[59] "The Cyclopaedia of India, and of Eastern and Southern Asia," by Surgeon-General Edward Balfour. Third edition. London: Bernard Quaritch, 15, Piccadilly, 1885.

[60] And so should every estate in England, and every business, too.

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE PLANTER'S BUNGALOW, AND THE AMENITIES OF AN ESTATE.

The best form of bungalow is, in my opinion, one with the rooms in a row and an open veranda ten feet wide running around three sides of the house.

The veranda at the back should also be ten feet, but there it would require to be partially inclosed, partly for bathrooms, and partly for a store-room for household supplies. The advantage of this form of bungalow is that the wide veranda is a pleasant place to sit in, and walk up and down in the rainy season, and besides, if an additional room is required, a temporary part.i.tion may be put up, and should a permanent addition to the accommodation be necessary, a portion of the veranda at the end of the bungalow may be built up. Such a form of bungalow, too, can easily be added to in length.

Willesden paper should be put under the tiles, as it prevents leaks, keeps the wood of the roof largely free from the influence of damp, and the bungalow, too, in the monsoon months. For bedrooms I should recommend glazed tiles, and for the dining-rooms and verandas, unglazed square red tiles, fringed at the edges of the room with two or three rows of glazed tiles. I do not recommend the latter for any place where there are many people moving about, as I have found that the glazing soon becomes injured.

It is generally the custom to have the kitchen at some little distance from the bungalow, but I do not think that this is a good arrangement, partly because it is inconvenient in the rainy season, and partly because the kitchen is apt to be turned into a resort for horsekeepers and loungers. The plan I have adopted is to have the kitchen and the go downs in a wing running at right angles to the west end of the bungalow, and with the kitchen door facing the back veranda. This arrangement is most convenient for the servants, and enables the master of the house to have the kitchen under easy observation, so as to see to its cleanliness, and prevent its being made a place of common resort. The dirt and disorder usual in an Indian cook room is well known, but there is no reason why it should not be kept as neat and clean as an English kitchen. The floor should be paved with square tiles, and I believe it would pay well, for economy of fuel, and ready supply of hot water, to have a small Wilson range (227, High Holborn--range No. 11 is a convenient size). Owing to the shape of the ground it may not be convenient to have the kitchen and go downs built as a wing of the bungalow, and in that case they should be opposite the back of the bungalow, and connected with it by a covered way.

No drain should be made out of the kitchen or scullery. I have found it cheaper, and safer, from a sanitary point of view, to have all the dirty water used for watering purposes. I have a group of orange trees on a slope near the kitchen, and above each tree a hole is made. Into this the dirty water is poured for several days. Then the pit is closed with earth, and others are used in succession. I thus get rid of a nuisance in a wholesome way, and at the same time water the orange trees.

The aspect of the bungalow is of great importance. It should front due north, as the declination of the sun is southerly during the cloudless season, and the sun is thus entirely off the front veranda, and if the situation should not be naturally well sheltered from the east, a solid block of casuarinas should at once be planted on the eastern side, as the easterly wind is disagreeable, and liable to create drafts, and consequently cause chills. A line of casuarinas should be planted on the south and west side of the bungalow, and at such a distance as to cast a shadow on to the southern and western walls, and also on to the roof, as this will keep the house much cooler than it would otherwise be. Other trees might be suggested for this purpose, and trees affording more coolness, but I have suggested the casuarina as it is a quick grower, very ornamental, and not at all liable to be blown down. No carriage drive should be made up to the front of the bungalow, as it is obviously much pleasanter to look out of the veranda on to a pretty garden without a road intervening, and carriages should either drive up to the back of the bungalow, or to one end of it where a wide s.p.a.ce may be left for turning.

I have said that a line of casuarinas should be planted on the southern and western sides of the bungalow so as to shade it from the sun, and I would suggest that, in order to keep the ground on these aspects cool, orange trees should be thickly planted, and I may mention that I have done this with excellent effect on the southern side of my bungalow. When orange trees are planted for this purpose they should either not be allowed to bear fruit, or but a very small number of oranges, as the object of course is to have, for ornamental reasons, fresh looking trees, and full of foliage, so as to keep the ground near the bungalow as cool as possible.

The bungalows in Mysore are usually built on the gra.s.s land outside of the plantation, and where this is practicable it should always be done, as, from the value of the coffee land, much of it cannot be spared for planting, whereas in the open, as the land is of little value the planter can, by planting clumps of casuarinas and other trees, make his residence so much more agreeable and cheerful. But sometimes it is advisable or even necessary to have the bungalow in the plantation, and in that case the most must be made of the situation, and vistas cut here and there through the shade trees so as to let in the best available views. It should be remembered, a fact too often forgotten, that, what are called in Scotland the amenities, are not only agreeable in themselves, but have an important marketable value, and when people discover that the winter on a Mysore plantation is one of the pleasantest climates in the world, and have practically realized the ease with which the journey may now be made, a plantation will be often regarded (as I regard mine) as a pleasant winter home. And, whatever it may be regarded as, it is certain that an intending purchaser of coffee property on which he proposed to reside would naturally, and perhaps unknown to himself, be influenced by the amenities of the estate.

As regards the garden in front of the bungalow, it should of course be limited to such an amount as may be within easy command of the water available. Roses should be freely used, and violets, mignonette, geraniums, and phlox, while the edges of the veranda should have some crotons and ferns in pots. I have given this limited list because it contains all that is necessary to make a place reasonably presentable, but many additions may of course be advantageously made.

I need hardly say that it is very desirable to place the bungalow as close as possible to the points where the near presence of the planter is advantageous. These are the pulping-house, store, drying-ground, nursery, vegetable garden, and orchard. I have two estates where this desirable combination exists, and by the exercise of a little care and time to study the situation, it may often be carried out; but the best site for the bungalow cannot sometimes be discovered without a residence of some duration on the estate, and it is of great advantage in making a new plantation to defer for some time building a permanent bungalow. For all practical purposes a house with sun-dried brick walls, and a roof of rough jungle wood, will answer very well for some years, and during that time a careful study of the land will generally disclose a much better site than one might at first be disposed to select. And I speak with personal experience on this point, as, had I built a permanent house on the site I at first selected on my head estate, I should certainly have had cause for regret. At first sight it may seem that the proximity of the bungalow to the drying-ground is not desirable, but the drying-ground, estate office, store, and other buildings may, by planting, be completely and quickly screened off from the dwelling-house. The permanent bungalow should be built of brick, but all steps should be made of stone, and not of brick, as is so commonly done, as the stone is so much more suitable in a climate which is wet for so many months of the year. It is very advisable to keep a bungalow cool at night, so that you may be able to have a cool house in the day, and in order to effect this a free admission of air is necessary, and the doors of the dining-room certainly should have wire gauze doors as well. The wooden doors may then be left open at night. The bedroom doors that open into the verandas should have the same too, for, though this is not quite so necessary, it is a great comfort to have plenty of air, and yet be able to exclude cats, rats, or snakes.

Building materials should be constantly collected--stones, stone-posts, the wood-work of native houses which is sometimes for sale; and a careful eye should also be kept on all the felled wood left in the plantation, as this is often overlooked till it partially decays, and it is very apt to be stolen. Trees with a central dark wood, like Jack, may be left unsawn for some years, but trees which have not, like Neeral or Mango, should be sawn up as soon as they are dry. Sawn wood should be brought home at once and stored in a house sheltered from the east wind which dries up the wood extremely, and a careful list should be kept of it. Wood for rafters is the better for being put into a tank and left there for four or five months. I may explain that stone posts (we use the literal translation from the Kanarese) are blocks of from 8 to 12 feet in length, which are raised by fire by an ingenious process. The natives first light fires on the slab of sheet rock they desire to operate on, and then cut small holes along the segment they wish to split off. They then drive wedges into the side of the rock, and the segment splits off, giving a stone post of the length required (they may be raised as long as 20 feet) and about 18 inches wide and 5 inches thick. There are no more useful things to have a supply of on an estate, and we use short ones for the posts of wire fences and for stiles. They are particularly useful for supporting verandas.

To prevent white ants attacking the roofs of buildings I have successfully used the following mixture. Tar, one pailful; asphalte, 2 lbs.; and castor oil, one seer. Mix and boil these ingredients. Afterwards add sand. Then plaster the mixture on the top of the walls to the depth of about two inches, and on this place the wall plates. This plan was adopted when one of my bungalows was re-roofed many years ago, and we have not a sign of white ants, though they are numerous all around the house.

If posts, when put in the ground, are buried in sand, and surrounded with it up to the level of the floor, white ants will not attack the wood, as they cannot apparently work in sand. This is important to remember, as wooden posts are often used for cattle, and other sheds.

Toddy trees past yielding toddy should be cut down, split into convenient sizes for reapers and other purposes, and should then be smoked to preserve the wood. As I previously pointed out, the toddy tree (_Caryota Urens_ palm) is a most useful tree, and the seeds of it should be freely sown in the fences, waste jungle, and the bottoms of deep ravines, but it is not a desirable tree to have in the plantation.

Wood for handles should be kept in store, as it is of great importance to use well seasoned wood. Jack roots are valuable for all short handles.

Lines, or rows of houses for labourers should be made of sun-dried bricks, and roofed with corrugated iron. For sanitary reasons they should, if possible, be divided over several sites. The manager should occasionally visit the lines, and a duffadar be appointed to see after them, and that no dirty water is thrown down in front of the doors. The houses should be numbered, and a list of the occupants kept. New arrivals should be at once reported, as bad characters are often harboured in the lines. A pensioned sepoy might be advantageously employed to look after the lines, and report on new arrivals, and also keep an eye on persons who may be suspected of stealing coffee. The advantage of employing a stranger for such purposes is obvious, as natives residing permanently in the locality are much afraid of making enemies, whereas a fresh pensioned sepoy might be got in from time to time, and he should be changed before he had time to make any friends on the estate. An application for a sepoy should be made to the officer in charge of pensioned sepoys in Bangalore. These pensioned sepoys might also be employed with advantage in the crop season, with the special object of preventing coffee robbery from the plantations, which are often surrounded with villages.

As regards coolie lines, it is important to consider aspect, and a slight slope towards the east, or slightly south, is a good one, as it catches the first rays of the sun, and so reminds the people of their duties in coming early to work, and enables them to warm themselves when the mornings are chilly. Such an aspect is also sheltered from the south-west monsoon blasts, and, in the hot weather, from the heat of the westering sun.

When I look at a magnificent row of Casuarinas (_Casuarina Equisetifolia_, the Tinian pine or Beefwood) which I planted on my property about the year 1859, and which are now about 150 feet high, and consider the value of this tree, both for timber and firewood, I stand astounded at my own stupidity in not having planted them on a considerable scale. But it is thus in all new countries where you are surrounded by trees, and it is difficult to believe that, under such circ.u.mstances, timber and wood can ever become dear and scarce, and the Englishman rarely plants trees for timber or fuel,--in fact, I am the only one who has done so as far as I am aware--and perhaps they do not realize, being born in a land of slow timber growth, how rapidly some trees shoot up in Mysore. It may encourage planting if I mention that I took careful measurement by line of one of the row alluded to. In January, 1882, the height of the tree was 153 feet, in girth near the ground, 5 feet 8 inches; at 50 feet, 3 feet 8 inches; and 1 foot 6 inches at 100 feet. In February, 1884, the same tree was in girth at 4 feet from the ground, 5 feet 3 inches; at 50 feet, 4 feet 5 inches; and at 100 feet, 2 feet 3 inches. In March, 1886, this tree, at 6 feet from the ground, was 5 feet 4 inches in girth; at 77 feet, 3 feet 2 inches; and at 100 feet, 2 feet 3 inches. This tree was again measured in February, 1893, when its dimensions were found to be as follows. Height, 154 feet. Girth at 3 feet from ground, 6 feet 3 inches; at 6 feet, 5 feet 10 inches; at 77 feet from ground, 2 feet 9 inches; and at about 20 feet from the top of the tree, 1 foot 2 inches.

The wood is very strong, and may be used for rafters. It makes excellent fuel, giving much heat, and little ash.

The _Grevillea Robusta_--Silver Oak--should also be planted, as it affords excellent firewood.

And _Poinciana Regia_--the gold Mohur, which is also good for making Charcoal. _Pithecolobium saman_, the rain tree, should also be planted, as I find that (Report of Government Gardens, Bangalore, for 1888-89) "In good open soil it grows more rapidly than any introduced trees." I have an _Eucalyptus Globulus_ (the blue gum) growing fairly well on my property, and about eight or nine years old, but, as it is unfavourably reported on for Mysore in the Report previously mentioned, I do not recommend it.

Casuarinas should be planted in holes four feet deep, and certainly not less than that depth if a safe and rapid growth is desired. I have been particularly struck with the great difference in the rapidity of growth where the holes have not been deeply dug. The plants will require a little water during the dry weather of the first year.

As the most important part of a planter's capital is his health, it is obvious that great pains should be taken to conserve it, for, though Mysore will be found to be a very healthy country if ordinary precautions are taken, the extremes of temperature are very great--often cold in the morning--very hot in the sun in the middle of the day, and often turning suddenly cold again at sunset. In England the lowest Mysore temperature would not be called cold, but relatively to the heat of the day it is so.

Then the east winds, if you get heated to the extent of perspiration, are apt to produce that chill which is the starting point of illness in most countries. For a great many years past I have, as a matter of curiosity, which has since become a matter of habit, always asked when told of the death of anyone, "Did he not get a chill?" And I have almost invariably found the answer to be in the affirmative. When, then, a planter comes in, he should make it a rule always to change his things from head to foot, and he should avoid sitting in drafts when the wind is from the east. When he goes out shooting he should take a spare flannel shirt with him, change his shirt when suitable opportunities occur, and, of course, dry the one he has taken off in the sun. He should always take a cover coat with him to put on, when, after a hot day in the sun, he may have to ride home in the chilled evening air. As a protection against the sun there is nothing better than a coat padded with cotton all down the back and front, and with a stand up padded collar. Some people prefer large solar topees. I dislike them, as they heat and oppress the head, and always prefer a light topee and an umbrella. It is well known that the head is affected more through the eyes than in any other way, and smoked gla.s.ses should always be used when going along unshaded roads, and especially across dried gra.s.s lands. Over fatigue should be avoided as much as possible, and the effects of it done away with immediately. When tired do not call for brandy or whisky and soda-water, but if you feel that you require anything to keep up the system, a plateful of soup, made with one of Brand's beef preparations, will be found to be far preferable.

Then a bath, and an hour in bed will turn you out a fresh man fit for anything, mentally or bodily, and you will be able to eat a good meal with appet.i.te and advantage. The best kind of clothing is light tweeds, such as might be used in England in warm summer weather. Cholera belts, or c.u.mmerbunds, are often recommended, but I much prefer thick, short flannel drawers coming rather high up over the middle of the body. You thus admit free ventilation, and at the same time avoid risk of chill about the loins.

Next to protecting the body from without, or perhaps of equal importance, is fortifying it from within. Here the first point of importance is to get a good cook who is a good baker, and supply him with American flour.

Toddy from the sago-palm is an excellent subst.i.tute for yeast, and I imagine it must be better, for I never get better, and very seldom as good, bread anywhere in the world as I do in my Indian home in the jungle.

The flour usually to be bought in India, made from wheat grown in the country, is either bad or adulterated, and often has sand in it, and the bread made from it is of poor quality. As regards food, there is no difficulty in Mysore, and at a moderate cost as good a table can be kept as could be desired for purposes of health and comfort. Attention should, of course, be paid to having a good vegetable garden, in which a good supply of lettuces and tomatoes should form a princ.i.p.al feature, and during the wet weather months, when vegetables cannot be procured on the spot, tinned vegetables should be used. I have found the French tinned vegetables to be the best. There are now many excellent preparations of herrings preserved in tins, and these should be used occasionally. Ghee is commonly used in India for cooking, but for all dishes for which it is suitable, oil is much cheaper and better. Gingelly oil (_Sesamum Orientale_) is the best, or, I think, the only oil which is good for this purpose. It is, I find, by the article on oils in the "Encyclopaedia Britannica," the finest culinary oil in the world, and superior to olive oil, for which, indeed, it is commonly sold, and large quant.i.ties of the seed go to Southern Europe. The seed should be procured and washed in cold water to remove the red epidermis, and then a native oil-maker may be got in to prepare the oil. When ghee, or clarified b.u.t.ter, is required, never buy that article in the bazaar, but buy the best native b.u.t.ter and have it made into ghee. Boil the b.u.t.ter, and add to it a small quant.i.ty of sugar and salt, and skim off floatage. If to the clarified b.u.t.ter some fresh milk is added, it may be used for the table instead of b.u.t.ter, but it is better, I find now, to use tinned b.u.t.ter.

Cleanliness in the kitchen, and vessels in good order, are points easily talked about, but cannot be attained without some inspection, and the kitchen and its utensils should be examined from time to time. People who are particular have all the pots and pans ranged out ready for inspection daily, and such inspections are most necessary for health, as the dirty habits of the native servants are such that persistent vigilance is requisite. And I may here add that there is no use in telling the servants a thing once--they must be told again, again, and again. At last they give in to your persistence, and being, like most people in the world, a good deal creatures of habit, go on fairly well. It is only fair to the native servants to mention that, if they do keep things in a dirty state, it is often because they have not the means that servants have at home. The water supply at their command is commonly very deficient, and often not over clean, and they are generally ill supplied with places to wash up in, and with dusters and gla.s.s cloths, and then they are rated, and often abused, because plates are badly washed and things in general dirty.

Under the heading of health requisites, I, of course, include literature.

This, for a planter of moderate means, is generally a matter of great difficulty, and must continue to be so till the railway system is extended to the planting districts. At present novels that cannot be read more than once are quite out of the question on the score of cost, and, under the circ.u.mstances, the planter should content himself with buying Scott's and Bulwer's and George Eliot's novels. He should, of course, have a good Atlas, an Encyclopaedia--Chambers' is good and moderate in price, and Balfour's "Cyclopaedia of India," which contains much valuable and interesting information. He might also buy Lecky's Works, and Sir John Strachey's "India," and Buckle's "History of Civilization," for, whatever the faults of the last may be, the writer's style is admirable, and the book stirs up thought and inquiry in the mind. Addison's "Spectator," as it is commonly called, Amiel's "Journal," and Locke's "Conduct of the Understanding," might also be bought. Ville's "Artificial Manures" should be procured and studied. Then for newspapers, I may certainly recommend "The Spectator," "The Mail," or tri-weekly edition of the "Times," and "The Ill.u.s.trated London News"--not the thin paper edition of it, which is most unsatisfactory in every way. One of the best, if not the very best of Indian papers is the "Madras Mail," and that should certainly be taken, more especially as there is much planting intelligence in it. A note should be kept of the various books reviewed in "The Spectator," and of any books the reader might fancy to buy, and Smith's lists of second-hand books, and also the lists of Messrs. Mudie and Co., should be procured, and from these booksellers books may often be bought at a very moderate price. Do not buy cheap editions of novels, but buy the original three volume editions, which have good paper and print, and which may be bought second-hand at most moderate prices.

It is of great importance that a planter should have some pursuit which may be both useful and interesting, such as botany, natural history, or geology, and drawing, too, would be most valuable. In the old days sport filled up our leisure hours, but that, in these days, is not always to be had without going far afield, as, from the number of guns in the hands of the natives, the game within their reach has been mostly destroyed. It is of great value, then, to have some pursuit to fill up time when there is not enough of it to spare to go to a distance from home for sport.

Attending to, and taking an interest in a garden is a great resource, and indirectly a source of great pleasure, which I am reminded of as I write these lines, and at the same time listen to the warbling of the Bulbuls in the flower garden in front of my bungalow. These charming little birds are very active, and are now (February 28th), collecting materials for building their nests. There are, too, many charming warblers which are attracted by a garden so arranged as to attract birds. The beds in the foreground should consist of a mixture of flowers and standard roses, and those at the back of various flowering shrubs, and low trees which are suitable for the birds to nest in. I have no carriage road in front of the bungalow, and with this arrangement can have the beds quite close to the foot of the steps of the inclosed veranda. I am much struck with the persistent loquacity of these Indian birds, and at no time of day--not even for a minute--is the sound of birds absent, and their notes are to be heard all through the fine weather.

It is very advisable to take up waste paddy fields, i.e., abandoned rice terraces, for cattle grazing, and I may point out that this is also of advantage to the amenities of an estate, by providing snipe shooting close at hand. It will also be found of advantage for feeding ducks and geese. I have a stretch of such land on one of my properties, and find it most useful. The water, I may add, should be carefully conducted to the various terraces, just as if they were to be cultivated with rice, this, as I need hardly say, being necessary for the snipe. Amongst these sc.r.a.ps of hints, which may be useful, I may mention the fact that tealeries were once common in India. I am told that they are easily established, though I have, myself, no experience of them. It is sometimes possible to add to the amenities of an estate by reserving pieces of land for tigers to lie up in, and this is very important, now that every sc.r.a.p of land is being taken up for planting either coffee or cardamoms, and that cover for game is becoming proportionately scarce. There are two such pieces that I have reserved on my estate for tigers, but care must be taken beforehand to see that such reserves are on the exact route by which tigers cross from one part of the country to another. For instance, the pieces I have reserved are about three miles apart, and I have never known or heard of a tiger being between them excepting on one occasion last year, when a royal tiger inspected a cattle shed of mine about five minutes' walk from the house.

At first sight it seems singular that these animals, like hares, should have their runs, and still more that the runs should be so regularly adhered to, though they may be several miles apart.

In concluding this chapter, and my remarks on planting, I have only to observe that, if a planter chooses to take an interest in everything that is going on around him, and learns to make himself at home in the country, he will find the life both interesting and agreeable. In former times there was, no doubt, a sense of remoteness in the situation, but that, as we have seen, has been considerably removed by the railway extensions of recent years; and when the proposed lines, to which I have alluded in my introductory chapter, are carried out, planters, during the unimportant seasons of the year, may reside either at Bangalore or on the Nilgiri hills (the climate of the latter, taking it all the year round, is the finest in the world), and yet be in full touch with their affairs.

Finally, I may observe that in Mysore we have the great advantage of being out of reach of the faddists of the House of Commons, who, for the sake of their votes, have to be humoured, whether the interests of India suffer or not. There is no chance, for instance, of the opium faddists thrusting a Commission on the Mysoreans, and then making them pay for part of the expenses of the inquiry. The progress of India may be checked by the ignorant or unprincipled action of a party in the House of Commons (and certainly will be checked if the opium faddists are allowed to have their way), but Mysore is free from the only danger that threatens India--the sacrifice of its interests in order to serve party ends in the House of Commons.

CHAPTER XIX.

THE INDIAN SILVER QUESTION.

Since the preceding chapters were written a great and most momentous step has been taken by the Indian Government. On the 26th of June, 1893, the Finance Minister in India announced that a gold standard was to be established, and that the mints were to be closed to the free coinage of silver. This measure, which so profoundly affects the prospects of the producers and manufacturers of India, I am compelled to notice. To do so, however, in an exhaustive manner would be quite beyond the scope of this book, and I shall confine my remarks as much as possible to the points of the subject which bear upon the welfare of those who produce or manufacture anything in India. The reports[61] and papers enumerated at the foot of the page supply me with a large amount of information and opinion, but I must warn those interested in the subject that a complete view of the whole situation, as far as India is concerned, cannot be obtained from them. For some, and in my opinion the most important, points connected with the question, have either not been alluded to at all, or quite inadequately investigated. These defects I hope in some degree to be able to supply from my long experience of the effects of the expenditure of capital in developing the resources of India--and I say in some degree, because I feel sure that a much fuller investigation is required before all the far-reaching effects of this momentous measure can be adequately weighed. I trust, however, that, even in the short s.p.a.ce I am devoting to the subject, I shall be able sufficiently to elucidate those points which dominate the situation, and a consideration of which will show that if the Government succeeds in forcing up the gold value of the rupee in the manner proposed, the prosperity of the people, the popularity of our rule, and the state of our trade in the East will be most seriously prejudiced. And now let me begin at the beginning, so that the uninformed reader may have a clear view of the whole subject as far as India is concerned.

The origin of the movement in India with reference to the introduction of a gold standard and forcing up the gold value of the rupee is shortly, and I believe very accurately, stated by Sir Frank Forbes Adam in his evidence given before the Currency Committee; and on November 26th, 1892, he told the Committee that "Though there is undoubtedly dissatisfaction existing among a certain number of those carrying on foreign trade, really the origin of the movement and its true force proceed from the servants of Government." Of this, I think, there can be no doubt whatever; and it is important to remember that this movement did not originate with the people, or planters, or merchants, or manufacturers, or from any section of the producers and traders of India. The servants of the Government had a great and legitimate grievance, because they found that, though rupee prices in India were not to be complained of, they experienced a grievous loss on their home remittances, and it was their persistent agitation which created and maintained the true force of the movement. The agitation they thus originated was joined in by some of the merchants of India, though to what extent does not appear, and I can only say generally that the merchants who did join the movement were small in number. Bombay and Karachi were clearly against any interference with the currency; and from the expression of disappointment which fell from the Hon. Mr.

Mackay--President of the Currency a.s.sociation, Calcutta--with reference to the small number of his supporters, I am led to the conclusion that, with the exception of a certain proportion of Calcutta merchants, occasional individuals in other parts of India, and the servants of the State, all India was, and is, dead against the monetary policy of the Government. Of the twenty-two witnesses examined before the Currency Committee, thirteen were against the Government measure, six in favour of it (four of the latter being Government servants), two doubtful, and one presumably against the measure.

The main features of the measure I take from the statement of the Finance Minister, who, on the 26th of June, 1893, announced the introduction of a Bill "with the object of altering the Indian monetary standard from silver to gold," and who in his next sentence declared that "It is not intended to do more at present than stop the free coinage of silver at the Indian mints, and as a provisional arrangement to provide for the issue of rupees at these mints in exchange for gold at the ratio of 1s. 4d. per rupee."[62] In a subsequent part of his speech Sir David Barbour states "that an arrangement for the receipt of gold at the mints at a ratio of 1s. 4d. per rupee will be made by executive order, and so will the arrangements for the receipt of sovereigns in payment of sums due to Government at the rate of fifteen rupees a sovereign." The current rate of exchange then, and still existing, is about 1s. 3d., and the Government thus proposed, by creating an artificial scarcity of rupees, to force up the gold value of the rupee by one rupee per sovereign. Let us now glance at the cash effects of the measure on the finances of the Government and the prosperity of the people; and in doing so I shall, to aid the comprehension of the English reader who knows nothing of lakhs, or crores, or Rs. x, state the figure in pounds sterling, treating the rupee at its old value of 2s. To do this will not materially affect my statements, for, though some articles have risen in price, others have fallen, and, on the average, the rupee (excepting as regards labourers'

wages, which have much risen in many parts of India in recent years) goes nearly as far in India as it ever did, a fact which is fully corroborated by several very competent witnesses examined by the Currency Committee, though one witness maintained that silver prices in India had risen.[63]

It may be interesting to note in this connection that the purchasing price of silver in China has remained unchanged for many years past, and that for the last thirty years there has been little change in the purchasing power of the rupee in Ceylon. Both these statements I make on the authority of witnesses examined before the Currency Committee.

What then would be the cash effect (1) on the finances, and (2) on the people, were the Government successful in forcing up the gold value of the rupee by one rupee a sovereign? The saving that the Government would effect in remitting money to England to pay home charges would amount to about 1,570,000,[64] but as the amount is liable to loss by exchange we must make a deduction, and, in round numbers, the sum that the Government would save is about a million and a half sterling. Now as to the people of India. What the Government gains, i.e., a rupee a sovereign, the seller of produce must lose, as exporters could afford to give them just so much less than they now do. Now, taking the exports of India at one hundred millions,[65] the currency measure of the Government would cause a loss to producers of 7 per cent., which is equivalent to a tax on the exported productions of India of seven millions. The result of course is, that to get little more than one million and a half into the Treasury, the Government proposes to take seven millions out of the pockets of the people. Now I have no wish to pose as what is commonly called an expert, and I naturally shrink from any idea of criticising that long chain of financial luminaries which, beginning at the Council Chamber at Calcutta, stretches through the rooms of the Currency Committee which recently sat in London, right up to that Cabinet over which the greatest of financial luminaries presides, but I trust I may be allowed to go as far as to say that the arrangement made by Mr. Gladstone's Government which is the body ultimately responsible--does not seem to be of a very alluring character, as it entails on India, viewed as a whole, a loss of 5,500,000. And this cheering result has apparently been viewed with such satisfaction by the financial experts, that it is to be regarded as merely a small instalment of the blessings they have in store for the happy toilers whose destinies they have been empowered to influence. For if the policy of taking five and a half millions sterling out of the pockets of the people in order to put about one million and a half into the financial till is a good one, the extension of the process, up to certain limits, must be equally so.

For such an extension the Indian Finance Minister is evidently prepared, as one may see by looking again at the sentence I have quoted from the speech, in which he declares that "it is not intended to do more _at present_ (the italics are mine) than aim at a rate of 1s. 4d." This, coupled with statements subsequently made, and by what the Currency Committee has suggested as to a farther increase if it should seem necessary, shows that the Government evidently contemplates a rise to 1s.

6d.; and indeed this must obviously be the case, as the antic.i.p.ated gain from a rise to 1s. 4d., when put against the probable loss on opium, and the allowances to be made to Government servants to compensate them for the loss they sustain on home remittances, would go far to swallow up the gain to the State from a 1s. 4d. rate. Supposing, then, that the Government should be able to carry out its project of a 1s. 6d. rate, the blessings previously showered on the producers will be trebled; so, of course, will be the gain to the Exchequer; and the account will then in round figures stand thus:--gain to the Exchequer on home remittances, 4,500,000; loss to the producers, 21,000,000; or, in other words, the levy of an export tax of 21 per cent. on all the productions of India,[66]

and a total annual loss to India considered as a whole of 16,500,000 sterling. This seems pretty well for a beginning, but it is really a very small part of the results that may with certainty be antic.i.p.ated from the measure, which, as Sir David Barbour says, will have far-reaching effects.

Of this, as we shall see, there can be no doubt whatever. Of the direct loss we can form a rough calculation; the indirect losses are indeed incalculable. But let me proceed.