any experience 
 after sifting the question of the slow progress in the work of the 
 wells, believe that next to the poverty of the people, the drawback is to 
 a great extent due to the interference of the existing law in the matter, 
 by (i) complicating the freedom of contract, by one kind of rules and 
 regulations for all sorts of cases in one Province or in a large part of a 
 Province ; and (2) by inviting litigation between the parties concerned, 
 relying on which, they are apt to act without regard to each other’s 
 wishes. We will make the meaning of this clear by an illustration. 
 For instance, in the Province of Oudh, according to section 22 Chapter 
 II., Oudh Rent Act, no landlord can oust a tenant who has constructed 
 a well in his holding, or raise the rent for a period of 30 years, unless he 
 pays compensation to the tenant. In the case of a dispute in the amount 
 of the compensation the law court fixes the sum. Generally speaking this 
 provision hold good in almost all sorts of cases, and in every part of the 
 Province ; whether the well has cost one hundred or one thousand 
 rupees has been sank in a very easy or very difficult soil, with the consent 
 of the landowner or without it ; is of less or greater use for agricultural 
 purposes, has been built by self labour of the tenant or by actual outlay of 
 money. Every one in every case is bound to obey this law ; though 
 after a case is brought into court, the above points might be taken into 
 consideration ; but this consideration at any rate makes the case more 
 complicated. However the necessity of the uniformity of the law is 
 unavoidable ; and were the cases settled otherwise than by being brought 
 into court, the law would not have been so injurious to progress as it is at 
 present. But the greatest difficulty is this, that the parties have to swim an 
 ocean of troubles when an ill-feeling or any dispute arises between them 
 and the law court has to settle the matter. Further, relying in many 
 cases, on this especial law, they do not try to do the work harmoniously, or 
 even fairly. In many instances it has been seen that a landlord, having 
 given a verbal consent to a tenant, made him spend his labour and fortune 
 in constructing a very substantial well; and afterwards, either being 
 influenced by his greediness or tempted by unforeseen ill-feeling, he 
 takes it into his head to pay the compensation and take possession of 
 the well, as well as of the improved holding. His interest is of course 
 to pay less, and the tenants to ask more. It would be much better for 
 the poor tenant were he compelled by law to make a previous agreement 
 with his landlord as to the sum he should receive for the well, in 
 case of his being dispossessed. But as he has the Law Court to 
 apply to, unfortunately his hopes of success will not let him settle 
 the matter quietly ; and there being no estimate of the cost, no 
 value being previously settled, the tenant believes that by going into 
 the Law Court, either he may retain possession of the holding, or perhaps 
 receive more money than he has actually spent. On the other hand, it is 
 also not uncommon for the tenant to build hastily without the knowledge 
 of the landowner, a common sort of well ; or to do the work with the 
 consent of the master by making certain promises, which, after the work 
 
is finished, he does not fulfil, and then to claim as compensation ten 
 times more than he has really spent. Now the landowner has the Law 
 Court to defend him and to bring an action. But in either case, when the 
 action is brought in the Court, it becomes such a tedious matter, that 
 both parties repent their folly in the end. The Court-Arnin is sent to 
 make an estimate of the cost ; sometimes the Judge, who has to decide 
 the case, has to go to see it. The arbitrators sometimes are appointed 
 by the Court ; but one of the parties at the end of their investigation, 
 challenges their decision on the ground that they are too favourable to 
 the other party. The Courts of Appeal are opened to both parties ; and, 
 like a gambler, at each failure, their ambition for success becomes more 
 keen ; and they persist in going to the very last stage of the struggle ; and 
 even ruin themselves with costs. One case, including appeals and the 
 revisions, is sometimes prolonged for several years. Under the above 
 circumstances, it should be plainly understood that it is not chiefly the 
 provisions of the Act (which gives the possession to the tenant for 30 
 years) ; but it is the difficulties which arise afterwards, if they get involved 
 in a law suit, which make the landlord hesitate to give the permission, 
 and the tenant to spend labour and money in the work. Were the matter 
 left simply to the free contract of the parties, the progress in making wells 
 certainly would not have been so slow. The tenant would have obtained 
 the consent of the landlord to certain terms. In cases of dispute, under 
 the common law of contract, each party would have been made to fulfil 
 his agreement. In deciding the cases, a decree by arbitration would have 
 been considered sufficient. Certainly in the present condition of India 
 justice can hardly be expected by this means ; but there is no certainty 
 of justice by the present means either ; and there is no doubt that it is 
 involved in hundreds of troubles. And from this it can be understood 
 that the more the law is interwoven in the matter, the more difficult and 
 troublesome it will be. 
 
 We are afraid that we are going astray from the real point of the 
 question, we must return to it now. In short, for the improvement of 
 agriculture, the first thing we require is water, and we are very short of it. 
 The chief reason for our not providing the same, is our poverty, or the 
 want of the capital and energy. The poor people who have no means, 
 provide the water, temporarily, and by hardest labour. Instead of brick- 
 work cylinders, some of them sink wooden ones ; others prevent sand by 
 a cylinder, made' by weaving the branches of a bushy plant called “ Rusa.” 
 These wells do for one pur , and stand ten or twelve years. But many 
 are not able to do this even ; they simply dig a well in the watering 
 time, and after a few days’ work, the earth falls in, and it becomes 
 useless. In some places every morning they first go down into the well 
 and clean the sand that falls in during the night, and make the well useful 
 for the day. Some of them draw the water for two or three hours, and 
 stop work for about the same time, to get the water accumulated. The 
 difficulties which they have to face, and the hardest labour which they 
 have to bestow, no one knows but themselves. 
 
 In such a need, and the scarcity of water, which we should call the 
 primary or the vital power of all the improvements, and the mother of 
 all the success of farming in India, what improvement could be beneficial 
 
120 
 
 in agriculture ? In the first place, it is impossible that without money we 
 can make any other improvements ; and even supposing that we can make 
 some, their effects will, at the end, stop on the supply of water. Every ques- 
 tion that we touch in respect of the improvement of Indian agriculture, at 
 the end it rests at this point, — for instance, we are in want of improvement 
 in our plough oxen, but cannot do so ; rather, it is impossible to do so 
 without having a good supply of food for them. Without food, the 
 present ill-bred, small, and the cheap oxen, which cost 30s. to 40s. 
 for a pair, die by hundreds in dry seasons ; how would the good 
 and the large-bred oxen, which require to eat twice as much as 
 the smaller ones, live in such circumstances? No doubt for good 
 and large breeds we require good pasture at first, and for good 
 pasture we must provide irrigation. (2.) We want a large supply 
 of manure, for which we must keep a large number of stock, and the 
 stock require food, but no food without water. (3.) The same difficulty 
 is in the improvement of our dairy produce. (4.) Our implements are 
 also in need of improvement ; but for heavy implements good and strong 
 cattle will be necessary. Morever, by deep tillage with the Caisar plough, 
 the surface soil, which, at about two or three inches in depth, is rich in 
 nutritive matter, will go down to the depth of nine inches, and the poor 
 sub-soil will be turned up, which of course will be injurious to the crop. 
 And even supposing that the surface soil is also made rich by more manure, 
 but the efficacy of manure depends on a sufficiency of moisture to dissolve 
 the nutritive ingredients. So instead of the amount of water required 
 in the first case to penetrate up to three inches, in the second case would 
 be wanted to moisten the soil to the depth of nine inches, otherwise the 
 benefit of the deep tillage and of the large quantity of manure, would 
 remain in a dormant state ; rather, it will burn the seed and plant. In 
 short, every branch of improvement springs from this one stem — “ the 
 abundance of the supply of water.” We know all this, but cannot over- 
 come the difficulty ; and why can we not ? The answer would be the same 
 postulate ; i.e. we have no native capital and no energy . Had we simply 
 the means for doing the work, surely we would have done it at once. No 
 lesson and teaching, no inducement, and no Government help would have 
 been necessary. 
 
 We should not pass on without considering but very briefly one more 
 point in this question, which is about the help of the Government and 
 the foreign capital, and see what effect they have produced on our wants 
 and difficulties. Finding us lack energy, in other words, ignorant of the 
 advantages of joint interest, as we have said before, the Government, 
 instead of making us capable of doing the work, and giving us the 
 lesson in economy, which is, how to collect money and how to carry 
 on the work, tried to do it . under its own influence, and perhaps 
 found it easier to get it done by an efficient staff of its own officers, 
 than to teach us how to do it. The Government obtained loans 
 for doing the work — a greater share of which belongs to the foreign 
 capitalists. Perhaps there would have been some difficulty at first 
 in inducing us to give the loan on the same terms, and probably 
 at first our gaining the experience of doing the work would have been at 
 some greater cost of the public interest ; but when once we had thoroughly 
 
1 2 1 
 
 learnt the lesson of the public interest, which, in reality, is our own, there 
 is no doubt that we should have made rapid progress in it. And the 
 Government thus would have been released for ever from the anxiety. 
 There is no reason why our hoarders should not have opened their boxes 
 when they had once seen that their unproductive treasures would become 
 productive. From the example of the Government Savings Banks, we can 
 say that by the Government guarantee, no one has any hesitation in putting 
 his money into the Treasury. And if, moreover, the people had known 
 why the money is collected, and where it is spent ; rather they would have 
 taken a part of doing all this with the Government officers, all this would 
 have been a further means of encouragement for them. But certainly 
 trying all this was not an easy task, but a matter of great trouble ; so 
 the Government considered it convenient to meet the wants under 
 its supreme power and majestic authority, and through its paid 
 officers. For providing the water, two methods were designed and 
 adopted — (i.) Jakawi , lending money on interest, and on the security 
 of the permanent right of the land. (2.) Construction of canals. How 
 far the first method (Takawi) has been useful, and is appreciated 
 by the people has been repeated several times in several places in the 
 foregoing pages. The evidences collected by the Famine Commis- 
 sioners and stated in their reports are quite enough to show the drawbacks 
 and the difficulties of the help. Although the help was offered on very- 
 much reduced terms of interest ; but the work being attempted by a 
 mere handful of paid servants already overburdened with other works, and 
 possessing no other means for carrying on the work excepting by the influ- 
 ence of their official and governing powers, so that the poor people 
 found the business so tiresome and complicated, they preferred to keep 
 themselves aloof from it. This kindness of the Government did not 
 encourage them at all to do the improvements. The description of 
 the whole routine of the work and the reasons of the difficulties would 
 make the matter more clear to understand, but we prefer avoiding to 
 go into the details ; and for reference we consider enough the few hints 
 which have already been given in the foregoing chapters and the quota- 
 tion from the F. C. Report in the first chapter. 
 
 (2.) The canal works : — These works, which are done on a large scale 
 and by means of loans, for which, from the date of collecting the. money, 
 whether the work be commenced or not, be profitable or not, the interest 
 must be paid ; is of course much more risky and difficult than the 
 former one, hence is in want of greater care and the certainty of 
 becoming profitable. Therefore often the only question of carrying out 
 such a work in certain places remains under consideration and discus- 
 sion for years and years. Often an enormous amount of money and care 
 is spent, in obtaining the estimate and trying the experiments alone, and 
 at last the proposed work is found to be unproductive or useless, and the 
 idea is abandoned altogether. For instance, the case of Sarda Canal in 
 Oudh, and making the Nurbada navigable in Southern India. No 
 doubt when the Government is going to spend loan or State money on 
 its own risk and responsibility, every precaution is necessary. At any 
 rate the result of this method — whatever its ultimate benefit may be — is 
 to make progress very slow. Had we been doing the same work our- 
 
22 
 
 selves and with our own money, of course we would have taken all sorts 
 of precaution too, but certainly would have not been so sensitive, as the 
 Government is, which has to take the trouble of doing a work for us and in 
 case of failure would have to bear the loss and blames into the bargain. 
 No less than 20 years have already passed, but it is not decided as yet, 
 whether in Oudh spending money in digging wells or making canals 
 would be most beneficial. The experiment of digging wells in Ava 
 estate and other places is going on. The delay in the progress of such 
 a work besides the above reason is also due to the limited amount of 
 the capital which is either spent from the Imperial taxes, and the 
 revenue or from the loans ; also to the limited means of supervision and 
 administration, because the few head officers besides their numerous 
 other duties cannot spare, but very little of their time and attention to 
 the work in question ; therefore after one work in some part of the 
 country is entirely finished, then another is taken into hand. The work 
 of the Ganges Canal though proposed about half a century ago is not 
 completed as yet. After a quarter of a century the level is going to be 
 taken now for enlarging it from Cawnpore to Allahabad. In Oudh it is 
 as yet the first hour in respect of starting any such work. Sometimes 
 the idea of the Sarda Canal work is given up altogether, and sometimes 
 the rumour spreads that it is to be reopened soon At this rate of 
 progress, which is owing to nothing but the sense of responsibility and 
 fear of risk, and the work being left to the care and supervision of the 
 few officers of the Government, we have to wait at least one thousand 
 years, before every nook and corner of India is well supplied by canals 
 and agriculture is improved by irrigation. Several great famines and 
 hard seasons, since the canal making was commenced have swept away 
 innumerable lives, and reduced many a farmer to the state of bankruptcy, 
 thinned the number of cattle and reduced them to very skeleton, hence 
 our farming instead of improving is going down every day ; but we must 
 wait and remain under the same condition and face in future the same 
 calamities, till the opportune time arrives : — that is, when our protec- 
 tors have thoroughly made themselves satisfied that the outlay will pay 
 the cost and interest, and when the funds and hands are released from 
 the works of greater importance and first designed. Further, we are 
 afraid that the work (canal) will fail to do good, and will be found 
 impossible to carry it in all parts of the country. The people of such 
 parts will still remain in need. 
 
 The question whether the irrigation by canal is beneficial or injurious 
 is very important, and deserves consideration when it comes forward, but 
 it is an old one and nothing is left by the party in favour or against it to 
 do justice in the matter. It is beyond our scope to decide whether 
 canals are best for us, or wells. We are in want of water, by whatever 
 means it may be provided. However, the result of the discussion if 
 sifted carefully does not seem much in favour of the canals. 
 
 N.B. — We have no time and space to show and prove that the canals 
 are not so good for us as the wells ; if the reader wants to know he 
 should see the notes and opinions of the eminent authorities in favour 
 and against the question, such as the work of Colonel Corbett, “ The 
 Climate and Resources of Upper India.” The notes of Mr. E. C. 
 
123 
 
 Buck, the Secretary to the Government of India of the Department of 
 Agriculture, corroborating the remarks of Colonel Corbett, also his 
 report No. 283a of 17th March, 1874. The opinion of the Honourable 
 C. H. T. Crosthwaite, C.S., in the Settlement Report of the Province, 
 paragraph 28 to 46. The opinion of F. N. Wright, C.S., in the same 
 report, paragraph 23 to 24. The remarks of Sir George Campbell 
 before the Select Committee, &c., &c. 
 
 As there seems no other method, but making canals to provide an 
 ample supply of water which would cover the cost of direction, construction, 
 supervision, and administration, together with the interest on the bor- 
 rowed money ; therefore the disadvantages which result from it are 
 necessarily neglected. No doubt when water is provided by means of 
 the canals, whatever disadvantages there may be, the produce of 
 land increases very much. The area of sugarcane and indigo cultivation 
 increases enormously. The rich Maharjans come forward and start 
 indigo factories, invest their capital and derive benefit from it. But the 
 question is how far the improvement does good to the poor peasant in 
 general ; and increases the wealth of the country ? The answer would 
 be, that comparatively very little. If by purchasing water and paying 
 Rs. 2 for it, he increased four maunds more in the produce of his field, 
 or even if he raised two crops from a bigha of land instead of one, each 
 crop being t :n or twelve maunds, and paid four rupees for irrigation, the 
 margin of net profit to him would be the increase in the produce minus 
 the cost of the water ; and the increase in the wealth of the country would 
 be profit from Jhe increased produce of the land, minus the interest on 
 the foreign capital, and also minus the cost of the pay of the highly-paid 
 officers connected with its direction, construction, supervision, and 
 administration. By balancing the debtor and creditor sides at the end, 
 the balances in hand would either be merely nominal or nothing. We 
 are not prepared to estimate or actually calculate the rate of which the 
 prosperity of the country by the application of the foreign capital and 
 efforts in the works in question is increasing, but have no hesitation to 
 say, what is unquestionable a fact, that had the capital been of the 
 country and the work done by the natives, the whole profit or increase in 
 the income would have been left to the country and added to the common 
 wealth. For instance, to those farmers who build their own wells and 
 possess their own oxen, and apparatus, and work themselves, the cost of 
 irrigation is really nothing. Those who employ labourers, six of whom 
 are required for distributing and lifting the water at the rate of one anna 
 each, have to pay no more than six annas* per bigha. The cost of only two 
 waterings from the canal on the Government Experimental Plot at 
 Cawnpore is calculated to be Rs. 3-12 f per acre = Rs. 2-8 per bigha. 
 The cost is equivalent to the most beneficial and expensive kind of 
 irrigation by the gharra (manual power 63 hands) which for example, 
 had been shown in the illustration of wheat calculation, i.e., Rs. 3-15 
 for three waterings. But if the advantages of three waterings from the 
 well and the disadvantages of irrigation from the canal be taken into 
 
 16 annas =1 rupee or 1/8. + Government Gazette of North West 
 Province and Oudh, July 31, 1880, part ii. page 277. 
 
124 
 
 consideration, the latter will be found most expensive or not good to its 
 value. Perhaps it will be said that in case of the canal being handy, the 
 farmer need not have the expense of keeping the bullocks, and by 
 reducing this expense, the increase or the payment for the cost of irriga- 
 tion, would mean nothing. And so the farmers do ; but the decrease in 
 the number of cattle decreases the amount of manure, and a plentiful 
 supply of water without enough manure, becomes injurious to the 
 crop as well as to the soil. After all, all the advantages and the gain 
 of the irrigation from the canal, if counterbalanced by this one but 
 very serious defect, that the poor people fall victims into the hands of 
 the ill-paid menial servants of the Canal Department, will weigh as 
 nothing. It would be going beyond the limits of the question to 
 describe what the difficulties are, and why the people bear them. They 
 are not of such a nature that are unknown to public or to the Govern- 
 ment officers. For instance, Sir George Campbell speaking before the 
 Select Committee says : — 
 
 “ The failure of irrigation works with regard to distribution was due 
 to the difficulties of providing each ryot with a separate supply for his 
 own fields, and not to the unwillingness of the natives to take water. 
 They did not take water because they did not want, or because they 
 would not pay for it, but because they could not get it in the way they 
 required it. They were obliged to take it as they received it from the 
 Irrigation Works Department. Difficulties also arose as to the tenure of 
 land. The ryot’s fields being so small and scattered, it was impossible 
 to supply one ryot’s field if other ryots combined to take water at the 
 same time.” 
 
 In India agriculture is one of the few works that requires no stimulus 
 from Government ; the people do it entirely themselves ; but by opening 
 the Canal Department, the law and the Government’s connection is 
 interwoven in this. Of course it supplies water, but hundreds of diffi- 
 culties and the troubles for the poor agriculturist are engendered by the 
 same. 
 
 Further, not only the means of water, but apparatus or machinery to 
 supply the water with less cost and labour, and in less time is also neces- 
 sary, and will be very useful and of great improvement, but as it requires 
 some outlay, therefore, the majority of the people are unable to afford it. 
 The chain pump that had been exhibited in Lucknow in the Agricultural 
 Show through the Department of Agriculture is the cheapest and simplest 
 of the kind, but it can lift the water only from the depth of 24 feet, and 
 if it be improved for use at a greater depth, the cost of the work done 
 by the same increases the cost of the same work done by manual labour. 
 Although the price of the pump is perhaps only Rs. 30, still the peasant 
 farmers are unable to buy it. The wheel which is called Rahet, and is 
 used in Punjab is of greater service, but the same difficulty prevents its 
 introduction. 
 
 14. Next to the water, in importance comes the manure : any 
 improvement in quantity or quality of the same will be the cause of 
 improvement in agriculture. The best manure which is known as yet is 
 the farmyard manure and dung, which we call k/iad and pans and the 
 most suitable and effective, rich manure for the grain crops is excrement 
 
125 
 
 of sheep. The advantages of these over any other artificial manures are 
 many. These manures improve the character of the soil chemically as 
 well as mechanically, and contain all the necessary ingredients in fair 
 proportion. Ten tons of dung contain if tons of organic matters, which 
 is equal to the same matter in an ordinary crop of wheat, and the amount 
 of nitrogen which it contains is equal to 13 cwt. of Peruvian guano. 
 One ton of farmyard manure contains 9 to 1 gibs, of nitrogen and potash, 
 and 4 to 9lbs. of phosphoric acid (p. 26 Chemistry of the Farm : by R. 
 Warington.) This is believed by all the scientific people, the only thing 
 is that its effect is rather slow, but at the same time more durable than the 
 artificial ones. In India where the range of temperature and heat is much 
 greater than in England, certainly the chemical reactions which depend on 
 oxidation would be quicker than in England. The effect of farmyard 
 manure lasts for several years, while of the artificials only for one year. 
 By the experiment on Rothamsted Farm it has been found that mineral 
 manures only act one season, while farmyard manure four years. The 
 former manures are washed away by the rain, and without sufficient 
 moisture they become uuavailable or more injurious than the other. 
 In India where both the drought and rain are of much greater range 
 than in England the last mentioned point is worth consideration. 
 Another very great advantage of this manure especially in the case of 
 India is, that it has great retentive power of moisture. Its application 
 improves the hydroscopic condition of the soil. On the Rothamsted 
 Farm of Sir J. B. Lawes, it has been found that by the application of the 
 artificial manure, only 855 tons of water was available for plant, while by the 
 application of farmyard manure 10 19 tons. In India wherewater is thechief 
 thing for agriculture, anything that retains water would be most beneficial. 
 By the experiment of the above named eminent authority on barley, it 
 was found that the rape cake equivalent to 95lbs. of nitrogen, produced 
 less quantity of grain first year than 82lbs. of nitrogen in ammonium 
 sulphate for first two years. Hence organic manures are of great value to 
 light sandy soils, as they become only slowly decomposed during the 
 first year, but the residue becomes gradually available for succeeding 
 years. In this Province of India where the soil is very light, certainly 
 these manures are best of all. The manure in question is called general 
 and typical manure, the farmers in England are first in want of this and 
 apply it, and after this other artificial manures. The reason for using 
 artificial or purchased manure is this : That as the effect of the organic 
 manure depends on oxidation, and this effect when it stops by reaching 
 to a certain point, then they stimulate the manural action by artificial 
 means. In India where the quantity of the farmyard manure never 
 reaches to that point, it is ridiculous to think of the introduction of any 
 costly purchased salt for manure. First, we must increase the quantity 
 and the quality of our long known and most beneficial manures, 
 which are the Khad and Pans. For grain crops, as wheat and barley, 
 v ery seldom purchased manures, are used in England. When wheat is 
 sown after bare fallow, they apply dung ; and for wheat after seed, the 
 stubble of clover, and droppings of sheep and cattle, which are 
 fed on the land, is quite sufficient as manure. So in the case of 
 barley, which is sown after root, the crop of roots fed by sheep, make the 
 
126 
 
 field rich in manure, and it is quite enough for a crop of barley. Some- 
 times it is more than enough for a barley crop ; hence wheat is again sown 
 in the field. Very seldom, when the field does not seem prospering, they 
 top-dress it with nitrate of soda. The artificial manures are especially 
 used for pastures, potatoes, cabbages, and the other root crops. Above 
 all this, the greatest advantage of the manure in question is, that it 
 costs nothing to the farmers (especially in the case of India). What 
 they give in food to the stock, is returned to them, in shape of 
 manure, and the beasts are fattened, or the dairy produce is obtained into 
 the bargain. As longaswe couldhave command over this inexpensive means 
 of improvement, it is absurd to increase the produce by increasing the cost. 
 Of course when this means, reaching to its extreme point, fails to give 
 further effect, it would be necessary to think of the other means. Economy 
 is the chief point in worldly affairs, especially in those that are connected 
 with making profit. In his report on agriculture, the Assistant Commis- 
 sioner, Mr. Little, page 4 7, gives his opinion in answer to this question, 
 “ Is the produce of our farms less than it might be ?” as follows : “ To this” 
 he says “ I reply, undoubtedly it is ; but the answer requires some qualifica- 
 tion. lamconfidentthatthosewhospeakof anindefinite increase, or even of 
 doubling our present produce, are misled and mistaken. . . . Indeed 
 
 there is good reason to suppose that many of the most enterprising men 
 have burnt their fingers in the attempt to force production ; and that in 
 the future, a most simple system of cultivation will have to be pursued. 
 It is surely an economical absurdity to grow an additional two bushels of 
 wheat, at an increased cost of one pound.” The same authority in page 49, 
 writes : “ And some cases have come under my notice where large fortunes 
 have been lost by husbandry, for continuous corn growing, with the help 
 of nitrate of soda.” In short, on the first step in respect of the manure 
 all our improvements depend on the increase of the farm yard manure ; 
 but unfortunately it is decreasing every day. In the old times, as it has 
 been stated in the introductory chapter of this book, the area under 
 cultivation was much less, and the number of dairy cattle much greater 
 than they are now. All the jungles, and mostly common pastures, and 
 orchards were made corn growing fields. This not only increased the 
 cultivated area, but very much reduced the quantity of the food, and 
 this scarcity of food killed the beasts and reduced the amount of manure. 
 Not only this misfortune decreased the quantity of the manure, but 
 another cause seriously destroyed it, which is that by the jungles, and the 
 wild bushes being cleared off, the supply of the fuel for the poor people, 
 who used to get it for nothing, exhausted. Now for cooking their 
 meals and warming themselves in winter, they mostly depend on burning 
 the .dung. No fuel is sold in the country, and there are no other means 
 to get it, and had there been some means, no money to buy. There is 
 another point worth mentioning, that the quantity of the manure depends 
 on the nature of the food of the beast. The best return and the cheapest 
 manure in England is found to be the excrement of the beasts fed on cake 
 and corn. What manural value in India could be expected in the dung 
 of the beast, the plough oxen especially, which in their whole lives in 
 general cases do not see what cake and corn is. Rather very seldom or 
 never, except for a few days, about the time of harvest, they are fed 
 
127 
 
 even on green straw or forage. The well-to-do farmers on the day of 
 Kurmundan, that is, when, they finish the ploughing for the year, give a 
 treat to their oxen, viz., give each of them that have been employed in 
 the work, a quarter or half a pound of corn ; this is all the substantial 
 food the poor animals enjoy during a year. The usual and the 
 commonest food of the beast is grass or dry straw, and in many cases 
 in dry and bad seasons the cattle of the poor peasant are fed on no other 
 thing but on the straw from the thatchings of their huts. The cakes of 
 Til (oil seed), of Dana, (Poppy) of Barrai, (Safflower) is a luxury for the 
 men. Many a poor man eats it with goor (raw sugar) as a luxury, and 
 generally makes his breakfast on the oil-bearing seeds, having parched 
 them in hot sand, or simply on the cakes of the seed after the oil has been 
 extracted. It is also proposed and recommended that the people should 
 grow fodder like those in England for their beasts ; the reason why this 
 cannot be done will be explained hereafter. 
 
 Now it should be considered what scientific farming can do here, and 
 what improvement is possible in such a condition. It is very easy to say 
 and argue that Indian agriculture is in need of improvement ; and that 
 by improvement the produce can increase; we admit 'that it is quite 
 right ; but how the improvements could be admitted, it is really difficult 
 to answer. In the present example, for instance, leaving all other purchased 
 manures aside ; if we could make improvements in the quantity and the 
 quality of Khad (farm yard manure) only, we could enormously increase 
 our produce ; and for improving the Khad, nothing else is required 
 but increasing the number of the beasts ; feeding them on good nitrogenous 
 food, making Khad under sheds, that the ammonia may not be 
 washed away by the rain. Increase in the number of cattle and in their 
 strength, will not only give us good and plentiful manure, but we should 
 be able to do good tillage ; and by keeping milk beasts, the dairy produce 
 will increase ; but where is the money to provide all these things ? Perhaps 
 some would consider that this is a costly way for providing good manure, 
 and that the want of the same can be substituted by some other means ; 
 but anyhow, some manure would be necessary. N ever mind Khad — but 
 all other manures, such as cake, nitrate salts, or any green manure, will 
 require some cost; hence, firstly, where is the money to spend, and 
 secondly, if by spending money, like purchasing irrigation, we should 
 increase anything, would there be much profit to the farmer ? 
 
 15. Next to manure, we are in want of good cattle ; rather, after water 
 we should consider cattle very important, because, by their improvement 
 we can get manure for almost nothing. But the cattle are deteriorating 
 every day, which is a sad loss to agriculture. In Nawabi time, as it has 
 been fully explained above, there were ample means of grazing, and this 
 gave the people good opportunity of keeping large herds of strong bullocks 
 and milk kine. As the whole traffic in the country was carried on by the 
 bullock-carts, and for the conveyance and travelling there were no other 
 means but the bullock-carts, therefore the improvements in the breed of 
 cattle was much patronized, and the people were able to offer high prices. 
 This had been a great encouragement to the cattle breeders, who used to 
 do their best in producing good strong beasts by selection and crosses. 
 But as the area of land under plough enormously increased lately, the 
 
128 
 
 people were obliged to increase the number of the plough-oxen at the 
 expense of the dairy beasts and the animals of good and costly breed. 
 The scarcity of fodder and the hard work keep them in a very reduced 
 condition. The offspring of such animals, no doubt, have a tendency to 
 deteriorate instead of improving. Not only this, but there has been 
 another cause which has reduced the beasts in number and quality, which 
 is this, that in Oudh for instance, in all the Tarai district (valleys of the 
 Nepal mountains), there were extensive and very thick jungles. In 
 Khiri, Gonda, and Bahraitch districts when the jungles were not cleared 
 off, breeding of cattle was a very large trade. Tharoos, but mostly 
 Serverya or Sarjoopari Brahmins and Baonas, had this business and the 
 trade in their hands, and they had good opportunities for breeding and 
 rearing cattle at small cost and care. The whole country of Oudh and all 
 the neighbouring districts of the Northwest Province were supplied with 
 the good, heavy, and improved plough and draught beasts from the 
 above named places. The general name for the cattle is known 
 to be Utterha, but the three most famous species are Dhowrera, 
 Perehar, and Khairi garh. Owing to the jungles being mostly cleared off 
 in the time of the English Government, great drawbacks occurred in the 
 trade, and the above named breeds in their respective localities, through 
 the same reason as decrease of food, not only degenerated in respect of 
 vigour and the loss of good characteristic points, but also became very 
 scarce. For sending to the Agricultural Show of Lucknow in 1881, the 
 Government Officers of those districts, in spite of trying very hard could 
 not find animals of genuine and of superior quality even in the very 
 centre of their localities The supply of the beast in that time (Nawabi) 
 being greater than the want, they were sold on much easier terms 
 than at present. The practical method of selling the cattle was, and up 
 to this date is this ; that in the rainy season the dealers with large herds 
 go to the different parts of the country and sell the animal on credit to 
 the known customers, or on the guarantee of the landowner to the 
 tenants, payment being made in three instalments Although the same 
 custom still exists, yet the price is so much increased that now they have 
 to pay twice as much as they used to pay before, and yet the animals are 
 not half so good as in those days. Further, however, the animal may 
 be of better breed, but when they go to to the tenants, they are reduced 
 by starvation to a very low condition, and to the mere shadow of their 
 former existence. Only three months in rainy seasons July, August, and 
 September, if the season is good, they get some green fodder, the grass, 
 but in this part of the year they have to work hard, and in consequence 
 become greatly reduced. After this, for a few days in the time of 
 harvest they are fed on the stubbles of the crops. In April and May it 
 the farmer is not obliged to sell his straw for paying the dues of the 
 landowner and the Mahajan, they get bhoosa (chaffed straw.) Besides 
 these in other months they are simply kept alive on a diet of shrubs, 
 leaves of trees, house thatching, and by the hard labour of all the 
 members of the family of a peasant farmer, who by scraping bring the 
 dry roots and stems of perennial grasses from the usar and pasture land. 
 
 The same may be said of the breeds of the bullocks used in 
 conveyances, — the Bangraha. This breed was very famous for its 
 
29 
 
 activity and swift trotting, and has been largely bred on the sandy soil of 
 Mullawan and Bangarmow, Herdoi District and in their neighbourhood. 
 This breed is still more degenerated and has decreased more than the 
 above, because the demand for them has decreased about 99 per cent. 
 The pasture land in those districts has been converted into mothi and 
 barley crop growing fields. For “ raths ” bullock-chaises, the up-country 
 breed, viz., Chambal-pari, from Gowaliar and Agra and the most hand- 
 some and largest breed of Mewat were used, which now, except in their 
 especial localities are not even seen in other neighbouring districts of 
 the country. 
 
 Under such conditions it is always talked of, and to a certain extent 
 is also tried to make improvements in the cattle ; and one step that has 
 already been taken by the Government during the last 25 years is this : 
 that in each district one or two best bred bulls are kept for the purpose 
 of serving the local kines. For instance, in Pratab Garh which is one 
 of the smallest districts in the Province, having an area of 1436-5 
 square miles and a population of 850,000, there are kept two bulls in the 
 head quarter of the district. No doubt the plan was very good for 
 setting an example to the people, had there been any chance for its 
 becoming successful. But as the success of every such plan depends 
 not merely on setting the proper example, but almost entirely on 
 removing the causes that interfere in the success or providing the means 
 that stimulate the progress of the plan ; consequently in spite of such a 
 long perseverence as of 20 or 25 years, and all the expenses of keeping the 
 bulls, no improvement in the breed of cattle can yet be seen, even within the 
 limits and the vicinity of the very head quarter of the District — Pratab Garh. 
 Without providing food at first, it is certainly ridiculous to expect that 
 crosses alone improves the vital power of the animals. Moreover 
 scientifically serving the very small dam by a very large sire is also 
 very objectionable, this theory has been found true in India too. For 
 instance, the extract of the view of Koar Now Nehal Singh Tchsildar on 
 the Batisar Cattle Fair, dated November 22, 1880, which is quoted in 
 the Report of the Department of Agriculture and Commerce of the 
 Province, proves this fact. He says that the experiment has proved that 
 by the sire of 54 inches high, no eow of less than 44 inches in height 
 should be served. The cow which is 10 inches less than the bull, 
 yields a very weak calf, and the milk of the cow is not sufficient to 
 nourish its broad bone young one. In many districts of the Province, 
 for instance, Pratab Garh, &c., where the cows are much smaller than 
 that, certainly the plan could not be beneficial. The improvement of 
 cattle in every point comes at last to rest on the improvement of food. 
 Therefore, along with the suggestion of the improvement many people 
 think that the farmers, as in England, ought to grow food for their cattle. 
 The introduction of root crops such as mangold wurzel, and of artificial 
 grasses such as lucern and sainfoin, &c., has been recommended. But 
 those who think and recommend this, have certainly not taken the diffi- 
 culties of the people into consideration. While many of the people 
 during several months of the year, viz., after the periodical crops have 
 been harvested, and the dues of the landowners and of the Mahajans 
 have settled, cap keep no food for themselves, and simply live, upon the 
 
 K 
 
1 3 o 
 
 loan of the grain from the Mahajan, Mahwa and Am fruits, and wild 
 herbs ; and in bad seasons keep their existence by the meal made of 
 the seed of sawan and chakeri grasses, which they scrape from usar and 
 pasture land. How is it possible that these men could cultivate and 
 store food for their cattle ? Had they been able to keep only the 
 straw of the crops that they produce, which many of them are obliged 
 to sell for paying the demand of the Zemindar and the debts of the 
 Mahajan, their cattle would have been better off. But, unfortunately, 
 their wants are so pressing that they cannot do so. If they grow a crop 
 of root or of any of the artificial grasses in one bigha of their eight or ten 
 bigha holdings, what would they eat, and how would they pay the rent 
 of that bigha ? Further, these crops would require more water and good 
 seed and shed for storing them, where are all these means available for 
 them, or how could they afford them ? It would be said that this proposal 
 is meant for large and well-to-do farmers who can afford all this, but their 
 cattle are not starving, they always get enough and more substantial food. 
 If these few would grow food for cattle or improve them to any extent, 
 it could not increase the material property of the country. Unless we 
 would decrease the burden of keeping the existence of all the human 
 life from the produce of the land, it is impossible for us to be able to 
 attend to the wants of the beasts. If our men should find some oppor- 
 tunity to make their living by some other means, besides growing corn 
 and living on it, then, of course, the land would be released, and then it 
 could be used for providing food for the cattle. But no other means of 
 livelihood can be provided without capital and energy, hence the result 
 is that without this the improvement in cattle is impossible. 
 
 1 6. Next to cattle the improvement in implements is of great import- 
 ance, and no doubt could be the cause of improvement in agriculture. 
 But it depends on two things ; firstly, the same and the principal 
 thing, the cost, “ capital,” and secondly, on the strength of the animals of 
 draught. In the absence of either of these two things the question 
 has no meaning whatever. From the above examples of the wheat 
 cultivation in the two countries (India and England), it will be seen how 
 very few, simple and clumsy implements the Indian farmers use in 
 husbandry ; and how many different kinds of implements are used in 
 Englaad for the same work, i.e., simply for growing wheat. For other crops 
 many other different kinds of implements are used. By the use of these 
 implements the amount of labour to produce a crop of wheat from a bigha 
 is reduced from 95 hands in India to about three hands in England. In 
 India for every kind of crop and of every season there is one Har, a crude 
 form of swing plough ; the price of this is about Rs. 2 to Rs. 2-8, — 
 about 3s. to 4s. ; but there is no regular firm or shop throughout the 
 country from which people could buy these ploughs ready made. 
 Indeed they cannot afford the money to buy them. General practice 
 for providing the implements is, that, the farmers provides wood 
 generally of Babool, which he often obtains gratis from the land- 
 owner or his friends, and buys a tine of iron for 4 or 6 annas. 
 (6 or 7 pence). These two things he gives to the local carpenter who 
 has not got more than two or three tools in his workshop. The carpenter 
 makes the plough for him, and keeps on repairing it when wanted. In the 
 
harvest for all his work he receives a share from the crop harvested. The 
 : best beam for the plough is considered that of sail wood; its cost is about 12 
 annas or 1 rupee (1/8). By the application of this beam, the implement is 
 ! greatly improved, it becomes easier to work, and lighter for the oxen to pull, 
 j but the people cannot afford it. Once, for example, I had counted sail 
 wood beam ploughs in three districts — twenty ploughs in each. I do not 
 remember the exact number now, but I think I had found six out of twenty 
 in Allahabad, three out of twenty in Roy Bareli, and one out of twenty in 
 Pratab Garb districts. The ploughs were of course of the peasant farmers. 
 It is useless here to give all details, such as the terms on which the 
 | carpenter makes and repairs the plough, also how little or how much work 
 can be done with it. The simplicity of the implement will be understood 
 by the very few different parts of which it is composed. (1.) Hars (beam). 
 (2.) Tonda (sole). (3.) Phar (share). (4.) Panchar (wedge). (5.) 
 Mooth (stilt). In the whole of the implements not a single nail, screw, 
 bolt, or nut is used, because firstly, the maker generally has no tools to 
 make these, and secondly, by adding any more workmanship or materials, 
 the implement will become more costly, and the people would not be able 
 to afford it. The Har (plough) is so imperfect in its purposes, that it 
 ,j takes a considerable time to do the required amount of work, which, 
 by an improved implement, can be done in much less time. But money 
 is so very dear to the people, that they are obliged to perform the work 
 at the cost of any amout of time and of their own labour, but cannot 
 facilitate it by undergoing a little more expense. The Caisar plough, 
 which, after due consideration, has lately been invented, is very good of 
 its kind. The improvement that has been made is very simple — that is, 
 the share is made of sheet iron, and a small plate of iron is attached to 
 | it, and is turned a little on one side, which fulfils the want of the mould- 
 board. These are attached to the sole by nails and fastened by iron 
 straps, secured with bolts and nuts. The price of this complete implement 
 is Rs. 6=(io/6), but it has been found quite impossible on the part of the 
 majority of people, to derive the benefit from its use. At first the question 
 of cost is the greatest hindrance in their way. Secondly, the miserable 
 beasts have been found quite incapable to drag it. Thirdly, the native 
 blacksmith generally cannot repair it when broken. It is simple enough 
 to understand that all these difficulties are from no other reasons but their 
 poverty, and there being no capital in the country. They being poor, 
 cannot buy it, and cannot afford purchasing, and keeping good strong 
 bullocks, and the blacksmiths being of the same type, cannot afford to 
 buy the tools, by which they can repair it. To make myself acquainted 
 with the question of this new, cheap, and improved implement when in 
 India in June, 1881, I purchased one Caisar plough from the Department 
 of Agriculture and Commerce ; and as I was doing no farming, therefore 
 I gave it first to several peasant farmers to try the experiment, and also 
 showed it to some blacksmiths *in the Pratab Garh district. In the majority 
 of cases I found that the three above mentioned difficulties unavoidably 
 lie in the way of these people. Some said, if they work longer with this 
 implement they are afraid their oxen will die soon. Some complained that 
 the tension is very great, so that the beast cannot walk so quickly ; hence 
 it takes more time to do a certain amount of work. Then I gave it to two 
 
132 
 
 of my friends, landowners, who do home farming ; but on account of 
 leaving India soon after that, I did not see the result of their experiments. 
 The above remarks, we believe, are quite enough to give an idea that 
 improvements in implements, however advantageous they may be to the 
 agriculture, are impossible to introduce. The above described rude (i) 
 Har, and (2) a log of wood for breaking clods ; (3) for sugarcane fields, 
 a hand spade, which costs half a rupee, rod. ; (4) for weeding and scraping 
 grass for cattle, one Khurpa (flat sickle), costing three-quarters of an anna, 
 
 1 penny ; for reaping crops, one Hasya (curved sickle) cost 1 anna, 
 
 1 id. These comprise all the implements of a peasant farmer. The most 
 expensive tackles are for watering. The Baryat or rope, they make by 
 themselves, but have to pay for the hemp, which cost about 8 annas, rod. ; 
 and Charsa (cow hide for water bag), owing to the decrease of cattle, has 
 increased four times in value, now it costs from 2 to 4 rupees (3/4 to 6/8.) 
 This makes the full* list of the apparatus, which all the farmers use in 
 husbandry, and many of them are deficient even in these, and do their 
 work by borrowing (especially water apparatus) from their neighbours. 
 But the disadvantages in husbandry, which is done by means of these 
 implements, is this, that not less than 95 hands can raise a crop of wheat 
 from a bigha (two-thirds of an acre.) 
 
 Now we should see what is the meaning of the scientific agriculture, 
 and what are the implements that have reduced the 92 hands to 3-9. 
 A complete list of all the implements and the machinery that are required 
 for a well managed farm, will be considered only a theoretical example, 
 but not a practical one, therefore we give a list here of the implements 
 that are in use in the same farm, the cost of raising a wheat crop on which 
 had been calculated. Although these do not make a complete list of all 
 the apparatus that are required on such a farm, yet they are enough for 
 all the necessary works that are carried on there. 
 
 List of Implements and Machinery , &>c., on Mr. Swanwick's Farm , called 
 Royal Agricultural College Farm , at Cirencester, Gloucestershire , of joo 
 Acres. 
 
 Name of Implement or Machinery. 
 
 Bach @. 
 
 Total Value. 
 
 
 
 £ 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 £ 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 2 Hereford skim ploughs 
 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 0 
 
 8 
 
 10 
 
 0 
 
 6 Ploughs 
 
 
 4 
 
 10 
 
 0 
 
 ... 27 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 2 Four horse harrows 
 
 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 0 
 
 ... 7 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 1 Pair of handled drags 
 
 
 6 
 
 10 
 
 0 
 
 ... 6 
 
 10 
 
 0 
 
 1 Heavy 4-horse drag 
 
 
 6 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 ... 6 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 1 Staffordshire harrow . . . 
 
 
 8 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 ... 8 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 1 Pair grass seed harrows 
 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 
 0 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 
 0 
 
 2 Chain harrows 
 
 
 3 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 ... 6 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 4 Horse hoes 
 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 
 0 
 
 10 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 Carried forward 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^81 
 
 10 
 
 0 
 
 * The large and well-to-do fanners, in addition to the implements, keep carts 
 too, which cost from Rs. 30 to 50, £2 6s. to £4. 3s. ; and medium ones Ghuri 
 a basket attached on a wooden axle and two pulley-like wheels, cost Rs, 1 to 
 2 = (2 to 4 shillings) . 
 
133 
 
 Name of Implement or Machinery. 
 
 Brought forward 
 
 Each @. 
 
 £ s. d. 
 
 Total Value. 
 £ S. d. 
 
 81 10 0 
 
 i Crosskill roller 
 
 20 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 20 0 
 
 0 
 
 i Cambridge ditto 
 
 I S 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 ... 15 0 
 
 0 
 
 i Heavy flat ditto 
 
 12 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 12 0 
 
 0 
 
 i Light ditto ditto 
 
 6 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 6 0 
 
 0 
 
 i Wooden ditto ditto 
 
 4 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 4 0 
 
 0 
 
 i Cultivator 
 
 7 
 
 10 
 
 0 
 
 7 IO 
 
 0 
 
 i Wheeled horse hoe 
 
 6 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 6 0 
 
 0 
 
 i Corn drill 
 
 3° 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 ... 30 0 
 
 0 
 
 i Manurial water drill ... 
 
 30 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 ... 30 0 
 
 0 
 
 i Seed drill 
 
 18 
 
 IO 
 
 0 
 
 ... 18 IO 
 
 0 
 
 i Dry manure ditto 
 
 18 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 ... 18 0 
 
 0 
 
 2 Seed barrows (Broad cast) 
 
 4 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 ... 8 0 
 
 0 
 
 i String binder ... 
 
 60 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 ... 60 0 
 
 0 
 
 2 Self-delivery reapers 
 
 3i 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 ... 62 0 
 
 0 
 
 2 Mowers 
 
 18 
 
 IO 
 
 0 
 
 ••• 37 0 
 
 0 
 
 i Hay maker 
 
 15 
 
 15 
 
 0 
 
 ••• is is 
 
 0 
 
 2 Horse rakes 
 
 10 
 
 IO 
 
 0 
 
 ... 21 0 
 
 0 
 
 6 Wheelbarrows 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 0 
 
 ... 7 IO 
 
 0 
 
 io Carts with harvest frames 
 
 16 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 ... 160 0 
 
 0 
 
 3 Harvest carts ... 
 
 17 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 ... 51 0 
 
 0 
 
 2 Hay collectors 
 
 Machinery and Locomotive Engine. 
 
 2 
 
 IO 
 
 0 
 
 ... s 0 
 
 ^675 15 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 i 14-horse-power fixed Engine ... 
 
 3°° 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 ... 300 0 
 
 0 
 
 1 Thrashing machine complete ... 
 
 112 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 ... 112 0 
 
 0 
 
 1 Winnowing ditto 
 
 12 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 12 0 
 
 0 
 
 2 Water carts with pumps 
 
 23 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 ... 46 0 
 
 0 
 
 4 Turnip cutters for sheep 
 
 6 
 
 IO 
 
 0 
 
 ... 26 0 
 
 0 
 
 1 Pulper for root 
 
 4 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 4 0 
 
 0 
 
 1 Turnip slicer for cattle 
 
 5 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 ... 5 0 
 
 0 
 
 1 Weighing machine 
 
 12 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 ... 12 0 
 
 0 
 
 1 Grinding ditto 
 
 20 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 ... 20 0 
 
 0 
 
 30 Sheep troughs, at (average) . . . 
 
 0 
 
 IO 
 
 0 
 
 ... 15 0 
 
 0 
 
 50 Pigs ditto, at ditto 
 
 0 
 
 IO 
 
 0 
 
 ... 25 0 
 
 0 
 
 125 dozen Hurdles ... at 
 
 Grand Total ... 
 
 0 
 
 13 
 
 0 
 
 ... 81 5 0 
 
 ^1334 0 0 
 = Rs. 16008 
 
 Miscellaneous . — A lot of small tools such as hay rakes, forks, digging 
 forks, picks, shovels, scythe and hoes, &c. 
 
 Besides the above mentioned Implements and Machinery, there are 
 many other costly items which Indian farmers know nothing of, such as farm 
 buildings, forge, tools and apparatus, harness for horses, &c., &c., which 
 once provided, cause great facility and economy in doing the work. All 
 Other odd things, such as ladders, wooden feeding and drinking troughs, 
 
134 
 
 &c . ; if included, the total outlay on account of the implements, &c., 
 will be about Rs. 30 = £2 10s. per acre, or Rs. 20 perbigha. This 
 amount when once spent, with a little cost of wear and tear, reduces the 
 labour bill to a considerable extent, and makes the English farmer derive 
 the interest on his outlay, against so many difficulties and disadvantages 
 that he has in the work, such as (comparing with India) enormously high 
 rate of wages, hard soil to work, and unfavourable climate to face. 
 
 Here a very important point attracts the attention, which is this, that 
 all the above mentioned Implements and the Machinery combined 
 together, have been the cause of facilitating the work, and reducing the 
 factor of labour. If only one or two of those be provided, they would 
 be of not much use. But if all of them be provided for a farm less than 
 500 acres, the average outlay per acre will increase. On the other hand 
 these implements are enough to work more than 500 acres, so if the 
 leaseholder of the farm, by some means, could add 100 acres more to 
 his hot dung, the average of the cost will decrease. In other words, in the 
 example it has shown that the average outlay for this item per acre, is Rs. 
 30, but it would - be of no consequence if anyone, by laying out Rs. 
 30, for one acre, expect to derive the same benefit. If the farmers in 
 England had not the opportunity of holding large farms, and spending 
 a large amount of money, it would have been impossible to make use of 
 the said implements and derive any benefit from them. For instance, 
 the peasant farmers in Ireland, however they know the advantages 
 of this system and seeing their neighbours work with the implements, 
 are acquainted with their use for a long long time, viz., since they have 
 originated, yet they cannot use them. Even the very plough some of 
 them are unable to use, so they work their fields with only hand spades. 
 This proves that, showing the model or specimen of the Caisar plough, 
 and' making the people of India intimate with its advantages, is of no use. 
 Simply this plan is not enough to make the people appreciate the improved 
 implements ; but the first thing which is wanted is to make them able to 
 have it. Morever, if one or two of the implements would be introduced 
 they will not be enough to do much good. The English farmer besides 
 being fortunate enough as to have a large capital to invest, has also the 
 opportunity to hold large farms. And this opportunity he found simply 
 of his fellow citizens being engaged with other works, and not being 
 dependent on land. However enterprising and scientific the people may 
 have been, in case of all of them being dependent on the land, and 
 each having a piece of ground enough to produce something from it, and 
 live upon the same, how was it possible for them to use the implements ? 
 Now we come to the conclusion of the question of the improved imple- 
 ments, and ask the reader to think what is it which has given to an 
 English farmer the opportunity of holding large farms ; he will find it to 
 be nothing else but the diversity of occupation. And what is the chief 
 motive power for the diversity of occupation ? Of course, nothing else 
 but the native capital and the private energy. Therefore in India, first 
 we are in want of these two things, then we could adopt improved 
 implements and could derive benefit from them. 
 
 17. Next to implements the question of seed is most important. Our 
 unfortunate exports which, roughly speaking, comprise nothing else but 
 
i35 
 
 the produce of land, specially wheat, cotton oil seed, cakes, &c., owing 
 to the impurity of the samples in comparison to the same produce of 
 other countries, have less value in English markets. For years and 
 years complaints have been made by the Chamber of Commerce to the 
 Indian Government, and encouragement in using pure seed solicited. 
 Scarcely a month or at most a year passes in which circulars about this 
 are not issued by the Supreme or Local Governments to their subordi- 
 nate officers. It would be useless to refer and quote some of the 
 discussions, circulars, and orders that have been issued with reference 
 to this question. The latest one is the Circular of the Government 
 of the North West Province, No. 33, dated Namital, the 22nd 
 August, 1883. In this and in several others the best methods of 
 cleaning, sifting, and purifying seed and its advantages have been 
 pointed out. From time to time several measures have also been 
 adopted to encourage the system and provide the means (see the example 
 given in Chapter I. of “ a few ounces of seed given to the farmers by 
 Government to make experiments.”) But the difficulties of the people, 
 alas ! have never been taken into consideration, otherwise the time, care, 
 and the little money would have never been wasted in such a useless effort. 
 It is not the case that the people do not know the advantages of good 
 and pure seed, and require teaching and encouragement in this matter ; 
 but it is, the unsurmountable difficulties in their way, that they cannot 
 do so. The methods and terms of obtaining seed have been already 
 explained in the example of wheat Cultivation in India. Many of them 
 who are considered well-to-do keep a portion from the produce of their 
 field for the next year ; and the same seeds remain circulating for years 
 and years Within the area of a few acres of their holding. Although 
 they do their best to keep good seed, true of its kind, and take all the 
 precaution to clean it before sowing, yet as for a long long time the seed 
 does not leave the ground from which it has been grown, therefore the 
 grain produced from such a seed decreases in size and quality. Unfor- 
 tunately, this even is not the case with all ; the majority of them cannot 
 keep their own seed. What they grow, immediately after harvesting a 
 portion of it, they sell to the retail dealers in order to pay the rent ; 
 and the rest they give to the Mahajan with the interest on account of his 
 loan of the seed that they had borrowed for sowing ( vide seed under the 
 example of wheat cultivation . ) The Mahajan who lends the seed has 
 no interest in its quality, therefore does not care which and what he gives 
 to his customers. He generally does not sell the surplus, but keeps on 
 increasing his stock of the grain, which he has to lend to the people. 
 Whether the seed may or may not grow he would take his interest (50 
 per cent) i.e„ one-and-a-half seer for every seer of the grain lent. If the 
 tenant (asami) would not be able to pay the Mahajan’s debt from the 
 grain he had produced, he would settle his account by selling straw or 
 any other thing, because otherwise he would not get the seed from his 
 Mahajan for the next year. However, the poor people try their best to get 
 more seed than is actually required for the purpose, and sift it to get the 
 well-matured and full seed for sowing. The small and thqjmsect-injured 
 seed thus separated, they either eat or exchange it for some other coarse 
 grain. But their interest, at any rate, is to get a crop good in quantity 
 
1 3 6 
 
 (the weight), whatever its quality may be. Moreover, the peasant farmer 
 does not consume wheat ; it is simply grown to pay the rent, but he wants 
 something to eat ; some grain which would mature soon and provide him a 
 meal is necessary for him. Under these circumstances he mixes with the 
 wheat some other grain, such as mustard, safflower, barley, and peas, &c. 
 When his crop is harvested, he would not try to decrease its weight by 
 sifting and cleaning it, but would be glad to increase the weight if he can 
 by the admixture of other grain of less value and even of gravels. From 
 such a crop which he had sown in one or two acres of his holding, he 
 first settles the debt of the Mahajan. The Mahajan has got many other 
 such customers, who all bring the small quantities on account of their 
 dues to him. He takes the grain from all of them, which would be of 
 course of different qualities, variously mixed with other seeds, and heaps 
 it in one cellar ; and this mixture of seed he gives to the same people in 
 the next year. 
 
 Now, about the portion which he has to sell for money. In the 
 country, there are no large markets in any place, and the produce 
 which the peasant has to sell is not more than a few pounds. He now 
 carries it on his own head to the neighbouring village market, where a 
 few (half-a-dozen) retail purchasers come with their bullocks to buy the 
 grain. Sometimes he takes only a sample of the grain to the market, and 
 the purchaser comes round to fetch the grain bought of him. The 
 grain bought of ten or twelve people from the same number of villages 
 make a load for one bullock. As the retail purchaser has to make up 
 his load by buying grain of so many people, who mostly have their 
 sample nearly of the same type, what would induce him to give a higher 
 price to one of them who has a sample of the very best quality to sell ? 
 And in such a case, what encouragement would their be for the grower 
 to be very particular of the quality of the grain. The bullocks loaded 
 with grain called Bardhi go to large markets and are purchased by the 
 wholesale people, who make distinctions and classify the*'grain. How- 
 ever particular they might be, their store being made up by the loads of 
 a hundred bullocks from a hundred different villages, how is it possible 
 that their sample could be expected to be pure, good, and true of its 
 kind ? In America and in England where one farmer grows hundreds 
 of acres of nothing but wheat, some of the fields are as large as one 
 hundred acres, where he has seedsmen at his door, has money to buy, 
 and the opportunity to make selection and choice in the seed ; certainly 
 he would produce good samples, which in the present condition of India 
 could never be expected from that country. The effect of the bad 
 sample in the foreign market is this, that I have seen in the Exchanges 
 of London, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow, &c., that American and 
 Russian wheats are sold for grinding and making bread for human beings, 
 while our poor Indian wheat is sold mostly for no other purposes but 
 starching calico or feeding pigs. 
 
 1 8. After reading this chapter and taking all the points into consi- 
 deration, we hope that our readers will agree with us that in the present 
 condition of the affairs of India and Indian agriculture there seems not 
 much chance of introducing any improvement in husbandry. All such 
 proposals seem simply to talk and make a fuss about ; but produce no 
 practical benefit whatever. 
 
i37 
 
 Those who would wish to see India prosperous and improved, ought to 
 lay first the foundation, in other words, provide the basis of all success, 
 which is, the native capital and energy. When this foundation is 
 laid and secured, they will then be able to build the whole edifice of 
 the improvement that can be obtained by the help of the Government — 
 modification of the law — improvement in the commerce — and the agricul- 
 ture. At the conclusion of this chapter we remind the reader of the 
 phrase that has been written in the introduction, i.e., “ We are in want 
 of a fly wheel to regulate the motion of the machines when put to work, 
 and prevent the crank from stopping by reaching the dead points.” The 
 machinery of the Government help, modification of the law, &c., &c., 
 which are applied to raise our prosperity will certainly fail to do good 
 until our own capital and energy is brought into motion. In other words, 
 if without securing the basis and laying the foundation of all the 
 success, which is our own capital and energy , it should be tried to carry 
 on the structure, firstly, it would not go on, and secondly, if it would go 
 to a certain stage, it would not stand long and should fall down, and be 
 shattered into pieces. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 Encouragement of Qexxexat and ‘8tec§*»cat 
 Education. 
 
 One of the most important plans universally found to be true, “ The 
 spread of education for the prosperity of a country ,” is unanimously 
 suggested in the case of India too — and lately greater force is given to 
 the education of the masses. On no grounds could there be any reason 
 to deny, that education, after being spread successfully, would give 
 this result ; but of course, there is much doubt (in the present condition 
 of India) of its spreading successfully. Having the experience of 18 
 long years in this question, as I have belonged to the Department of 
 Public Instruction from 1864 till the date I left for England (April 12. 
 1882), and have still the same connection with it, I had a good deal to 
 say in respect of the Primary, Secondary, and the High education, but 
 I am sorry to say that there is no more time at my disposal, therefore, it 
 is left alone here. 
 
 Owing to the same reason (the scarcity of time), we could not write 
 the last chapter so fully as we intended to — and moreover we are obliged 
 to leave the remaining miscellaneous points which have been mentioned 
 in the Introduction untouched. 
 
 The points are : — Local Self Govermnent. — Appointment op Natives to 
 High Offices. — Migration and Emigration of the People . — This matter 
 would have added two more chapters to the book. If opportunity will 
 permit, we may bring out the remaining matter in a second part, at 
 some future time. 
 
 Now with regard to the question of this chapter — “ The education ” 
 we append here a pamphlet on Primary Education* which was issued 
 last year — and with this conclude our present work. 
 
 * This is the Appendix No. i. of this book. Appendix No. ii. having con- 
 nection with the second part of the book will appear with it if it is issued. 
 In several places in the foregoing pages we have referred to the Appendix 
 No. i . ; and we hope, that it will give to the readers an idea of the true 
 features of a peasant’s life, and of the modes of the present income of the 
 people, and the economical affairs of India. If the reader will read this 
 before going into preceding parts, it will throw a better light on their contents. 
 
 Cirencester, Gloucestershire, June 10, 1884. 
 
APPENDIX I 
 
 Itfrimart? §6ucafton 
 
 and t§e gftrcumsfcmces of f§e ^opuCaiion 
 in g>u6£ and t§e Western 
 
 'gfroninces of gndta. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. — Diversity of opinions as to the best policy to be 
 pursued — tests to arrive at the right conclusion. From the questions put by 
 the Commission for enquiring into this matter in India , it would seem that 
 the above tests have not been considered. Proofs : — 
 
 A. ( i.) Prosperity of a country does not depend on Primary Education , 
 but the want of education increases with the prosperity of a country. (2.) 
 Primary Education does not give mental culture , and does not improve the 
 faculties , but engenders the evil of making the masses discontented with their 
 position. 
 
 B. The people in India have no use to which they can put it in their 
 social or domestic life and habits. 
 
 C. Whether it would be beneficial or not. The vast majority of the 
 people in their present impoverished condition cannot possibly be educated.* 
 
 The question of the education of the masses, or as it is called Primary 
 Education, seems so remarkably interesting throughout India, that in every 
 quarter it has largely attracted the attention of the public in general, and 
 specially of those who have taken some interest in the matter or are 
 directly or indirectly concerned with it. 
 
 Through the light thrown upon the subject by the Indian press, pro- 
 ceedings of private debating societies, and public ideas, it is evident that 
 there is great diversity of opinion, firstly, as to the meaning of the question, 
 
 * N.B . — “ India” in this Pamphlet is represented by Oudh and the North 
 Western Provinces. 
 
140 
 
 and secondly, that while many are opposed to it some also are in favour 
 of it. Some consider that the education of the masses may probably 
 become such a favourite subject that it will in time deprive the higher 
 education of nearly all the favours and privileges hitherto accorded to it ; 
 though it may not be the case all at once, yet it is certain gradually to be 
 so. Others, however, believe that this will not be the case. 
 
 Moreover, a great many seem opposed to offering any further assistance 
 or facilities for the education in question, beyond what it already possesses, . 
 while a few urge that a greater share of consideration and aid must be 
 given to it, even though it be at the expense of the higher education. 
 
 According to public opinion, the policy of the power by means of which 
 the machinery, either of High or Primary Education is kept in motion in 
 India, seems or is supposed to be inclined to give more force in favour 
 of the latter (Primary Education) ; if this should be the case there is 
 every reason to anticipate that this side of the question at any rate will 
 have more weight, even if the weight of the opinion ot the whole public 
 be on the other side. 
 
 In short, it seems just the time to consider and decide whether the 
 education of the masses is a proposition which deserves any particularly 
 special favour or not. 
 
 By applying the following tests and analyzing the matter carefully, we 
 believe we can arrive at the right conclusion. 
 
 A. In the case of the masses of India (specially of those parts where 
 the roots of high education have not gone deep enough as yet, or have 
 not obtained a firm footing, such as Oudh and the North Western 
 Provinces) : (i) whether Primary Education is desirable for this reason, 
 that it is expected to produce a force and power which would have the 
 tendency of increasing the material welfare of the masses, and diminish 
 their poverty, (2) or because, at any rate, it may be expected to improve 
 their intellectual, moral, and social condition. 
 
 B. Supposing this not to be the case — whether in their present 
 condition it can be of any use to them ; have they any need of it ? Does 
 any of their business depend upon it ? 
 
 C- Supposing that it is a force which would raise their material welfare, 
 and even supposing that they are already in need of it, and after obtaining 
 it would find opportunities of putting it to a good use ; whether they have 
 means or are prepared to receive and enjoy its blessings or not. 
 
 By looking at the set of questions with regard to Primary Education 
 put by the Commission which at present is very busily engaged in making 
 enquiries about the subject, it seems rather astonishing that they have not 
 directly touched the foregoing points, which seem to be really very 
 important, and the direct way to arrive at the right conclusion. 
 
 From this we can suppose that they entered upon the enquiries in the 
 belief that as a rule in every part of India also Primary Education will 
 do good ; that the people are in need of and are prepared to receive 
 it. If so, very probably they were led to these conclusions by the 
 experience of the subject in England ; and whatever plan of enquiry 
 they have adopted has been copied from the example and style of the 
 work prevailing in this wealthy, civilized, and refined country. 
 
 This supposition seems quite natural, when we see the nature of the 
 
work in England, and read its Administration Report, the Code, and 
 then look at the set of questions of the Indian Commission, because 
 from every question the shadow of the nature of Primary Education in 
 England is clearly seen, and every question seems to be framed after 
 the pattern of the work as carried on here. But it should not be 
 forgotten that there is a vast difference between the circumstances and 
 wants of the people of England and of India. Here in England no 
 doubt every individual is in want of education, and has several uses for 
 it. Therefore it is not extraordinary if here enquiries were to be made, 
 such as, how the means of diffusing knowledge should be promoted 
 among the people. Here also there is no need of making enquiries 
 whether the people have any use for it, or are able to receive it, &c. 
 But the masses in many parts, rather it should be said in the whole of 
 India as a rule, at present have no use for education at all, and have no 
 means to receive it. So the points of the enquiries for that country, 
 above all, ought to have been such as the following : how the want and 
 use of education should be created among the masses ; how would they 
 find means to receive it. 
 
 As the above recommended points, perhaps, have not been considered 
 worth taking notice of or unnecessary, therefore mostly or nearly 
 all the evidence given upon the subject remained within the limits of 
 the scope of the questions, viz. : the features of the present education 
 in all parts of India have been clearly shown, and the suggestions for 
 increasing its sphere and improving the plans of future administration 
 and management have invariably been made. 
 
 We find, however, in some instances, that some persons acquainted 
 with the inner life of the Indian masses over-stepped the limits of the 
 questions and attempted to show that it is quite premature to make 
 further allowances or spend greater care upon Primary Education. But 
 their remarks were not only considered irrevalent to question by the 
 proper authorities, but a portion of the press and of public opinion also 
 censured them for saying a thing which had not been asked. 
 
 On the whole it can now be fairly understood that in deciding the 
 question of Primary Education, the points that how far such education 
 would be of use to the people, in what way it can do good for them, and 
 in case of its being promoted whether there would be found enough 
 people prepared to enjoy its benefit or not, have been excluded and con- 
 sidered of no consequence. It is therefore evident that there is no 
 chance of the conclusion being arrived at, that the policy of the education 
 in view would be quite useless and simply a loss without any result, or in 
 other words, that mass education deserves no additional help beyond 
 what it has already at present. 
 
 My long experience from having served the Government of India in 
 this line for 18 years as Deputy Inspector of Primary Education has 
 made me fully acquainted with the fact that the present allowance 
 provided for the mass education in the Province where I served (Oudh 
 and North West Province) is quite enough if not too much, and that any 
 further trouble taken about the matter would be of no use. I therefore 
 feel it my duty to prove this fact by applying the above-mentioned tests 
 to the case, and giving an account of my experience, which I beg to state 
 as follows * 
 
4 2 
 
 A. Whether Primary Education for the reason that it may be expected 
 to diminish the poverty of the masses, or at least would elevate or refine 
 their minds, &c., is necessary ? 
 
 This question, viz. : whether education has any power of increasing the 
 material wealth of the people is very complicated. Some consider that 
 education is sure to bring wealth to the doors of the masses, which is of 
 course the basis of every improvement, while others on the contrary 
 believe that it is the increase of the material wealth of the country that 
 alone creates the want of education. 
 
 By carefully examining both sides of the question it can be clearly 
 understood, that, though it cannot be denied that education in many 
 respects has the tendency of increasing material improvements, yet it is 
 not the Pi imary, but it is the Higher Education that does so. On the 
 other hand the prosperity, viz. : the increase of business does create the 
 want of education. 
 
 From our own experience and trial of mass education made in India, 
 and from the examples taken from the countries of Europe, there is no 
 longer any doubt of this fact. 
 
 In Oudh, management of the mass education has been in existence 
 for about 20 years, having been properly organized in 1866, and in the 
 North Western Provinces, we have experience of more than 40 years. 
 From the departmental reports and statistics, it is evident that nothing 
 was wanting to have ensured its full success. By the influence of the 
 departmental and local official, as well as by private agencies, the sons of 
 every class and grade of people are taught up to the fixed standard. 
 
 The rules of administration and management, as guided by experience 
 and necessities, were from time to time modified and changed, and the 
 standard of education altered more than two or three times. In every 
 respect, the success of the work and the department appears complete, 
 but what good it has done and how far it has been of use to the people 
 at large cannot be ascertained by any but eye-witnesses. That is 
 what those who not only carry on the work, but constantly watch 
 the movements of the masses for whom the work is done, know perfectly 
 well. 
 
 This however is perfectly plain to every one, viz. : that those who 
 fortunately can raise themselves a little above their fellows among the 
 masses, by receiving any education, thenceforth invariably despise and 
 think themselves too good for any menial work. This is not a result 
 peculiar to India, but we see the same thing and hear the same compli- 
 ments in every quarter of this country (England), which is the centre of 
 civilization and learning in the whole world. But the enormous differ- 
 ence is, that here in England, anyone, who after receiving some education 
 dislikes menial work, has a chance of exchanging it for something better. 
 For instance, one who does not like blacking boots in the street after 
 learning in a school, has a hundred chances of doing something better. 
 For example, it is possible that he may employ himself in distributing 
 a shoemaker’s notices in the streets, carry his bills to his customers, 
 become an apprentice in some branch of shoemaking, by proving himself 
 qualified may become a clerk in a shoemaker’s office, or a foreman in a 
 shoemaker’s shop. If by any of the above means he can make a 
 
143 
 
 little fortune, he has many openings for setting up in the business 
 for himself. Should his business fail to pay here, he can export his 
 merchandise to the colonies ; and there it will be nothing unusual, if 
 by steady perseverance and economy he at last becomes the head of 
 a large bootmaking firm. But in the part of India I am speaking of, 
 where unfortunately three-fourths or one-half of the people cannot 
 afford even a shilling for purchasing a home-made clumsy pair of 
 shoes, and are obliged to walk barefooted all their lives, the business 
 of shoemaking is, first, not conducted on a large scale and not very 
 profitable, and secondly, is not divided into so many branches as 
 in England. So if a shoemender’s son after spending his five years 
 in a school, hates the work of mending shoes, and does not remain 
 content with twopence a day at which average the work had been 
 paying his father, or by remaining at school has lost the knack of being 
 expert at the work, what other chance has he got in the world for obtaining 
 hood to better his position, or to make any use of his knowledge ? 
 
 Putting the example of shoemaking aside, is there any other business, 
 trade, or manufacture, which would pay him and require the use of his 
 learning. 
 
 Is the smattering of education which he has received, enough to make 
 him such a philosopher, that he will remain content with his fortune, 
 and not grumble or be sorry that his trouble of obtaining education pays 
 him nothing ? Or has education made him so enterprising that he will 
 ever think of leaving his home and going to America in search of his 
 fortune ? Moreover, for his enterprise, where are the means ? What 
 would he subsist upon if he were to leave the hut of his parent even 
 for 24 hours ? 
 
 How the poor, father on his wages of 2d. a day could afford the 
 education of the boy is another question. ( Vide the remark under 
 test C.) 
 
 Of course he sees one way before him of shining in the world, that is 
 the Government Service. But it is impossible that this line can give 
 room to every individual who has received some education. 
 
 In short, the poor lad, after learning in the school, instead of being 
 a useful member of his class, becomes a burden on his parents, who 
 consider the education of their son not a blessing, but rather a calamity 
 brought upon him by themselves. 
 
 By reading these pages it will be clearly understood that the above 
 example is more or less applicable to every class of the masses in 
 India which form at least 60 per cent, of the population. After receiving 
 Primary education the (kashtkars) petty cultivators and labourers disdain 
 to carry the plough on their shoulders, the weavers to use their looms, 
 the tailors their scissors, &c., &c. 
 
 They all desire to rise a step higher in the world, but see no means 
 of doing so. 
 
 This result of the experiment of Primary Education in our country is 
 plainly seen in every corner ; but any single instance in which education 
 has produced some means of increasing their prosperity (besides 
 inducing and making them fit to enter into some service), or has 
 created or opened any branch of business or employment for them cannot 
 be searched out. 
 
144 
 
 There is no doubt, therefore, that a poor education (primary) can do 
 no good to the people in general. But of course the increase of capital 
 promotes the increase of the business, and it is the business that creates 
 the want of education. Or, in other words, the prosperity of the people 
 does not at all depend upon Primary Education; but the want of education 
 is felt in proportion to the material prosperity of a country and the growth 
 of business. 
 
 We find very good examples to prove this when we look at the state of 
 business and at Primary Education in England. 
 
 From the education report of 1881 we learn that a sum of ^£2 0,000 
 was granted by the Government for primary education for the first time 
 in 1832, and in 1839 the first Council or Committee of Education was 
 constituted, and the grant was increased by ^10,000. In 1870 the 
 Elementary Education Act was passed. In that year (1870) the popula- 
 tion of England and Wales was 22,090,163,* and the number of schools 
 8281 ; in 1881 the population was (estimated to be) 26,055,406, and the 
 number of schools 18,159. In the examinations 1,434,766 and 3,372,990 
 were present respectively in the years 1870 and 1881. The average 
 number of the children of school-going age, according to the census 
 report is 23 per cent. Although the average daily attendance during the 
 last 11 years has arisen from 5 to 10 per cent., yet there are still the 
 names of 1,000,000 children to be added to the school registers. 
 
 From the foregoing figures it can be seen (1) that about 11 years ago 
 the progress of Primary Education was about half of that which it is at 
 present, (2) still it has not yet reached to its perfection ; (3) the Govern- 
 ment has paid increasing attention to it during the past 50 years. But 
 of course the improvement and increase of the trade and prosperity of 
 the country date long, long before. Hence it is evident that the increase 
 of material wealth of a country does not at all depend upon the education 
 in question. 
 
 But we learn on the other hand, from what we see in England, that 
 when the amount of business became so large that manual labour failed 
 to supply its wants, and therefore wind, water, and steam powers were 
 applied in place thereof, and, as of course these powers cannot be utilized 
 unless they are guided by some reasoning powers, therefore the workmen, 
 i.e.., the people from the masses that were liberated from manual labour, 
 were mostly employed to take that part of the business ; and for such 
 work some education is necessary. Hence, the want of education began 
 to be felt in England as the use for it arose. 
 
 In proportion to the multiplication of capital as the labour, business, 
 and prosperity of the country increase, so along therewith, and in the same 
 proportion, does the want of education, and its uses, increase likewise. 
 
 I think that it has now been clearly proved (first, by our own experience, 
 secondly by the examples of this country), that primary education has 
 nothing to do with the welfare of a country without much business 
 (manufacture, trade, or commerce), any attempt, therefore, in India, to 
 grant further facilities for primary education, in the hope of elevating the 
 material condition of the masses, would surely prove a failure. 
 
 Report of general Registrar of Census, 
 
145 
 
 That Primary Education is required on the ground that mental culture 
 would improve the moral, intellectual, and social condition of the masses, 
 is also an argument without any firm basis ; because it requires no proof 
 to show that what we call primary education, the standard of which in 
 India is, Arithmetic up to Simple and Double, Rule of Three ; writing 
 from dictation ; composing an easy letter in their vernacular ; reading a 
 primer or one or two small readers or story-books ; outlines of the local 
 history and geography, is not enough to make an illiterate lad a good 
 scholar. Moreover, since, after leaving school, he has no chance of 
 remembering even the little he has learnt, we cannot rely upon educa- 
 tion to answer the purpose aimed at. There is no employment in his 
 home to improve his learning, or of knowing how the world is going on. 
 He has no newspapers to read, no societies or libraries to attend, and 
 these things cannot be provided by any other means than a local contri- 
 bution towards such objects, which the country is not in an advanced 
 state enough at present to permit of. 
 
 His teachers being no better a scholar than himself, as he has learnt 
 little more than the prescribed course to qualify himself to be a teacher, 
 for which he gets on an average, 7 Rs. a month, cannot be expected to 
 teach him more than the words written in the books, or to develop his 
 reasoning faculties, or to impart to him any large fund of information, or 
 any breadth of view or ideas. Attempting to gain the object by raising 
 the standard would, we fear, only make the matter worse, because the 
 parties concerned, having already many difficulties to overcome in 
 attaining to the present standard, therefore if the standard were raised, it 
 would then De quite out of reach even of the few who can pass it at 
 present. 
 
 From all that has now been said, we are confident no impartial person 
 who has read these pages, will any longer maintain that further aid should 
 be extended to primary education in India at the expense of high educa- 
 tion, but on the contrary, the higher education deserves the fullest care 
 and attention, even though it may be at the expense of the former, because 
 it is the secret of the future welfare of India ; it produces not only 
 the intellectual, moral, and social improvements, but also makes the 
 people eager and anxious in looking and searching for some means of 
 more fully enjoying the blessings of the liberty and the peace which they 
 have under the present Government. There is no doubt that the high 
 education is the surest means of leading people to find out one day the 
 keynote of the prosperity of the country, which is co-operation and the 
 accumulation of capital for starting business, which will, in their turn, 
 create the necessity and the desire for primary education. Thus it will 
 also be a certain means of fostering and nourishing the perhaps slower 
 but more healthy growth of the mass education with less need of aid 
 and encouragement, without which it cannot, under present circumstances, 
 be developed. 
 
 Let us now proceed to consider the second point. 
 
 B. Would the Primary Education, nevertheless, be of any use to the 
 people in their daily private or domestic life ? 
 
 The Report of the Famine Commission, the Gazetteers of the Provinces, 
 the Census Records and Reports, the remarks of John C. Nesfield, Esq., 
 
 L 
 
146 
 
 Inspector of Schools, Oudh, and a hundred other evidences prove the 
 fact that India at present has but one single source of livelihood and 
 employment for the masses, which is cultivation. This point hardly needs 
 any other explanation since it is clear that for tilling land, on which 90 
 per cent, of the population directly or indirectly altogether depend, and 
 about 60 per cent, of that number only earn sufficient thereby to live from 
 hand to mouth, that is at most about 2d. a day per head, there can be 
 expected no room for the want of learning. Agricultural work, which 
 mostly depends, or at any rate is in greater need of practical than of 
 theoretical knowledge (specially in case of India, where the people learn 
 it but practically), does not require any book-learning. Further, business 
 is conducted on so very small a scale, that the average area of our farms 
 (under the management of the petty kashtkars) is not more than two or 
 three acres ; the asamis dig the land, produce some grain, consume as large 
 a portion of it as they can lay their hands on, under the watchful eyes of 
 the landlords and the Mahajans, whose debtors they invariably are, and the 
 rest they give most in kind, but in some districts partly in kind to the 
 Mahajan, and in cash to the Zimindars. 
 
 This sort of work, it is evident, hardly requires any education. 
 Different branches of work- are not, as in rich and civilized countries, 
 distributed among various classes of the community, as there is no 
 opportunity or need for it. So every individual among the masses not 
 only ploughs, manures, sows, irrigates, reaps, and thrashes his own field 
 himself, and not only grinds his corn, draws his water, makes his bread, 
 and brings the fuel to light his fire, but also, builds the mud walls of his 
 hut, and makes the thatching, & c., himself. Nearly all the branches of 
 a man’s business and all the needs of his simple life are met and pro- 
 vided for by himself and family. The very narrow area of the business, 
 and the very simple mode of life of the masses, which is due to the want 
 of capital, hardly needs the advantages of joint or divided labour. The 
 area of the circle of their business and the life of the people, extend not 
 far from the centre of their homes and very seldom or never beyond the 
 neighbouring villages and the local markets. Hence they have no com- 
 munication on a larger scale with the outer world. If there is any need 
 of the services of a carpenter or a blacksmith to make or repair the 
 plough, or of a tailor, shoe-mender, or a barber, they are paid by a tithe 
 system on each field' at every harvest. Those who employ labourers to 
 do any agricultural or other work, settle the account by giving four 
 pounds of coarse grain to each labourer at sunset. In case even of any 
 cash being paid, the account is settled daily. And this is the whole 
 routine of their business, and this does not of course require any 
 correspondence or book-keeping, especially on the part of those who 
 are paid. 
 
 Next, leaving the daily business of any individual among the masses, 
 if we enquire whether education would be of any use to his religious, 
 intellectual, or social requirements, we find that he has scarcely 
 opportunity, leisure, or means to think of anything else but working 
 for his night’s meal. His religion only consists in going two or three 
 times in a year to bathe in the Ganges, and in offering two or three 
 times in a year provision enough for a meal to a Brahmin, or once 
 
i47 
 
 a year a kid to the goddess of the place. In the case of a Mahommedan, 
 in saying his prayers at home or sometimes in a mosque. All this 
 requires no education. 
 
 A peasant’s whole world is his own and the neighbouring villages, 
 and the market whither he has often to go. All his relations are in 
 one hut and his friends in the next. He has but little news to commu- 
 municate, and scarcely anything to enquire about. He has nothing to 
 export, that he should wish to know the prices of a distant market ; he 
 has no import that he should require to read an invoice. 
 
 To read for the sake of amusement, or to learn the news of the 
 world, cannot at all be expected of him after fourteen or sixteen hours 
 hard work under a burning sun. His only amusement and luxury is a 
 meal and a good sleep. Moreover, there are no materials within his 
 reach to enable him to secure that pleasure, and he is unable to contri- 
 bute towards providing them. 
 
 There is one instance however, to be mentioned in which education 
 would seem to be of some use to him, viz. : for signing the printed form 
 of the lease, for adding up the amount paid by instalments on account of 
 the rent of his land to the Patwari, the village clerk, and in case of his 
 being compelled to go to the court to obtain justice. But he can manage 
 all these things, also, without learning. First the lease is very seldom 
 changed, and secondly he will never attempt afterwards to repudiate 
 what he has once agreed upon. His rent seldom exceeds 20 or 30 Rs., 
 and he has to pay it in fixed instalments ; but he can count above that, 
 though in many cases it is by means of his fingers or counters, and he 
 never makes a mistake in the debtor and creditor sides ; while in case 
 of requiring justice he falls into the hands of a law-agent, just as a well- 
 educated man is obliged to. 
 
 By the foregoing remarks it is not meant that education is a bad thing, 
 that poor men have no claim for it, or that we are prejudiced against 
 education. No one can deny, whether they have any use for it or not, 
 that the masses, being educated, would be a hundred times better than 
 their remaining illiterate. But the question is, how are they to receive 
 education. And this will be proved by the following test : C. 
 
 After summing up the foregoing remarks, we come to the couclusion 
 that Primary Education has no power to improve the state of the masses 
 who have no use for it, and that it does not deserve any more aid if it is 
 to be granted at the expense of high education. At the same time we 
 are not prejudiced against it. 
 
 There still remains, however, a yet more important question to be 
 answered. 
 
 C. Setting aside all discussion as to the results, practical use, or 
 necessity, and simply considering it to be a bounden duty of the Govern- 
 ment to do all it can to ameliorate the condition of the masses of our 
 population, still, how they are to receive education is a question, to 
 answer which I must here append the memorandum,* which, in 1875, I 
 had forwarded to John C. Nesfield, Esq., then Director of Public 
 
 Lately revised. 
 
1 48 
 
 Instruction in Oudh. It gives a full and detailed account of the inner 
 life, income, and work of the masses. 
 
 It shows that there are among the boys of the school-going age, only 
 six in every thousand who are in want of education, and only two per 
 cent, who can be expected to afford it, and the remaining ninety-eight 
 per cent, are quite incapable of receiving education in the present state 
 of the country. 
 
 By reading these pages nothing further is necessary to prove that the 
 means of Primary Education which already exist, are quite sufficient for 
 present requirements. 
 
 Although the appended Memorandum gives a detailed account of only 
 the people of one district in Oudh (Pratab Garh), yet its contents are quite 
 applicable to every district in Oudh, and of the North Western Provinces. 
 It would not be unjust to take its remarks as an illustration of the case of 
 the masses throughout that portion of India. 
 
 PART II. 
 
 MEMORANDUM. 
 
 From 
 
 To 
 
 S. Mohammad Hossain, 
 
 Deputy Inspector of Schools, 
 
 Pratab Garh (Oudh). 
 
 John C. Nesfield, Esq., 
 
 Director of Public Instruction, 
 
 Oudh. 
 
 Lucknow, 27th March, 1875. 
 
 1. — Abstract from the Report of 18J2. 2. — Percentage of the boys of 
 
 school-going age who have a desire for Education , and are supposed 
 to be able to afford it , and of those who are incapable of receiving 
 Education. j. — Statement B., showing census of thirty Villages 
 according to high , middle , and low castes. 4. — Agriculturists and 
 non-agriculturists. J. — Description of the circumstances and work . 
 and income of the masses, such as petty kashtkars , labourers , petty 
 shopkeepers, artizans, &c. 
 
 Sir, — With reference to your favour, No. 2224, of the 14th November 
 last, I have the honor to quote the portion from my Annual Report for 
 the year 1871-72, which states the reasons for the short existence of the 
 village schools. 
 
 The partiality of the natives for the private maktabs, and their feelings 
 towards the Government Schools I have brought to your notice heretofore, 
 and their reasons were also explained, therefore I need not repeat what I 
 then reported to you, but beg to state the circumstances of the village 
 
149 
 
 population of this country, so as to show what portion of the community 
 is unable to share the benefits of our department, or of the country 
 maktabs; also whether it is possible to induce them to share these 
 advantages, or be left alone in their present state. But before giving the 
 explanation of the circumstances of the villagers, agreeably to your 
 order, I beg to copy the following from my above-mentioned Report 
 (Paragraph 2.) 
 
 “Considering the unfavourableness of the localities of the schools 
 hardly anything otherwise could be expected. Some of the hopeless 
 schools I am very glad to say have recovered, and are at present going on 
 pretty fairly. Almost all the villages in this district being very small and 
 extremely poor, I, of course, am unable to show a very high percentage 
 of scholars to the average number of schools, and also cannot hope that 
 the schools here will permanently flourish, so that in future I shall have no 
 occasion of removing them from one place to another. My five years’ 
 experience has taught me that the village schools have but a very short 
 existence, the reason of which in my opinion is, that in large villages, which 
 are said to be populated by Brahmins and Chatteis (respectable people), 
 there are only twenty-five per cent, of men who are supposed to send their 
 children to school, and have enough means to do so, the others being 
 petty kashtkars, asamis, or labourers, are extremely poor, and never think 
 of education ; and in no place in Oudh or in the North Western Provinces, 
 do I believe our institutions get boys from these classes.” 
 
 “ Of the above-mentioned portion, viz. : twenty-five per cent, among 
 the respectable people (who are either in need of education, or might be 
 expected to appreciate it from our showing them the advantages) there 
 are only thirty per cent, who have a self-desire to get their boys educated, 
 and sixty per cent, who are neither its friends or its enemies. These men 
 leave the matter of obtaining education to the wishes of their boys ; if the 
 child goes to school they would not prevent him, but if he leaves it they 
 would not force him to go. And about ten per cent, are quite against the 
 schools ; these men strictly compel their boys to leave school and do their 
 own work. Now, according to this calculation, a village having 1000 
 inhabitants has only 225 persons who are supposed to support our 
 schools, but of course these 225 souls comprise males and females, and 
 cannot all have boys of school-going age.* So in a village, having 1000 
 inhabitants, we can only get six per cent, of people who are in want 
 of education, and altogether two per cent, who can be expected to afford 
 it. In short, when a school is first established in such a village, at its 
 commencement about thirty boys are admitted, and after two or three 
 years, some of them finish their course of study, others growing tired of 
 it leave the school, and the names of some lazy and absent boys are 
 struck off ; when the number is thus reduced, we try our best to get boys 
 from the neighbouring poorwas (villages), and by this means push the 
 school on further for the same period ; at last, when the fresh supply 
 becomes exhausted, we are obliged to look out for another place.” 
 
 “ Further, I beg to add, that under a good, steady, and painstaking 
 
 * According to the Census Report, the percentage of the boys of school- 
 going age is eight. 
 
teacher, a school will possibly go on for seven or eight years ; this may 
 certainly not be the case with all schools under every teacher.” 
 
 In 1866, on my being appointed Deputy Inspector in Roy Barely 
 District, I found it necessary to make acquaintance with the circum- 
 stances of the peasants, because my efforts to bring the children of all 
 classes to school had proved quite unsuccessful. When, in 1870, I was 
 sent to this district, which is mostly populated by agriculturists, and 
 consequently, in respect of education, has always been behind-hand, I 
 carefully made enquiries, in the first instance, into the circumstances of 
 the villagers, and their different positions and means of livelihood. The 
 above quoted remark was the result of my own estimation, but lately I 
 tried to get fuller information, and in order to do so obtained the census 
 records of thirty villages (ten from each tepsil and three from each pargana 
 of large, intermediate, and small population), from the settlement and the 
 Deputy Commissioner’s Offices. 
 
 The Tabular Statements A and the abstract of the same B, I beg to 
 submit herewith for your information.* From these statements also I 
 found out that my previous rough calculations were nearly correct, because 
 the number of the people who can afford education for their boys now 
 comes to twenty-eight per cent., whereas in the first Report I had calcu- 
 lated twenty-five. The difference is, firstly, not very great ; and secondly, 
 in the enclosed statistics, nearly all the places of urban populations, such 
 as Pratab Garh, Katra, Tionga, Patci Khas, Manackpur or Poorai, Ali, 
 Nagi, and Peryawan, have been calculated ; if the average of the pupu- 
 lation of the whole district were taken, I am sure the number would be 
 less.f 
 
 The statement B, which contains the classification of the people 
 according to caste, does not necessarily show the position of individuals 
 according to their pecuniary means, therefore, from this classification, the 
 present pecuniary circumstances of the people and their income can hardly 
 be understood. For instance, all the higher castes of Hindoos and 
 Mohamedans, such as Brahmins and Chhetris, Syeds, Moguls, &c., 
 although they have been put down in the highest division, which makes 
 the percentage twenty-eight, yet nearly one-fifth or one quarter of them 
 are sure to be common street beggars, petty kashtkars, or labourers. The 
 same is the case with the middle divisions (twelve per cent, of the told 
 population). 
 
 Besides the vaisha castes or tradesmen of all grades, all the artizans 
 and industrial people are counted in the middle class, but nearly one half, 
 according to their pecuniary means, are also no doubt worse off than 
 common kashtkars and labourers, such, for example, as most of the 
 komhars (potters), behna (corders), and johalak (weavers). Manhyar 
 and tarkehar, as a rule, are as poor as the people of the lower class, they 
 also work as labourers. 
 
 On the other hand, it is not uncommon to meet with a few persons in 
 the middle and lower divisions who are rich mahajans (money and grain 
 lenders), and land proprietors by the right of purchase. 
 
 * Statement No. A in vernacular, had been sent in original to the above- 
 named officer. 
 
 t All these remarks are applicable to all the districts in the Province. 
 
It was impossible for me to make the classification according to the 
 pecuniary means of the population, because from the census records no 
 such distinction can be traced, but there is every reason to believe that 
 this deficiency in the appended statement will not materially injure the 
 illustration which I am going to make, because in the other case, by finding 
 out the correct number of the rich and the poor on the whole, the average 
 of the lower class will increase. 
 
 To give an accurate statement of the circumstances of the people, I 
 consider it more advisable to make two major divisions of the population, 
 A. Agriculturists, which are at least eighty per cent., and B. Non- 
 agriculturists, such as tradesmen, shopkeepers, artisans, &c., twenty per 
 cent. The account of these classes, more particularly of what are called 
 the “ masses,” of their work, labour, and income, I beg to state to be as 
 follows : — i 
 
 A. Agriculturists. — This class consists of men of three positions, 
 of which Zimindars or Pattidars, land proprietors or sub-proprietors 
 form five per cent. Kashtkars, farmers or cultivators, about fifteen per 
 cent. Asamis, tenants, and Ryots, labourers, 60 per cent.* 
 
 Leaving the detail of the circumstances of the Zimindars and Patti- 
 dars, of whom there are, of course, only a few in the villages, and who 
 all their lives either are heavily in debt, which is generally the case, or 
 in easy circumstances, but are considered men of position, and many 
 of them are great men in their villages; and also putting aside the 
 description of the Pattidars, and also of the Kashtkars,! who are either 
 the relatives of the Zimindars, as well as other well-to-do men of high 
 castes, such as Brahmins and Chattris, and some Mohamedans, and of 
 many of those men who, besides the agricultural business, lend money 
 or grain to the Asamis and live comfortably, I beg to give a full account 
 of the latter (3rd) class, Asamis and Ryot, of which the villages are 
 greatly populated, and who cannot afford education for their children. 
 
 The Asamis, or petty tenants, are men of all castes, who take a lease 
 or contract for a small portion of land from either the Zimindars or the 
 Kashtkars, but whose circumstances, work, and income are on the whole 
 most pitiable. 
 
 Under this head come specially the people of the following castes : 
 Ahir, Kunbi or Kurbi, Morai, Gararya, Chamar, and Pasi, who all belong to 
 Sudra, or the third division of the castes, and the men of all other castes 
 and profession, who, having no means of doing their own work, or not 
 understanding the work, in addition to their own profession, which is 
 
 * There is really no differences (except in name) in the state of the cir- 
 cumstances of the Asami, and the Ryot, their occupations are mixed together. 
 All the tenants work as labourers also, or we should say, the greater part of 
 the labourers are tenants, hence they are classed together. 
 
 Our Primary Schools are attended by the sons of the 1 st and 2nd classes, 
 which are eight per cent, of their number or two per cent, of the told popu- 
 lation, and nominally by the sons of the third division. 
 
 t The word Kashtkar signifies a cultivator, but here I mean the farmer, 
 who has got some right on the land possessed by himself, but pays rent to the 
 Zimindars, or has got a lease from the Zimindar for some bighas of land, and 
 has got some Sub-Asamis. 
 
STATEMENT, SHOWING THE POPULATION OF 
 
 PRO' 
 
 No. 
 
 NAME OP 
 VILLAGE 
 
 Total Number of 
 
 Population 
 
 (a) High-class People 
 
 Brahmin 
 
 Kehattri 
 
 Kaisth (Hindoo, 
 
 and 
 
 Mohammadan) 
 
 t 
 
 GC 
 
 Shaikh and 
 
 Pathan 
 
 Moghul 
 
 
 1 
 
 Pratab garh 
 
 3038 
 
 72 
 
 2 
 
 41 
 
 101 
 
 376 
 
 35 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 Katra M. G. ... 
 
 1323 
 
 91 
 
 97 
 
 36 
 
 
 
 
 
 S 
 
 Tewnga ... 
 
 681 
 
 76 
 
 106 
 
 171 
 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 Sandowa, Chindka 
 
 1571 
 
 308 
 
 226 
 
 11 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 Bhnpatpoor 
 
 147 
 
 2 
 
 
 44 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 Gobri ... 
 
 408 
 
 58 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 Patti 
 
 1391 
 
 125 
 
 28 
 
 "si 
 
 i’i 
 
 137 
 
 7 
 
 
 8 
 
 Madhpoor 
 
 2287 
 
 151 
 
 79 
 
 102 
 
 
 137 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 Dahppoor 
 
 947 
 
 99 
 
 63 
 
 21 
 
 
 62 
 
 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 Sirsaie Kham ... 
 
 409 
 
 37 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 Damoopur 
 
 417 
 
 24 
 
 62 
 
 
 
 76 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 Daoodpnr 
 
 74 
 
 8 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 13 
 
 Semra Dih 
 
 107 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 14 
 
 Bariepoor 
 
 63 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 Khanowli 
 
 378 
 
 167 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ] 
 
 16 
 
 Dharee ... 
 
 251 
 
 
 "7 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 17 
 
 Badhri 
 
 661 
 
 38 
 
 52 
 
 2 
 
 “7 
 
 
 
 
 18 
 
 Bhawanpoor ... 
 
 1129 
 
 321 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 £ 
 
 19 
 
 Amawawan 
 
 1829 
 
 502 
 
 106 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 e 
 
 20 
 
 Bijowra ... 
 
 610 
 
 83 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 21 
 
 Bhojpoor 
 
 1170 
 
 266 
 
 134 
 
 22 
 
 
 ’ll 
 
 
 i 
 
 22 
 
 Manickpoor 
 
 1504 
 
 49 
 
 
 47 
 
 124 
 
 202 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 23 
 
 Lath Bara 
 
 644 
 
 75 
 
 1.6 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 24 
 
 Pawansee 
 
 744 
 
 223 
 
 82 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 £ 
 
 25 
 
 Peryawan 
 
 1470 
 
 183 
 
 14 
 
 38 
 
 
 ”54 
 
 
 £ 
 
 26 
 
 Baghwant 
 
 284 
 
 23 
 
 40 
 
 
 "5 
 
 
 
 
 27 
 
 Knndra Madhpur 
 
 862 
 
 122 
 
 174 
 
 24 
 
 
 
 
 g 
 
 28 
 
 Adharpoor 
 
 843 
 
 32 
 
 232 
 
 
 
 
 
 £ 
 
 29 
 
 Bikrampoor 
 
 1331 
 
 278 
 
 16 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 £ 
 
 30 
 
 Berimpoor 
 
 225 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Grand Total. . . 
 
 7€ 
 
 * Detail of (6) Class (Hindoos). — Goldsmith, Blacksmith, Carpenter, Teli, 
 Bauya, Bhnjuas, Halwai, Kalwar, Thathera, and all other Yaisha classes, 
 v i.lusselmen). — Jolaha, Behna, Kabarya, Ghosi, and all other Mohammedans not 
 counted in the first division. 
 
 N.B. — Percentage of (a) Class, 28 - 2 ; (b) Class, 11*7; (c) Class 60 - l. 
 
Y VILLAGES OF THE PRATAB GARH DISTRICT, 
 
 IOUDH. 
 
 (6) Middle -class People 
 
 Grand Total of 
 | (a) and (b) Column 
 
 t Total of 
 Low-class People 
 
 REMARKS 
 
 A 
 
 . i p. 
 
 Mohammedans | 
 
 of all other 
 Castes 
 
 TOTAL 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 316 
 
 69 
 
 385 
 
 1012 
 
 2026 
 
 
 ! 226 
 
 
 226 
 
 681 
 
 742 
 
 
 L 12 
 
 
 12 
 
 365 
 
 316 
 
 
 i 103 
 
 2 
 
 105 
 
 680 
 
 891 
 
 
 22 
 
 
 22 
 
 68 
 
 79 
 
 
 20 
 
 
 20 
 
 78 
 
 330 
 
 
 ! 181 
 
 178 
 
 359 
 
 710 
 
 854 
 
 
 373 
 
 144 
 
 517 
 
 988 
 
 940 
 
 
 1 212 
 
 
 212 
 
 457 
 
 490 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 10 
 
 63 
 
 346 
 
 
 
 
 
 162 
 
 255 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 5 
 
 23 
 
 51 
 
 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 91 
 
 
 
 
 
 18 
 
 45 
 
 
 i 10 
 
 
 io 
 
 177 
 
 201 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 11 
 
 24 
 
 
 I 70 
 
 
 70 
 
 169 
 
 492 
 
 
 79 
 
 222 
 
 301 
 
 626 
 
 503 
 
 
 203 
 
 
 203 
 
 813 
 
 1016 
 
 
 i 9 
 
 
 9 
 
 91 
 
 519 
 
 
 206 
 
 4 
 
 210 
 
 543 
 
 527 
 
 
 108 
 
 2 
 
 110 
 
 536 
 
 968 
 
 
 59 
 
 
 59 
 
 155 
 
 491 
 
 
 29 
 
 
 29 
 
 339 
 
 405 
 
 
 101 
 
 245 
 
 346 
 
 635 
 
 835 
 
 
 12 
 
 
 12 
 
 80 
 
 204 
 
 
 37 
 
 
 37 
 
 357 
 
 505 
 
 
 46 
 
 
 46 
 
 310 
 
 533 
 
 
 62 
 
 4 
 
 66 
 
 363 
 
 1168 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 225 
 
 
 
 
 3203 
 
 
 16396 
 
 
 f Detail of (c) Class. — 1, Ahir ; 2, Gararya ; 3, Kurmis ; 4, Morais ; 5, Beildars 
 6, Chamars; 7, Pasis; 8, Khatiks ; 9, Dharkar; 10, Bhungi ; 11, Kahar ; 12, Bari 
 13, Nai ; 14, Mali; 15, Dhohi ; 16, Lonya; 17. Kewat; 18, Gurya; 19, Nut 
 20, Musahra, Berya, Kanjar, Baidh, and Kingira. 
 
*54 
 
 less profitable, also cultivate a piece of land, and may be called Asamis. 
 
 Nearly half of the Mohamedans called Shaikh and Pathan, in villages, 
 are Asamis, consequently, in the statement B, only half of their numbers 
 have been entered under the first head, amongst those who can send 
 their boys to school, and the other half under the last or third head, 
 among the lower class who cannot afford education for their boys. 
 
 The Asamis work day and night in their fields. Their- women, except 
 ploughing, digging the fields, &c., # do all other work with them. Their 
 children, when they become above five or six years old, look after the 
 cattle or bring dry cow dung or chips by picking them up from outside 
 to be used for fuel. Notwithstanding this hard and joint labour, I 
 believe I am right in saying that the poor men rarely have a full meal at 
 night or once in 24 hours. Though their fields produce everything, yet 
 they cannot satisfy their hunger except with the coarsest and cheapest 
 grain of the season. And when among the Asamis there is a man of 
 high caste, a Brahmin, Chathri, or Kaith, his condition is still worse, 
 because he is obliged by custom to employ labourers for ploughing, as 
 he cannot touch it in the field, and the female of these castes will not 
 work like low caste people. 
 
 Whatever extraordinary charges, such, for instance, as any tax imposed 
 by the Government, marriage expenses of the children, buying elephants 
 and so forth that the Zimindars have to meet, they make their Asamis 
 contribute towards it. Every year the rent is raised more or less ; I am 
 told that the rent of lands, which is Nawabi time was only one rupee, is 
 now from four to eight rupees, and still a single year does not pass by 
 without the Zimindars adding something to the rents. 
 
 It is of course true, that after the Nawabi times the land becomes 
 much more valuable, because in those times agriculture was considered 
 very degrading, yet even then this was a common saying, “ Uttam kheti 
 maddam baipar ” ( Agriculture is ennobling , but trade degrading ), the 
 men, afraid of the ill-treatment of the landlords, and having many 
 sources for obtaining other sorts of employment did not care at all for 
 cultivation. In every village some land remained uncultivated, and the 
 Asamis were forced to take leases. But now nearly all the people, 
 having lost so many other sources of employment, and the fear of 
 Nawabi times, have turned cultivators, and this has very greatly 
 increased the value of land. 
 
 As soon as the crop of their field is ready and thrashed, the Zimindar 
 sends his man for his demands, and in delay the poor Asami has to pay 
 Dastak, i e . : one or two annas per day to the peon of the Zimindar. 
 
 The poor man, after settling all his debts, very seldom takes anything 
 else from the product of his field at home except the Bhoosa grass, or a 
 little quantity of the grain left after paying the demands. 
 
 Thus, having spent all the fruits of his labour, he quietly makes 
 preparation for the next crop, and having spent the little stock of grain 
 that he had taken home, in a few days he again becomes obliged to 
 borrow grain to support his family. Whatever he earns either goes to 
 
 * Which they are prohibited to do by custom, as well as other work of the 
 same sort. 
 
i5S 
 
 the demands of the Zimindar or to settle the debt, and the poor man 
 derives no other benefit from his own and his whole family’s labour than 
 the dry bread of a coarse grain once in twenty-four hours. In dry 
 weather, i.e. : when there is no crop ready, especially about May and 
 June of a hard season, the women of the Asamis of the lowest castes, 
 or mere labourers, such as Pasis, Chamars, Kewats, and Lonyas, &c., by 
 gathering the seeds of Semain and Chakeri, kinds of grass which grow in 
 Usar on uncultivated land, and their men by digging the holes of the 
 ants and rats and taking out the grain stored by them thus satisfy their 
 hunger. Early in rainy seasons, they subsist on the leaves of Chakound 
 (a kind of wild herb) boiled in water. At the time of Mahowa and Am, 
 the poor Asamis of all castes, and labourers, &c., eat nothing except the 
 fruit alone, or boiled with a very little quantity of grain. 
 
 Whether the crop may be good or bad, the Zimindar would not deduct 
 anything from his demand, because he has to pay the revenue. Some- 
 times they are obliged (though against the law) to sell even their 
 agricultural articles to pay up the rent, and thereby next year the poor 
 men fall into the deepest distress. 
 
 With the exception of ordinary agricultural labour and permanent 
 daily work for all other extraordinary labour, the Zimindar would pay 
 nothing or one quarter, or at most one half of the usual wages to the 
 labourers and workmen living in his villages, he would even pay half of 
 the actual price for the things he would buy on extraordinary occasions 
 from his Asamis. 
 
 These privileges are due to the landlords from his Asamis in return 
 for his having his house on his ground, for his cattle grazing, and taking 
 mud, water, fuel, grass, See., gratis. 
 
 Besides, the Zimindars who have to pay the Government revenue, 
 and manage to live according to their position on the rents paid them 
 by the Asamis, and therefore cannot afford to omit taking the last 
 farthing from them, or to relax any of their dues, rights, or prerogatives ; 
 the Mahajans, on the other hand, fleece them still more closely. 
 
 However, the Mahajans and their connection with the Asamis in one 
 respect seems to be very important, because the grain which they keep 
 on lending to the Asamis would be called the circulating capital of the 
 country. This (the stock of grain) is the only available means for 
 enabling the poor men to go on with their work throughout the year. 
 
 I must add here a few words about the transaction of the Mahajans 
 to make the explanation a little more clear. 
 
 Except in the time of harvest the Asamis have nothing at home to eat, 
 and therefore are obliged to borrow grain for their food, as well as for 
 seed, which is termed Khawai, Tehamai, an'd Besar, from the Mahajans. 
 Five months in every year are mostly hard and bad for the Asamis, 
 Jeth, Asar, and Sawan (from the 15th of May to the 15th of August), 
 and Pus and Magh (from the 15th of December to the 15th of February). 
 After passing the month of Jeth with the greatest difficulty, as soon 
 as the rain begins in Adra Nakat, they get from their Mahajans seed for 
 the season, which they call Besar, and also the Mahajans lend them 
 grain for their support, in order that they may be able to go on with their 
 
156 
 
 work. In Kharif time the Besar and Kawai* are taken by the Asamis 
 at Asarh (June), and is generally returned in Aghan (November), i.e., 
 five months after ; and in Rabi Kahi time the Besar is taken in Katik 
 about the end of October, and Khawai in Pus and Magh (December 
 and January), and repaid in Chait, viz. : the seed after five and the 
 grain taken for food after three months. 
 
 The terms of advancing Besar and Kawai are different according to 
 the custom of different Parganas, but the most common terms are 
 Deorha, Sawai, and Barmola. Deorha is one-and-a-half, i.e., for every 
 seer of grain borrowed in Asarh and in Katik, one-and-a-half seers is 
 given in Aghan and in Chait respectively, and Sawai is one-and-a- 
 quarter, i.e., for one seer of grain borrowed in Magh one-and-a-quarter 
 seer has to be repaid in Chait, i.e., : when the produce of the Asamis 
 fields is thrashed at each harvest. But when the grain is very dear the 
 Mahajans are not satisfied with the above terms, they then value the 
 grain in money, for instance, if the bazaar rate is ten seers per rupee, 
 they give ten seers to Asamis, just as they gave him a rupee, and when 
 the next crop is reaped, and at what price on the first market day the 
 grain is sold, say, at thirty seers per rupee (though the rate may fall 
 again to ten seers), then, instead of taking fifteen seers for ten seers 
 they will take thirty seers. This term is called Barmola. 
 
 In short the petty Kashtkars (Asamis) lead a very miserable life, 
 whatever they earn by their hardest labour and the joint labour of 
 their families, and a greater portion of it is taken by the Zimindars and 
 the Mahajans, and a very meagre portion is left them upon which they 
 live for a few nights during the season. 
 
 The circumstances of a great many of them are no better than a 
 common labourer, whose income at an average is one or at most one- 
 and-a-quarter anna per day. But the difference is that the work which 
 the labourer does he considers it to be for others, and the hard labour 
 which the Asami is doing is considered by him his own work, though in 
 reality he is working for the Zimindar and the Mahajan, in return for 
 which he lives from hand to mouth. 
 
 Many of them who, besides their agricultural business do some other 
 work or service, and among the pure Asamis, Kachhis, and Morals, 
 who cultivate vegetables and tobacco, live rather confortably, but the 
 Asamis, who, besides cultivation, do some other work, if not in whole 
 Oudh, in my district are not numerous, and the Kachhis and Morais 
 also here are very seldom seen in easy or better condition. 
 
 Now leaving the Asamis, I will give some account of the labouring 
 class. I should think it is easy to understand that when the circum- 
 stances of the cultivators are so poor in the Provinces, the state of the 
 labouring class and the workmen must certainly be still worse. But 
 to give a full idea I believe it would not be too much to give some 
 account of the chief castes to which the people of the labouring class 
 belong, and what their work and wages are. It also should be 
 remembered that though from poverty some people of the three higher 
 Virns, viz. : the Brahmins, Chattris, and Vaish have become labourers, 
 
 Besar, seed grain. Khawai, grain advanced for food. 
 
iS7 
 
 yet they are few in number, the pure labourers are only the Sudras, 
 so they alone are spoken of here. 
 
 The rate of the wages of the labourers who work in fields, building 
 houses, thatching, &c., is different in almost every Pargana, and for 
 every sort of work, and it seems unnecessary to give a full account 
 of it here, but the average rate of wages is as follows : — 
 
 For ploughing, irrigating, building, thatching houses, and doing any 
 kind of labour from sunrise to dark, for a male adult is twenty gandas* 
 of grain per diem, and to lads and women about fourteen gandas, but for 
 weeding (Nerana), &c., which work is generally done by women, about 
 ten or eleven gandas for seven hours, and for Lawag (planting Dhan) 
 in fields, about twelve gandas for the same time. To a regular or 
 employed ploughman, who at night also does some work for his 
 master, and regularly works in his field or house at the time the grain 
 of the field in which he had been working is thrashed, about one seer 
 for every maund of the product is given, but for some kinds of work, 
 such as digging drains to carry water into the fields, making beds in 
 the fields, and liping houses, they would get nothing, except half a seer 
 of grain or Mahowa for Chabena at twelve o’clock. For grazing a 
 buffalo or cow they get one half or a quarter anna respectively per head 
 per mensem, and they receive the same fees when the cattle are first 
 left under their care. But in some places they take the same fees 
 and receive ninety-six gandas of grain for every buffalo and forty-eight 
 gandas for every cow on its being delivered of a calf, but for grazing 
 the bullocks belonging to the same man the herdsman will get nothing 
 except four Gandas of grain for Chabena daily, and this only in the 
 rainy season. For grazing a he goat he would get nothing, but for 
 each ewe and she goat fourteen gandas per annum. On festivals these 
 shepherds get some further perquisites in the way of food. I will now 
 proceed to give a short account of each caste in its order. 
 
 1. Ahir (Milkman ). — The real profession of an Ahir is to keep 
 cows, &c., and sell milk, butter, &c., but only in some villages are one 
 or two of them to be seen following their proper business, and in pros- 
 perous circumstances. Besides this, these men often take a lease of a 
 little bit of land on their own account, and some of them serve under 
 Zimindars or other persons who require their services as bullock-cart 
 drivers, for which they get from two to three rupees per mensom from 
 their Zimindars, and three or four rupees from other persons, but gene- 
 rally they are labourers, and work in the fields, and earn their bread 
 in many other ways, such as digging wells, thatching, building mud 
 walls, selling fuel, &c. Their women and children do the same kind of 
 work, or graze the cattle of the Zimindars and Kashtkars, for which they 
 get about three pice monthly for every cow, and six pice for every 
 buffalo, and in some places grain in lieu of cash.f 
 
 2. Gar ary a ( Shepherd ). — In all the circumstances and habits this 
 caste resembles the foregoing one, but the richer one keeps a large 
 
 * F ourteen gandas make two pounds in this district, = one seer ; 40 seers 
 = one maund. 
 
 t One rupee = sixteen annas or is. 8d. ; one anna - twelve pice, or i^d. 
 
number of sheep and some goats of their own ; they cut their wool 
 twice a year and make blankets out of it for sale, and when pressed by 
 some very urgent want sell a few goats and sheep also. The ordinary 
 price of a goat is about one rupee, of a sheep from eight to twelve 
 annas, and of a blanket from six annas to one-and-a-half rupees. 
 
 Every year a shepherd is to give his Zimindar two goats and two 
 blankets gratis, but when the Zimindar wants more, he gives half of 
 the ordinary price. The Gararya would graze the sheep and goats of 
 the Zimindars for nothing. Another employment of the Gararya is 
 manuring the fields of the cultivators by keeping their sheep in them 
 at night. For making one bigha of land rich with manure they receive 
 twelve or fifteen seers of grain. The labour of the Gararya is very hard, 
 they remain in hot, rainy, and cold nights always out of their sheds 
 beneath the open sky, under a small blanket. In the day time, when 
 they take a little rest, their women and children graze the herds, but 
 those who are not fortunate enough to possess sheep, like Ahirs seek 
 their livelihood by means of common labour. 
 
 3. Kurmis and Morals, or Kachhis . — The men of these two different 
 castes are the best agriculturists, and are generally tenants of the 
 Zimindars and richer Kashtkars. Their women and children remain 
 always employed in working in the fields, but the rent of the land paid 
 by these men is generally made so high that even with their hard and 
 skilled labour they cannot save much for themselves, consequently are 
 very seldom seen in better circumstances than their fellow labourers, 
 rather, many of them are in a very reduced state, and are merely 
 labourers. 
 
 4. Beldars . — These men belong to the wandering tribes of India, and 
 keep a number of asses on which they bring fuel for sale. They used 
 to remain as pioneers with the Nawabi Paltans (regiments), and were 
 often a great nuisance to the poor villagers, whose trees and huts’ 
 rafters they would cut down to supply the Lushkar with fuel, and when 
 an attack was made on the Garhi of some Taloogdar, these men used to 
 go in front in order to clear the road and break the gate of the Garhi 
 with their axes, and so were the first to lay hands on the plunder. As 
 their connection with their regiments is quite broken now, at present 
 they are seen in quite a reduced state, and are only found in the towns 
 of the head-quarters of the Nawabi army, and not in every village. 
 
 5. Chamars . — These men are very numerous in every village and 
 even in poorwas (hamlets). There is scarcely a poorwa, though, con- 
 taining only three or four huts, in which these men would not be found. 
 They are considered to be born for nothing else but labour and 
 servitude. They are employed in every kind of labour. This is the 
 only caste, I believe, originally intended for mere labour, though by 
 degrees men from all other castes have been reduced to the condition of 
 labourers. Their chief work is to strip the skin off the dead cattle (the 
 flesh of which they also use to eat), tanning the skin and making shoes 
 and other things that are made of skin. The chamars living in the 
 cities and towns do this work, but in villages they are mere labourers, 
 and are in the poorest condition. They are considered bound to do by « 
 turns all sort of Begar (the work without wages, specially carrying 
 
159 
 
 burdens on their heads as far as the next village* where they change 
 them with the Chamars of the next village), for the Zimidars, Taloog- 
 dars, Government servants, Sepoys, &c. The head of them is called 
 Dihwar through whom the Begaris in large villages could be obtained, 
 and he decides about their turns and work. Generally they hold one 
 or two bighas of land rent free, which the Zimindars give them as com- 
 pensation for the Begar work, and they distribute its income among 
 themselves, but this small perquisite does not now seem to be so univer- 
 sally granted to them. Although in many places the Chamars now have 
 no land, yet they are never exempted from being forced to do the Begar 
 work. Their women and children also are employed in all kinds of 
 work as the men, except the work of Dooli bearer, which only the men 
 do in most places. 
 
 At the birth of a child at the house of a villager of any caste, the 
 Chamarin (wife of a Chamar) would work for twelve days as midwife, 
 for which she gets her daily food and some remuneration, according to 
 the means of the person requiring her services, and after twelve days, 
 Nain, the wife of a Nai, does the same work. To give a fuller descrip- 
 tion of the Chamar and the Pasis would enlarge the Report unnecessarily ; 
 it is enough to say that they are the most unfortunate, miserable, poor, 
 unhappy, and depressed creatures in the country. 
 
 6. Pasis . — These men, in respect of labour and worldly circumstance, 
 entirely resemble the above caste, and are treated in the same way, but 
 their principal work is keeping pig herds. They also serve as guard in 
 the house of the Zimindars. The Pasis, as well as Bahilyas, were con- 
 sidered great warriors, and in Nawabi time always attended the landlords 
 as archers. The Taloogdars armies chiefly consisted of the Pasis and 
 Bahalyas. At present, qlso, the Pasis are appointed as Choukidarsf in 
 the villages. They are considered notorious thieves, and like Chamars 
 great drunkards, and very degraded. 
 
 7. Khatics. — These, in many respects, resemble Pasis, but their proper 
 prolession is selling fruit, making twine, moonj strings, and selling chips, 
 or else they labour like Chamars and Pasis. 
 
 8. Dharkar or Bunsphor . — These men make baskets, boxes, chairs, 
 &c., of bamboo or cane. They are very scarce in the villages. The 
 income of those who live in villages is very low, and their circumstances 
 no better than Chamars and Pasis. 
 
 9. Bhungi, Dome , or Mihtar . — These men, also, are not very 
 numerous, and their principle work is known to everyone, but in the 
 villages they make Sup or Chhaj (baskets for cleaning grain from dust, 
 which are sold for a penny each). They play on the daff, a sort of 
 timbrel, trumpet, and flute, at wedding ceremonies, for which they get 
 about two annas per head daily. For clearing the household refuse in 
 large villages, which are inhabited by respectable families, they get half 
 
 * The Begaris taken by the Government servants and Sepoys are changed 
 in every village, meeting on the way, but those that are taken by their 
 Zimindars would remain engaged as long as their services are required, and 
 would get their meal. 
 
 t Watchmen, and their pay varies from half to four rupees per month, 
 according to the size of the village they have to guard. 
 
an anna per month and a little food once a week or oftener. In some 
 places they get two punseris* of grain for every female in the house at 
 each harvest, and on gala occasions get some presents also. Their 
 monthly income is about one-and-a-half rupees per head. In some 
 places the women do midwives’ work like Chamarin. 
 
 The people of the castes from numbers five to nine are considered 
 extremely low, and religiously impure. A Hindoo would not touch 
 them, nor will those of other castes eat or drink any food touched by 
 them, except fruit and dry grain, and no one will eat even fruit which a 
 Bhungi has touched. 
 
 10. Kahar (Bearers ). — These are chiefly found in the villages in 
 which Taloogdars or Zimindars reside. They carry Palki and Bhungi. 
 A Zimindar will pay a Kahar two annas per day for his labour, but other 
 villagers pay from a quarter to half an anna per every two miles, and 
 food at night. But the Kahars cannot always get this employment, for 
 the villagers are not rich enough to travel on every occasion in Palki. 
 
 The chief work of a Kahar in the villages is to supply the Zimindars 
 and other rich men with water, for which their wages are half a punseri 
 of grain per mensem for each jar of water supplied daily. They also 
 serve as household servants in rich families. The women also work in 
 the houses of rich people, for which a quantity of grain is given them at 
 each harvest, which is equivalent to from two annas to one rupee 
 monthly, but the Kahas, male or female, that live in the house as 
 servants, get food in addition once in twenty-four hours. Their boys do 
 the same sort of work when about six or seven years of age. Another 
 part of their occupation is planting singhra (water nut) in ponds, and 
 fishing, for which they pay rent to the Zimindars. 
 
 11. Bari , or Torch Bearers . — These are found in small villages that 
 are well populated by the rich people. They, like Kahars, do all sorts 
 of household work, and the women especially in this district, go out as 
 domestic servants. But their particular work is to carry torches at night. 
 They also make Dounas and Puttris (cups and plates made of the leaves 
 of trees) for serving food on the occasion of any large or festive 
 gatherings. One hundred Puttris cost half an anna, but the Zimindars 
 will pay nothing for them. Their wages as domestic servants are the 
 same as the Kahars. 
 
 12. Nai ( Barbers ). — Besides their particular profession, the Nais also 
 wait upon the Zimindars upon extraordinary occasions, especially at 
 marriage ceremonies, when their services as intermediators between the 
 contracting parties are invariably employed. They are also appointed 
 by their customers to wait upon their guests who have brought no servant 
 with them, to bring water for them and otherwise attend upon them. 
 The Nais are entrusted with letters and presents from respectable people 
 to their relations and friends, as well as with invitations. 
 
 From their customers they receive a small quantity of grain at each 
 harvest, and from respectable men food when they go out for their 
 work, and very liberal and handsome remarks at the marriages of their 
 children. For cutting a boy’s hair they get nothing until he is grown 
 
 Nearly two seers make one punseri. 
 
i6i 
 
 up and married, but for a married man four punseris of grain per annum. 
 The women, as stated before, go out as midwives. On an average their 
 income is not more than that of the Kahars. 
 
 Mussalman Nais also do the same kinds of work as the Hindoos, and 
 live specially in the villages mostly populated by Mohammedans. The 
 women and children also attend upon Zanana as household servants. 
 
 The three last-named castes (Kahar, Bari, and Nai) are those from 
 which household servants, male and female, are principally drawn. 
 
 13. Mali (Gardeners ). — These men are very scarce in the villages. 
 Their proper work may be learnt from their name. But the poor 
 villagers have not enough means to employ them, they are very badly 
 off, and support themselves by receiving offerings presented to the 
 goddess Mata, especially when small-pox is raging, or by supplying 
 flowers every morning to the wealthier villagers who require them for 
 offerings in their temples, also at nuptial ceremonies their services are 
 required. When a man plants an orchard he leaves it to the care of the 
 Mali until it yields fruit. The Mali takes care of it and supports himself 
 by sowing some grain in the ground. 
 
 On the whole the income of the Malis is very poor, so that many of 
 them have become labourers. 
 
 14. Dhohi ( Washermen ). — These men do their usual work, but do 
 not generally receive wages in cash, and are paid in kind at each harvest. 
 The rate of their wage is four punseris of grain per annum for washing 
 the clothes of each married women. For washing the clothes of children 
 and men they get nothing except a small quantity of grain at each 
 harvest. The women do the same work, and the children look after the 
 asses, which they generally keep to carry the dirty linen to wash. 
 
 15. Lonya . — The legitimate work of this caste was making salt and 
 saltpetre, but since salt making has been prohibited they live upon 
 common labour. They are very hard-working indeed. They generally 
 work on public roads, and also do all sorts of earth works by piece 
 work. The women are as hard-working as the men. They often travel 
 with their families in search of labour, however their income is no more 
 than from one-and-a-half to three annas per day. It is, of course, much 
 greater than the wages of the above-mentioned labourers. 
 
 16. Kewat . — This caste, in their work and habits of life, is analogous 
 to the people of numbers fifteen and seventeen. They are employed for 
 making fences to fields, erecting mud walls, which they do by piecework, 
 and some of them when, in rainy season, the small streams overflow, 
 use a hollow trunk of a tree as a ferry boat to take passengers across, 
 for which they get about one-quarter of a pound of grain, or haif a pice 
 from each person. The average income of this caste is no more than 
 that of a common labourer. 
 
 17. Guryas . — These people belong to a branch of the Kahars cast, 
 and do the same work, but besides carrying palanquin, doing household 
 services, &c., they also in some places keep ferry boats like Kewats, and 
 roast grain for chabena ; for these two works they get a handful of grain 
 or one farthing from each man. 
 
 M 
 
162 
 
 Non-Agriculturists.— Under this second major head of the rural 
 population twenty per cent, of the total comprise : — 
 
 1. The people who live on their incomes. 
 
 2. Those who live on the public charity. 
 
 3. Those who live by means of service. 
 
 4. Artisans. 
 
 5. Tradesmen of all classes. 
 
 To say anything about the people who do not work, viz., of No. 1, 
 is hardly necessary, because those who live on their private incomes are 
 so very few that they do not deserve notice. And although the people 
 No. 2, who live on public charity, and all the wandering tribes, Berya, 
 Kanjar, 6 rc., the common street beggars, and all classes of Sadhu Sunts, 
 &C., form a large proportion of the population of the country, they 
 either, from having neither need nor means, nearly all keep themselves 
 aloof from our schools, any description of their circumstances would 
 only unnecessarily enlarge this Report, it has therefore been curtailed in 
 this edition. 
 
 N.B. — According to the statement B., people Nos. 3, 4, and 5, are 
 nearly all counted in the middle class, as they are supposed to be able to 
 afford education : — 
 
 Of these, the men No. 3, who live by means of service, are almost 
 three or four per cent, of the total population ; and except a very few, 
 who, through lately having been elected to scholarships from our village 
 schools, or by their own private means, have received some higher 
 education, and thereby have obtained good employment in the Govern- 
 ment offices, and a few more who hold high rank in the army, either of 
 the Government or of Independent States. The majority of this class 
 serve as menial servants, such as grooms, porters, peons, watchmen, cart 
 drivers, &c., or as sepoys in the army. The average pay of all these 
 employments is no more than, at most, Rs. 6 per month. The detail 
 of these employments and of their respective pay is unnecessary. But, 
 before concluding this report, I think that it would be rather interesting 
 and not out of place if I add a brief account of the circumstances and 
 the income of the people Nos. 4 and 5, viz.; the artisans and petty shop 
 keepers, who are about eight or ten per cent, of the total population. 
 
 Though it hardly requires any further detail, since it is enough to 
 understand that these people have no other business but to meet the 
 requirements of their above-mentioned fellow countrymen. Yet, a very 
 short description of their castes and pecuniary means, will make the 
 matter more clear. 
 
 It also should be borne in mind (1) that though the chief occupation 
 of the people Nos. 3, 4, and 5, is service, manufacture, and trade, 
 when they have been classed as non-agriculturists , yet nearly half of them 
 besides their own legitimate professions, also cultivate some land with 
 the help of their families, or employed labourers to grow crops for their 
 provisions. (2). Some of them are well to do, and great Mahajans, 
 but the circumstances of most of them are no better than the petty 
 Kashtkars (Asamis). 
 
163 
 
 The daily wages of the artisans is very little, and vary in different 
 places. In and near the large towns the rate is higher than in the 
 country. The average rate of wages of a common workman in this 
 district is 3d. and about half a pound of grain for Chabena* per day ; 
 but a good skilled artisan may get from 4d. to 6d. with or without 
 Chabena. It should also be remembered that skilful workmen are very 
 scarce in the country, as there is no want of them, and if there is one he 
 is sure to work in some large town to make the best use of his skill, for 
 which he will get 5d. or 6d. every day. 
 
 A Zimindar to the workman who lives in his village and also the 
 workman’s Mahajan, for a trifling on one or two days’ job, will pay 
 nothing but Chabena, and for regular work only half of the usual wages. 
 But on some occasions, such as the birth of a son, ,&c. to the Zimindar 
 they get some perquisites. 
 
 Though in comparison with the common labourers, whose wages are 
 twopence a day at most, the wages of the artisan seem rather handsome 
 yet the condition of most of them is no better than the others, because 
 every individual of the former class earns his own bread, while in the 
 case of the latter only the men work and support the whole family. 
 The wives of most of them do not work at all, and the boys require 
 strength and practice before they can begin to earn anything. 
 
 Of these artisans, from number one to six, are most common in the 
 country : — 
 
 1. Lohar (Blacksmith) or Barhai (Carpenter ). — In this district 
 there are no Barhai ; the Lohars do carpentry also. They remain 
 working for the Kashtkars a whole year, for which they get a tithe at 
 each harvest. For this they repair only ordinary household articles 
 and agricultural implements, but for other work they get from three- 
 pence to fivepence a day with Chabena, and sometimes food besides. 
 
 2. Sonar ( Goldsmith ). — There is no fixed daily wage of a Sonar, it 
 depends on the sort of the metal and weight and pattern of the orna- 
 ment they have to make. As an average, for making ornaments of 
 about half an ounce of silver, they will take fd., and for the same 
 quantity of gold from 3d. to sd. As among all other artisans the 
 goldsmiths get good wages, and have a good chance of cheating their 
 poor customers too, as they often mix less valuable metals in the gold 
 and silver ornaments, therefore they live in a better condition, and 
 consequently their boys, to whom they want to give some education, 
 come to our schools quite willingly. 
 
 3. Darzi ( Tailor ). — The people of this caste are both Hindoos and 
 Musselmen. They would sew the clothes of the children of their 
 Zimindars and other permanent customers for nothing, but in this case, 
 at the time of the marriage of the children, would demand a liberal 
 reward in return for the whole of their past labours. The rate of their 
 daily wages is as before stated, with Chabena, and if they work at night 
 they get food also. 
 
 * Roasted grain for breakfast . 
 
164 
 
 By piecework, for a short coat or a pair of trousers of common cotton 
 cloth, they will take about i|d., or at most 3d. and for sewing an 
 angrakha (long coat), from 2d. to 5d., but for a coat of very fine or 
 warm cloth, from 6d. to is. For doing the work of their Zimindars, 
 and of the Kashtkars, they are paid by tithe at both harvests. 
 
 4. Komhar (Potter). — These men generally are miserably poor. 
 They make earthern pots, jars, cooking utensils, and tiles. To their 
 Zimindars and the Government servants who happen to come to their 
 place, they are supposed to be bound to supply the pots, jars, <fcc., for 
 nothing. But commonly they sell two or three jars for id. The 
 women and children join them in labour. The boys dig earth and 
 bring home mud, and the women bring chips, &c., for the kiln. 
 
 5. Behna , Dhunya , or Naddaf ( Carder ), are all Musselmen in this 
 country, and extremely poor. They prepare cotton for spinning and 
 exchange the same for untwined thread spun by poor women at the 
 rate of from ii to i| seer for every seer of thread. They generally 
 exchange the thread with cotton at the proportion of 20 to 35, and the 
 cotton dealers sell the thread to weavers, or exchange with the cloth 
 pieces made by themselves. The wages for carding four pounds of 
 cotton and stuffing a quilt with the same is from id. to i|d., or grain 
 equal to the weight of the cotton. The women and children have to 
 assist in the work. 
 
 6. Jolahas , Koris , and Joryas ( Weavers). — The Jolahas are Mussel- 
 men, and the Koris and Joryar belong to the Chamars family. The 
 pecuniary circumstances of a great many of them is no better than the 
 carders. As their work is divided into some branches, therefore the 
 women and children remain very busily engaged at it. Those men who 
 have no means to set up their own business and work at the house of 
 other Jolahas get a wage from 2d. to 3d. per day. 
 
 7. Manihar or Choorihar. — These men make bracelets, which are 
 worn by women of every caste. The bracelets are made with a mixture 
 of sodium carbonate, which is got from Usar land, and sand. They are 
 sold about 100 for i|d. to 2d. Their income and circumstances are 
 just like Jolahas. 
 
 8. Patwa or Pathar ( Lace-maker ). — The people of this caste are not 
 very common in the country. Their work is braiding ornaments, but as 
 the poor peasants have very little use for them, they are .not in any 
 better condition than the Jolahas or Manihar. 
 
 9. Rangraze (Dyer). — 10. Atashbaz (Firework maker). — 11. 
 Tarkchar. — ( Tarki an ornament made of palm leaf worn in the ear, 
 especially by low-caste women). The people of these castes or profes- 
 sion are very scarce, and in their mode of life and income are no better 
 than any of the foregoing castes. 
 
 12. Thatera or Kasera (Braziers). — These men cast brass vessels 
 and ornaments and belong to the third Baran of the castes Vaisha. 
 Like Sonars, their occupation pays them well ; they send their boys to 
 school. 
 
i6 5 
 
 It now only remains to give some description of the tradesmen 
 (about 5 or 6 per cent). Most of them (the Hindoos) belong to the 
 Vaisha class, and are commonly called Banyas. There are many sub- 
 divisions among the Banyas, and the men of each division are obliged 
 by custom to keep to one kind of trade. They chiefly deal in the 
 produce of their own country, especially grain, which they buy and sell 
 only in the markets near their homes. They carry their merchandise to 
 the markets either on their own backs or on ponies or bullocks which 
 they generally keep for that purpose. To this class, however, belong all 
 the people that are called Mahajans. Some of them, though not very 
 many, are very rich, and lend money, but at very high interest ; others, 
 who are much more numerous, are grain lenders. Passing over these, 
 as the money lenders are so few in number, and the grain lenders have 
 already been referred to, I will proceed at once to the petty shopkeepers. 
 An idea of the general life and circumstances of this class, taken as a 
 whole, may be gathered from considering the condition of the simplest 
 peasantry, who are their customers. Like them, with all the ordinary 
 necessary of humble life. The most numerous of these are : — 
 
 x. Banya or Backal (com grower) is a caste as well as a title for a 
 shopkeeper. The first class of these are the Agarwalas and Saraogis, 
 who always live in cities, and are generally bankers or great Mahajans. 
 
 2. Khatris. — Like the Agarwalas, these also live in cities and large 
 towns, and do nearly the same business. 
 
 Among the middle class of Banyas are : — Agrahri, Kasarwani, 
 Kasonndhan, Omar, Dhoosar, Bundwar, &c., who live mostly in towns 
 and in many villages also. They deal in various commodities, such as 
 grain, grocery, cloth, &c., and the richer ones among them lend grain, 
 and money also. The above-named Banyas are very narrow and pre- 
 judiced in their views and ideas, they care only for money-making, and 
 for this they willingly sacrifice ease, amusements, and repose ; they care 
 nothing even about their dress or personal appearance, and though their 
 business requires some education, they care only for the merest 
 smatterings of it, which is commonly known as Kaithi, and for nothing 
 more. 
 
 The poorer classes of Banyas who live in the country and are the 
 most numerous are the following : — 
 
 1. Kalwar. — The proper profession of this caste used to be making 
 spirituous liquors and selling them, but now they deal in other things, as 
 wine has become a Government monolopy. Some of the Kalwars also 
 are very rich, but most of them are poor. They buy grain, &c., from 
 the agriculturists, and sell it to larger grain dealers in the nearest bazaars, 
 and some of them still take a license to sell liquors. 
 
 2. Bharbhoonja , Bhuj , or Bliujwa. — These keep large ovens, called 
 Bhar , for parching grain for Chabena* their wives and children sweep 
 up the dead leaves that fall from the trees to burn in the Bhar. Out of 
 
 * Chabena is the unground grain parched in burning sand which alone is 
 eaten by more than three-quarters of the villagers for breakfast. 
 
i66 
 
 the Chabena that is enough for one man’s breakfast, they take, when it 
 is ready, a handful of grain as their wages for parching it, but the rich 
 Bhuj, like Kalwars, deal in various commodities. 
 
 3. Teli {Oilman). — The business of a Teli is pressing and selling oil. 
 In their houses they keep a very rough kind of oil press. If they are 
 rich enough to keep a small bullock they yoke it to the press, otherwise 
 they work it by themselves. From any quantity of oilseed, oil to the 
 amount of one-third of its weight can be produced, for which they will 
 take an equal quantity of grain, besides the oilcake for wages. ■ Like 
 Kalwars, the Telis also deals in many other things, and some of them 
 are well to do. 
 
 4. Halwais ( Confectioners.) — These are both Hindoo and Musselmen 
 and sell sweetmeats and tobacco. They make sugar out of gur for their 
 own use 
 
 5. Tamoli, Tamboli, or Barai. — This caste sell lime or Pan (Betel 
 leaves), which are chewed by all the natives of India, and are esteemed 
 a great luxury. They also sell some kinds of vegetables, which they sow 
 with their betel plants. In the country the price of two hundred Pan (a 
 dholi) is £d. in the rainy season and a little more in winter, but in the 
 summer from i^d. to 2d. 
 
 6. Koonjra, or Kabarya ( Greengrocer). — These are all Musselmen. 
 They sell vegetables, which they generally buy from Morais. Their 
 condition is worse than that of any other shopkeeper. 
 
 7. Bakar, or Buz , Kasab, or Chikwa ( Butchers dealing in mutton ), 
 and Kasai {dealers in beef). — These men live in towns only. The success 
 of their profession can be well understood by considering that they are 
 in a country, the chief inhabitants of which are vegetarians. Like 
 Koonjras, many of them lead their lives poorly. There is no prejudice 
 against Bakarcasab’s sons being admitted in the schools, but a Kasai’s 
 son would never be allowed by the public to sit and mix with the 
 Hindoos. 
 
 This is the only caste in this country, the sons of whom are kept 
 aloof from our schools. As these men are very few in villages, I do not 
 think it necessary to give the detail of their business and income, and 
 for the same reason leave the description of the following castes and 
 sects : — 1. Sikh {a Hindoo Faquir .) — 2. Bhatyura {Baker or Inn- 
 keeper.) — 3. Chetera {Carver .) — 4. Attar {Druggist ). — 5. Gosain {a 
 kind of Hindoo Faquir ) — 6. Pandas . — 7. Nanbai {Baker). 
 
 There is no end to the castes in India, but in this report I have given 
 more or less description only of the castes which the statement A con- 
 tains ; however, the account of the higher class has been excluded. 
 
 After perusing the foregoing remarks I hope there will remain no 
 doubt that are very few persons in this country who have enough means 
 to send their children to our village schools, and the schools that are 
 established for the poorer classes never have a long existence. How 
 then can the people who are so miserably pressed down by poverty, and 
 whose whole day’s hard labour provides nothing else for them but the 
 
night’s meal, ever be expected to send their children to school, who have 
 also to help to earn for themselves. 
 
 In conclusion I must add that under the present circumstances three- 
 quarters of the people are quite incapable of deriving benefit from our 
 schools, and the country cannot improve so long as the whole community 
 will not receive some sort of technical education, which would provide 
 some means of livelihood for them, so that the people, besides depending 
 merely upon their country’s produce and service, may find some other 
 opportunities for earning their livelihood; without this our exertions 
 and attempts to make our schools popular and useful to the whole com- 
 munity have proved and will prove abortive. 
 
 I have the honour to be, Sir, * 
 
 Sagram Garh, 
 
 22nd March, 1875. 
 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 S. M. HOSSAIN, 
 
 Deputy Inspector of Sehools, 
 Oudh. 
 

 
 
 

 
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