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    ?22 THE LEADER. [No. 435, July 24. i858<

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    Select Committee On Colonization An3> Se...

    been economically produced in' any other district , that I am aware of . , A small working was made in the Tenasserim provinces , which I myself visited and reported on , bat it is very distant from the coast , and there are difficulties in transporting it , except at one season of the year ; the coal itself is not mineral coal , but a lignite . What are the principal iron districts of India ?—Iron Is distributed almost universally in India ; I have seen it in many of the different localities , both , in the Himalaya and . in the Ten & sserim fprovinces . I have seen

    large blocks of ironstone projecting from the hills in the T-enasserim provinces , -which are so rich in magnetic iron oxe that the particles actually followed the hammer when applied to the rock . In the Tenasserim provinces tin « boands , and is -worked by Chinamen . Copper also exists -SatheHinaalayas , but has not yet been profitably produced iy ^ Europeans . In Kunaaon , and in the Gwalior territory , there are large deposits of iron , also in various other jparts of the Himalayas ; but from their AeLng utterly inaccessible to capitalists , no attention whatever can be paid to those minerals at present .

    ^ Will the railway that goes from Calcutta in the direction of Delhi bring together much coal and iron ? •—The railway * wiidi traverses the continent from . ^ Bavahay to Mirzapore -will pass through Jubbulpore , Which is close to one of the principal deposits of coal and iron . Will not the railway which goes from Calcutta in the direction of Delhi bring together the coal of Burdwan . * ad the iron of Monghyr ?—Yes , it might be effected by short branches . Monghyr is one of the principal localities for the production of indigenous iron in India . It is worked by the native methods , and there is a

    considerable annual export from Monghyr towards Nepanl and our own provinces . There is also a native manufacture of fire-arms on the spot , which has existed for a long period ; so that , besides the raw material , you have , to some extent , a population accustomed to the manipulation of iron . The coal of Bard wan is not far off , and limestone exists in parts of the same range cf hills . I have long thought , and have endeavoured to make known my opinion , that if the district in the vicinity of Monghyr -were thoroughly investigated , and the iron , the coal , and the limestone brought within easy access clone another , the most valuable results might be ob-¦¦ ¦ ¦ ¦

    tained . ... . : ; ..., . - . . .. : ¦; . ~ ¦ ; . - , ' . One peculiar advantage which Engl and possesses of course is , that the coal and iron and lime are found in xontiguity , thereby giving you at once a means of ^ melting and a means of flax for the article . Is that US case in Indi . /— -X believe it to be the case on the ITer % Qdd ^^ " '' ti he three materials are in closeT proximity to one another there than anywhere else in India , so far as we are at present informed . Is it , then , of great importance to establish ready means of communication , so as to bring these invaluable aaHdea irto contact-with one another ?—It is the only way of making them -useful . With regard to -wheat , I imagine that there is no limit to the production of wheat -fet a very cheap rate in India , and especially in the » orth-west of India , and in the Punjaub .

    I believe that country is a splendid country for corn ? — -The Punjaub is certainly a splendid country for com . I have seen it one vast sheet of corn in the spring , especially in the tipper part of the Punjaub , in the vicinity of the Himalayas ; there you may look over miles of country , one continued field of corn , which , is bounded <« auy l > y the base of the Himalayas . When you speak of corn , you mean wheat ?—Yes , wheat . When the projected canals are completed in the Punjaub , that country will , I imagine , become the ffnm ary of India , if not of other countries . Do you think "that corn might be exported from India In consequence of the abundance of its production there ? - —1 should consider that it might . I had occasion to

    inquire into the agriculture of the Punjaab in 1858 . A series of questions were circulated by the Government to all the civil officers in the district , and from their TepHes I framed a general Teport on the subject , which I How hold in my hand . I will mention , with regard to the price of corn , that in one portion of that report I "Stated that the prices of wheat at Lahore and Mooltnn were equivalent to Is . 6 d . and Is . 8 | d . per Winchester "bushel of 60 lbs . In North America , at the shipping ^ places on Lakes Erie and MicMga-n , the prices of wheat , u ( produce of Ohio and the west , as -stated by my "toother , Mr . fteymotir Tremenheere , in 1851 , were from tB . 12 \& . to 2 s . 8 ^ d . for the nam e weight , < cnd it sold at Liverpool for 6 s . 3 d . per bushel .

    That , therefore , shows that European skill and capital ate Independent of locality , and that cultivation follows them Whether in the eastern , as well as in the -western parts of the world ?—Yes . "Would not improved facilities of communication \> e a irery great benefit in preventing famines , which sometimes prevail in India?—Yos ; years of scarcity have recurred at Bengal at regular periods , with intervals of from eighteen to ninetcon years . Thus the years 1788 , 1752 , 1770 , 1807 , and 1886 arc recordod as those of ihe » greatest diBtross -within the last cotitury . In tho North-Western Provinces tlio intervale havo been

    these oft-recurring famines , because all parts of the country are not adapted for the construction of canals ; it is only by affording the greatest facilities for the transport of produce that the true remedy can be applied . Is tbere any great extent of waste land in that part of India with which you . have been acquainted ? There is a great deal of uncultivated land at the base of the Himalayas . Is there not this difference between the waste land of England and the waste land of India , that in India the waste land is very often land which might with great advantage be brought into cultivation ; whereas here the waste land is generall y land that is least capable of being brought into cultivation?—Yes .

    You have spoken of the extension of railways and canals ; would works of irrigation also greatly increase the productiveness of India ?—I think works of irrigation are of the greatest importance with regard to vegetable productions , and that they might be extended by means of private capital ; they have hitherto been constructed out of the revenues of the country . There appears to be no reason wny private capital should not be applied to public works of this nature , as well as to railways . That would be another means of developing the resources of the country , by the application of European skill and capital ?—Yes .

    One portion of the inquiry which has been devolved upon this Committee by the House of Commons is the possibility of availing ourselves of the climate of the hill stations of India for colonization and settlement ; have you ever turned your attention to that subject ? I think one of the most important things that could be done would be to make the hOl stations accessible by railway from the plains-You mean of course by carrying railways to the foot of the hills?—To the foot of the hills . Do you mean , for commercial purposes ?—Tor commercial purposes , as well as for the purposes of settlement in the hills .

    When it is combined with the natural sunerio ^ T / "li European , its influence on the native ! fc KSfibV ** may be turned to the best account . " re 8 astl We , and Is it not easier to rear in India the cliirinm ^* women than the children of European nothTs ? 5 *" you sendee children of Europeans ^ , ? he WU £ * they are just as easily reared as the children oW ' I think you could not reckon upon raSinir a L ^ ***' in the plains from the European solSfth anv ^ On whatever By keeping them in the j ££ they ^ ow £ generally lanky , degenerate-looking men & * , * % ye y ° *? Z experience of children reared in the hills ?—Yes . I have seen the children in the L- ^ r Asylum ; those I have seen are just as robust H 2 ? as much beef as children in England . ' and *' At what age have you seen them ?—I think nine or

    Would not the advantage that would be derived bv establ . shmg a European militia force in the hill ? from the . progeny of European parents to a great extent coun terbalance the cost of sending those European married soldiers to India ? -Undoubtedl y , and thatwo 5 T \ u a great . measure counterbalance the expense of rearing them m the hills . I have heard that the transport of a soldier from England to Meerut costs about 130 / 1 ^ Is it not the case that the engineers and contractors have been obliged to bring their own jnen of that class over from England ?—Yes ; they are not obtainable in India . :

    Are not many independent institutions now rising up for the education of children in the hills ?—Some exist which I have seen , but their progress is not very great . ' Within a few years , have not several been established in the Heilgherries ?—Some may have been established there . Are there not moral reasons why the soldiers , if they are permitted to marry in large numbers , should many Europeans rather than natives ? : —I think so . If they married natives , would not the children run a great risk of being brought up as heathens or as Mahomedaus?—Yes ; when the father died I think it would lead to the demoralization of the children left behind .

    To what hill stations do you allude ?—I allude to the bill stations of Simla and Mussooree , Almora , and Darjeeling ; there are others also to the northward of Simla , such as the station of : Dalhousie , which -was formed a few years ago , and Muiree for the Punjaub . Do they all lie near the East Indian Railway ?—No ; it would be necessary to have branch railways from the East Indian Railway to have access to any of those stations . . They could "be easily reached by branches ?—Easily . Are you aware that a new road has been made to Darjeeling , which is constructed in such a way that rails could be laid down upon it ?—I am aware that is has been sanctioned , but I am not aware that it has been made .

    You have been in the province of Tenasserim ; what is the climate there as affecting European constitutions ? —The climate of Tenasserim is generally very favourable to the European constitution ; it is a climate moist and damp , and at the same time generally healthy . I t is an exception to other parts of India in most respects . There is a very small population in Tenasserim , amounting to not more than one-half or three-fourths of a man per square mile ; the consequence is , that labour is very dear , and although the soil is unusually healthy and fertile , and covered with the densest vegetation , it is comparatively an uncultivated waste .

    In a military point of view is it not very desirable to have access to those lull stations ?—Undoubtedly it is desirable on every account to have access to them ; I conceive that means of speedy access to the hill stations is one of the chief wants in India . WiU you proceed with your remarks on this subject ? —The climate of the plains of India is decidedly adverse to the settlement of English families of the labouring class . In illustration , I need only refer to the care which is necessary to preserve the health of our soldiers in the East . For a great part of the day , during summer , they remain in . their barrack-rooms , which are darkened by wetted mats fixed in the doorways to cool the air . The sun ' s rays at that season are so powerful

    What resources does Tenasserim offer to tne British capitalist ? - ~ To the British capitalist I should Bay toe first resource there would be the production , of tin . Timber also occurs . Teak timber is tolerably abundant , but it has been a great deal worked out , and it is now only obtained from rather distant and less accessible localities . Knowing the Tenasserim provinces , of coarse you know the capabilities of the port of A-ckyab?—From general acquaintance with the country . I hav « touched only at Ackyab . You know that twenty years ago it was a place -which imported its own rice ?—I cannot speak with confidence on that point . I believe that in former times rice was to some extent an article of export from Arracan .

    that the economical employment of European labour in the plains of India is , I conceive , impracticable . In the hill districts the case is different . As you ascend the slopes of the Himalayas the climate , and with it the character of the vegetation , changes gradually , till , at elevations of 4000 , or from 4000 to 6000 feet , they become entirely of the European type . Here you feel at once that the temperature and climate are adapted to the European constitution . Of mere manual labour there is no deficiency in India ; on the contrary , native labour is abundant and cheap , and at equitable rates , proportioned to the distance men are required to go from their own homes , it is available for any part of our possessions . What is chiefly desirable is , the settlement of European capitalists , and that the indigenous labour of the country should be skilfully and profitably directed . The true function of the European in India is not as a

    Are you not aware that at present it exports many hundred thousand tons of rice in a year?—Yes . With regard to private soldiers , do you see any objection to giving them grants of land in the hill country , when their term of service has expired ?—I < lo not sec any particular objection to it if they are willing to take it in the hills ; I see no objection to their Attempting tho cultivation of tea , or hemp , or uax , ' or any products of that kind . You arc aware that in the establishments of tho old

    military pensioners in India , it is found that there is a vast deal of drunkenness and immorality , vrhicli is to a great extent ascribed to their having nothing : to do ; do you know -whether they have asked for land to cultivate as gardens?—I am not aware that they havo asked for land ; I know there ia a great deal of drunkenness and great evil , but soldiers , when not pensioners , are not very ready to cultivate gardone ; they are not very fond of it . Is not tlio produce of sugar per acre a great aeiu larger than the produce of indigo ?—That I cannot say .

    labourer , but as a director of labour . It is very important that some plau should be devised to increase tho number of the English in India . As a nation , wo are too small a body there ; and this perhaps , as much as any other cause , has led to the recent attempt to exterminate our rule . Tho conquest of the country by the Mahomedan powers , was followed by a large mixture of Mahomedans with the nativo population ; now cities were founded , and a community of fooling sprang up between tho conquering and tho conquered race ; whereas wo live in cantonments , or standing camps , apart from tho peoplo , and thoro is do identity of . intercuts between us . Wo do not , ns a body , unilorataml tho native charactor , its habits of thought , nnd springs of action . This experience has boon Boldom gained except by such men as tho Skinners , the I '^ orstors , nnd Van Cortlandt , who . havo been born in tho country , nnd have grown up iu daily intorcourso with tho natives .

    I think that ono of the first things that should be done to develop tho rosourccs of tho country is to permeate the land with railways . Before many years havo passed wo shall havo a system of trunk lines of railway ? but that ia only tho foundation « f the system -which ought to bo constructed in India ; feeders must bo supplied to those trunk lines , just as tho feodors of n riv ^ i nro necessary to swell tlio main stream , ami until Unit is done in every portion of tho country , and all tlic produetivo parts of tho country are ponetratod by railways , tl » oro will no progress in the dovelonmcnt of its great

    re-Bourcca . Havo you calculated tho period in which such ft network of railways could bo established in luiliaV—H ^ impossible to calculato tho period if tho juituritics do

    shorter , the principal years of scarcity having been 1782 , 1792 , 1802 , 1812 , 1819 , 18 L » 6 , and 18532 , tlio intervals being from , soven to ten years ; canals and irrigation alone -will not prevent the disasters caused by

    ?22 The Leader. [No. 435, July 24. I858<

    ? 22 THE LEADER . [ No . 435 , July 24 . i 858 <

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), July 24, 1858, page 26, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_24071858/page/26/