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THE
FAMINE CAMPAIGN IN SOUTHERN INDIA
VOLUME I.
tONDON : rniNTED UY
8POTT1SW0ODB AND CO.. KK\V-8TREKT SQUABB
ASD I'AUtlAJlEST STKKET
CHIEFS OF THE CAMPAIGX.
TITE
'\AMINB CAMPAIGN TN SOUTHEBN INDIA
{MADRAS AND BOMBAY PRESIDENCIES asd PROVINCE of MYSORE)
WILLIAM. DlUliY
IN two VOLUMES
VOL. I.
. L0N1>0N ONGMANS, GREEN, A N^D CO.
1878
I
TnE
FAMINE CAMPAIGN IN SOUTHERN INDIA
(MADRAS AND BOMBAY PRESIDENCIES and PROVINCE OF MYSORE)
1876-1878
BY
WILLIAM DIGBY
HONORARY SECRETARY INDIAN FAMINE REtlBF FUND
IN TWO VOLUMES
VOL. I.
LONDON LONGMANS, GEEEN, AND CO.
1878
Alt right* reserved
\1
'~:l
HC
VI
* We say that human life shaU be saved at any cost ^ and at any effort; no man, woman, or child shall die
of starvation. Distress they must often suffer ; we cannot save them from that. We wish we could do more, but we must be content with saving life and preventing extreme suffering*
Government of India, Jan. 1877.
PREFACE.
It is too soon to write a history of the famine cam- paign in India of 1876-1878. But it is not n day too soon to gather together the particulars of the various policies adopted in Madras, Bombay, and Mysore, while the facts are still, fresh in men's memories, and the minuticB oi policy and administration are available, that these may remain on record to enable the historian to base his judgment upon a trustworthy narrative of facts. This it has been my chief object in the follow- ing pages to supply. Favoured by the Government of India, the Madras Government, and the Mysore Famine Commissioner, not only with the thousands of reports and orders which were issued during the campaign against famine, but also with copies of documents which were not made public, I have endeavoured from these materials and such other trustworthy evidence as came under my own notice, or could be obtamed by enquiry, to place in a clear white light the events of a sad and troublous period in Southern Indian annals. I have naught extenuated nor aught set down in malice.
Vlll PREFACE.
The want of such a work regarding former famines as it has been my anxious desire to produce respecting the latest, was greatly felt by the public generally, and especially by publicists, whose duty it is to inform public opinion, when distress first began to manifest itself two years ago. Apart from this fact, so disastrous and terrible a visitation as the late famine deserved some permanent record, more especially as interest in it has been greatly increased by the marvellous and greatly abounding sympathy displayed by the people of all parts of the British dominions towards their suffer- ing fellow-subjects in Southern India. British feeling, however, did not content itself with gifts of money and expressions of deepest sympathy. In many parts of England and Scotland the lead given by Manchester was followed, and demand was made, by resolutions adopted in public meeting and transmitted to the Se- cretary of State for India, that such means should be undertaken by the Indian Government — aided, if necessary, by the Imperial Government — as would render it impossible in future that such a calamity as this, in which several millions of lives have been sacrificed to
I hunger and want-induced disease, should occur. The earnest practical sympathy of the British people needs accurate information if it is to exert the good it is capable of eff"ecting. For such a purpose as this, which was in my mind at the time of writing, I venture to hope this work will be of some service. An article in the Westyninater Review for April in this year shows
PUEFACE. IX
I
the necessity for a clear and full statement of facts being early put on record and made available. Whilst containing most appreciative expressions of sympathy with the suffering j)eople, from the writer having obtained only a partial acquaintance with the litera- ture of the subject — especially of the efforts and results of the charitable relief committees — the article alludec^ to minimises the suffering endured by the people, andi the good effected by the means used non-officially to alleviate anguish. .
I have to express my grateful acknowledgment to many kind friends for help rendered to me in the task I have undertaken ; especially am I indebted to Colonel 0. T. Burne, C.S.I., C.I.E., late Private Secretary to his Excellency the Viceroy, and to Roper Lethbridge, Esq., CLE., Press Commissioner with the Government of India. To other friends who have aided me greatly, but whose names I am not at liberty to mention, I am extremely grateful.
It remains only for me to add that, although this work was undertaken avowedly from a non-ofiicial point of view, and by one who, in his capacity as EditoV of a daily newspaper in Madras, had had occasion t* criticize adversely and condemn particular acts of ad- ministration, his Excellency the Viceroy and his Grace the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos recognized the value of a review of facts from an independent stand- point, and gave me all the aid it was in their power to afford, furnishing me with all the information that
X PREFACE.
could possibly be made known. Such value as this work may possess, regarded as a full and complete narrative of sad and sorrowful events, is owing to the unreserve of the noblemen just named.
Wm. Digby.
Madkas, Jdy 1878.
CONTENTS
ov THE F I E S T VOLUME.
MADRAS. CHAPTER I.
THE BEGINNING OF TlIE FAMINE.
PAGE
False hopes of. the N.E. monsoon 1876 — Distress in Ceded districts, 1875-70 — Personnel of Madras Government in October 1870 — Anxiety in earlier months of 1876 — Departure of Governor on tour — Panic and bazaar-looting in Kurnool — First apprehension of dis- aster— Government of India's first Eicquaintance with apprehended disaster — Dispute as to large or small works : former forbidden — The Viceregal Council and famine in 1876-70 — Money asked for : returns requested — The area aflfected — Scenes in large towns — Deaths from starvation in Madras — Humane instructions by col- lectors— Two members of the Board of Kevenue deputed to visit districts — Mr. Arbuthnot in Kurnool — ' The country a ban en waste ' — Scarcity of food stocks — Difficulties in managing labourers on works —Deficient oversight — Good management in Bellary — Mr. Price's supervision — Effects of cholera in a crowd — Return of the Governor — Creation of the Famine Department, Mr. Garstin, Sec- retary— Large imports of rice by merchants — The Madras Govern- ment as grain buyers — Opposition of the Government of India — Telegraphic controversy — Exaggerated rumours of purchase ; 30,000 tons magnified to 300,000 tons — Non-publication of proceedings — Resume of condition of the country in December 1870 by the Madras Government — Departure of the Duke for Delhi — Expenditure to end of year 1_44
CHAPTER n.
THE MO:\TH OF JANUARY 1877.
Startling contrasts on New Year's Day : rejoicings at Dellii, stai'vation in Southern India — Famine council in Viceroy's lent on Janutuy 6
Xll CONTENTS OF
PAGE
— Discussion on the crisis : Sir John Strachey's suggestion to send Sir Richard Temple — Approved by Governor of Madras ; objected to when too late — Estimate of disaster at Delhi — Death-returns: August-December, 1876 and 1877 — Despatch of Government of India — Task of Government limited — Sir Richard Temple's stall — Departure on tour — Prevention work in and near Madras — Digest of the Delegate's minutes and memoranda: Kurnool, Ouddapah, Bellary, North Arcot (cause of wandering), Ooimbatore, Trichiiio- poly, Chingleput, Madras city — Scenes in camp — Famine diseases — The famine as seen through the spectacles of the Madras Govern- ment— Deputation of Mr. Puckleto the distressed districts — Health of people and cattle — Apparent ignoring of increased death-rate in Delegate's reports and Madras Coimcil's despatches — Dr. Ross's opinion on cause of death — The Delegate's description of the cause and intensity of distress — Ten districts injured ; 10,000,000 people aiiected — Brave fight to save crops— Government aid towards making new wells or deepening old ones — Extent of crop loss — Con- sequence of such failure 45-72
CHAPTER III.
THE MONTHS OF FEBRUARY AND BIAKCII.
The Madras Govei-nment urged to adopt reduced rate of relief — After hesitation, local authorities yield — Opening of camps and works i' North Arcot — The Delegate in North Arcot, Ouddapah, and Nel- lore — The Suugun project recommended — Sir Richard Temple's suggestions regarding large works : digests of minutes urging large works — A contrast: Bombay v. Madras — Utilisation of village agency and house-to-house visitation — Risk to weaker members of families — Impression left by the Delegate's reports — Sir Richard Temple's statements declared unfaithful — Deaths in Ouddapah — Discussion between Madras Government and Delegate regarding relief ration, latter prevailing — ' Shroffing' the relief works — Painful administration — Relief ration and jail ration contrasted — ' A fair day's work for a fair day's pay ' — Reports of cases of star- vation— A humane ducal order — Remission v. suspension of revenue — Good reasons for remission — The Delegate defeated— In- efficiency of supervising staff — Partial nature of the Delegate's enquiries — Ravages of cholera — Scenes of extreme suffering — ' Awful facts ' omitted from official papers — Testimony of an eye- witness to the inefficiency of village agency — Neglect in Kalastri, North Arcot — Want of adequate control — The effect of lax super- vision— A jungle tribe — ' A very good specimen of the orthodox Brahmin ' — Ignorance as to starvation — Scenes at a burying-place — Work on the East Ooast Oanal — Sir Richard Temple's exami- nation of cooly gangs — ' Depression ' v. ' utter emaciation ' — Difficulties of relief operations — Shamming work — Dr. Oornish regretting he has not a photographer with him — Great emaciation
THE FIRST VOLUMK. XUl
I'AOK
and Buftering ftt MadanapuUy— Heavy mortality iuovitable— Inl«r- wtiug i-eixirt from Adoiii — 'A uumericul account of crows' — Order rogardinj? care of ' residuum of poor loft iu villages ' — Failure of recruiting efforts — Actual coercion deprecated — Wages on the I'kst Ooast Oanal — Scenes of distress at Iloyachoti — Uu- trustwortliiness of death registers 73-1 :i4
CHAPTER IV.
THE MONTHS OF APRIL AND MAY.
Disagreeable features of an ordinary hot season intensified in Apiil 1877 — Government trip to the hills given up — Microscopic v. tele- scopic viev? of events — Madras official devotion to duty — Enquiries regarding the 1-lb. ration — Visit of Dr. Townsend — Reason why his visit was cut short — Dispute between Governments as to em- ployment of professional agency — Sir Bichard Temple's indiscre- tion— The grievance of Bangalore grain traders — Mr. Puckle's appointment as Delegate — ' Are you sure Sir Richard has really left the Presidency P ' — Deepening of the distress — Anxiety re- garding the 1-lb. ration — Reports from district officers — Enquiry by two Surgeons-General — Efforts of Madras Government with Secretary to State for increasing ration — Government of India recommended to give more discretion to Madras Government— The 1-lb. ration increased — Two Government reports on inefficiency of village officials — Great pressure upon officials — Sickness and death — Censure by the Government of India of Madras officials for delayed retums--Subjects on which information was sought — * Ample allowance ' made for difficulty, but ' exaggerated im- pressions' formed — Effect of censure like spark falling on gun- powder— Feeling of resentment general throughout India— Pro- posed demonstration against supreme authoiities — The "Viceroy's presence at Madras desired — Short tour of the Governor in Nor- thern districts — Terrific cyclone for three days — Governor weather-boimd on the bonks of a river — Great waste of water through injudicious economy — Partial effect of rainfall — Agricul- tural operations but slightly advanced — Large works again urged by Government of India — Terrible death-rate iu relief camps — Drafting from camps to village houses — Death-returns for April and May 125-154
CHAPTER V.
WAITING FOR THE SOUTH-WEST MONSOON.
Cyclonic rains of May comparatively useless, besides being of limited extent — Abnormal state of the atmosphere — Solar heat in vanio 10 degrees above average — Minor causes of suflering in Madras —
XIV CONTENTS OF
PA(!E
Occasions of concern to the local Government, (1) food supply, (2) food prices — Rapid consumption of food imported — TJeports of stocks and prices— Carrying power of the railway — Representa- tions to the Supreme Government - Friction between Madras and Simla — High prices matter for thankfulness — Anxiety of Madras Government about middle-class poor — Failure of the south-west monsoon— Scenes of distress in the streets of Madras — Anxiety as to the future, but not despondency — A cry to the Indian Olympus — Government of India 'much concerned' at state of affairs — Madras authorities needing support — Testimony of an independent witness — Interesting indication of depth of distress — Silver ornaments melted at the Bombay Mint — Madras ryots in a condition of idle despair — Destitution of villages — Critical posi- tion of the dry crops — Gloomy outlook— One bright gleam ; culti- vation mitigating distress — The Salem relief camp — Unruly, disorderly, unmanageable, and ungrateful people — Fault-finding and fighting - Condition of the poor at Salem — Increased pressure of the famine — An overflowing jail — High caste poor and cooked food — Formation of nine charitable committees in Madras — Suggested appeal to Great Britain — Madras Government's recog- nition of new aspect of disaster — Minute by his Grace the Governor containing preparations for aggravated danger — Increased deaths in June and July 155-1U2
CHAPTER VI.
THE CULMINATION OF THE CRISIS.
A conversation on the outlook — Problem to be solved in August — Food-prices quadrupled — Famine batta — Deaths in camps and in roads — Scarcity and its effect on crime — The Government in loco parentis to several millions of people — How to feed an uncertain number of people on imported food — First big tragedy expected in Mysore — The appeal to England for help to supplement Government efforts — The meeting in the Banqueting Hall — The appeal strictly non-official — Disapproval of Supreme Government — Viceroy's determination to visit Madras — Reasons for not early visiting distressed districts — Rapid increase of distress week by week in August — Duke of Bucldngham's desire to cheapen grain — Activity in trade — Circumlocution in exedsis — Departure of Viceroy from Simla — Arrangements to increase carrying power of rail- ways— Arrival of Viceroy in Madras — Discussions at Government House : (1) Private trade, (2) Works, (3) Relief, (4) Three-pie children, (5) Relief camps, (6) Village relief, (7) Village agency, (8) Superior agency, (9) Form of administration to fight cam- paign— Maleficent eftect of incomplete works — Abuses in village and camp relief — The duty of Government during famine — Control : Boards and council v. a dictator — The Duke made dictator — The Duke's Personal Assistant — The first Gazette of
b^
THE FIRST VOLUME. xt
PAOB
India ever pnbliaheil at Madras — The le^j^ality of the dictatorship called in queation — Pnxiedure quite leg^al — Arguments in support thereof— The new arrangeraenis generally approved — The line of battle broken in two places — Visit of Lord Lytton to tlie Monegar Choultry and relief camps — Scenes in a hospital — Itainfall iu August — Visit of the Viceroy to Mysore — Delay in carrying out the now policy — Viceroy's hesitation about staying longer in Southern India — Good effect of the rainfall which helped the new policy to be successful — Daily service of weather telegrams — Deaths in September " . 193-228
CHAPTER VII.
THE FAMINS ON THE DECLINE.
Hopeful report of the Madras Government — Fall in prices — Statement showing, district by district, state of crops, trade, and condition of people — Bursting of the north-east monsoon on November 3 — Fever and malaria in up-country districts — Troubles of agri- culturists : seed rotted, plants destroyed by locusts — Reserve grain in Bellary, Ouddapah, and Kurnool disposed of — Tour of Governor iu southern districts — Disastrous floods in Madura, Tinnevelly, and other places — Falling off in numbers on relief and in camps — Unenclosed camps a sort of hotel where there is no reckoning with the host — Table of reductions from September 4 to December 25— Death-rate for October 229-238
CHAiPTER VIII.
THE FAMINE IN 1878.
Scares in the month of February — Southern India believed to be on the threshold of another famine — Reasons for this belief — Appre- hensions of reaction — An army of locusts which no man could number — Bad seed — Atpiospheric disturbances — Reports of Dele- gates from the districts — Failure of dry grain crops in many districts — The situation in February — An instance of the terrible ravages of disease in a Hindu household — Decreased cultivation — Partial census in March — Hopeful aspect of affairs in April — Departure of Qo^-emment to Ootacamund — Famine honours . 239-244
VOL. I.
Xvi COJiTTENTS OF
BOMB A Y. CHAPTER I.
THE DISASTER FACED AND FOUGHT SUCCESSFULLY.
PAGE First announcement of impending disaster in August 1870 — Visit of ]\Ir. Grant, collector of Sholapur, to the Governor — Prompt action by Sir P. Wodehouse — Allotment for relief works on September 4 — Distress manifested gradually — Frequent conferences — Study of famine literature — Sir Pliilip Wodehouse assumes control of famine affairs — Testimony to his zeal and ability by a colleague — Grain-purchase left entirely to trade — Determination to project large works — Relief for non- workers — Appearance of the country — Demand for remission — Angry temper of the people — A native view of the position of affairs — Whole classes become ' supportless ' — Anticipation of the extent of distress — Proposal to commence earthworks of Dhond and Manmad Railway rejected by the Government of India — Dispute between superior and subordinate Governments — The famine programme placed in the hands of the Public Works Department — Wages rates in October — Proof of ample preparation — Bombay politically and socially first of Indian Presidencies — Enquiries by a * Native Public Association ' — The first narrative of the Sarvajanik Sabha — Supplementary Government information— Goverument readiness to receive non-ofilcial informa- tion— Government grain importation deprecated by natives — Village reports — Suffering in Sholapur — Deaths from want and bad food — Testimony of an eye-witness — Pitiable scenes — Mr. Grant's strenuous efforts — A journey in an uncomfortable Noah's ark on wheels — Scenes on the roads — The population as emigrants — The disease of starvation not in the hospital list — A European victim — Severe criticism of the Bombay Government — A strong-minded Mahratta woman — No absolute dearth of food anticipated — The Sarvajanik Sabha's second narrative — The condition of the cattle — Government recognition of the Sabha's good work — Lord Lytton in Bombay — Viceroy's approval of steps taken — Wandering at its highest point — Depopulation caused by wandering— Terrible distress in. Kaladghi district — The sliding scale of wages . . . 245-205
CHAPTER II.
A GAME AT CROSS PURPOSES IN HIGH QUARTERS.
Governor of Bombay at Delhi — Pi-ecis of correspondence showing difference of opinion— Bombay restiveness— The Government of India's hesitation to undertake large works — Proceedings of
THE FIU8T VOLUME. XVU
PAQB
I'resident in Council — Railway project found wanting — Statistics regarding distress in districts called for — Calculation as to extent of scarcity— Disapproval of particular works — ItenionHtrance of Bombay Government — Local responsibilities accorded — Further remonstrance from Bombay against general line adopted by Indian Government — Irritating correspondence on Irrigation Works — Note on general policy of Bombay — Small works occasioning waste — App<nutment of Sir llicbard Temple as Famine Delegate — Three petulant paragraphs — Contradictory -orders regarding deaths from starvation — Resolution of Bombay Government on Sir Richard Temple's minute — Indiscreet publication of resolution — Repudia- tiou by Government of India of alleged contradictory orders — Sir Alexander Arbuthnot's defence of Government policy — Sir Henry Norman's minute — Lord Lytton's * earnest and constant endeavour ' to prevent ' mutual irritation and distrust ' — From file-fire to broadside — Tlie breach of official decorum by Bombiy — Omission in Blue Book (and eisewliere) of nunute of censure — Further letter from Bombay — Euding of the coutroversy . . . 296-332
CHAPTER III.
FAMINE-STRICKEN LABOURERS ON STRIKE.
Falling-off in suavity — Sabha's narratives one long note of complaint — Four months of severe pressure — No wages to be paid for Sundays — Tasks demanded on Professional and Civil Agency Works — Need for professional supervision — System of cLossification adopted — Distance test — Wages rates admitted by law — Allowance to young children and non- workers — The reduced ration — Resent- ment against lowered wages — Volimtary abstention from works —The Sabha's protest against the 1-lb. ration — Refusal to labour — Conspiracy or organised strike denied — Natural causes for re- fusing to work — Monster meetings — Telegrams to Governor of I3ombay, the Viceroy, Secretary of State, and Members of Parlia- ment— Prayer for Redress unheeded — The Sarvajanik Sabha charged with organising strike — Subsidence of the agitation — Making a convenience of relief works — Mr. Gibbs's testimony — Repugnance to relief camps — Extraordinary instance of voluntary starvation — Village relief — Village organisation in Bombay Presidency — Mor- tality returns not published — GovernmcMit policy eminently suc- cessful— Preparing for the monsoon — Sir Philip W^odehouse suc- ceeded by Sir R. Temple 333-357
CHAPTER IV.
THE CULMINATION AND DECLINE OF THE FAMINE.
Rains in April deceptive — Showers few and partial- Want and pesti- lence in Bombay city — Increase of prices in July— Lord Lytton
XVlli CONTENTS OF
PAUE
at Poona— Interference with exports that grain might have pre- ference on railways — The Sabha on famine mortality — Estimated to he as much as in Madras — Resolution by Lord Lytton on the Sabha's memorial— Loss of cattle in Sholapur — Village vital sta- tistics ..... 868-366
CHAPTER V.
AN ESTIMATE OF THE DISASTER : THE ILL WROUGHT, THE GOOD RESULTING.
Closing of works and camps at end of 1877 — Sir Richard Temple's minute reviewing the whole campaign — Area affected — Maxima of distress — Activity of private trade by rail and road — Percentage of population affected — Classes receiving relief — Mr. Gibbs's observa- tions— The self-supporting power of the people — Sir Richard Temple's praise of careful revenue settlements — The Bombay Gazette's comments thereon — Various irrigation proposals: tanks to hold two years' supply of water— Fair amount of work to show on money expended — Character of the suffering people — 1-lb. ration held to be sufficient; the fact established beyond doubt — Gra- tuitous relief — Mortality in villages — Good done by private charity — Probable famine mortality — Registration confessedly imperfect — Deaths from starvation in many parts of distressed districts — Mr. Gibbs not satisfled with Sir R. Temple's tables and deductions therefrom — Low death-rate on works— Collection of laud re- venue— Arrears capable of collection— Total loss not to exceed three lakhs — Expenditure on works, gratuitous relief, and establishments — The cost of the famine — Railway profits — Amount spent on Irrigation Works — Financial results satisfactory — Mr. Gibbs on a true famine policy — Sir Richard Temple on the gains of the famine 367-388
27ie men who fought in the Bmnhay campaign .... 388-392
MYSORE.
CHAPTER I.
THE PROVINCE OP MYSORE; FAMINE BEGINNING.
Situation of the province— Under control of Government of India during the minority of the Maharaja— Undulating nature of the country— The wet country and the open country— Seasonal crops —Immense number of tanks— Social condition of the people— The village republic— Hereditary officials— India a mass of village republics— Independence and thrift of the Mysoreans— Famine
THE FIRST VOLUME. XIX
PAOK
pymptoms in 1876 — Contradictory reports — Tour by Mr. Dalzell in January 1870 — Partial failure of south-west monsoon in 1876 — Destitution of the people — Living upon seeds and roots — Inspec- tion of villft^'es— Repugnance to earthworks — Adepts at excuse- making — Sale of family ornaments and jewels . . . 803-413
CHAPTER II.
OCTOBER 1877 TO AUGUST 1877.
Disappointing monsoons — The situation in October 1876 — Grants from State's savings — Mr. Saunders recognising famine in November — Famine relief meeting in Bangalore — Formation of central com- mittee— Ilelief operations — Feeding kitchens — Voluntary effort inadequate 414-418
OCTOBER TO DECEMBER, 1876.
Increase to official allowances — Wise proposals by Colonel Pearse — The Chief Commissioner's orders thereon — Large works urged but not undertaken — Justification for confidence in free-trade — Stocks of grain in landholders' hands large — Landowners supporting labourers — Fundamental principles of true relief administration recognised but not adopted — The Government of India in its ' unregenerate mood ' — The position of affairs at the end of 1876. 419-425
FEBRUARY TO APRIL, 1877.
Visit of Sir Richard Temple — The Delegate's high opinion of all measures adopted — The situation only partially realised — Estimate of crop failure, &c. — Activity of private trade — An alternative railway route — Mr. Bernard's memorandum on Kolar — Village relief urged by Sir Richard Temple — The Chief Commissioner's order — The Mari Kanwe reservoir — Foreign grain only consumed in Kolar — Tank repairs — Allegations of starvation deaths — The future of the cattle — High praise of Mysore officials — Feeding on bamboo seeds — A house-to-house enquiry: living on reduced rations — The state of things in April— -Ominous reports of Mysore officials — Mortality among the people— 'The Temple test' not enforced in Mysore — Difficulties in kitchen relief . . 425-448
JULY TO AUGUST, 1877.
Paucity of information in official records— Fitful rainfall — The chari- table committees in Mysore — Appeal to Bengal for assistance 25,000 rs. received — General alarm in July at monsoon failure — Want of comprehensive oversight — Peddling works: 'filling up holes and ditches ' — Contradictory orders— Sad sights in Bandore
XX CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME.
PAGE
and the districts — Bad rice full of grit at a prohibitive price — Starvation in the coffee districts — Public Works procedure: tried and found wanting — Relief agency needed to reach the sufferers — Mistaken economy — Colonel Sankey on the situation — Provincial finance — Net results of ' putting the talent away in the napkin ' — Insufficient administration — Special staff needed for particular crisis — Want of driving power at head-quarters — Colonel Sankey on tank repairs — Possible public works — Selected officers deputed to assist the Chief Commissioner — BoiTowing of fifty lakhs . 448-466
CHAPTEE III.
A RADICAL CHANGE OP POLICY.
State of things in Bangalore and elsewhere whilst Viceroy proceeding from Simla to the South — The dead in the streets — Efforts of the ryots to obtain crops — Arrival of the Viceroy — Report from the deputed officers — Improved system of management proposed — Conference with Colonel Sankey as to system to be adopted — Ptefusal of Colonel Sankey to adapt his department to changed circumstances — Colonel Sankey transferred to Simla — Main object of improvement — Feeding kitchens under central committee super- seded— Appointment of Mr. Elliott as Famine Commissioner — Strengthening of the medical and engineering staffs — Commence- ment of the Bangalore and Mysore Railway sanctioned — The great need for a changed policy— The Viceroy taking the famine port- folio— The mortality in men and cattle from January to May — The Viceroy and the planters — Southern Indian mineralogy — Beneficial results of new system early seen — Mysore, for famine purposes, in the hands of a triumvirate-rExcellence of the work done by Mr. Elliott, Major Scott-Moncrieff, and Mr, Wingate — Fortunate fall of rain — Mr, Elliott's Famine Code (pp, 483-490)— Famine deaths in Bangalore in August, September, and October- Improvement in Bangalore feeding-kitchens — Difficulties of chari- table relief— General improvement of the province — Reaction in January and February — The reaction grappled with — Dying out of distress — Statistical returns : (1) the old regime, (2) the new regime . 467-504
DISTRESS m NORTHERN INDIA.
Anxiety in August 1877— Reports furnished to the Viceroy on his journey from Simla— Prospects in the North- West generally — The Maharaja of Jeypore— Rajputana threatened— Good news from the Central Provinces — Prospects in October — Despatch to the Secretary of State— Reports in November— Distress in 1878— Continued Sufferinff in Madras 505-511
ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOL. I.
CnrEFs OP THE Campaign Frontispiece
Grain Bags on Madras Beach, February 1877 . . To face p. 28
Map showing the Distribution of Persons Relieved IN TUE Famine Districts of Southern India . . „ 246
THE INDIAN FAMINE.
MADRAS.
Erratum Page 421, line 9 from top, of Volume I,, omit IX. Approved
. XXXXAV^rXU TT VfX v
returning from their summer sojourn on the hills.
' I am afraid that is not the monsoon/ said the gentleman to whom the remark was made.
'Not the monsoon?' rejoined Mr. Ellis. 'Good God ! It must be the monsoon. If it is not, and if the monsoon does not come, there will be an awful famine.'
The next day, when the party had arrived on the plains, it was found that the heavy rain of the previous day was not a presage of the north-east monsoon ; it was merely a local downpour, and, instead of the country side being refreshed with fallen rain, all was withered and bare and desolate. A dire famine had
VOL. I. B
THE INDIAN FAMINE.
MADRAS. CHAPTER I.
THE BEGrNNING OF THE FAMINE.
* Here's the north-east monsoon at last,' said the Hon. Robert Ellis, C.B., junior member of the Governor's Council, Madras, as a heavy shower of rain fell at Coonoor, on a day towards the end of October 1876, when the members of the Madras Government were returning from their summer sojourn on the hills.
' I am afraid that is not the monsoon,' said the gentleman to whom the remark was made.
'Not the monsoon?' rejoined Mr. Ellis. 'Good God ! It must be the monsoon. If it is not, and if the monsoon does not come, there will be an awful famine.'
The next day, when the party had arrived on the plains, it was found that the heavy rain of the previous day was not a presage of the north-east monsoon ; it was merely a local downpour, and, instead of the country side being refreshed with fallen rain, all was withered and bare and desolate. A dire fjimine had
VOL. I. B
2 INDIAN FAMINE — MADRAS.
settled upon the Presidency of Madras, but the fact was not yet realised by the Government, nor was it apprahended for some time after.
There was occasion for deep anxiety on the part of the authorities; the advance-guard of famine had been in the districts for months past. Just a year pre- viously alarm and anxiety had been felt respecting the districts of Bellary, Cuddapah, South Arcot, and iJNorth Arcot, a territory nearly equal in extent to the southern half of England, and sums of money had been granted to collectors for relief works, and revenue was foregone to the amount of 710,899 rs.^ To meet the distress occasioned in Bellary by the failure of the north-east monsoon of 1875, a grant of 12,000 rs. was made by telegram in December of that year ; on the other districts named, no money was actually spent, but the collectors were warned to watch carefully the cir- cumstances which had caused so much anxiety.
The collector of North Arcot was directed to con- sider whether improvement to wells could not be bene- ficially undertaken, as was done in Bellary in 1868, when famine was sore in that part of the land. In January 1876 the Government of India observed the state of things in Madras, and on the 22nd of that month sent the following telegram to the local Govern- ment : ' Your weekly telegram of state of season for week ending January 20, implies a very sudden change in prospects. Please report facts fully by letter, stating probable amount of remissions, localities affected, and any other important points.'
Several reports were forwarded, and on February 5 the Government of India called for a ' condensed state- ment of the views of the Government of Madras as to
^ In the following proportions: — Bellary, 103,799 rs. ; Cuddapah, 177,100 rs. ; North Arcot, 150,000 rs. ; and South Arcot, 280,000 rs.
PERSONNEL OF MADHAS GOVERNMENT. 3
the prospects of the districts ; ' and this was furnished exactly five months later. The condensed statement gave some interesting particulars of the extent and nature of the suffering, and concluded with the remark, * Nothing certain can be predicted of the future of the coming season. Every precaution is being taken for guarding against the serious effects which a famine may produce if the current official year prove indifferent likewise, and relief works have been proposed and sanctioned for execution in the event of the necessity for providing labour to the poorer classes becoming imminent.*
The whole of the correspondence was forwarded from Simla to London on July 31 ; on October 5 its receipt was acknowledged by the Marquis of Salisbury, who echoed the main facts of the disaster, and remarked, ' The Government of Madras would appear to be re- garding the condition of the districts with vigilant attention, and to be prepared to establish relief works should necessity arise.' Before the despatch reached India — ^from Madras, from Bombay, from Mysore the cry had gone up that grievous and sore distress was in their midst.
The Government of Madras in 1877 consisted of his Grace the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, Sir Neville Chamberlain, Commander-in-Chief, the Hon. Su- W. R. Robinson, K.C.S.L, and the Hon. R. S. Ellis, C.B. The Governor was, comparatively speaking, new to the country, and unfamiliar with the people and with Indian topics ; the Commander-in-Chief took but little part in the civil affairs of the Presidency ; Sir William Robinson knew the country most thoroughly : as In- spector-General of Police he had visited every part of it, and was known to possess great personal sympathy with Indians of all races ; Mr. Ellis was a civilian of
B 2
4 INDIAN FAMINE— MADRAS.
much experience in Southern India, a man of wide cul- ture, of decision in action, and generally able to take a large grasp of a particular situation. These were the men who had to face and fight the calamity which fell upon the Presidency in the autumn of 1876.
There had been anxiety for some months, the south- west monsoon having been a partial failure in some districts, a complete failure in others. Merchants had been prompt to see the need which the food stocks of the country would require of replenishment, and trade had been active long before Government made any sign that it apprehended wide-spread disaster. The magni- tude of shipping operations which had been going on from the beginning of the year may be estimated from the fact that in nine months, from the district of Ganjam alone, 500,000 bags of rice were shipped to Madras. The marvellous development of the import trade of the Presidency will be found fully dealt with in the section of this work dealing with imported food, and need not, therefore, be further alluded to here. In August and September the public mind was much con- cerned with reports which found their way into the newspapers regarding distress in some of the districts ; early in October the authorities were making some efforts to grapple with the impending disaster, and small relief works were opened in Bellary, in Nellore, and in other districts. According to the Blue Books which have been published, beyond a vague statement that ' relief works have been proposed and sanctioned for execution ' in the event of necessity for them being proved, nothing whatever seems to have been repre- sented to the Supreme Government by the Madras Council until the end of October ; no report from dis- jtrict officers was called for between July and October, lor, if called for and supplied, none were published. In
DEPARTURE OF THE GOVERNOR ON TOUR. 5
September and early in October residents in the Madras Presidency began to feel that their impressions regard •_ ing great scarcity m-vvo wrong, and that even limited want._waa not a.ppreiicudcd, for it was reported that hia Grace the Governor was about to proceed on a long tour to the Andaman Islands, Rangoon, and Ceylon, in the last-named place to inquire about a railway which will not be wanted for a century. It was argued that i^ danger was impending the Governor would not leave his post. Merchants, however, continued importing on a larger scale than usual. Meanwhile, in public interest there was a lull — the lull before the storm breaks, as it subsequently proved. The decision of the Madras Government on a matter ^ in which race prejudices, re- ligious scruples, social distinctions, were all combined, was published, and absorbed general attention, to the shutting out of the shadow of the great disaster which was rapidly approaching.
His Grace the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, and his Excellency Sir Neville Chamberlain, with their respective suites, left Madras in H.M. ss. Tenasserim^ early in October, on the tour already described. Imme- diately before they departed, anxiety was again aroused on reports being received from Bombay of wide- spread scarcity in that Presidency. It was felt that the failure of the south-west monsoon must have affected many districts in Madras, as well as in Bombay, but, as the chief reliance of the agriculturist in the Eastern Presidency is on the north-east monsoon, the hope was cherished that the rains due on October 15 would suffice to avert intense disaster. This hope was shared by the members of Government left in charge of the Presidencv, Sir Wm. Robinson and Mr. EUis.
' The * Weld ' case, where a civilian had the body of a Hindu Sanyasi (saint) exhumed from its grave in a tank wall and buried elsewhere.
6 INDIAN FAMINE — MADRAS.
The days passed quietly ; no information from Govern- ment offices reached the newspapers, excepting telegrams from collectors which contained only scrappy intelligence and were quite useless unless read in connection with those previously recorded ; the comparison was never made, and the situation was not adequately grasped. Towards the end of October, no signs of the north-east monsoon being apparent, and the effect of the failure of the south-west rains in the central districts being expe- rienced in increasing measure, it was apprehended that famine was nigh at hand ; panic seized the people and the grain merchants. Prices rose to double and even treble the ordinary rates, and threats were made of loot- ing grain bazaars. In some of the up-country districts, notably Kurnool, looting did occur, and the military had to be called out. The position of affairs, however, can- not better be described than in the words of the Govern- ment themselves.
' The public conviction of the absolute failure of the north-east monsoon was,' they say in a letter dated November 30, 'necessarily, from the nature of the event, arrived at suddenly. The result was that prices sprang at a bound to a point which they have scarcely ever been known to reach before, and from which they have hardly, even now, at all receded. The rise was so extraordinary and the available supply, as compared with well-known requirements, apparently so scanty, that merchants and dealers, hopeful of enormous future gains, appeared determined to hold their stocks for some indefi- nite time and not to part with the article which was becoming of such unwonted value. It was apparent to the Government that the facilities for moving grain by the rail were rapidly raising prices everywhere, and that the activity of apparent importation and of railway transit did not indicate any addition to the food stock of
FIRST APPREHENSION OF DISASTER. 7
the Presidency, or really afford security from temporary disaster. So it speedily proved. Grain was hurriedly witlidrawn by rail and sea from the more remote dis- tricts, to their serious prejudice, and poured into central depots, but retail trade up-country was almost at a stand- still. Either prices were asked which were simply be- yond the means of the multitude to pa}^ or shops remained entirely closed. Grain riots by hungry mobs of men, women, and even children, and more serious dacoities accompanied by violence, followed in many parts of the country, and elsewhere outbreaks occurred in the hope of checking exportation and thus preventing dreaded scarcity. These disorders, though speedily and effectually suppressed, added another element of confu- sion and danger.' These facts only came to the Govern- ment in detail. They first apprehended that the disaster was no longer afar off, but nigh at hand, on October 24, when the following telegram was sent to the President of the Agriculture, Revenue, and Commerce Department at Simla : — * Condition of Kurnool, Cudda- pah, and Bellary districts very bad, and daily becoming more gloomy. If north-east monsoon should not set in favourably within fifteen days, gravest results. Distress approaching famine will probably ensue in these districts, and great distress in some other districts. Present state of grain market causes us great anxiety. Prices prema- turely reached famine rates. Following measures have been taken : relief works opened wherever distress pre- vails ; food to aged and children given in some places, and local officers being aided by additional temporary officers. Member of Board of Revenue visiting all dis- tricts most distressed. Very heavy Imperial expenditure probably inevitable.'
This was the first information which the supreme authorities received of probable famine in Madras. So
8 INDIAN FAMINE — MADRAS.
far as the Blue Book, Part I., shows — and it is to this the present writer has been referred by the Madras Go- vernment for particulars of the events which occurred prior to the formation of a Famine Department in Madras in December 1876 — no particulars were sent to the Supreme Government of what had been transpiring between July and October. The reply of Sir Henry Norman, who was then acting as President of Council in the absence of the Viceroy on tour, was in these terms : — ' Your telegram of yesterday. The President in Council has received with much concern the accounts of the distressed condition of Cuddapah, Bellary, and other districts, and fully approves of measures taken by Madras Government. His Honour wishes to receive, at the earliest practicable date, separate statements regard- ing each taluk in the distressed districts, showing its area, population, government, realisable revenue in 1875-76, rough proportion of early to late cultivation, average annual rainfall, actual rainfall this season, ordi- nary price of staple food of the taluka at this season, actual present price of the same, probable extent of failure of crops, and amount, if any, sanctioned for relief works and other relief.'
Two days later messages were exchanged between the controlling and subordinate Governments, which are of great importance in view of the disputes which occurred afterwards. On October 26 the Governor of Madras had reached Colombo, and his colleagues at once put themselves in communication with his Grace. Sir W. Robinson and Mr. Ellis had at this time estimated the difficulty to some extent, and saw that large schemes were needed to provide occupation for the large num- bers coming on relief works. ^ The system of petty works, while sufficing for local distress, was inadequate
' The numbers cf persons seeking employment had then increased to 100,000.
LARGE V. SMALL WORKS. 9
when intended to meet widespread want. The President in Council, Madras, therefore telegraphed to the Govern- ment of India (Oct. 27), as follows : — ' A fprtnight's time must Hptprminp wh^^(,]|;|p.^ ^^ffli?*"- ^8 inevitable. In that case concentration of relief labour most necessary; already upwards of fifty thousand employed on scattered relief works in one district out of three. If famine con- tingency arises, we propose commencement of embank- ment work of Bellary-Guddak Railway, which traverses worst part of suflfering district, as State work. Please telegraph reply.' The reply came from Sir Henry Norman, and was : — ' The Government of India do not think it advisable in present emergency to sanction large and expensive works, the ultimate cost of which will greatly exceed the expense involved in providing labour for distressed poor. Liical-Wfirks... should be organised. Bombay Government have been similarly instructed. The railway project must be decided on its merits.'
The Supreme Government, by its subsequent action, to be noted more in detail when dealing with the Bom- bay famine, confessed that it was wrong on this point. In its favour, when condemning, in early stages of famine, the commencement of large works, it may be stated that the fears expressed in January 1876 re- garding probable famine in Bellary and other districts, had only been incompletely borne out. A few months after, viz., in the spring of 1876, the Yice-regal Council experienced a second alarm ; this time it was reported that the rains in Bengal had failed, and large schemes of remunerative public works were placed before the Viceroy. His Excellency, however, was disinclined to sanction these, preferring that, if partial scarcity oc- curred, small works, in the localities where distress existed, should be provided. Experience in the Bengal
10 INDIAN FAMINE — MADEAS.
famine of 1873-4 had shown that great projects might be commenced, much money expended upon them, but the projects themselves not be completed. Whilst the question was being considered, prospects became more favourable, and the need for either large or small works in Bengal passed away. The fear of famine, however, was not to be removed from the presence of the Supreme Government. A dropping fire recording rain-failure and consequent crop-loss was directed against the authorities throughout the year. No record appears in the Blue Books presented to Parliament of the fact that month by month, from October 22, 1875, the Chief Commissioner of Mysore had sent to the supreme au- thorities particulars of widening and deepening distress. Such particulars were furnished, and as far back as December 1875 it was seen that suifering was so great that the land revenue could not be collected without coercive measures. Mr. Dalyell was at that time acting as chief commissioner, and, on the permanent incumbent of the office arriving, proceeded from Bangalore to Calcutta, to take up his duties as member of the Legislative Council almost immediately after, which makes it strange that little notice appears to have been taken of the con- dition of Mysore, in the despatches to the Secretary of State. However, the expenditure of a lakh of rupees was authorised in April 1876 from the savings of the State, and this amount was ordered to be debited to district funds. Keturning to the enquiry of the Madras Government, it would appear as if the supreme authori- ties had argued in this wise : ' What need to prepare for great disasters, when we find that the cry of " Wolf" has repeatedly been raised^ when comparatively little or no danger existed ? ' (Theve was no wilful desire to ignore real distress, but a conviction that those on the spot where distress manifested itself would be, or were.
THE DISTRICTS AFFECTED.
11
desirous of magnifying the disaster with which they might have to deal.]
The Madras authorities telegraphed to Simla, a second time, on October 27, and asked for sanction for relief works amounting to 377,770 rs., adding that it was impossible to avoid expense or to provide necessary relief from provincial or local funds. The sanction was not accorded, but the production of certain returns, which had been asked for, was urged. Collectors were summoned from their districts to Madras and were con- sulted as to existing and prospective needs, and great earnestness and much effort were exhibited by the Government.
The action of the authorities may now be left for a time, and a glance taken at the position of affairs in the Presidency generally. In fourteen districts, covering an area of 80,000 miles, distress was felt.^ It manifested itself in many ways, — in the mofussil (country districts) by people leaving their homes and wandering ; in crowd- ing to chuttrums (relief houses), and to large towns ; in large crowds congregating around the dwellings of European officers and clamouring for employment. So far as possible, employment was provided, and a system of relief for people unable to work was arranged. In December, district officers were ordered to open relief works as people came. The rates of wages were to be fixed locally according to the market prices of grain : —
li lb. of grain per man — 1 „ j, „ woman.
J » » » W-
The districts with their populations were : —
Cuddapah . Madura Ooimbatore Bellary . , N. Arcot . Kistna . . Nellore . .
1,351,194 1,325,549 1,763,274 1,668,006 1,945,642 1,434,090 1,329,516
Salem . . Trichinopoly Kumool . Ohingleput Tanjore Madras Town S. Arcot .
. 1,966,995
. 1,200,408
. 959,640
. 936,184
. 1,973,731
. 397,652
. 1,765,517
13 INDIAN FAMINE — MADRAS.
being sufficient to provide food enough to sustain work- ing powers, and to ensure a small surplus for condiments. In reference to an application from the collector of Coimbatore, the Board of Revenue did not think that better agency than the village officers, if they were sufficiently supervised by the tahsildars and other revenue officers of the higher grades, could be found to manage these works. ' The employment of the village coolies in collecting stones from the wayside, fields, or quarries, breaking them and storing them for use, would be highly beneficial and ultimately remunerative, and the work would be suited to all classes, — men, women, and children. The district is intersected with roads, and work of the kind could be found close to most vil- lages in the district. Mr. Wedderburn should indent on Madras, through the Board, for such tools as may be required. He proposes to pay wages sufficient to pur- chase for a man 1.^ lb., for a woman 1 lb., and for a boy I lb. of grain. Copy of G.O., November 29, 1876, No. 1,843, will be furnished to him, whence he will see that Government are averse to money wages being raised above two annas, and that when that rate is in- sufficient to purchase necessary food, grain payments should be resorted to. His proposal that some of the taluk -shereshtadars should be invested with 2nd class powers, so as to free the tahsildars for supervision of relief works, commends itself to the Board.'
In the large towns melancholy specimens of emaciated beings were seen, but the climax was reached in the city of Madras. The inhabitants of the surrounding districts, particularly Chingleput and North Arcot, were most sorely stricken, and, few or no relief works being provided for them, they left their homes, and in large numbers flocked to Madras. With characteristic generosity a number of Hindu gentlemen arranged to
DEATH FROM STARVATION. 13
feed the starving poor, and the report spread that food was to be had in Madras for the asking. As was natural, the extent of the provision made was exaggerated. In North Arcot, whence the majority of the people came, they told one another, ' In Madras there are mountains of rice and rivers of ghee ; anybody who likes can have a share.' ^ Ten Hindus were feeding, with one meal per day, 11, 400 people. ' An immense number of ' emaciated ' congregated on the beach and obtained a precarious existence by picking up the grains which fell from the rice- carts, the grain being not always accidentally dropped. The scenes in the streets of Madras at this time (No- vember 1876) and for seven or eight subsequent months were unique, and in many respects sad and dishearten- ing.^ Much excitement was caused by a report of death from starvation in one of the most frequented streets of the city; a villager and his family had 'wandered' into the town ; these were without food for several days, two of the children died and were buried, and then the man died of absolute want in sight of thousands of bags of grain.^ One of the daily journals, in a spasm of excite- ment, charged the authorities with manslaughter. How terribly the people suffered, and how cruelly they treated their children,^ will never be adequately known,
^ Report of Assistant Collector of North Arcot.
' Report by Colonel W. S. Drever, O.S.I., Commissioner of Police. This report shows in detail the means adopted to relieve distress and keep down abnormal disease in a large city under peculiar circumstances.
' It is a fact not generally known, that when the body of the man who died of starvation was searched by the police, several rupees were found concealed in his clothes.
* A good deal of inhumanity to their children was shown by parents. The Rev. Mr. Schaffter, of the Church Missionary Society, gives a painful instance which occurred near Madras early in December. Relief was pro- vided in the shape of rice conjee. This Mnd of food, however, would not seem to'be acceptable to some people, as the following facts will show. * A pariah Christian, his wife and four children, belonging to the village of Vallaveram, near Streeperamputhur, had been receiving relief from the be-
14 INDIAN FAMINE — MADBAS.
but incidents are related again and again which serve in some measure to give an idea of the suffering. For instance, near the Tinnevelly district, where distress was deemed to be comparatively slight, Mr. McQuhae, the collector of the district, after visiting thirty villages which were most affected, found a large number of people had left their homes and were already ' wander- ing.' Much support was derived from jungle and other roots, and Mr. McQuhae himself, on the journey referred to, witnessed one hundred people engaged in picking a root which he found was unhealthy. He also met with 'ten females returning home with a few handsfull of grain taken from ants' holes in return for six or eight hours' labour.' Very early in the course of the distress, the people exhibited the faculty which Orientals seem to possess above all others, viz., that of reducing their food by one-half at least, eating but one meal a day, and that a scanty one, or one in two days. So early as January 1877, Mr. McQuhae found such cases were not rare in the villages which he visited. Mr. Turner, writing from Ramnad, says — 'At Perunali the people were complaining much. A good deal of well-cultiva- tion goes on, but the grain looks poor. There are some fair crops in the bed of the Perunali tank. After leaving Perunali the country is perfectly bare, — a bleak country, no crops, no trees, no water. About Parunali, Paralachi, the people were living largely on the ' sauci
ginning. Tlie man was told that he was able to work, and ought to go and get his own livelihood, leaving his wife and children to he cared for in the relief house ; but he refused to do so, and finding that he was to get conjee instead of rice, he refused to partake of it or let his family have it, though he was begged by one of Mr. Schaffter's catechists to let the children at all events have a meal. The man was obstinate, and went away in a huiF because he could not get the accustomed rice and pice to which he seemed to think he had established a sort_of claim. The consequences to the poor children were that one, about four years old, died, while the youngest child was discovered soon after to be in a sinking state.'
HUMANE INSTF 15
roots,' apparently a sort of wild arrowroot. They boil it down for three days to extract the poisonous proper- ties, and then make a sort of thick conjee of it. Even the supply of this root is, as far as I can leani, nearly exhausted. Between Paralachi and Mandapasalai, and tlience to Aruppukottai the punjah (dry) crops have failed everywhere : as regards nunjah (wet), of course there is none. There is no water in any of the tanks in the south. From Mandapasalai to Kamudi the crops for the most part are gone, and the people everywhere are suffering much.' Under instructions from Govern- ment the district authorities were speedily on the alert, and in some districts, notably Coimbatore, which had the advantage of possessing as collector Mr. Wedder- burn, who had charge of Bellary during the (local) famine year of 1868, wise forecasts were being made and preparations were at hand to meet all probable needs. It was early decided by the Government that the policy to be adopted should be a humane one, and that, if possible, no one should be allowed to die for want of support. This result was said to be attained in Behar in 1874, and, it was hoped, might be repeated in Madras. Village officials were warned that they would be held accountable for deaths by starvation, and orders were issued in each district, similar to the following : —
* To all Village Magistrates in the North Areot District.
* In Gurrumkondah, of Cuddapah district, there was a poor sick man who, having no money to purchase food, was, from starvation, neither able to go out of his house nor work. He continued to be in that state for some days, and at last died of starvation and sickness. As the village magistrate rendered no assistance to the man, nor made a report of his death, he was suspended for a year. Village magistrates are hereby warned that
i
r
16 INDIAN FAMINE — MADRAS.
they will be held responsible for the safety of the in- dividuals whose deaths may have been occasioned by starvation, timely steps not having been taken about them. It is very unfortunate to have no rains, which is an act of God, and for which we can do nothing. But we can help those who would probably die of star- vation. All persons who are able to work can get work if they would go to places where works are exe- cuted. In the case of persons who cannot work, either by age or by sickness, endeavours should be made to relieve them, and they should be sent to the nearest tahsildar or sub -magistrate. If they are unable even to go there, the circumstance should at once be reported to those officers, who will, no doubt, take the necessary steps regarding them. If they are very weak, they should be sent to the nearest dispensary upon a dhooly. You will be reimbursed all legitimate charges you may have incurred on their account. Every village magistrate should bear in mind that he will be strictly held respon- sible for the safety of the lives of the people in his village. ' Chittoor, December 22, 1876.' »
On December 1 distress had increased so greatly that the returns sent in showed there were 310,000 people on the hands of the authorities. One of the first steps taken by the Madras Government was to send two members of the Board of Revenue — ex- perienced officials, who reached the Board table only after having had long and intimate experience of the
1 The Collector of Chingleput issued this order in regard to deaths from herbs unfit for human food : —
Takid to the tahsildar of Ponnery, No, 54, dated February 1, 1877. Your arzi, No. 62, dated January 29 last, together with its enclosure, has been duly received. It appears from it that the poor people living in the hamlets of Elavoor were feeding on certain herbs called sB^eCCLIOOT 6p6jrT> ^^^ t^e consequence has been that about ten persons have died of cholera.
THE AITEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY. 17
country, as administrators — on tour ; and Mr. Thornhill, C.S.I. , and the Hon. I). Arbuthnot, proceeded on a visit to the districts. The last-named officer left Madras on November 5, and his report, which refers to the district of Kurnool, gives a fair idea of the state of the country as a whole. An abstract of this report may therefore be taken as representative of the whole twelve districts affected.
On the road to Kurnool Mr. Arbuthnot found there were no crops whatever, and the few attempts that had been made to cultivate had proved entire failures, and an occasional patch of withered cholum straw was the only remnant of vegetation. Close to the town of Kurnool, tliere was a small extent of rice cultivation under the canal ; but beyond the influence of the canal there was no cultivation whatever, and up to that time ' even the water of the canal hsid not been utilised to any great extent, but had been allowed by the ryots to run waste for many months.' Why this waste of water was permitted ought to have been made the subject of enquiry, but was not.
In the immediate neighbourhood of Kurnool, relief works had been commenced a few days previous to Mr. Arbuthnot 's arrival, and people crowded on the works in such numbers that in a few days there were about 15,000 people working within six miles of Kurnool, on three different lines of road. Sufficient arrangements had not been made before the works were opened for superintending so vast a number, and the result was the utmost confusion, both as regards the work and the payment. On November 9 a little rain fell, and
You will report what work may be best undertaken in the neighbour- hood to provide work for the starving population. You will also recommend the dismissal of such village raunsiffs as have neglected to do their duty in relieving the destitute as ordered in takid No. 41.
(Signed) R. \V. Barlow, Collector.
VOL. I. C
18 INDIAN FAMINE — MADRAS.
the prices of grain fell slightly; but the rain ceased, and the prices rose again rapidly. The merchants re- fused to sell in such large quantities as were required ; and the coolies themselves were unable to buy sufficient food with the wages then paid to them. Seeing no chance of a reduction of prices, and knowing, too, that there was a block on the railway from excessive traffic, and that cholera was making its appearance in several places, Mr. Arbuthnot most reluctantly gave his consent to the price of labour being raised from two to three annas per man, as a temporary measure. ' Alarming accounts reached me (says Mr. Arbuthnot) from Mr. Farmer, in charge of the Cumbum division, and finding that no relief works had been commenced there, the poorest part of the district, directions were sent to him to commence works at once, and 500 tons of rice were ordered from Madras inci Cuddapah. Directions were also sent to the collector of Nundial to commence works on his division, consisting of Nundial and Sirwell taluks.' ^
On November 14 Mr. Arbuthnot reached Nundial. He says : — ' On this line of road, 45 miles in length, the country is a barren waste ; the land visible from the road does not hold even a withered stalk, and the low hills, through which the road runs, which at this season are usually covered with grass, are perfectly bare. This state of things continued up to the vicinity of Nundial. There, the crops under the tank which was being filled from the canal are good, and there is a con- siderable area of cholum which has been saved by the canal water. Mr. Latham (of the Madras Irrigation Company) informed me that he had roughly calculated the amount of grain of all kinds under the canal at 20,000,000 pounds ; this would require an area of nearly 20,000 acres.
1 All tbeae places will be found on tbe map wbich accompanies vol. ii. of tbis work.
AFFAIRS IN KURNOOL. 19
*0n reaching Nundial there were about 4,000 coolies at work, and 1,000 more at Puneum. There was great confusion and difficulty in paying the coolies within a reasonable time, as at Kumool. There was also the same difficulty about grain. The merchants refused to sell the quantities required, and the coolies themselves had great difficulty in purchasing food grain, and had in many cases to content themselves with horse gram and other kinds of pulse. The numbers increased daily till they amounted to about 12,000.
* It was now clear that the revenue staff was quite unequal to the task before it, and I requested that military officers might be sent to assist in organising these vast crowds of people. Hearing that grain was procurable at Prodatur in Cuddapah taluk, the tahsil- dar of Sirwell was instructed to buy up grain there, and have it forwarded to Chegalenurry. As soon as this grain arrived I found that the markets were easier, and that grain was more easily obtained by the coolies. On this, the rates of " cooly " were ordered to be lowered from 3 to 2 J annas over the whole division, and the Sirwell tahsildar was desired to buy more grain, and to pay his coolies as far as possible in grain. This tahsildar, Narrainsawmy Naidu, gave me every aid in purchasing grain, and he also managed the coolies at work in his taluk remarkably well. A subscription was set on foot to provide relief for the helpless poor of Nundial, and 700 rs. were promised. In this matter the Rev. Messrs. Johnston and Spencer kindly assisted me, and the former promised his aid in the distribution of food.
' On November 22 I reached Sirwell, and found 2,000 coolies at work in great confusion. The Sirwell tahsil- dar, who had arrived from Chegalenurry, set to work and got these coolies into fair order, a most difficult task
0 2
20 INDIAN FAMINE — MADRAS.
where numbers increase very rapidly. He had fortu- nately brought some grain with him, and most of the coolies were paid in grain.
' Being anxious to visit the Cumbum division, I passed through the Nundy Cannama on November 25, and reached Mr. Farmer's camp on the same day. He was then in the southern part of the Cumbum taluk, and had over 3,000 coolies working well and in good order. His greatest difficulty was about grain, which was scarcely to be got at all till an arrival of Govern- ment rice from Cuddapah made matters easier for a time. Up to the time I arrived, he had received no extra aid beyond the taluk establishment, which in this division is remarkably weak in every respect. He had no subordinate who had any knowledge or ex- perience in working large bodies of men, and most of them seemed to have no power of keeping to the rules laid down for their guidance, although the use of these rules had been practically shown to them by Mr. Farmer himself, and the result was that great disorder again crept into the management when his immediate assist- ance was withdrawn. He divided his taluks judiciously into different ranges, placing a revenue subordinate in charge of each range, but these officers were wanting both in numbers, and, I regret to say, in efficiency, to carry out their instructions properly. Finding that the division was in a worse plight than any other part of the district, and that Mr. Farmer was utterly alone, I resolved to devote the rest of the time I could spare to go through the division with him, and assist him to the best of my power. The greatest want was that of grain, which in many villages we visited was only pro- curable in very small quantities, and at very high rates; rice at three, and cholum at four measures ^ per rupee.
^ A measure contains 3 lbs. weight. The ordinary prices of these grains would be — rice 10 or 12 measures, cholum 26 to 30 measures, per rupee.
SCARCITY OF FOOD. 21
We had frequently to halt at villages to procure grain from Cumbuin, where cholum wuh bought wholesale at five measures per rupee, and when grain reached us, relief works were started and left in charge of a revenue subordinate, and we had on more than one occasion to leave Mr. Farmer's head clerk in charge of the coolies till some substitute could be found. While thus going on from village to village in Cumbum taluk, orders were sent to the tahsildar of Markapur to open relief works at Markapur and Dupad, and to purchase as much grain as he could at market rates. Many of the villages we visited to the north-west of Cumbum were in a wretched state, and many of the people were almost in the last stage of destitution, subsisting chiefly on leaves mixed with a little cholum. After seeing works commenced in various villages in Markapur taluk, we marched from Dornall to Dupad. On the way we visited a small village that had been utterly deserted about two months before. At many of the villages the people were clamorous for work, which we promised to give them as soon as possible ; but we had then no person to put in charge of additional works, and we had no resource but to tell tliem to go on to the work at Dupad, which was then overcrowded. At Dupad we found nearly 5,000 coolies in a state of deplorable confusion, and it took many days of hard work to get them into tolerable order. Mr. Farmer, how- ever, worked amongst them with such energy that they were gradually being brought into good order. Deatlis by the wayside were not uncommon. These were usually attributed to cholera, but what share want may hnve had in the matter it is impossible to say. My attention had been some time previously drawn to the fact by Mr. Farmer, that many families had, many weeks before my arrival, deserted their villages, and proceeded, it was
22 INDIAN FAMINE — MADRAS.
said, to the Kistna district. To estimate the numbers that had done so with any degree of accuracy was impossible without a careful enquiry that would have occupied many weeks, but from an examination of many villages, from which desertions had taken place, Mr. Farmer was inclined to think that not less than 3,000 families had left their villages from the pressure of want, and I have reason to believe that a few of these perished from starvation while wandering in quest of food in the neighbouring districts. Besides these, and a few poor travellers, there is no reason to suppose that any con- siderable number of deaths have taken place from star- vation. There have also been a few cases of abandon- ment of children by parents, but in nearly all these cases the children have been rescued.' Mr. Arbuthnot further remarks: 'I have already forwarded to the Board of Revenue a rough calculation of the numbers in the Cumbum division that will probably require Government aid, and I have no reason to think that the number is in any way over-estimated at 76,000.'
One noticeable feature in the report quoted is the testimony given of deaths having occurred from actual want. A companion picture to Mr. Arbuthnot's is given in the account of a visit to Bellary, by a special correspondent ^ who was in that — the worst affected — district at the same time. From his letters, certain passages deserve quotation. The writer arrived at Bellary after visiting Sholapore in Bombay, where
■ The Statesman and Friend of India, Calcutta, is honourably dia- tinguished amongst Indian journals in having sent a correspondent to visit all the affected districts in the two Presidencies and the province of Mysore. The gentleman employed made a tour lasting six months, proved himself a most careful and judicious observer, and none of his facts were questioned. The Times of India sent a correspondent to the affected districts in Bombay for a short period, and also to Madras for two brief periods. The Bombay Gazette also had a correspondent in the Bombay distressed districts, and in Madras Presidency for a short time, during Sir Richard Temple's tours.
OVERSIGHT OF RELIEF WORKS. 23
arrangements were in an iixchoate condition, and was inclined to doubt the reality of distress in Bellary, as he saw no hungry-looking persons about. The fact was, famine had been present in the district many months, had spread from taluk to taluk gradually, and Mr. Master (the collector) had been able to formulate his plans to meet it without much suffering being apparent. The Madras Government had confidence in Mr. Master, and as he called for further European assist- ance on distress manifesting itself, his ap[)lications were granted. A description is given of the mode by which relief works were established and overlooked, which may stand for all of the same class in the Presi- dency, as all were worked after the same fashion.
The correspondent says : — 'I can speak with particu- larity about what is done upon the relief works in this collectorate, and the organisation is such as cannot be surpassed at Sholapore, if it be even equalled there. In the first place, all the tahsildars, without exception, have been set free for famine work; and their duty seems to consist solely of directing the operations under the sub -collector; they remain at their own head-quar- ters and daily inspect all that is going on in their taluks, 80 that the superintendents and maistries who are actually on the roads are under immediate supervision of an officer whom they fear only second to the sub- collector. The chief man on the spot upon a relief work is the superintendent, who is generally a European or East Indian. He has one or two native assistants ; and next to these are one or two sappers upon each work. These sappers were first obtained from the corps to superintend the construction of the roads, which is of course being carried out by the Public Works department : but their discipline and superior intelligence have been turned to account in the manage-
24 INDIAN FAMINE — MADRAS.
ment of the work-people, which is all under Mr. Price. The next men in order are the maistries, one to every 250 coolies, who are paid six annas a day; while each gang of 250 coolies is divided into five parties under five head- coolies who get three annas a day. As may be imagined, it was a little difficult to get suitable men for all these petty appointments ; many of them were produced from Madras. The pay of the labourers on the works is 2 annas a day to a man, IJ to a woman, and £ to a child. The rates were two or three pies less at first. These rates are nearer the ordinary rates here (viz. 3 as., 2 as., and 1 a.) than they are in Poona and Sholapore. The people do not work on Sundays, but receive wages as usual. The hours of work are from sunrise till 4 in the afternoon, with one hour in the middle of the day for food and rest. The maistries are especially directed not to allow very old people to be employed, nor children under seven years of age. Another of the rules for the guidance of the maistries is : — " As soon as you have prepared your nominal rolls (i.e.^ list of persons to be set to work each day,) you will send them by one of your holkars (head-coolies) to the goomastah (paymaster) in charge of the lists, and you will, without waiting for their return, issue the tools to your gang, and remain at the dep6t until the D. P. W. maistrie comes to show you your work. You will then take your party (gang) and set to work as directed." One gang is allotted to each furlong of a road, and a temporary shed, distinguished by a red flag, serves as a tool depot for every two gangs. There is one paymaster to three gangs, or 750 coolies, and I have carefully satisfied myself that the people are paid without failure every day. The rule regarding the paying is: — "At four o'clock, but not before, you will bring your gang to your tool' dep6t, and make them
GOOD MANAGEMENT IN BELLARY. 26
^ive over their tools, wliich you will place in the hut. You will then direct your kolkars to make their gangs sit down in rows by the side of the paymaster ; the men on one side, and the women and children on the other. The paymasters have instructions not to pay until the gangs have been so seated. You will then assist the paymaster in paying your gang, and see that the kolkars keep order. After the payment of the coolies is over, you will see that the night watchman of the depot is present. You may then go home." The maistries are strictly warned that dismissal will follow any neglect of these orders, and severe punishment under the penal code, any attempt to cheat the coolies. Mr. Price rides out to at least one of the works every morning and evening, and the tahsildar, who also possesses the power of dismissal without appeal, often goes out also ; and as it is not known which direction these officers are taking any day, the chances of neglect or fraud by the superintendents and maistries are re- duced to next to nothing. Now that I have seen the mode of working at Bellary, it seems to me a serious mistake of the Bombay Government to expect single collectors, in addition to their ordinary duties, to take any adequate charge of relief operations. At the same time, it is personally due to Mr. Price to say, that he understands the art of organisation much better than the average run of men. This then is one reason for there being no starvation here.'
A visit to the works showed that owing to the excellent management there was great contentment among the people, whose wages were paid every day, and whose complaints were listened to with patience and redress afforded. Subsequently, in many parts of the Presidency, great peculations occurred on works and in camps, owing to the slight European supervision
26 INDIAN FAMINE MADRAS.
which could be afforded. Here, as elsewhere, in places where the people were congregated in large numbers, cholera broke out, and made great havoc among the enfeebled masses. The plan most in favour to grapple with the disease was to break up large bodies into small gangs. Notwithstanding this, however, terrible ravages occurred, and a few months later, in the Bellary district, Mr. Oldham, a most energetic and useful officer from Bengal, described a visitation of cholera amongst the people under his charge, respecting the effects of which Byron's lines on the destruction of Sennacherib's host would be no exaggeration. Mr. Oldham's own words are, ' The road (upon which the people were labouring) bore almost the appearance of a battle-field, its sides being strewed with the dead, the dying, and those recently attacked.'
Finding the labours of famine relief rapidly increase, a new department, called the Famine Department, was created early in December, and Mr. J. H. Garstin, collector of South Arcot, was placed in charge, and designated Additional Secretary to Government. The Governor had returned to his duties about the middle of November, and efforts in earnest were taken to grapple with the calamity. One large work at least was undertaken, viz. the East Coast Canal, which it was resolved, on November 15, should be taken up as a famine relief work. It consisted of eighty-two miles of excavation. In the town of Madras the greatest actual distress was witnessed ; but relief measures having been placed in the trustworthy hands of Colonel Drever, and the members of Government taking much personal and active interest in what was being done, only slight anxiety was felt regarding the chief city. The public wished to share in the efforts made to miti- gate distress, and some discussion took place regarding
LARGE IMPOKTS OF ItlCE. 27
the advisability of opening subscriptions and soliciting alms from Great Britain and elsewhere. The proposal was discouraged by the authorities, and but faintly supported by the general public. It was felt that the distress was on so vast a scale that only Government organisation could cope with it : further, relief afforded in Madras and other large towns caused exaggerated reports to be spread, and people flocked into the town until they became unmanageable. At this time 19,000 were being fed in the city — 16,000 by Government and 3,000 by private charity.
It has already been remarked that private trade was active in importing food grains ; more active than might have been expected, seeing that the Government kept the state of affairs as secret as they could. By the end of October large orders had been sent to Cal- cutta and Rangoon, and on November 2 it was reported that engagements had been made for vessels ^ to bring 427,000 bags, which, added to the quantity then being landed, brought the total to 527,000 bags, containing 86.^ millions of lbs. of rice. What this quantity repre- sented in food supplies may be gathered from the following fact. To sustain existence, a man needs 1| lb. of rice a day ; the 86^ millions of lbs. would suffice for the maintenance of 1,920,622 adults, or say two millions of people, for a month of thirty days. In October 335,491 bags of rice were imported in Madras. Gloomy as was the outlook for the time being, it was rendered less anxious from the fact that railways ran
|
1 Sea Gull (s) 2 trips f( |
)r say |
50,000 bag |
|
Sultan (s) 3 „ |
» |
120,000 „ |
|
Bcllana (s) 3 „ |
» |
90,000 „ |
|
Atholl (s) 3 „ |
» |
75,000 „ |
|
V. SchUlizzi (8) 1 „ |
V |
20,000 „ |
|
British India (s) 3 „ |
If |
80,000 „ |
|
D. of Argyll {i) 1 „ |
» |
12,000 „ |
|
M^ss. Londonderry ] „ |
» |
14,000 „ |
|
Florence 1 „ |
)> |
10,000 „ |
28 INDIAN FAMINE — MADKAS.
through all but two of the affected districts, viz. Kur- nool and Nellore, and that, therefore, food could be poured into the places where it was most needed. The scene of activity in the roadstead and on shore was un- exampled in the history of Madras. At the first sign of need for large imports, the tax on rice imported was taken off by the Government.
In the meantime, unknown to the local merchants, the Madras Government had entered the market as buyers of grain. Some uneasiness had been felt as to the probability of such a course being adopted, secret purchases having been the sheet-anchor of Lord North- brook's famine policy in Behar. As, however, the practice had been much condemned, great hope was expressed that similar action would not be taken in Madras. It was also known that the supreme authori- ties objected to interference with trade, and were not disposed either themselves to undertake importation or to sanction such a course in their subordinates. In spite of the activity of trade, — the note on a previous page giving details of the extent of importations appear- ing in a local newspaper on November 2 — the Govern- ment on November 4 commenced to purchase on their own account. The justification urged and the argument used by the authorities for their action were these. In justification they said, ' The idea of a Government reserve to meet the various difficulties arising from the caprices of native trade, and the actual insufficiency of local capital, was not novel or original. It had been advantageously adopted in the North- West Provinces in 1873-74, and was the main feature of the policy of Lord Northbrook's Government during the Bengal famine.' Their argument was this : ' The Government found themselves suddenly confronted with this position, that a large proportion of the labouring population of a wide
'«»
IID-
j eviouij
n their
GOVERNMENT GRAIN PURCHASES. 29
tract of country had become at once dependent on State relief works for the means of earning their daily food, but that that food was not obtainable with whatever money they could earn.*
In this emergency, and to meet these peculiar cir- cumstances, the Government decided at once that a reserve of grain was indispensable. The objection to interference with ordinary trade was not for a moment absent from the consideration of Government, nor was the possibility of the crisis being of short duration, although liable to constant recurrence, left unnoticed. But the Government could not wait for the restoration of a more normal condition of trade. They had to secure the supply of food for vast numbers, daily increasing, who could not purchase grain at any rates of wages it would have been, prudent to issue, for the local grain merchants raised their prices daily, with the special object of forcing up the rate of wages. Payment in grain, and direct purchases from the local markets by the Government, was the only course left. The Government knew that the purchase of grain would have to be continued for months, and it seemed to them that there was an absolute necessity that they should not be entirely dependent on a most uncertain condition of the grain trade, insufficient from indisposition to sell regularly, and extravagant in its demands when willing to sell. While the Government were satisfied that a moderate reserve was an essential resource on emergency, they were very desirous to avoid their transaction heino- immediately known. A knowledge that Government was in the market would immediately alarm the native trade, and cause a simultaneous rise in prices. It was for this reason that they employed Messrs. Arbuthnot & Co. confidentially, whose purchases of grain and re- sales at Bellary, where matters were most critical, had
30 INDIAN FAMINE — MADRAS.
the effect of inducing other English firms to enter actively into the grain trade, with the greatest advan- tage as regards the supply of grain where it was dan- gerously deficient, and in promoting some activity in the retail trade and a slight downward tendency in prices.
These reasons were only urged subsequently by the Madras Government, on their conduct being condemned. Without in any form consulting the Government of India, an arrangement was made with a local firm — Messrs. Arbuthnot and Co. — to purchase a Government reserve of 13,000 tons of rice and 2,000 tons of wheat, to be delivered in November. This was to be supple- mented in the following month by 15,000 tons of rice. The action was for a time kept secret. In giving the Government of India notice of this transaction by tele- gram on November 4, the local authorities said, ' These supplies are t6 be strictly held as reserve to meet con- tingency of local markets and private enterprise failing. . . . Estimated cost, whole transaction, 32 lakhs. . . . This Government rely on Government of India to place four lakhs of rs. a week in Bank of Bengal, at credit of Arbuthnot and Co. for next five weeks, keeping transac- tion secret.' Seven days after, Sir Alexander Arbuthnot, head of the department in the first instance charged with famine administration, replied, requesting that no further purchases might be made without previous reference and full explanation. ' The proceeding then reported was calculated to cause serious financial em- barrassment.' As might be expected, the financial aspect of the campaign against famine had caused the Supreme Government great concern. They were ex- pected to meet all expenditure in the Presidencies affected, and, with finances so severely strained as those of India are in normal years, they were anxious that no
TELEGRAPHIC CONTROVERSY. 31
measures should be undertaken which had not received their approval.
On November 13 the Madras Government proceeded to justify their conduct in a letter^ addressed to the Financial Secretary, using arguments similar to those given on a previous page. The letter itself was very brief, and betrayed a spirit of antagonism and discontent at being controlled, and it is no wonder that, immedi- ately on receipt of it, the Revenue Secretary at Calcutta, in a telegram, pointed out that the letter did not ' con- tain any explanation of the necessity for taking action without previous reference to the Government of India. '
It was further remarked, by way of censure, * The action of the Madras Government seeuis illLuumstent with the alleged activity of private trade.' The reply to this message still evaded the point at issue, and went on to state that prospects were so bad that the purchase of 20,000 tons of grain further had been decided upon, and the supreme authorities were exhorted not to fear their subordinates allowing the State stock to accumulate beyond strict necessity. Tlie rejoinder from Simla was an absolute prohibition to make further purchases, except after full explanations had been supplied by letter and permission to purchase was given. It was also remarked that the idea of secrecy might be put aside, as the ' arrangement made with Gillanders, Arbuthnot and Co. is known in Calcutta ; ' hitherto communications had been carried on in cipher, but the order to stop sales was en clair. The Madras Government made this a subject of complaint, and said that it was ' feared this abandonment of the cipher system will have rendered futile all the efforts this Government have made to keep their operations secret, so as not to discourage private dealers.' Retort soon followed, and took the followinir
* Famine Blue Book, Part I. page 83.
32 INDIAN FAMINE — MADRAS.
form, the writer being the Officiating Secretary to the Government of India. ' I am directed to inform you that the telegram in question was necessarily despatched in words and not in cipher. Your telegram of the 4th instant did not reach the President in Council at Simla until the 11th idem. By that time nearly all the officers had left Simla, and when Sir A. Arbuthnot's telegram was despatched no copy of the cipher code was available at that place. The President in Council was Nearly of opinion that, in the absence of stronger ^grounds than those assigned by the Madras Government, ^t was necessary to prevent, without a day's loss of time, i,ny further expenditure of the nature of that which had )een reported, and under the circumstances, this could mly be done by despatching a telegram en clair. If ^any inconvenience has resulted from what has occurred, it is due to the Government of Madras in carrying out, without any previous reference to the Government of India, and without, as would appear, any reasons for urgency, a measure which obviously required the pre- vious sanction of this Government.
' But the President in Council does not see the slightest grounds for supposing that any knowledge which may have been obtained by the public of the recent operations of the Madras Government has been communicated by the telegraph department. Ex- perience shows that the contents of telegrams very rarely become public in this way. In the present case, as intimated in my telegram of the 24th instant, the fact of the purchases arranged for by the Madras Govern- ment, and several details connected with them, which could not have been learnt from Sir A. Arbuthnot's telegram, were known in Calcutta some days ago. The fact is that the nature of the transaction was incompa- tible with secrecy. Large purchases of grain cannot be made without their destination becoming known.'
GOVERNMENT TURCIIASES EXAGGERATED. 33
The arrangement had become known, and great anxiety was in consequence caused in mercantile circles. At this time, while loud and energetic pro- tests against inaction were being made by the public, the Government of Madras was actively working — but it was in the dark. No communications were published showing that efforts were being made to adequately grapple with the crisis. Not hearing that remedial measures in sufficient number were in course of adoption, the public, very naturally, supposed none were being taken. The press was treated with contempt ; the public were ignored. When rumours became current of Government purchases, the quantity of grain ordered was magnified ten times, and instead of thirty thousand tons, the authorities were credited with a desire to pur- chase three hundred thousand. Unfounded reports ^ were current, and — at a distance — ^believed, such, for instance, as that members of the local Government were connected with the firm employed and were interested in the contracts made. Such reports were baseless, but were the natural fruit of the system of secrecy employed. It was not until the end of February that public con- fidence was restored by the Government informing the Chamber of Commerce, in reply to a question asked, that only 30,000 tons had been imported, and further operations were not contemplated.
* Telegram, November 27, 1876, from Officiating Revenue Secretary, Calcutta, to Chief Commissioner, Mysore : — ' Is statement made in Cal- cutta Enylishman that you have bought two hundred thousand bags of grain at Madras, correct ? President in Council considers it most important not to interfere with private grain trade, and desires that no large purchases of grain be made without sanction of Government of India.'
Telegi-am, November 28, 1876: — From Chief Commissioner, Mysore, to Officiating Revenue Secretary, Calcutta : — * Statement in Calcutta English- man referred to is devoid of foimdation ; Mysore administration has bought no grain, but Central Relief Committee have purchased five hundred rupees worth of ragi and five hundred bags of rice for charitable distribution in kitchens and on works.' — Blue Book, Part I. p. 96.
VOL. I. D
34 INDIAN FAMINE MADRAS.
Trade activity continued. Supplies were poured into the affected districts by sea and land. Preference was given. on the railways to grain traffic, and the working power of the lines was exerted to the utmost. The important part played by railways in feeding the people is described elsewhere. It was stated that there were three and a half miles of waggons of grain await- ing transport at one station on the Great Indian Penin- sular Railway, and though this was an exaggerated statement, it was admitted that there was a great block on the railway, owing, not to want of establishment, but to deficiency of waggon stock, and station and siding accommodation. ' The railway company, repeatedly urged to do all in their power to clear their line, have borrowed stock wherever available, increased their traffic staif, and are doing all they can. The agent suggested booking no more grain, but the Bombay Government did not approve, as the measure was likely to check trade.'
In various ways the Madras authorities exerted themselves greatly to meet the difficulty, and on De- cember 23 thus reported to the Secretary of State ^ on their operations: — 'We regret to state that there has been no improvement in the season. No rain has been reported from any part of the country except Tanjore and Tinnevelly. Nearly a week ago two inches of rain fell at Negapatam, and the fall extended along the coast of the district, but was much lighter in the interior. From Tinnevelly a moderate rainfall has been re- ported.
' Prices have risen, and there is a general upward tendency. We note below the most recent quotations reported to us from the several districts: —
' The Governors of Madras aud Bombay have the privilege of commu- iiicatiug direct with the Secretary of Slate for India.
STATE OF THE DISTRICTS.
35
|
DISTniCT |
Price,(werH |>er rupee A8eer = 80tolah8 or 2-06 lbs. weight |
DISTRICT |
Price, Heers per rupee A (*er-=80 tolaliH or 2-OG lbs. weight |
||
|
Second sort rice |
Choluiti or other ordi- nary grain |
Second sort rice |
Cholum or other ordi- nary grain |
||
|
Ganjam Vizagapatam Godavery Kistna l^ellore Ouddapah Kurnool Bellary North Arcot Ohingleput Madras |
13 12 10-43 12-7 6-75 7 0-27 (5-33 77 8-22 6-7 |
22 17-49 13-37 14-8 9-25 8-72 7-97 7-5 91 11-23 10-25 |
South Arcot Salem Trichinopoly Tanjore Coimbatore Madura Tinnevelly Nilgiri Malabar South Oanara |
6-66 7 6-76 7-5 7-5 6-18 7-5 6 10-16 11-45 |
9-37 8-29 11-4 9 9-62 9-75 11-49 15 11-37 12.91 |
The failure of the north-east monsoon, so far as agri- cultural operations are concerned, must now be pro- nounced complete, and the scanty crops which were sown in October and November in the districts on the east coast, dependent upon the north-east monsoon for their principal crop, are now withering. We hope to be able in our next despatch to place before your Lord- ship details (which are now being collected), as to the breadth of land which has been cultivated, and as to the rainfall in these districts, and these will, we are sure, sufficiently prove the gravity of the present crisis.
' We thought it advantageous, for obvious reasons, that we should have personal communication with the principal officers of the affected districts, and we accord- ingly summoned the collectors of districts easily acces- sible by rail ^ to a conference here, and have discussed with them the prospects of their districts and the measures which should be taken to cope with the an- ticipated distress. This gave us an opportunity of realising the most pressing wants of these districts and of explaining to our officers the principles which we
' Ohingleput, North Arcot, Salem, Coimbatore, Madura, Tanjoro.
36 INDIAN FAMINE — MADRAS.
considered should be observed. We now proceed to review the several districts of the Presidency. The districts of South Arcot, Tanjore, Trichinopoly, and Tinnevelly, in the south, are comparatively least afflicted. In South Arcot, the rainfall since the middle of October, though not heavy, has been seasonable, and as far as we have been informed, the crops are fair and likely to succeed. Some remissions of revenue will be necessary, but we do not anticipate immediate distress. In Tan- jore, the ryots have reaped a fair crop under the river- freshes of the south-west monsoon, and though the October crop has languished, and will not give a full yield, yet it has been preserved so far by timely rainfall, and it may now be hoped that it will be saved. The portion of the district regarding which anxiety is felt is the Pattukottah taluk, a high-lying tract on the Madura frontier, the condition of which the collector has been instructed carefully to watch. In Trichinopoly the river-irrigated tracts are doing fairly well, and the collector has reported that though prices are very high owing to exportation, there is no scarcity, and as yet no distress calling for special measures. In Tinnevelly there have been seasonable showers well diffused, and it is hoped that even the unirrigated crops will be saved. The wet crops are safe. The collector, however, appears anxious about the condition of the labouring classes, and we are expecting further reports.
' In Nellore, Chingleput, North Arcot, Salem, Coim- batore, and Madura there will be wide-spread and severe distress. In Kistna anxiety was chiefly felt as regards the upland taluks, but from recent reports prospects appear to be better there, and the expenditure of local funds in progress is stated to be sufficient for the present. In the Eastern delta, however, there are large numbers wanting employment, and at the urgent request of the collector we have sanctioned a grant of 10,000 rs. for the
STATE OF THE DISTRICTS. 37
Kistna Embankment Works. The district engineer had been directed to push on the Commamore Channel-works in the Western delta, and we learn that these are com- menced. In Nellore distress is reported in all taluks except Ongole. The collector has, under our sanction, opened relief works in the worst parts, and there were 32,000 coolies employed on them on the 19th instant. These are exclusive of the East Coast Canal Works, on which we have arranged to employ large numbers from the distressed districts inland, and which are about to commence. The Raja of Venkatagiri, to whom a large part of the district belongs, is organising a scheme of relief works, viz., tank repairs, estimated to cost two lakhs of rupees, and these works will alike benefit the estate, and go far to relieve the distressed ryots.
' In Chingleput, a poor district, and always the first to suff'er, the failure of crop will be very extensive, and distress is already felt in all parts of the district. The famine-stricken labourers from this district and the southern parts of Nellore are thronging to the Presi- dency town in hope of obtaining employment and benefiting by the charity dispensed by some wealthy natives. Their numbers had become so great, and their condition so pitiable, that we have had to open, in Madras, State feeding-houses, where such of them as are too debilitated to work are supplied with food. There are now about 12,000 persons in receipt of such aid, and many more subsisting on private charity. The management of the Government relief-houses is con- fided to the Commissioner of Police, and we are arrang- ing to organise the private charities, and to supplement them from public funds.
' But measures to check the influx of people into Madras are also necessary, and we have sanctioned a scheme of road works within a radius of fifteen miles,
38 INDIAN FAMINE— MADRAS.
which will cost 70,000 rs., and on which the people coming to Madras can be employed. We are about to establish posts on the principal roads leading to the city, where persons in distress can be stopped, and where, their immediate wants being relieved, they can be directed to the relief works. The Junction Canal Work, which we have ordered to be undertaken, will provide adequate employment for the labouring classes of the town itself. In other parts of the Chingleput district, relief works have already been started, and schemes of works, to the extent of 52,000 rs., have been approved. The number of persons employed is 32,086. In the west of the district the conversion of gauge on the Arconum and Conjeveram Railway will give work to a considerable number.
' North Arcot. — The southern parts of this district have participated in the rains which have benefited South Arcot. The northern and north-western parts are elevated tracts resembling the Mysore country and the southern parts of Cuddapah, and have been for some months past in a very critical state. The failure of the north-east monsoon has now rendered distress in these tracts, and in the central and eastern parts of this district, certain. The poor in the large towns are already suffering. The collector has submitted a scheme of road works which we have approved, and which are estimated to cost 67,000 rs. These are well distributed, and will prove useful works ; and many more will probably be necessary. The works have been started, and the numbers employed on the 19th instant were 15,822.
' Salem. — The south-eastern part of Salem (the Ahtoor taluk) has received some rain, and the col- lector reports that the crops there will be good. The rainfall has been quite insufficient in the rest of the
STATE OF THE DISTRICTS. 89
district, especially in the north, and the yield of the crops will be very small. Anxiety is also felt as re- gards the water supply. Relief works, chiefly village improvements of a petty kind, have been in progress in the northern taluks for some time, and have given employment to about three thousand persons. These are now being largely extended. In the low country portion of the district (the Talaghat) excepting Ahtur, we have approved a scheme of road works and tank repairs, costing 68,000 rs., and have sanctioned for the improvement and construction of wells, 6,000 rs. The works are now being started ; 14,033 persons are already employed.
* In Coimhatore. — Here there is little irrigation except under river channels. The crops under the channels from the Cauvery, Bhowani, and Amaravati, are fair. The district has numerous wells, and a con- siderable extent of crop has been saved by means of them ; but the rainfall of both monsoons has been very trifling, and the dry crops will almost entirely fail. The only exceptions are the Pollachy taluk, and other western parts of the district lying under the Ghauts, where favourable showers have fallen. The collector estimates that it will, before next cultivatinor season, be necessary to provide employment for 150,000 persons in the district. A grant of 25,000 rs. has already been placed at his disposal for utilisation, chiefly on village works, and a further scheme of works has been submitted by him. 11,278 persons were employed on the 19th instant.
* The distress in Madura district will, we fear, be exceptionally severe. The province did well up to September ; but since the beginning of October the rainfall has been sadly deficient. There has been more rain in the arid tracts on the coast than in the richer
40 INDIAN FAMINE — MADRAS.
and more fertile taluks inland, where the fall has not been more than one-third the average, and the crops to be matured by the north-east monsoon have, it is reported, been almost entirely lost. Distress first made itself felt in the Dindigul and Pulni taluks, and a grant of 30,000 rs. has been sanctioned for those taluks. To prevent deaths from want, the sub-collector found it necessary to open three depots for gratuitous relief, but the people are being drafted to the works which are now open as they become fit to work. The Periacolam taluk has had more rain, but in the district generally extensive works will be necessary. The Court of Wards have sanctioned funds for expenditure in estates under their charge in this district ; and large schemes of works have been submitted by the late acting collector. We are, however, awaiting further reports from the permanent collector, who has just rejoined. Emigration of people from the Madura, Tan- jore, Trichinopoly, and Tinnevelly districts, in search of employment on the plantations in Ceylon, is attaining large dimensions, and afibrds a satisfactory outlet for our distressed population. Special arrangements have been made for the care of these persons at Paumben, one of the chief ports of departure for Ceylon.
' We now turn to the ceded districts and Kurnool, in which, as already reported to your Lordship, ex- tensive operations for relief have been in progress for some months. The number of persons of all ages and sexes employed on relief works in the Bellary district has now reached 238,000, and the number incapable of work, but receiving gratuitous relief, is 15,300. These numbers are very high, but the works are scattered over the whole district, and there are no large concourses of people except in the vicinity of Bellary itself, where some 60,000 are employed. A special ofiicer, Mr. Price,
STATE OF THE DISTRICT^. 41
lias successfully organised this very large number of labourers. Medical aid has been sent to the district, and sanitation is provided for. Mr. Thornhill, the First Member of the Board of Revenue, has completed a second prolonged tour in the district, and from his reports and others that have reached us, we think we may assert that the distress has been grappled with in time.
* The number of coolies employed on the relief works in Kurnool has enormously increased. They must now be stated at from 160,000 to 170,000 on relief works. The Hon. D. Arbuthnot, Second Member of the Board of Revenue, has been deputed to this district, and after passing through the western and southern taluks, and organising rehef works there on a large scale, is now in Markapur. The distress in the Kurnool district is most severe, and there have been some deaths from exhaustion and fatigue in chuttrums and halting places ; but Mr. Arbuthnot has issued orders to the village officers to care for destitute wan- derers in immediate want and to provide them food at the State expense. We have caused similar orders to be promulgated in all districts.
' In Cuddapah there is no change except an increase in the number seeking employment. Those on the relief Avorks were, according to the most recent returns, 80,029. Of them about half are employed in the sub- division (Madanapally, Kadiri, Royachoti, and Voilpad), and the remainder in the north-western, northern, and central part of the district.
' Our most serious anxiety and our greatest difficulty will be to secure the transport of grain to the outlying l)ortions of districts which are beyond the reach of railway communications.
' Our railway system, though of limited extent, has
42 i:ndian famine — madras.
enormously facilitated the supply of grain to those parts of the country which are suffering most serious distress, such as Bellary and Cuddapah ; and it is aiding in the west and south in the transmission of food to North Arcot and Coimbatore. But while the railway is a powerful auxiliary, it has equalised prices to a great extent all over the country, and has produced almost everywhere famine-rates. The task before us is to secure a constant flow of grain from the terminal railway stations to the outlying districts, in which we have numerous relief works, and we have started a special agency for this purpose. At present the means of local transport have been almost sufficient to dis- tribute the grain which is being brought by thp. railway ; but we are aware that this will be our great difficulty hereafter, and our most earnest attention is being di- rected to this question.
' We enclose for your Lordship's information copies of the season telegrams received at Council on the 19th instant, and also a statement showing the total grants for relief works which have been placed at the disposal of district officers to date. The amount is 50,09,409 rs.
' It is very difficult to furnish to your Lordship an accurate statement of the financial requirements of this Presidency in consequence of the disastrous failure of the seasons.
' The nearest approximate estimate that we have received is contained in a recent report furnished to us by the Board of Revenue. This estimate has been framed to meet the wants until September 1877, though, as explained by the Board, special provision up to so late a date will be required for a few districts only, and is based roughly on the largest item of expenditure, relief wages. It must, however, be borne in mind that there must necessarily be other heavy collateral charges.
ESTIMATE OF EXPENDITURE.
43
The number for whom provision has to be made, as calculated by the Board, is as follows, and the total cost in fui)ee8 is 341,05,875, or 3J millions sterling. At this early poriod wg do not venture to pledge our- selves to any estimate formed on the rough data at hand.
|
Number. |
Amount. |
||||
|
December . January February March April . May . June . July . August September |
5,77,000 8,20,000 10,05,000 12,iX),000 14,05,000 13,55,000 11,40,(XX) 7,80,000 4,05,000 1,05,000 |
22,35,875 32,77,500 38,32,500 40,98,750 52,08,750 62,50,025 42,7o,(K'0 30,22,500 15,00,375 3,75,000 |
|||
|
R8.3,41,05,875 |
' A sudden change of season would seriously, even at this late date, modify such calculations ; but the Board of Revenue are in a position to form the best judgment on this question, and we think it our duty to submit to their estimate.'
In the midst of much indignation in Madras the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos left his Presidency to proceed to take part in the ceremonies at Delhi in connection with the proclamation of Her Majesty as Empress of India. Good resulted from the visit, which was looked upon in Madras with great disfavour at the time, as by means of personal conference with the Governors of the affected Presidencies, the Govern- ment of India for the first time realised the magnitude of the calamity, and the great efforts needed to con- duct successfully the campaign which had been under- taken.
44 INDIAN FAMINE — MADRAS.
Up to this time, the end of December 1876, the Madras Government had expended : —
£ On relief , . . . 872,500 On purchase of grain . . 302,400
£674,000
/
There were other items, such as transport, agency, and local purchases of grain, which brought up the total to nearly three-quarters of a million sterling.
45
CHAPTER II.
THE MONTH OF JANUARY 1877.
' Under tho ryots are the farm labourers, often holding some fielda of their own, but adding to their livelihood by labouring in the fields of their neighbours. They form a large class, having interests bound up with those of the superior ryots. They, together with their wives and growing children, are strong to labour. But now their vocation is gone for a time. There is no weeding or tending wanted for the wretched crops. There is no harvesting to be done. The fields can- not be tilled for lack of moisture. The plough is unemployed. The
oxen are straying in quest of fodder Below these, in all
the villages there are low-caste or caste-less people in a very varying condition — often in tolerably good case, often again living in squalor and degradation, continiung in scarceness at the best of times, and subsisting within the narrowest margin of existence in bad seasons. It was to be feared that from these outcasts of the social system charitable sympathy would be withheld by the better classes. There are also various gipsy clans habitually gathering the wild fruits of the forests, and eking out a precarious subsistence by disposing of jungle produce and doing chance work in the villages. On behalf of these poor untamable wanderers anxiety would be excited lest both the wild produce and the work should fail in a year like this.' — Sir Richard Temple, On the Injects of the Drought.
India is a land of startling contrasts, but extremes were never more vividly noted than in the scenes which were being witnessed on the plains of Delhi in the north, and in the districts in the south, in the early days of January 1877. The spectacular splendour of the Impe- rial Assemblage surpassed anything of the kind that the continent had ever known : the Field of the Cloth of Gold was not more magnificent. Similarly, while the assem- blage was being held, but, owing to the tardiness with which returns are prepared and forwarded to head- quarters, in a great measure unknown to those who were
46 INDIAN FAMINE — MADKAS.
taking part in the ceremonies, unequalled scenes of death and disaster were occurring south and west of the Kistna delta.
Whilst preparations were being made for the pro- clamation of Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain as Empress of India, and whilst the ceremonies were actually in progress, 65,000 subjects of the Queen-Empress died of starvation and the diseases caused by insufficient nourishment, in the Madiias Presidency alone. Thirteen thousand must similarly have perished in the province of Mysore, but no record of deaths month by month has been published ; how many died in Bombay Presidency is unknown, for here, too, reticence was displayed re- specting mortality whilst scarcity and want were preva- lent. The terrible character of the death-rate in the districts of Southern India was not known to the Vice- roy and the Governors and Councillors who were assem- bled at Delhi, but enough was known to enable them to feel that they were face to face with the greatest disaster arising from drought which had visited India during the century. It was intended that a portion of the business transacted at Delhi should be consultations on State affairs, the presence of high dignitaries from all parts of the Empire rendering this feasible. The matter for chief consideration was the famine in Western and Southern India, and owing partly to divergent counsels and partly to the fact that one member of the Government (Sir John Strachey) had only just arrived in the country, it was of the highest importance that a conference on this subject should be held.
On the morning of January 5 the Famine Council met. There were present H.E. the Viceroy and Go- vernor-General, the Governors of Madras and Bombay, the members of the Vice-regal Council, and Sir Richard Temple, Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal and Governor-
COUNCIL AT DELHI CAMP. 47
desiofnate of Bombay. Facts such as have already been detailed were considered, the various policies which had been adopted in Madras and Bombay were discussed, and the supreme authorities accepted the responsibility of meeting the disaster from Imperial finances. It was complained, however, that sufficient information was not available regarding the actual state of things in Madras; it was further not concealed that a good deal of dissatis- faction was felt with the manner in which the disaster had so far been grappled with in the Southern Presi- dency. Reference was also made to the fear that expenditure was more profuse than it need be, and that stricter economy was necessary. The Government of India professed full confidence in the local Government] but they wished to have some adequate control over the policy carried out : how to obtain this was the difficulty. The problem had occasioned some anxiety before the Council was held. In course of conversation, however. Sir John Strachey suggested a plan by which the wishes of Government could be met.
' Send Sir Richard Temple as delegate,' said Sir John Strachey. ' He has had the requisite experience in deal- 1 ins: with famines. He also understands the straitened ' condition of our finances, and will carry out an econo- mical policy.'
His Excellency the Viceroy, to whom the suggestion was made, at once approved of it, and the proposal was laid before the Council. His Grace the Duke of Buck- ingham and Chandos, the Governor of Madras, acquiesced in the arrangement. His Grace had recognised the gravity of the situation in his Presidency, appreciated also the difficulty of the Supreme Government, and loyally agreed to a plan which had the appearance of supersession of himself. Sir Richard Temple's delega- tion was mainly intended for Madras and Mysore, but
48 INDIAN FAMINE — MADRAS.
to save appearances he was instructed also to visit Bombay and report upon the prospects there. The duty to which he was designated was at once accepted by Sir Richard Temple, and he expressed his readiness to pro- ceed on the projected tour with the least possible delay. In the meantime, the Council at an end, the Governor of Madras returned to his tent, and informed the mem- bers of his suite of the arrangement which had been made. The delegation was not looked upon with a favourable eye there, and later in the day his Grace beseeched the Viceroy that the proposal might not be carried out. It was too late, however, to make any change ; the ap- pointment had been gazetted, and Sir Richard Temple was already making preparations for starting on his tour. Much discontent was felt and expressed in India generally when the appointment became known. Sir Richard Temple was popular neither with officials nor publicists, and whilst all recognised the ability of the delegate, few were satisfied of the wisdom of the choice. Sir Richard was charged with extravagant expenditure in Behar in the famine of 1874, and it was feared that he would indulge in large outlay in 1877. But they who argued thus did not know the delegate so well as did they who had sent him. Sir Richard was com- missioned to the distressed districts to economise, and it was known by the Government of India that he would exercise economy. The action taken, also — though not intended by the Government of India as such — was looked upon as a condemnation of the action of the Madras authorities, and it was anticipated that, having been virtually superseded, his Grace the Governor would take an early opportunity of resigning. This, however, the Duke of Buckingham did not do, but loyally remained at his post, and subsequently did ex- ceedingly good service to his Presidency.
I
ESTIMATE FORMED AT DELHI. 49
The estimate which had been formed at Delhi of the calamity may be gathered from certain passages in the telegram which was sent from the camp to the Secretary of State. * We have fully discussed/ said the Viceroy in behalf of himself and his Council, ' with the GovernorH of Madras and Bombay, the present position of affairs in respective Presidencies, and have decided on sending Sir Richard Temple to visit distressed tracts in both Presi- dencies and confer with the two Governments. The situation is very grave, especially in Madras, where 13 districts out of 21, containing a population of 20 millions, are more or less affected. We consider the policy of making large purchases of grain, adopted by Madras Government, to be very erroneous, and calculated se- riously to interfere with operations of trade and so to intensify our difficulties a few months hence. We 'have instructed the Governor to abandon this policy, and shall take means to make known publicly our intention to leave trade unfettered. The number on relief works in Madras exceed 840,000, in Bombay 250,000. We apprehend that in Madras admission to the works has not been sufficiently restricted, and that the actual pres- sure may, therefore, be less than the numbers would indicate. But on this point and on others Sir Richard Temple's inspection will enable us to form an opinion. The latest Madras estimate of expenditure and loss of revenue amounts to about five millions. One or two isolated cases of death appear to have occurred in Madras Presidency. No efforts have been wanting on part of local Governments to prevent mortality. Cholera bad in some districts, especially Kurnool and Belgaum.'
This was not an adequate description of the disaster, as it is now known to have existed at that date, in this representation. The death-rate in the Madras districts from October to December had increased greatly, as the
VOL. I. E
50 INDIAN FAMINE MADRAS.
returns from the various distressed districts testified. None of these facts, however, were before the con- ference at Delhi, nor were the records of deaths from starvation which Mr. Arbuthnot observed in Kurnool in November. There can be no doubt that many deaths from want had occurred prior to January, and the cir- cumstance that they were not known is proof of the inadequacy of control over the disaster.
In a despatch from the Government of India to the Secretary of State, dated January 12, an admirable precis of the extent and intensity of the distress was given, and the admission was made that the prospect was ' serious in the extreme.' Whilst this was acknow- ledged, other points required consideration. Among them was this : — ' While the necessity of preventing, as far as practicable, death by starvation is paramount, the financial embarrassment which must in any case arise, will be most difficult to overcome, and any depar- ture from the most rigid economy, or from the principles in dealing with famine which experience has confirmed as sound, may aggravate it to a degree which cannot be estimated.' This was alluded to at greater length in the instructions issued to Sir Richard Temple.^ Cer-
^ See Appendix for the text of this document. The chief points of *t1i^ instructions were these : — Every effort is to be made for the prevention on deaths by famine. Severe economy in relief should be practised. Indis-i criminate charity on the part of individuals is admitted to be bad, but on! the part of Government is worse. A Government has no better right in aN time of scarcity than at any other times to attempt the task of preventing ( all suffering, and of giving general relief to the poorer classes of the com- \ muuity. /
The numbers on relief works are so great that there is reason to fear that many persons must be employed who without such relief could sustain them- selves, for a time at least. The collection of such numbers should be re- stricted on works where labour is not exacted, where supervision is wanting, at d where people can obtain for the asking, and in return for next to no work at all, wages in money or in grain. No time should be lost in giving to the people, to the greatest extent practicable, the means of employment
THE FINANCIAL PROBLEM. 51
tain passages in tliese instructions caused much public controversy, and occasioned some acrid correspondence between the Supreme and Bombay Governments, to be noticed in the section of this work giving a narrative of the famine in the Western Presidency. In Madras, whilst the instructions were much and severely criticised, the central principles were recognised as sound and satisfactory. Through an unfortunate mistake in the Secretariat, which became the parent of much sub- sequent misunderstanding, a copy of these instructions was not forwarded to the Government of Madras until nearly two months after they had been issued. Thil was accidental, but in the strained relations which sub- sequently existed, malice prepense was not unnaturally suBj^ected.
Sir Richard Temple was nominated to his new duty on January 5. On the 9th he was already on tour. It is impossible to avoid noticing the fact that whilst the delegate started on his mission at once, and the Governor of Bombay hastened with all speed to the seat of his Government, the Duke of Buckingham and
on large public works, which need not always be in the distressed districts or near the homes of the people.
The Government may be driven to set up petty relief works near the homes of the people, but not until distress becomes extreme, or a state of famine has been reached.
There is great advantage in papng relief labour in money (not in grain) wherever and so long as this mode of payment is practicable. But if money payment is not practicable, there is no more objection to Government pur- chasing grain for payment, than there is to its making purchases through the commissariat for troops.
There is to be no interference of any kind on the part of Government with the object of reducing the price of food. Inquiry should be made as to how far private trade, if unfettered, can supply the wants of the coimtry.
In certain localities remote from railways, and large markets which private trade is unable to reach, it may become necessary for Government to intervene.
The transport of grain by the trade, by railways, by roads in the interior, and by the sea-ports, should be carefully observed.
E 2
52 INDIAN FAMINE MADRAS.
Chandos lingered at Lnckiiow, — stayed at a number of places en route to Madras, and did not reach the Presi- dency till several days after Sir Richard Temple had been in some of the distressed districts. This caused much severe comment at the time. The staff of the Famme Delegate consisted of Mr. C. E. Bernard, C.S.I., specially appointed, an officer of much experience and possessing a kindly heart, Captain Bisset, R.E., of rail- way knowledge, Mr. C. Buckland, private secretary, and Dr. Harvey. With a rapidity unexampled, and at too great a speed to secure the object in view, viz., a thorough acquaintance with the real state of the country, )ir Richard and his staff literally ' raced ' over the affected listricts, caused reductions to be made in gratuitous [•elief, struck large numbers of people off works, wrote lumberless and very long minutes and mefnoranda, and ■ in three months finished their task. The Delegate's energy was praiseworthy, his intentions admirable, but his performances occasionally otherwise. It was im- possible, in the hurried visits his Excellency made to districts, and in his conversations with officials, for him to adequately grasp the real facts of the situation. It will be shown that the statements in the delegate's despatches are not borne out by independent observa- tions, and that the death-rate contradicts th^ couleur-de- 7'ose view which he took. It does not seem unfair to the Delegate, judging him from his minutes, to assume that he went to Madras with the preconceived idea that the calamity had been exaggerated, that it was being inadequately met, and that, therefore, facts were, unconsciously may be, squared with this theory.
He expected to see a certain state of things, and he saw that — that and none other. Further, his personal manner was not conciliatory ; he was occasionally in- judicious. It will not be surprising, therefore, to find
SIR RICHARD temple's ' RACING ' TOURS. 53
that the Madras portion of his tour was productive of much illwill and a great deal of friction. Particulars indicating these unpleasing facts will be given in due course.
Famine prevention work had now become very great, and officers were over-taxed in the endeavour to per- form their ordinary duties, and at the same time grapple with distress in the manner in which it was desirable this should be done. Compared with the figures quoted, as showing the amount of distress to be relieved at the end of 1876, the stat^ of things when Sir Richard Temple entered (January 15) the Presi- dency, was as follows : —
Number on Relief Works 1,055,641
Gratuitously fed 12,433
Total . . . 1,068,074
In and near the town of Madras camps had been established, and the most active efforts were made to cope effectually with the distress which daily manifested itself in increasing measure.
The first district visited by Sir Richard Temple was Kurnool, that place being reached via Hyderabad, where, ' so far as he was able to judge, the arrangements made to meet the distress and the diagnosis of the coming trouble were creditable to the prudence and foresight of the Nizam's Government.' This district had been reported upon by the Hon. Mr. Arbuthnot in December, whose report has been quoted. A conference was held on the 14th and 15th between Sir Richard and his staff and the collector and his chief assistants, with several non-official gentlemen. What passed is contained in a memorandum by Mr. Bernard. It was found that all the ordinary crops (including cotton) for 1876-77 liad failed utterly, save only in irrigated lands-
54 INDIAN FAMINE MADEAS.
The average rainfall is 32| inches : only 5| had fallen.
912,000 people were affected. There had been an immense increase of thefts and dacoities in the autumn, which almost ceased when relief works had everywhere been opened. Prices were nearly five times their ordinary rate. Relief was being mostly given in the shape of wages for work on 250 miles of roads, tank digging, collecting gravel, etc. All who had applied for work were given it, and at one time 320,338 — over 33 per cent, of the population — were employed, 3 annas per day being given in some cases to men, and propor- tionately less to women and children. ' The greater majority of the numbers seen on works by Sir Richard,' says Mr. Bernard, ' were women and children. None of these bore any signs of present or past want, and their clothing was certainly better than that of ordinary labourers in other parts of India. The then expenditure was about 30,000 rs. per diem ; the outlay to date 13 lakhs. The engineering staff consisted of one engineer, three assistants, eight overseers (one for each taluk), four extra being expected from other districts.' Neither task nor piecework had been exacted from the labourers, who spent a certain number of hours on or near the works, and returned to their homes, some of them seven or eight miles off, in the evening. A revenue inspector, on 20 rs. per month, had charge of a gang of 10,000 workmen. Mr. Davidson (the new collector), naturally, was not satisfied with this state of affairs, and was endeavouring to put things in order. Gratuitous relief (from private charity) was being given to about 6,000 indigent persons in Kurnool and Cumbum. Certain suggestions, some of which were acted upon, were made for controlling the distress in Kurnool.
On January 19, Sir Richard Temple, having visited
KUIINOOL AND CUDDAPAH. 56
the Ceded districts — comprising Kumool, Bellary, and Cuddapah — an area of 26,000 square miles in five days ! — in a minute submits certain proposals bearing mainly on considerations of expense. They are, briefly, these :l To stop all fresh admissions to relief works in these! districts, save under a certificate from an officer not lower than deputy tahsildar ; to discharge all at pre- sent on relief works who are not in absolute danger of| starvation if not supported by Government ; to reduce the wages from two annas to one and a half anna per diem, and proportionately less for women and children ; and to impress on village officials the responsibility of reporting dangerous cases of distress. The reduction of wages was virtually the great experimental measure as to whether a man could work on one pound of rice per diem, with a small quantity of condiments. Sir Eichard's arguments are not given here, as they will more fittingly appear in the section devoted to the dis- cussion of this important economic question.
Whilst Sir Richard Temple was at Bellary, he had the opportunity of meeting and conversing with a large number of gentlemen officially and non-officially con- nected with the district.^ Mr. Bernard described the
* Mr, G. Thornhill, First Member of the Revenue Board, who kindly accompanied Sir Richard from Qooty.
Mr. G. H. Master, Collector of Bellary for the last seven years.
Mr. Cox, O.S., who joined the district for relief works only a few days previous.
Major Hicks, who for some y^ars has been District Superintendent of Police, Bellary, and who was then managing the transport of Government grain from the railway to the interior.
Mr. Legatt, the Executive Engineer, and several assistants and sub- ordinates, whom Sir Richard met on the different relief works which he visited.
Messrs. Harvey and Sabapathy, a Bellary firm which deals in country produce.
v. Venkata Ohulum, Deputy Collector of Hospett, who had charge of tliree western taluks of Hospett, Ilavrinhudgally, and Harpinhally.
Moorgeshiun Modelliar, Deputy Collector, living at Bellary, but in
56 INDIAN FAMINE — MADRAS.
impressions formed on the Delegate's mind in a memo- randum which may be thus briefly summarised : The district has an area of 1 1 ,000 square miles, divided into 15 taluks: population, 1,668,000. The failure of the harvest was total, not being more than ' half-an-anna crop,' i.e. one thirty-second of an ordinary yield ; this, such as it was, had only been secured on lands watered by wells, tanks, or channels from the Toongabudra river. From Gooty to Bellary, and for several miles around Bellary itself, Sir Richard said that ' the country was almost entirely bare of all crop or stubble, and that there was no sign of fodder or grass.' Cholum ordi- narily sells at 23 seers per rupee; it was then 8 at Bellary itself, and dearer in the interior. Relief in the western taluks began in July, and was conducted pre- cisely as in Kurnool. The number employed on works was enormous, and had been increasing at the rate of 30,000 a week : at this time 382,385, or 23 per cent, of the population, were on relief wages. The total expen- diture to the beginning of January had been 22 lakhs, and the monthly expenditure at the time of Sir Richard's visit 14 lakhs. The number on gratuitous relief was 45,565, nearly 19,000 being in the taluk of Hindapur. The condition of the cattle was critical : one fourth were said to have died, and it was thought more than half would perish before June unless heavy showers fell in January,
It was authenticated that formerly well-to-do ryots
charge of relief work in the south-western taluks of Rayudroog and Kudligi.
Mr. Agar, in relief charge of the head-quarter taluk.
The Deputy-Collector at head-quarters, and other head-quarter officials all furnished information. But Mr. Ross, O.S., the Assistant in charge of the remote southern taluks of Pennakonda, Hindapur, and Madaksira, was at his post in Pennakonda, and therefore some of the facts regarding the condition of that part of the district remain to be cleared up.
DISTRESS IN IJELLARY. 57
had on this occasion sold bullocks in the Bellary market at one rupee a head, or for eight seers of cholum. It was expected that sixteen out of twenty-three lakhs of revenue would have to be suspended, of which a large proportion must be remitted. The question of the Government purchase of grain was also commented upon.
In Cuddapah, one-fourth of the crop having been saved, and there being some in the ground, the distress was not so great in Sir Richard Temple's opinion (p. 46, B. B. II.), as in Bellary and Kurnool. The markets were well supplied, and the best part of the cattle safe. ' Out of a population of 1,350,000, there are 200,000 persons on relief, or one eighth on relief works.* The proportion to the population in the different taluks was too great to be satisfactorily accounted for, viz., 28 per cent, in Kadiri, 5 in Palumpett. Under the collector, near head-quarters, the management was stricter tlian at Madanapully — in the sub-collectorate, where Sir Richard states he believed * an excessive expenditure was going on — as to which reconsideration was urgently called for.' Two other minutes regarding this district were penned by Mr. Bernard on the 19th, and Sir Richard on January 22. The position of the district is fully reviewed. The sug- gestion is made that some officer should be appointed vested with full powers under the Government of Madras to take charge of operations in the Ceded dis- tricts, aiid to reside therein.
Hitherto the Delegate had found occasion only for censure. Regarding North Arcot, however, he tele- graphed to Calcutta, ' For North Arcot relief of distress is careful and cheap. Contrast remarkable with Cud- dapah.' Mr. Bernard's memorandum on this district may be thus summarised. The district has an area of
58 INDIAN FAMINE MADRAS.
7,139 square miles, divided into 9 taluks, exclusive of 13 Zemindaree estates, some of which are very large. Population, 2,015,270, one third of whom belong to the estates. The rainfall in 1874-75 (average) was fifty inches; in 1875-76, twenty-three inches; in 1876- 77, sixteen inches. In some taluks there was much less than sixteen inches even. Prices were high, but they had been higher. The people are described as fairly well off. ' The collector had for long abstained from opening relief works, because he thought they were not absolutely necessary. There were signs of uneasiness and distress in the shape of dacoities and robberies, and the police officials, high and low, much urged him to interfere, saying that the people were starving.' Re- venue officials confirmed the collector in his opinion ' that the time for administering Government relief had not yet come.' ' One or two deaths were reported by the police as caused by starvation, but the collector, after enquiry, satisfied himself that the deaths in ques- tion were due to ordinary natural causes.' ' In December some works had been opened, and 40,000 people were employed upon them. Some few at Vellore were in a depressed physical condition when they first came on to the works, but the rest were and still are in good condition.' Sir Richard saw about 3,000 relief labourers at work at Vellore, who, as a body, seemed to him to be more in need of relief and poorer altogether than any relief gangs he had seen in the Madras Presidency. The collector stated that 80,000 were ready to come on the works, if only he would let them; and he intimated he would have 150,000 at the worst period. There was little or no gratuitous relief affbrded when Sir Richard visited Vellore and inspected the pauper recipients there. He found many of them in a really emaciated condition. The collector was satisfied that in the interior
CAUSE OF ' WANDKRINO * FROM NORTH ARCOT. 69
the village officials would watch and bring up for relief people who were in danger of starving. There was cause for apprehension in regard to both cattle and water, the latter being already short in Vellore itself.
An interpolation must be pardoned here. This is decidedly the most alarming account of the state of aifairs yet furnished, so far as the salvation of life was concerned; but besides reporting favourably of the district, the delegate supported the collector in his do-nothing policy. When the people of North Arcot found there was no relief for them at home, they wan- dered to Madras, or perished by the roadside. In a minute on North Arcot which accompanied his secre- tary's memorandum, Sir Eichard said : ' The district has suffered a severe loss of harvest from drought ; not more than four annas of the total harvest have been saved. It is almost entirely surrounded by distressed districts. It has several large towns, inhabited by a poor population. There are many signs of coming dis- tress upon a large scale: nevertheless the collector, Mr. Whiteside, has managed so far to hold his hand as to give relief to only a limited number. It is true that great pressure has been and is being put upon him by the people to extend relief operations, and he may very shortly have to do so. But the fact remains that on fTanuary 20 there are not more than 40,000 persons receiving relief from Government, and the total expen- diture is 66,000 rs.' Sir Richard contrasts this with the extent of relief in the neighbouring district of Cudda- pah, which, with a smaller population and a not very much worse harvest than North Arcot, had 200,000 on works, with an expenditure of 600,000 rs. Sir Richard is of opinion that as affecting the scarcity there are no such differences between the circumstances of the two districts as can satisfactorily account ^r>^ ^^''s result,
60 INDIAN FAMINE MADRAS.
unless it be in difference of management. If North Arcot had been managed like Cuddapah, its expendi- ture would have been 675,000 rs. by January 20, and 225,000 should have been on relief. Had Cuddapah been managed like North Arcot, six lakhs would have been saved. . . . Inasmuch as there has been no loss of life proved to result from starvation in North Arcot, it would seem to follow that the collector has done enough.^
On January 22 another minute on the reduced ration appeared, in which Sir Richard showed that, if adopted, a saving of one fourth of expenditure would result. * This is, I submit,' he remarks, ' an important consideration financially, which cannot be lightly set aside.' In two memoranda, dated January 21 and 22, respectively, Mr. Bernard briefly reviews the condition (1) of the Coimbatore, and (2) of the Trichinopoly districts. Sir Richard was not able to visit them per- sonally. The distress in the first-named district was localised to three central taluks, in which it was but partial, whilst the second was but little affected. Ade- quate arrangements had been made in both, in case matters changed for the worse.
Sir Richard Temple visited Madura, and had con- ferences with the local officers during January 22 and 24. The district has a population of 2,250,000. Ave- rage rainfall twenty-four inches : in 1876 in some places
^ Per contra, it may be stated that the death-rate in North Arcot iu^ August — December 1876, compared with the previous year, was very greatly increased. Further, it is very probable that a large portion of Madras town relief is really debitable to North Arcot. It is well known that many thousands of people proceeded to Cuddapah, MadanapuUy, and Madras, where work and food were provided for them. Several thousands j of them died miserably in the town relief hospitals of nothing else than I the resultants of prolonged hunger. It was proved, partly by enquiries,' partly by the number of relegations, that many ' wanderers ' in Madras were from North Arcot.
COIMBATORE AND TRICIIINOPOLY. ' CI
only five inches; nowhere twelve inches. Prices were as follows:
|
No. of seers |
per rupee |
|
|
2nd sort rice .... Oholum Ragi |
January 18, 1877. 7? 10| |
Average in ordinary yean 16 29 36 |
Markets were filled, mostly with Bengal rice; 5,531 on relief works. Collector expected a rush on the works in the south, * where the people are very badly oflF, and for two months past have prayed to have relief works opened.' ' If it had not been for the outlet by emigra- tion to Ceylon, there would have been danger of starva- tion down there before now.' The rate of wages on relief works was two annas per diem. In ordinary times no one would accept less than four or five annas per day; and the collector was of opinion that a Madura man must be feeling some pressure before he goes on relief works at two annas. The people who were on works were not in a specially depressed physical condi- tion. There had been no difficulty in maintaining the cattle. The collector expected he would have to remit fifteen out of his twenty-four lakhs of revenue.
The Delegate made a brief, very brief, visit to Tin- nevelly, of which Mr. Bernard reports that prices were almost double. ' As yet the condition of the people even in the distressed districts is by no means depressed; but some weeks ago it became clear that in the dis- tressed taluks were a certain number of people who had not emigrated, who had no food, and who had no means of earning any. Accordingly, works were opened, and 2,500 labourers were then employed. Sir Richard found that w^hile Mr. McQuhae, the collector of Madura, estimated he would not at the worst season have more
62 INDIAN FAMINE — MADRAS.
than 20,000 on relief works, Mr. Stuart, collector of Tinnevelly, which has a smaller population, thought 150,000 would have to be provided for.' Sir Richard Temple thought these differences arose from the fact that in Madura it is now understood that relief is to be afforded only for the purpose of avoiding danger of starvation, whereas, in Tinnevelly, it seems to have been thought distress also must be prevented.
On January 25 the Delegate visited Salem. Prices ranged from double to treble ordinary rates. The rain- fall, on which all depended, was for the past year eighteen inches instead of thirty inches, while the north- east monsoon, or the October fall, had been short all over the district, two inches falling where ten inches were needed. ' There have been no real cases of star- vation, but in the northern taluks there was distress among the poorer classes, and works had been opened for two months. The labourers were not considered in depressed physical condition, though not so stout as in ordinary years. The cattle were as yet fairly well off, and many having been driven to the Shevaroy hills, they will probably get through the present crisis sufficiently well.'
Three days later the Delegate reached Chingleput, the district in which the city of Madras is situated. The district is small, having an area of 2,753 square miles, and a population of 938,134. This was its third bad season: the rainfall the previous year had been but sixteen as against thirty-four inches. The failure of the crops had been worst in the Chingleput, Conjeve- ram, and Ponnery taluks, in which those under irriga- tion channels from the Palar river had alone been saved. Relief works (mostly roads) had been opened in Decem- ber, but ' in some cases the people were in a physically reduced state when they first came on the works.' About 14,000 were then thus employed, and in April
CHINGLEPUT DISTRICT AND MADRAS CITY. 63
it was expected 70,000 souls would have to be similarly provided for. Sir Richard describes the Madras town relief camps (three in the city and one at Red Hills) as then containing a population of 10,000 immigrant pariah families, mostly from the neighbouring districts of Chingleput, North Arcot, Nellore, and Cuddapah, ' who had come down to Madras to seek for work and food, either because relief works near their homes had not been opened, or because they had heard rumours of charity to be had there for the asking. Many of them had walked far, . . . and had become much reduced.' 25,000 had then been picked off the streets by the police, fed up in camps, and set to work. ' A consider- able number of ]vomen and children had been observed at each of these camps in an emaciated condition.' In the relief hospitals hundreds were being treated for what the medical officer called famine diarrhoea, brought on or aggravated by want of food. This was identifiable with the complaint which was so fatal in 1869, in the Rajputana famine. ' The death rate was very high, and to some of them the relief came too late.' There had been some, but not many, cases of cholera. A liberal diet of 1^ lbs. of rice and half a pint of vegetable curry was allowed per diem to adults. The administra- tive arrangements, under the Police Commissioner, Colonel Drever, were good, and a medical oflScer with a sufficient staff managed the hospital sanitation. The cost of these camps was considerable. A brief memo- randum by Mr. Bernard on a railway from Chingleput to Conjeveram as a relief work closes the despatch - writing of the delegate for January.
It may now be well to glance at the distress through the spectacles of the Madras Government. One of the first efforts of this Government in January was an endeavour to turn to good account the disaster with
64 INDIAN FAMINE — MADRAS.
whicli they were face to face. The Governor's Council had determined to make small advances to ryots for the sinking of wells and other agricultural improvements, but the procedure was too cumbersome for the existing emergency. The Grovernment of India was therefore applied to, that advances might be made on simple agreements. The arrangement involved in this proposal was a real famine panacea, and the Madras Council were quite justified in telling the Secretary of State, as they did, that if their request were acceded to ' much advan- tage to the country and to the State would accrue.' The relief asked for was promptly given in the first week of the year. One of the most experienced oflficers in the Presidency (Mr. R. K. Puckle) was deputed to visit the distressed districts, so that increased super- vising agency for the daily enlarged numbers of persons seeking relief might be provided.
In the second week of the year the authorities had to tell of increasing numbers flocking to relief works, and in three districts — Bellary, Kurnool, and Cuddapah — nearly a million of persons were compelled to trust to the action of Government for their existence. Regard- ing supervision, which afterwards caused much dis- agreement between the supreme and local authorities, it is stated of this period: —
' In the thirteenth paragraph of our last despatch to the Secretary of State, we stated that we were preparing instructions to district officers to prevent waste and idleness on the State relief works. We have since con- ferred with Mr. Puckle, and despatched him to the Ceded districts, accompanied by the most experienced native assistant we could depute, for the purpose of examining the manner in which the works in progress there are being carried out, and of elaborating an effi- cient system of controlling and auditing expenditure on
HEALTH OF PEOPLE AND CATTLE.
65
the spot. We hope in a short time to be in a position to report that the instructions have been issued.'
For the same week reports from each of the districts gave the following particulars regarding the health of human beings and of cattle:
|
District |
Health of Population |
Condition of Cattle |
|
Ganjam . . |
Cholera |
Cattle disease |
|
Vizagapatam . |
Cholera, fever . . . |
Healthy |
|
Godaveri . . |
Fever |
Cattle disease |
|
Kistna . . . |
Cholera, fever . . . |
Do. |
|
Nellore . . . |
6S1 cholera, small pox |
Cattle suffering from want of fodder 1,460 cattle died from want of |
|
Ouddapah . . |
664 cholera .... |
|
|
fodder and disease |
||
|
Kumool . . |
291, cholera .... |
Cattle dying for want of fodder |
|
Bellary . . . |
Do. do |
Healthy |
|
North Arcot . |
Cholera, fever . . . |
Cattle dying for want of fodder |
|
Ohingleput . |
1 Cholera, small pox,\ : fever .... J |
Pasture and water scarce |
|
Madras . . . |
f Cholera, small pox,"l \ fever, dysentery . j Cholera |
Foot and mouth disease |
|
South Arcot . |
Cattle disease ; cattle weak |
|
|
Salem . . . |
Do |
Foot and mouth disease |
|
Trichinopoly . |
569 cholera, small pox |
Healthy |
|
Tanjore . . |
383 cholera .... |
Do. |
|
Ooimbatore . |
493 cholera .... |
Cattle deteriorating |
|
Madura . . . |
319 do |
Catt'e want fodder and water |
|
Tinnevelly . . |
Cholera |
Healthy |
|
Nillgris . . . |
Good |
|
|
Malabar . . i |
2 cholera |
Cattle disease |
|
South Oanara . i |
Small pox |
Healthy |
The week after, Sir Richard Temple's arrival in the Presidency town was stated, and the Government ac- knowledged to have received his various suggestions, and promised ' consideration ' of them, and said they would report in the following week the action taken upon them. The suggestions were contained in the despatches summarised in preceding pages, copies of which were forwarded simultaneously to Calcutta and Madras.
VOL. I. F
66 INDIAN FAMINE — MADRAS.
What is most remarkable in the reports, for this month, both of the Delegate of the Government of India and the Council at Madras, is the manner in which such subjects as the increase of the death-rate and the intensificatio5rof~mdrvidual suffering are ignored, as though botE or either were not the concomitants of the distress which was being coped with. Yet during this month the death-rate was very high and the suffering extremely great. In the affected districts they were of an alarming nature. It is true these details did not, in the ordinary routine, reach the Council of the Governor of Madras till six weeks later, but the state of things they typify — a total increased death-rate of nearly sixty thousand on the previous year, — ought to have attracted the attention of the officials, and have been reported to supreme authority.'
Much practice in minute writing has given to Sir Richard Temple a facility of composition and a habit of comprehending facts which few publicists in India possess. An estimate of the extent of mischief caused by the failure of rains, made by Sir Richard at the close of his journeys, may for the sake of enabling the reader to note the extent and kind of distress, be given.
He wrote : — ' In regard to the extent of the droughts
^ Many of these deaths, though not reported as from actual starvation, were certainly due to want of food. The coiTespondent of the Friend of India says : — * Dr. Ross of Nellore told me that he had not found the dropsy as invariably fatal as other medical men have represented it to be ; he seemed to think its ending in death or not depended on the extent to which the diarrhoea that preceded it had gone. I asked him if he would give me his opinion whether the death of a starved person, the immediate cause of which was diarrhoea, or some other disease, should fairly be put down to starvation, and he said, " Unquestionably, yes." " Death," he added, " was very rarely caused by mere asthenia, or want of life ; some part of the body was nearly always attacked by disease previously to dissolution, and that disease could not really be called the cause of death." This is the view that has guided me all along in what I have written about starvation. The cause of death is that which makes recovery hopeless, not the disease that shows itself when a man is as good as dead already.'
THE delegate's ESTIMATE OF TUB DISTRESS. 67
and the failure of the harvests, it is necessary to recall the fact that in 187G, throughout the greater part of the Madras Presidency, the south-west monsoon, or the summer rains, were very deficient, and that the north- east monsoon, or autumnal rains, failed still more disas- trously. In the northern portion only of the Presidency, that is, in the littoral tract south of Orissa and in the deltas of the Godavery and the Kistna, was the rain- fall ordinarily propitious. In the rest of the Presidency, comprising the peninsula of Southern India, the rainfall of the year ranged from 3 to 20 inches, in many large tracts of the worst districts it ranged from 6 to 10 inches, whereas -the average annual rainfall in this region may be taken to range from 20 to 40 inches. Even on the western or Malabar coast, where, if any- where, the rains are expected to be unfailing, the rain- fall was measured at only 87 inches, compared with an usual annual average of 126 inches.
* The misfortune which, threatening first in July, and becoming more pronounced month by month, settled down upon the Madras Presidency during November, was aggravated by the similar misfortune which had befallen the Deccan districts of the Bombay Presidency, the greater portion of the Mysore territory, and a por- tion of the Nizam's dominions.
' The drought began in the north, a little below the river Taptee in Khandeish. In the Bombay Deccan, it became severe in the districts of Ahmednughur, Poona, Satara, Sholapur, and Kaladgi. It was milder in the south Mahratta country near Belgaum and Dharwar, and in the Nizam's territories, around Gool- burga and Raichore; but some parts of Dharwar suffered severely. Towards the Madras Presidency it reached the line of the Toongabhadra (or Toombadra) River which joins the Kistna below Kurnool, and
68 INDIAN FAMINE — MADRAS.
followed the line of the Kistna to the eastern coast. In this latitude (16°), it stretched with more or less in- tensity almost from sea to sea.
' Within the Madras Presidency, on the right or southern bank of the Toongabhadra river, the drought developed all its most destructive agencies, and showed its greatest force all along the frontier, covering the whole of the districts of Bellary and Kurnool, and the greater part of Cuddapah, and comprising in its desola- tion all the country above the Gh^t mountains. Across the mountains it visited the greater part of the districts of Nellore, Chingleput (including the city of Madras), North Arcot, Salem, Coimbatore, and Trichinopoly. It caused the Kistna and its affluents to roll down in such diminished volume that the canal from the Toongabhadra near Kurnool, and the great irrigation works of the Masulipatam delta, were stinted in their supply. It made the freshes and floods of the Penair descend in such shrunken proportions that the reservoir and channels of Nellore were nearly deprived of water. It stopped the supply of the Cauvery bank lake, near Arcot, and rendered the dam across the Palar inopera- tive. It rested for some time on the districts of South Arcot, Tanjore, and Trichinopoly, and threatened them with evil ; they were, however, saved, South Arcot mainly by some later rains, and Tanjore and Trichino- poly, partly by the same rains, but chiefly by their canals. It extended itself with havoc throughout the southern peninsula, laying waste the districts of Madura and Tinnevelly, right down to the sea -shore near Cape Comorin, the tracts irrigated from the Tambrapoornee, near Tinnevelly, alone escaping destruction. Though it failed to dry up the harvest of the rich tracts of Malabar and Travancore, or to prevent the Cauvery from filling the canals of the Tanjore delta, yet it rendered them
THE MADRAS DISTRICTS INJURED. 69
powerless to send the succour that might otherwise have been expected.
' Thus were injured, more or less seriously, ten large districts of the Madras Presidency, containing a total area of 74,000 square miles, and a population of 16,000,000 souls.
' The whole of the area and of the population did not suffer in an equal degi'ee. It may be stated ap- proximately that 11,000,000 people were distressed in a greater, and 5,000,000 in a lesser, degree.
' In the devastated tracts there are two harvests in the year, one depending on the summer rains, the other upon the autuumal rains, the edible grains consisting of the rice and several kinds of millet. Of the culti- vated area a small part (technically termed " wet ") is watered from artificial tanks which often rise to the pro- portions of lakes ; the remainder (technically termed " dry ") is watered in some parts from wells, but for the most part from rainfall. The proportion of wet lands varies greatly in the several districts, being largest inChin- gleput, where it exceeds one half of the whole cultivation, and smallest in Bellary, where it is only one- twentieth.
'The failure was worst in the "wetlands." The tanks, havino; their catchment areas in undulatino plains or low hills on which but little rain descended, were left almost dry. What are usually splendid sheets of water became scorched dusty plains, appearing as huge black patches with cracked and fissured soil. The sluices, the distributing channels, and all the apparatus of irrigation lay useless. Such an universal drying-up of the tanks, for which the districts below the Gh^t Mountains are so celebrated, has hardly been witnessed within the memory of living man.^
' The Eastna dbtricl has been reckoned among the distressed district^ ;
but I have not so regarded it, as only a small portion of it suffered. — Sir R. Temple.
70 INDIAN FAMINE — MADRAS.
'The "dry" lands fared somewhat better. What- ever rain fell did cause something, however scanty, to spring up in them. But even then, fertile expanses of champaign which ought to be clothed with crops, look bare and arid, being little better than a desert. The wells retained some of their supply ; though even in them the water fell lower and lower, and sometimes dis- appeared altogether. Of the more valuable crops, the sugar-cane, the tobacco, the garden produce, were in part preserved. But the cotton crop of Bellary and Adoni yielded nothing. The factories are closed and the machinery is silent. Though the cultivators fell short of doing all they might have done, yet in count- less instances they made a brave fight to save their crops. They excavated their failing wells deeper and deeper in the rocky strata ; they dug pits in their fields, searching for moisture ; they sunk wells with wicker work. They delved for springs and under-cur- rents of water in the sandy beds of the dry rivers, and there indeed their toil was often rewarded, miles and miles of well-filled watercourses being led off to re- suscitate the withering crops. These practices, which on this occasion stood the people in such good stead, are known to them in ordinary times, but were resorted to very largely during this year. The Government wisely exhorted the cultivators to deepen the old wells and to excavate new wells ; and offered them advances of money for these purposes, relaxing somewhat the rules and conditions under which such advances are ordinarily made. In many hundreds of instances they availed themselves of these advantages.
' The failure was not uniform in degree throughout any of the distressed districts. It would be tedious here to give the particulars for the several subdivisions of each district. Sufiice it to state, that out of a full
EXTENT OF CROP LOSS.
71
crop there were in the af^riciiltural year 1876-77 only the fractions shown in the following statement ; in a parallel column of which there is given the population of each district, so as to convey some idea of the gravity of the misfortune resulting from the loss of crop.
|
Crop in |
1876-7. |
Population. |
||
|
Bellary .... |
One-sixteenth of an |
average good |
crop |
1,088,000 |
|
Kurnool . . . |
One-sixteenth |
960,000 |
||
|
Ouddapah . . . |
Three-sixteenths |
» |
» |
1,351,000 |
|
Nellore .... Chingleput 1 (inclusive of > |
One quarter |
» |
» |
1,377,000 |
|
Three-sixteenths |
1,336,000 |
|||
|
Madras City), J |
||||
|
North Arcot . • |
One quarter |
» |
>f |
2,015,000 |
|
Salem . . . : |
One-third |
»> |
>i |
1,967,000 |
|
Ooimbatore . • |
One quarter |
» |
» |
1,763,000 |
|
Madura . . . ' |
One quarter |
» |
>f |
2,267,000 |
|
Tinnevelly . . . |
Six-sixteenths |
n |
i> |
1,640,000 |
' Experience has shown that the difficulty of dealing with famine is aggravated if the population is dense, and lessened if it is spare. The following statement shows the average incidence of the population on the square mile in each district. As compared with some parts of India the most distressed districts are thinly peopled : and those tracts which are more thickly peopled are, fortunately, less distressed : —
Bellary has a population of . . .151
Kurnool 130
Cuddapah 161
NeUore 162
Chingleput (exclusive of Madras City) . 340
North Arcot 282
Salem 262
Coimbatore 237
Madura 238
Tinnevelly 327
persons
► to the square
mile.
* The consequences of such a failure in 1876 are affected for better or for worse by the results of pre-
72 - INDIAN FAMINE — MADRAS.
vious years. The year 1874 was generally good, afid left a reserve of surplus grain. But 1875 was in many places unpropitious ; and failure of crops in Mysore drained oiF supplies towards that province. In Bellary and in some parts of Kurnool, 1875 had been unfortu- nate in its seasons ; and in Bellary 1874 had also been unfavourable. These circumstances caused the drought of 1876 to be felt with more intensity in Bellary than anywhere.'
73
CHAPTER III.
THE MONTHS OF FEBRUARY AND MARCH.
Advantage was taken by Sir Richard Temple of his visit to Madras, to impress upon the local Government the advisability of adopting the reduced rate of relief, which he had recommended almost immediately after entering the Presidency, and which was being carried out in Bombay. The proposal was urged by him on financial grounds, but was strongly objected to by the Madras Government, for other, and, what were con- sidered higher, reasons. However, Sir Richard's strong will prevailed, and on February 3 the Secretary of State was informed mat the Madras Government had resolved to adopt experimentally, in deference to the suggestions of the Delegate;, the same scale of payment of wages for relief labourers as is proposed to be enforced in the Bombay Presidency. Sir Richard's minutes and memoranda. Lord Salisbury was further informed, were still under consideration, and action upon them was further deferred. At the same time the condition of affairs in North Arcot — the district alleged a few days before by the Delegate to be in no need of relief works — was described as very bad, and camps were ordered to be formed at Chittoor, Yellore, and Ranipett, a special officer being detailed to assist the collector. It was feared that distress in this part of the country was likely to be very severe. Private charity in the town of Madras was checked, and grants
74 INDIAN FAMINE — MADRAS.
in aid of donations which had been given were stopped. Indiscriminate and badly controlled charity was work- ing much mischief. The authorities thenceforward un- dertook to meet all wants.
^ Whilst these orders were being carried out, Sir Richard Temple had left Madras, and again proceeded on tour. Having seen in the Madras town relief camps a large number of persons from North Arcot district who had been reduced by want to a very deplo- rable condition, and having also heard from Colonel Hearn, CLE., the Inspector General of Police, who had recently been in the district, that many of the in- habitants in the great Zemindaries, in the northern part, must soon die of hunger, although the collector and native officials did not consider the situation quite so critical. Sir Richard deemed it advisable to revisit that district. On this occasion he found that in the taluk of Chendragherri, which appeared to be the worst oif, no relief works had been opened, and he was of opinion that some should be established at once. There seemed to be misunderstanding here, as in Cuddapah, between the Civil and the Departmental Public Works officers, as to estimates and rates, &c. This was going on whilst in some of these parts ' the people were drifting into severe distress.' Sir Richard was informed by the Rev. Mr. Wyckoff, an American mis- sionary, that he had been obliged to help certain Chris- tians who were wholly without food or means of earning it ; and that there were many villages in the lower tracts named which could not hold out much longer. At Vellore Sir Richard found 7,000 people in receipt of a daily dole of raw rice, and urged the completion of a camp there, instead of this form of relief. Two more camps on the Arconum road were also recommended, to intercept immigrants bound for Madras. Sir
THE SUNGUM PROJECT. 75
Riclmrd concludes his minute thus : ' Altliough the collector has justly held back as long as he could with safety, yet in the eastern part of the district further holding back would no longer be compatible with safety.'
From North Arcot to Cuddapah the Delegate next proceeded, and recorded his impressions at Bangalore a few days after of what could be done to restrict expen- diture, as far as was ' compatible with the safety of thfr people.' His general impressions, after full consultation with local officers, were: — (1) That the 19 per cent, of the population then on relief works was too high, and the work got out of the people too little. (2) That more should be done towards working them on tanks and irrigation projects than roads. (3) That village inspection should be enforced, and that when the num- bers on charitable relief largely increased, camps should be formed, and indoor aid given ; that wages should be^ paid in cash and not in grain.
Of tlie Nellore district, in spite of the harvest being very small there, Sir Richard speaks highly, particu- larly with respect to the collector's discrimination in regard to admissions on relief. At the end of the month, when he saw the East Coast Canal, he approved of it as a relief work. About 30,000 labourers were then employed upon it; but Sir Richard recommended that 15,000 from Kurnool, 15,000 from Bellary, and 10,000 from Cuddapah should be drafted on in addition.
Writing from Arconum on March 3, the Dele- gate further suggested the advantages of the early commencement of the Sungum project in the same district (Nellore), whereby the flood waters of the Pennar river could be utilised in filling various tanks and channels at an anticipated outlay of 27,00,000 rs.,
76 INDIAN FAMINE MADRAS.
with a return of 2,50,000 rs. annually from 94,000 acres irrigated.
The remaining minutes and memoranda of general interest — there were some on special subjects, such as making the most of the railway carrying capacity — were concerned mainly with ' shroffing ' the people in relief camps and suggesting large works.
On March 18 Sir Richard Temple wrote ^ at length, urging the Madras Government to apply more generally the test of employment on larger public works, under engineering supervision, away from their homes, instead of offering to all easy work, or imperfectly supervised work, near their homes. On March 29 Sir R. Temple wrote ^ again, representing the great desirability of having the relief works controlled and supervised by engineering officers, and, at any rate, of utilising for this object the existing Public Works Department staff as far as it would go. And he gave lists of works on which, according to the showing of the local Public Works Department officers, 51,000 labourers in Bellary, and 52,000 in Kurnool, could be at once employed on professionally supervised works. On April 6 Sir R. Temple wrote ^ that the Grovern- ment of India, by sanctioning the Bellary- Hooblee Rail- way, had ' established the principle that, in the dearth of large projects for employment of relief labour, the earthwork of any such railway projects might be com- menced, even though Government might not be able at present to complete the scheme.' He went on to say — if Further, I have seen in the Madras Presidency that //there is great need for large works, on which a large //number of relief labourers can be concentrated under
1 Minute No. LXXV.
2 Minute No. LXXXVII.
3 Minute No. XOII.
KECOMMENDATION OF LARGE W0KK8. 77
adequate professional supervision. My minutes, dated March 18 and 29, set forth the great advantages to be obtained by placing relief works under profes- sional supervision. In Cliingleput arid North Arcot districts there was special need for professionally super- vised works. So long, therefore, as the Government of India was not committed to the completion of the proposed line, I conslidered that it might be better to employ relief labourers under engineering control, on a work that might hereafter be useful, than to leave them all on the scattered civil works, whereon little real labour was exacted, and over which there was practically no adequate supervision.'
On these grounds he recommended that the earth- work on the Conjeveram and Chingleput branch line of the South India Railway should be sanctioned, and the Government of India forthwith sanctioned the work. On April 14, Sir R. Temple, on his second visit to Salem, found that in that district 25,000 relief labourers, out of a total of 47,000, were employed on properly supervised large and small works under the Public Works Department. He drew^ the attention of the Madras Government to this circumstance, and suggested that the policy, which worked well in Salem, might equally be carried out in other districts, where the numbers of relief labourers were much larger, and where professionally supervised works were most urgently required. Again, regarding the South Arcot district, where distress was then only beginning. Sir R. Temple wrote''^: — ' If relief works have to be opened at all, I would earnestly recommend that this be not done through the civil officers, who have so much else to attend to, but should be entrusted to the regular
• Minute No. XOVIII. dated April 10, a Minute No. OV. dated April 20, 1877.
78 INDIAN FAMINE — MADKAS.
Public Works Department which, in this district, is strongly represented by the irrigation engineers. There is much work for them to do by way of repairing and improving the tanks ; and, if they undertake this, they will be able to afford all the relief that is needed for the able-bodied, who will be thus employed on works not scattered but concentrated, and under pro- fessional supervision. To the civil officers would then be left what may be described as their legitimate work, that is, visiting the villages in search of destitute and helpless persons, affording gratuitous relief to some, and assigning light work to others who, though weakly, can yet do something.' On the same date he repeated ^ his recommendations regarding the North Arcot district, and urged that, as numbers of good irrigation works were ready and waiting to be done, and as the engineers were anxious to do them, the relief labourers should be drafted off the petty works under civil officers, and employed under engineering supervision on useful, pro- perly organised works. In his final minute on the Cuddapah district, Sir R. Temple repeated^ his recom- mendation ' that the Public Works establishment should be utilised by being ordered to take charge of as many of the relief works as possible.' On April 24 he drew^ the attention of the Madras Government to the fact that though the Bellary-Hooblee Railway had been sanctioned two months previously, yet only 3,000 labourers were employed on that useful and well super- vised work, whereas there were some 240,000 relief labourers on petty, comparatively useless, and unsuper- vised works in the Bellary district; and he urged that more labourers should be drafted to that work.
» Minute No. CVI. dated March 20. 2 Minute No. CVII. dated April 22. » Minute No. OXI. dated April 24.
A CONTRAST — BOMBAY V. MADRAS. 79
In his liiial minute on the Kurnool district, Sir R. Temple drew attention to the difference between the Bombay system and the Kurnool system. He wrote: — ' In the Bombay Deccan the Department of Public Works has full control over the relief labourers, while in Kurnool it has not.' The measure primarily to be suggested was * the Concentration of the gangs of labourers on public works (specified in the minutes of March 17 and 29) under Public Works officers.' Finally, on the day he left the Madras Presidency to take up the Government of Bombay, Sir R. Temple again urged ^ on the Madras Government the need of concentrating their relief labourers on works supervised by the Public Works Department, and he contrasted the Bombay relief works system with the Madras system in these words : —
* In th^ Bombay Presidency the plan of fully utilising the Engineering JJepartment has been so advanced that now almost all the relief labourers are under the Public Works Department. Out of 287,760, persons in all, 259,057. are under that department, and only ^.703 are under civil officers. In the Madras Presidency, out of 716,507 in all, there are not more than 83,000'"^ under the Public Works Department, the remainder, 633,507, being under civil officers. Out of this latter number it may be admitted that 24,140 in Coimbatore, 28,000 in Salem, 13,626 in Madura, in all 65,766, are well and fully tasked.
1 Minute No. 0X1 V.
• East Coast Canal 40,000
Arconum Doubling 15,000
Bellary-Dharwar llailway 3,000
Salem District 25,000
Total . . 83,000
80 INDIAN FAMINE — MADRAS.
' Some may be very shortly expected on the Chingle- put Railway, and some also on the irrigation works of North Arcot. The remainder, 56'^,741, are, with the exception of a certain number at Cuddapah (which I cannot state precisely) under the civil officers, and are for the most part lightly tasked. It is especially re- markable that in the two districts showing the largest numbers — Bellary and Kurnool — having both together 422,784 persons, the whole are under civil officers, and lightly tasked, with the exception of the 3,000 on the railway from Bellary towards Dharwar. There is no want of engineering and professional establishments in the districts of Bellary, Kurnool, and Cuddapah ; on the contrary, each district is under a district engineer, whose executive charge is divided into so many " ranges," in each of which there is an engineer officer. But, as shown by me in former minutes, these excellent and competent establishments only help in a general way, and have no actual charge of any relief work. They may be utilised fully for this important purpose at any moment the Madras Government may see fit. The same remarks apply equally to North Arcot, and would similarly apply to South Arcot if any relief works shall have to be opened there. They apply too in a considerable degree to Nellore.'
Sir Kichard also strongly insisted again and again upon the advisability of utilising village agency to the utmost and making house-to-house visitation. From a despatch dated Tripetty, February 26, 1877, an ex- tract may be given which is representative of much writing on this subject. Sir Richard says : — ' I have visited the Ceded districts, Cuddapah, North Arcot, and part of Kurnool, with the view of ascertaining how far systematic house-to-house visitation is being carried out, and how far the village headmen discharge the
RISK TO WKAKKK MEMBEKS OF FAMILIES. 81
duty of searclung out and bringing up every case of dangerous distress. The orders of the Madras Govern- ment on this subject have, I believe, reached the village headmen, and Government officers, European and na- tives, are doing something irt this direction. Still the fact remains that, up to the present time, the village headmen have brought forward only a very few cases of persons (in the many taluks I visited there were hardly a score of such cases altogether) who were in extreme need of relief. At the same time, in many of the relief labour gangs I found, side by side with hun- dreds or thousands of people not as 3''et in absolute need, a few persons in very poor physical condition, an in- quiry into whose cases showed that they were the only bread-winners for whole families of infirm people. There is risk that the weaker members of families in such straits must sooner or later die, unless they are brought upon charitable relief. And there is always the fear that, if cases of this kind come to light, more (possibly worse) cases of the same kind remain undisco- vered. And all this may occur side by side and simul- taneously with the employment of great gangs of relief labourers, whose numbers perhaps exceed the real di- mensions of distress. During my visit I have always drawn the attention of the relief officers in charge to the dangerous nature of such cases. And I have ex- plained that the admission of thousands of comparatively well-to-do people to relief gangs without discrimination cannot relieve the few scores of really needy people who may be at home in their villages. I would recom- mend that the existinsr orders of the Madras Govern- ment (which are doubtless excellent so far as they go) be further explained or enforced, and that a written (or printed) notice of his duties and responsibilities be sent to every village headman in the more distressed VOL I. G
82 INDIAN FAMINE — MADKAS.
districts ; that a written acknowledgment be obtained from him, and that a report be demanded of him of his having inspected every household in his village, and of his either having done the needful, if he found any person in dangerous straits, or of his having found none such. The intentions of Government will then become really known, and supervising officers of all ranks will be able to enforce the real and careful dis- charge of their duties by the village officers. It is assumed that they have already been authorised to relieve temporarily any person in this condition at the Government expense. They therefore cannot have any motive for concealing the existence of any such case, if it exist. The reports of the village headmen will therefore be evidence of the best kind.'
Such, in brief, was the course of the Famine Dele- gate in the distressed districts during the months ot February and March. He travelled far and wide, con- sulted many officials and inspected large gangs of coolies, striking off all who looked in a fairly good condition, all who were well clothed, and all who pos- sessed ornaments of even a trifling value. All this was done with a zeal and thoroughness characteristic of the man, and of the chief member of his staff, Mr. C. E. Bernard. The impression left upon the mind by the perusal of the 200 minutes and memoranda penned by
C)ir Richard and his staff is that the disaster was met uccessfully and well. This is particularly apparent in the General Report^ reviewing the whole course of the Delegate's journeyings. But this report, and the many minutes, are essentially misleading, as containing the results only of hasty investigation aiad a necessarily imperfect acquaintance witb facts. ljL)ne idea de- rived from Sir Richard Temple's report is that only
1 Blue Book, No. III. pp. 352 to 380.
VILLAGE OFFICERS NOT TUUSTWOUTHY. 83
a very few cases of deaths from starvation took place, and that the village system of official rule could be made available to prevent cases of very deep distress. A more insecure foundation/ to rest upon in such an emergency than the village officials of the Presidency cannot be conceived. They are essentially and entirely untrustworthy unless carefully and closely supervised. Again,^)the idea is given that very little abnormal suffering, and only a slight increase of deaths, occurred. Faithful pictures of the period would need to contain such scenes as are described by Dr. Cornish in one of his minutes written in reply to Sir Richard Temple. Dr. Cornish, writing in March, said : — ' But if the con- dition of the labouring classes is so generally satisfactory to Sir Richard Temple, how is it, I may ask, that the death returns of the famine districts are so much above what is usual? I have not as yet received the returns for February, but those for December and January are available for comparison with the average results of the previous five years. I must, however, note with respect to these district death returns, that from per- sonal investigation in the districts, I know they very much understate the real mortality of the last few months. The truth is, the famine has disorganised our village establishments to such an extent that the actual numbers who have already perished will never be known. Hundreds and thousands of people have died away from their homes, have fallen down by the road- sides, and their bodies have been left to be eaten by dogs and jackals. Mr. Gribble, the sub-collector of Cuddapah, in the course of a morning's ride of fourteen miles, came upon eight unburied bodies ; and at Royachoti in January last Mr. Supervisor Mathews informed me that after an outbreak of cholera 53 dead
q2
84 INDIAN FAMINE MADRAS.
bodies lay for days exposed in the dry bed of a river near the works the relief coolies were engaged on. Walking over this ground two months after the event, the numerous skulls and human bones scattered on the surface convinced me that the statement was founded on fact.'
During the period covered by the minutes sum- larised in the foregoing pages, the Madras Government lad been exerting themselves to the utmost to relieve listress, whilst the public of India had become greatly ixcited over the proposal of Sir Richard Temple to jive the people what was known as the ' reduced ration.' The Government of Madras adopted the scale with manifest reluctance, and watched its operation with concern. Their anxiety was very great, and week after week was mentioned to the Secretary of State, the point being insisted upon with marvellous persistency. On March 3 it was pointed out that a higher scale of pay or allowance had been autho- rised for Mysore, which was under the direct adminis- trative charge of the Government of India, than was permitted in the Presidency of Madras. Reports from the various districts were received telling of alarming results, and Sir Richard Temple was tele- graphed to visit Madras. A conference was held, and the question debated. Sir Richard holding tenaciously to his view, and arguing that enough time had not been given to try the proposal properly. So strongly did he press his argument, and so successfully did he indicate the need for financial economy, that the experi- ment _was continued for nearly two months longer, and only set aside in the month of May.
To return to current history, and note the number of people on the hands of Government. On January 14
* SHROFFING ' THE UKLIEF WORKS. 85
1,165,000 people were on relief works and gratuitous
relief in these proportions : — c t P» *
On Works 1,065,000
Gratuitously relieved 110,000
Total . . 1,166,000
On February 6 there were 908,410 ; on February 13, 891,030, showing a total decrease in the week of 17,380, in the month of 283,970— mainly the result of Sir Richard Temple's action in * shroffing ' ^ the works, &c. On March 10 the numbers were 667,477; and on March 24, 655,066, which was the lowest point reached.
Administration meanwhile was beinof carried on in Madras under painful circumstances. Sir Richard Temple was not content merely with observation and suggestions, but proceeded to dictation. Matters, how- ever, did not reach a climax till the following month, in the narrative of which period the circumstances may be more fitly described.
It has been said that great interest was taken by the general public in the progress of the campaign, and no part of the fight was so carefully watched as that relating to the reduced ration. This ration was univer- sally condemned, and loud protests were made against such an experiment being made on a million human lives. One objector said, ' It would be better to shoot down the poor wretches at once than to prolong their misery in the way proposed.' It was pointed out that the usual daily wages in the agricultural districts was two measures, or about five lbs. of grain. Sir Richard Temple's proposal was one lb. of grain plus half an anna
' * lu this part of the country the process of rejecting from the gangs those who are ■well-to-do, and retaining those who are poor, is described by an expressive phrase, " shroffing," in allusion to the manner by which a "shroff" or money-changer tests the intrinsic value of the coins presented to him.' — Minute by Sir R. Temple.
/ 3c^^
86
INDIAN FAMINE MADKAS.
to purcbasecondinients. A comparison with jail diets was instituted by various parties.^
The question was argued, too, on the higher ground that it would be for the advantage of the State to keep the people well alive. 'A fair day's work for a fair day's pay ' was the ground taken up in the chief or- gans of public opinion. Mr. Wedderburn, collector of Coimbatore, expressed himself with much clearness on the point. In a communication to Government he said : — ' I trust that no evil will be imputed to me in consequence of my statement that I only employed able-bodied persons. I have not waited till the relieved persons were wasted with starvation and unable to work before opening works for the relief of those who have no other employment open to them at present. I there- fore call those on the relief works able-bodied, that is, fit for work, as I know them to be. If, on the other hand, I am directed to wait until starvation has worked its effect before opening out a useful road or other work, I shall, of course, obey instructions ; but the work from
A Ceylon newspaper made the following comparison : —
to
Daily allowance labourer on an Work :
an able-bodied Indian Relief
IG ounces of rice
and one anna in cash.
Daily allowance to Juan Appu, recently convicted of knocking out the brains of a near relative :
|
Bread |
4 ounces. |
|
|
Rice |
. 20 |
|
|
Meat or fish |
• 5 , |
|
|
Vegetables Plantains |
. 4 , • 2 , |
|
|
DhoU . |
• 2 |
|
|
Sugar Coffee . |
• 1 , • 1 |
|
|
Ghee . |
• i , |
|
|
Onions . |
• • h , |
|
|
Salt and pepp( |
^1- • i , |
Curry stuff a sufficient quantity, comprising cummin seed, coriander seed, garlic, Maldive fish, tamarind, saffron, cocoanut and lime.
* A FAIR day's work FOR A FAIR DAY's PAY.' 87
starved persons will not be cheap, and the relief ex- penses in the end will certainly be greater. As it is, I exact a full tale of work, equal to, and in most cases above, what the professional, department do, and the fact that it is exacted shows that the persons who do that work are necessitous, though not as yet reduced in strength by starvation ; if they were they could not execute the task-work, but would have to be semi-gratui- tously relieved, instead of by their employment keeping both themselves and their infirm relatives off the list of pure or semi-gratuitous relief. I have not shrunk from the exposition of my famine policy ; it is by affording work of a useful kind to prevent starvation of those out of employ by reason of the season, and by their employ- ment on full task-work to maintain the infirm of their families — the old grandmother incapable of work, and the young children as yet unable to do anything for their subsistence. As a rule, there are few utterly incapable persons who are altogether destitute of friends or relatives; such persons, unless supported by friends or relatives, would perish in a good season ; therefore they exist. But in bad seasons, when these natural supporters have no work or food, how can they support their infirm relatives ? And I may ask whether it is better that working people should support their infirm relatives, or that these relatives should come to a gra- tuitous distribution of food — degrading in that it is gratuitous. And whether it is not more economical for Government to have good work done for its money, than to open out feeding-houses where nothing is returned for the food distributed and a wide-spread system of degradation of the people introduced. Once open a Government relief-house and the able-bodied will say to his infirm relatives, why not go and get relief
I
bo INDIAN FAMINE — MADRAS.
for nothing instead of burdening me with your support ? This is the world-wide result of such gratuitous rehef.'
The reports which were received day by day of isolated cases of starvation intensified the public feeling, and strong opposition to the low ration was manifested. One great defect in the proposal was that they who re- ceived this ration were expected to support from it those members of the family who were too old, or too young, or too sickly for work. This was manifestly unfair, and when brought to Sir Richard Temple's - notJQg, he — in a not verj^ dignified manner-r-said he thought children were receiving a separate allowance. The Madras Government, all along dominated by a feeling of deep humanity, eased the severity of the ration by issuing on February 22 (No. 680, F.R.) an order which was tantamount to a censure on Sir Richard Temple's proposals, as it traversed all the points he had pressed upon the attention of collectors and their subordinates. This order deserves quotation in full. It is as follows :—
' 1. His Grace the Governor in Council thinks it necessary to notice the following instructions issued by district officers, which are either too vague in their directions, or at variance with the orders of Govern- ment.
' 2. In one report it is observed that a collector has delegated the sanction of estimates of relief works not exceeding 1,000 rs. to his subordinate officers. In this order the collector has divested himself of a responsibility which was placed in his hands, and which, in the opinion of Government, should remain with hitn.
* 3. Another report contains a rule under which " a task-work for a gang on relief-works, as fixed by a certain scale, is never to be lowered, and no excuse for non-completion is to be taken ;" and it is added, "that
A HUMANE DUCAL OKDER. 89
if any gang fails to complete half the task-work, every individual of such a gang shtdl lose a whole day's
pay-"
' 4. While fully sensible of the importance of requiring moderate work from all able-bodied persons on relief work, the Governor in Council has had before him examples in which a hard and fast rule, such as that above quoted, has led to disastrous results, and this is likely to be more especially the case when the supervision is left to native subordinates, who fear to modify, according to circumstances, the orders they have received. He desires, therefore, to impress on all collectors the necessity of carefully revising such in- structions and guarding against their probable results. It must be remembered that many of those on relief works are unaccustomed to the work on which they are employed, or to working in gangs. It may, therefore, be an unjustifiable severity to keep a whole gang with- out food in consequence of individual weakness, illness, or contumacy.
* 5. In the instructions issued by some collectors it IB laid down that persons in the possession of good clothes must be rejected from relief gangs.
' 6. His Grace in Council has reason to believe that this rule has also been too strictly interpreted, and that persons actually in extreme destitution have, on the ground that they are not in rags, or in the ordinary scantily clothed condition of the labouring agricultural cooly, been rejected, while it was the fact that these per- sons have abstained from public relief until on the verge of starvation, and that their clothing, although of good texture, would not find any sale among their starving neighbours.
' 7. It is also observed that in some cases instruc- tions have been issued "that on no account can Govern-
90 INDIAN FAMINE — MADRAS.
ment undertake to give subsistence to the children and infirm dependents of persons on relief works."
' 8. The rigid enforcement of this instruction when labourers on relief works are obtaining a bare subsistence, has already in one instance led to deplorable results.
' 9. The orders of Government on this subject are sufficient, if observed, to prevent any such occurrences, but his Grace in Council deems it of importance to bring the effect of this rule to the notice of all collectors, and earnestly to call their attention to the fact that the task that the Government and their officers have before them is to preserve, in so far as is humanly possible, the lives of the vast numbers whom the calamitous season has rendered entirely dependent on the State relief.
' 10. In making these remarks, his Grace in Council takes this opportunity of cordially acknowledging the valuable services rendered by every class of the Govern- ment service, and the cheerful spirit in which they are giving effect to the orders of the Government.'
On another matter of first importance, also, great (difference of opinion was held and expressed. Sir C Richard Temple desired that the land revenue should ynot be remitted but only suspended, to be recovered in Va better season. The Madras authorities stoutly resisted this, first of all questioning the Delegate's right to interfere in a matter of this kind, and, secondly, pointing out, in one or two well -reasoned communications, that remission, under the peculiar tenure by which land is held in Madras, was alone possible. The discussion was embittered by Sir Richard Temple quoting some of the collectors against their own Government as being in favour of the plan of suspension only. The statements cited in support were categorically denied, and a con- flict of testimony was the consequence. However, the Governor and his Council remained firm, and advanced
REMISSION V. SUSPENSION OF REVENUE. 91
such cogent reasons in favour of remission that, in a despatch to the Secretai-y of /State, dated February 16, the Viceroy wrote to the effect that the Madras Govern- ment had shown good reasons^ for the opinion they held that in ryotwari districts it would, as a general rule, be inexpedient to substitute suspensions for remissions of revenue, especially in the case of a season so disastrous as the present. This set a very vexed question finally at rest.
Another decision which was of real good, was the sanctioning by the Government of India of the Bellary- Gudduk Railway, on which a large number of people could find employment and be adequately supervised.
The various proposals in the minutes of the Delegate, and the memoranda of his secretary, were severely criticised by the newspapers. Sir Richard Temple's at- tempt to draw a line between distress and starvation was
^ Among the * good reasons ' urged by the Madraa Government were these : —
(a) * The ^Madras ryot is very heavily taxed ; five rupees per acre for wet (single crop), and one rupee per acre for dry, being his average assessment. Moreover, under other terminable settlements, the whole of the waste land is given up by Government for the term of thirty years ; and under the Zemindari Settlement it is given up in perpetuity in addition to the per- centage for the zemindar's commission. But in Madras, not only is every acre of waste liable to its full quota of the tax, as soon as brought under cultivation, but there is no allowance whatever for fallow, or for land in a ryot's occupation which is bond fide set apart by him for the pasturage of his cattle.
(6) * Let the extent and nature of their holdings be considered. The number of leases is 2,392,064 : of these, 38,825 only are above 100 rupees, while upwards of one million and a quarter are below 10 rupees. The average extent of a holding is eight acres, and the average assessment payable is 15 rupees, or thirty shillings sterling. How are two million peasant pro- prietors of this kind to pay sixty shillings apiece next year — after a season of uupreceden1»d calamity which, in addition to other sufferings and losses, has brought about already the destruction of a great portion of their cattle, and will cause the loss of many more ? So far from supposing it possible to collect the assessment from the great body of impoverished ryots, the Government anticipate having to make considerable advances for the assist- ance of cultivators in the purchase of agricultural stock and seed grains.'
92 INDIAN FAMINE — MADRAS.
condemned, whilst his expectation that the supervising staff on all the works and in all the villages was sufficient for every purpose was scouted as a dependence upon an impossibility.^ It was urged, too, that instead of driving
^ Mr. Wedderburn, the collector of Coimbatore, probably the most suc- cessful district administrator during the famine, says :^' If orders could make returns perfect and tahsildars efficient, the returns would be unassail- able ; as it is, I am at the mercy of tahsildars, who cannot understand the intense anxiety about the numbers entertained on relief works.' The special correspondent of the Friend of India writes on this point : — ' Referring to the European and native officials who have been set free for famine work, and to the staff of additional men that have been placed " on special duty," his Honour observes ; — " If they are alert, as they doubtless are, it is almost impossible for any man, woman, or child to drift into danger of starvation without the case being found out and remedied." A very little experience of the world convinces most people that we must wait till the millennium for men of the class indicated in these words. Sir Richard has explained at length that the subordinate native officers are to scour the by-ways and hedges, and rescue every soul that is crossing the boundary between distress and starvation. But the simple fact is that all India could not provide natives enough who possessed the combination of qualities that this particular kind of efficiency implies. Probably not half the members of the covenanted Civil Service would be found equal to the work.' Again, the same writer says : — ' There are strict orders not to let anyone suffering from small-pox into the enclosure ; but I counted thirty cases of the disease among about five hundred persons. These were promptly turned out when it was seen that I was taking note of them ; yet when Sir Richard Temple came to the place after I had left, he detected about thirty cases more. His Honour spoke very strongly about it ; but I wonder that what he saw did not shake his faith in the " effective agency " which he expects to do such wonders in the way of rescuing from starvation persons who may have been injudi- ciously turned off the relief works. Sir Richard saw here with his own eyes that a sheristadar, two constables, and six head coolies, simply because there was no European to hold the lash over them, would look on in listless inertion while children in a horrible state of small-pox were carried into the crowd ; and yet his Honour expects every patel who sees or hears of a person starving to leave his dinner, take the person on his back, and hurry off to the Hospital ! At least that is the only check Sir Richard Temple re'ies upon to make it " almost impossible for any man, woman, or child to suffer to a dangerous degree from starvation." I was told that a vaccinator sometimes came to the place and vaccinated as many children as had never been vaccinated before ; also that the parents objected so much that many of them kept away their children from relief rather than allow them to be vaccinated; but I could not learn from anyone whatever, whether there were any orders on the subject. The children that I saw with the disease were unceremoniously driven out of the enclosure but no one thought of taking any precaution that they or the mother who went out in charge of the very young ones should not lose their meal on that account. An affecting
PARTIAL NATUIIE OF DELEGATE'S ENQUIRIES. 93
the people from works, the y^orks should be made so severe that only those in real need would go to them. In this connection it was said by one in a good position to judge : ' An enormous sum of money has been spent on the mission of the Special Delegate, but he is going back to Calcutta without having taken a step to get the people's side of the case. I have read about a dozen columns of his Honour's despatches, and have found only one fact that the Government of India could not have got from the collectors' reports, and that is, that the people on the relief works are fatter than they might be.' What is desiderated here was effected subsequently, when the ration was reduced to lib. of food, plus one anna money payment.
Whilst the numbers on relief camps were rigorously reduced, disease was largely prevailing, and work was not to be had. The weekly reports were invariably of this nature :
Kistna. — Cholera generally prevalent ; deaths, 174.
Kumool. — Cholera in all taluks but one ; deaths, 114.
Cuddapah. — Deaths from cholera, 630.
Bellary. — Cholera in all 16 taluks.
Nellore. — Cholera deaths, 448.
Chingleput. — Cholera prevails.
North Arcot. — Cholera still prevalent.
South Arcot. — Cholera deaths, 55.
Salem, — Cholera in all taluks.
case came under my notice at the kitchen. A girl, eight or nine years of age, came too late to get in, leading a little brother by the hand, and carrying an infant sister. The baby was so literally skin and bone that its skin hung from its legs and arms like empty sacks. It was scarcely alive, but I have never seen the life left in a creature so reduced as it was. The girl's story, as interpreted to me by the sheristadar, was, that her father was a labourer on the relief works ; that she had come in time to get her porridge yesterday, but that this morning she had been delayed at home while her mother went out to gather sticks. The sheristadar ordered her to get a ball of jowaree. About four persons made a grievance that the quantity of porridge given them was insufficient, but many complained that the jowaree was not cleaned before it was boiled, and that the porridge was consequently full of little stones and grit.'
94 INDIAN FAMINE — MADRAS.
Coimbafore. — Virulent cholera ; deaths, 733. Tanjore. — 201 deaths from cholera. Madura. — Cholera in 5 taluks ; deaths, 315. Trichinopoly. — Cholera more serious ; deaths, 147. Tinnevdly. — Cholera increasing ; bad in three northern taluks. Malabar. — 86 deaths from cholera in five taluks.
It was urged by those opposed to the reduced ration that, however much might be said in favour of it per se^ to carry it out whilst so much suffering and such diseases were prevaihng was impolitic. To such complaints there was the reply, ' Twenty-five per cent, of expen- diture will be saved.'
During this time deaths occurred from starvation, many on the roadside. In the neighbourhood of Madras Sir Richard Temple's carriage was stopped that some of those in it might get down to see a dead body on the side of the road. The incident was re- ported in one of the local papers.^ The scenes that were witnessed in and about the relief camps of the city and neighbourhood were heartrending, whilst the death rate was appalling. These details, however, will be fittingly described in the section devoted to relief camps. Sad scenes of sufferings were witnessed in some of the districts, and the testimony of an eye- witness may be given. It may also be remarked that the statements now to be quoted, though printed in some of the Madras journals, were never questioned by
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