CHAPTER IX. SOME LESSONS FROM THE PRESENT FAMINE Ir is a curious circumstance that, as will be noted presently, the area of country and the population affected by the present famine in India approximate roughly to the area and population of the British Isles. If, then, the task before the Indian Government is so great (and the result still uncertain) in a time of peace in a self-feeding country, what would be the task, in a great war, of our Home Government, when our food comes from countries we may be fighting? "In the Indian famine, 1877-78, five and a half millions of human beings perished." "In 1877 the amount raised by English generosity and charity for the relief of Indian famine reached £700,000."-St. James's Gazette. At the present moment (March 4, 1897) thẹ Lord Mayor's Fund for the present Indian Famine is already nearly four hundred thousand pounds. The following figures relating to the 1887 Relief Fund are from a letter in the Westminster Gazette, January 16, 1897, by Mr. William Digby, Hon. Sec. in India of the 1887 Madras Famine Relief Fund, Trafalgar Buildings, 1, Northumberland Avenue: "Our expenditure at head-quarters and throughout our Committees was only 92 of one per cent., so that 19s. 9d. out of every pound received reached the person in distress. "As to the objects for which the money was expended, and the number of persons relieved, the following details may serve : Object of Relief. Support of Life (food, money doles, etc.) 1,000,000 £218,183 "Of this distribution the Viceroy in Council said, 'We do not think a more judicious method of expending the bulk of the vast sums placed at the disposal of the Committee could have been devised, and it has doubtless done incalculable good. Our heartiest acknowledgments are due to the Committee for this result, and for the care they have taken to avoid friction or interference with the Government."' The following extracts are from a most interesting article by Mr. George W. Forrest in the Pall Mall Gazette, January 9, 1897. "It may be interesting and useful at the present moment to note and discuss the great measures which the Government must take in the campaign against famine, in order that the majority of Englishmen may follow the present calamity with an intelligent appreciation of its phenomena as they occur. During the past twenty years the Government of India have devoted much labour, time, and thought as to the best way of grappling with a foe that claims more victims than war. As the chief of the staff draws up instructions for the guidance of the generals in the field, so the Government of India have prepared famine codes for the guidance of their executive officers, which contain detailed instructions suitable to the varying wants and administrative systems of the different provinces, and embrace, as far as human foresight can go, all matters falling within the scope of relief administration. These codes were put to a severe test on the occurrence of scarcity in several provinces during recent years, and though on the whole they proved satisfactory, many defects were brought to light, and the Governors of India therefore determined to undertake a complete revision of the code. This has been done, and a revised code has been prepared in each province. It is in accordance with the rules and regulations laid down in these new codes that the present campaign against famine is being conducted. The order for mobilization has been given promptly, and obeyed without confusion and alarm. In the famine of 1877-78 the supreme Government were slow in believing in the advent of the scourge, and five and a half millions of human beings perished in that miserable time. It is only by early and active measures that a population can be made ready to meet the suffering and disease which a widespread famine entails. The Government of the North-West Provinces are, therefore, to be commended for the prompt measures they took when severe and widespread distress became apparent. They have provided for a large population, and it is universally admitted that they have done it in a very complete manner. In the North-Western Provinces, in the most severely affected districts, the first steps have been taken towards helping the agricultural districts. The payment of the land revenue has been suspended, and advances have been made for the purchase of seeds and the construction of wells. But the suspension of L the land revenue and advances for seeds and wells help only the well-to-do who are suffering from distress. The great task in warring against famine is to provide the people with food, and to provide it in a manner that will be least injurious to their self-respect. "RELIEF WORKS. "In order to accomplish this, relief works have to be started. They are of two classes— large relief works and small relief works. A large work has these advantages: it employs numbers, soon gets known, and people go direct to it, instead of wandering in search of work and dying before they reach it. The employment offered by the State can hardly be other than some simple form of labour, and it must be in the open air. The making of roads, and the digging of large tanks and small roadside tanks, are the class of work best suited for the purpose. The people migrate in families from their homes, and in the case of road-work the men are employed in digging and the women and children are made use of as "fillers." The digging of tanks gives more equal employment to both sexes, because tanks are more easily dug, being damp and smooth. Care is taken to use the labourers according to their castes and aptitudes, landowners being employed as supervisors, literate persons in helping to keep tallies, |