employed in preparing the threads for weaving, some in the dyeing of cloths, and others in the marking of spots, or what is called sundadis. Boys of twelve years and more also earn wages, and generally get from one rupee upwards. Rs.500 is the highest value of a cloth which has ever been made in Madura. Merchants of their own accord do not order cloths of value of more than Rs.80 to Rs.100. The cloths made ordinarily range from Rs.6 to Rs.10 only in value. The introduction of cotton twist from England, of lace from France, as well as of even the dyeing stuff from Bombay, has considerably affected the value of the cloths made in the town, and necessarily the wages to the coolies and profits to the merchants. Of the 14,000 cloths above mentioned as being made in a month in the town, for 7,000 to 10,000 cloths the inferior brass lace is used, and the value of these does not go over Rs.6 at the utmost. Their average price may be fixed at Rs.2 per cloth; this gives the sum total of Rs.17,500 to Rs.25,000. The average value of an ordinary cloth with good lace may be fixed at Rs.7, and supposing that good lace is used for the remaining 4,000 cloths, their approximate value amounts to Rs.28,000. Thus the total value of cloths made in the town in a month may be fixed at Rs.50,000 to Rs.60,000. To get an impression of how much this sum of Rs.60,000 actually benefits the townsmen and how much goes to other countries and places, what the component parts of a Madura cloth are must be examined. Let us take for illustration an ordinary white cloth which is sold in the town for Rs.10. The different items which go to make this sum of Rs.10 may be described as follows: ... Cost of preparing the same for weaving Rs. a. p. 100 020 0 1 0 010 1 4 0 8 8 0 ... 10 0 0 When the cloth is dyed the excess charge is as follows: HABITS AND MANNERS OF WEAVERS 283 Thus the great portion of the value of a cloth goes for the lace which is manufactured in France. Then by the cotton twist used, it is the English merchants who are benefited. The dye is also prepared abroad and the greater portion of Rs.1 12a. spent for dyeing goes also to other hands. The portion of Rs.12 8a. which actually circulates among the townsmen may be taken at the highest to be from Rs.4 to Rs.5, or one-third of the value of the cloth. This calculated with reference to the Rs.60,000 worth of cloth yields a total amount of Rs.24,000 to Rs.30,000, and this amount may roughly be fixed to be the sum earned from the industry by coolie upwards to the richest merchant. Deducting again Rs.5,000 or so as being the profits earned by merchants, there remains Rs.25,000 to be distributed amongst 5,000 families, giving an average of Rs.5 per family, the amount mentioned above, as being the average income of a family. Generally speaking, the industry is becoming day by day less profitable to the actual working classes. The causes thereof are not far to seek. Prior to the importation of cotton twist, some fifty years ago, it would appear there were in the town of Madura 2,000 to 3,000 families employed in spinning out threads. This vocation has entirely ceased now. Again, prior to the importation of lace, there were 500 Mussulman families engaged in making lace, and in their place there are, it would appear, only ten families employed in making country lace. The preparation of colouring materials was at least done locally till a year or two ago, but this, too, has been superseded by the Bombay article. As a necessary result of the cessation of all these vocations, the labour is now directed entirely in one direction towards weaving, and it is in consequence very cheap. What used to be paid for at Rs.2 in former years is now remunerated by one rupee only. Even as regards the merchant class, the general complaint is that the trade does not pay. It may be that a larger number of cloths are now made than before, but what merchants make as profit by reason of the cheapness of the commodity and keenness of competition seems to be considerably less than what it was in former years. A cloth which was sold for Rs.60 is now sold for only Rs.30. As a curious illustration of how the importation of the Englishmade goods has affected the local weaving industry, it may be mentioned that the weavers themselves of the town of Madura do hardly use the cloths woven by them. Mulls and piece goods have taken the place of the home-made articles, and if the richer class should seek for some country cloths, it is the Conjeveram cloths that are made use of. The females likewise use the Thombu, and if they seek for some better country-made cloths they purchase the Koranadu cloths. Thus it happens that one or two per cent. of the town-made articles are sold in the town itself, and the rest are sent abroad. The Habits and Manners of the Silk-weavers as a Class.-Silkweavers as a class lead a simple life. Their food is simple and consists of cholum, cumbu, and other dry grains. Rice is used by comparatively few persons only. Their clothing is simple. The females wear a cloth of Rs.2-worth only, except on festive occasions, when they wear the Koranadu cloths. House accommodation is necessary for their profession, and each endeavours, therefore, first, to secure a house for himself. They are not also without a desire for ornaments. Even the poorest household are mentioned to have some gold jewels. A silk-weaver's property consists generally of his house and ornaments. Marriage is costly with them. About Rs. 63 must be paid to the bride even by the poorest man. To meet this item of expenditure almost every coolie before he enters on his profession begins to subscribe to some chit transaction or other, and to save out of his hard-earned wages one rupee or so to be paid monthly for a series of years extending from five to seven. Before he earns his prize in his turn, necessity, however, often compels him to borrow, mortgaging his chit and the house owned by him. It is such documents that are registered in large numbers in the town offices of Madura. There is another peculiarity about these silk-weavers. They seldom borrow from others than their caste-men. In case of loans of large sums, probably they may resort to the Nattukkottai chetti, but all ordinary loans are contracted from one of their own community. CHAPTER IX 'IS INDIA DISTRESSED? WE SEE NO DISTRESS.' 'IF INDIA BE DISTRESSED AND NON-PROSPEROUS, WHY DO WE NOT SEE THE DISTRESS?' Impression of Visitors that India is a Land of Great Prosperity Anglostan and Hindustan-Two Countries Included in the Eulogies of Moral and Material Welfare Blue Books apply What is Really Going On in Hindustan? The Public Not The Veil Partly Drawn Aside in, 1867, 1877, 1879-80, 1888, The Panjab: Mr. Thorburn's Inquiry as to Agriculturists' Indebtedness Why the Sowkar is Preferred to Government when a Results of the Indebtedness Inquiry-Widespread Ruin Five 'Beginnings' of Indebtedness. Legislation and Administration Need Adaptation to Indian North-Western Provinces and Oudh : Lord Dufferin's Conscience and Sir W. W. Hunter's 'The Greater Proportion of the Population Suffer from The Inquiry of 1887-88. How a Summary of Evidence should Not be Prepared. Farmers, with a Well and Two Bullocks, in Good Years, Ninety-Nine per Cent. of Gross Produce Taken for Rent by 'It is Unusual to Find a Village Woman Who Has Any Wraps at All.' Sample Cultivators: a Record' in Rack-Renting. A Village Under the Court of Wards. Sir Antony Macdonnell on 'The Chief Causes of the Ryot's 'The Common Idea as to Extravagance on Marriages Remedies for Difficulties Frequently Propounded by Non- Alleged Causes of Indebtedness by Mr. Thorburn: ‘1. A The Bombay Presidency: Chief Authority: 'J.'s' Letters to the Times of India The Hinterland of Bombay City: a Glimpse by Vaughan Bombay's Blunders-Comparative. Bombay Cultivators Taxed Nearly Four Times Heavier A Non-Famine Year Comparison Between the Respective Backward Irrigational Facilities and the Decrease in Incidence of Taxation in Relation to Cultivated Acreage. Lands with Five Fallow Years to Two Crop Years. TEN YEARS' AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCES IN EASTERN (a) The Vicissitudes of the Seasons for Ten Years (c) Loss of Cattle. (d) Remission only 8s. per £100 per annum, Less than Half of One per Cent. The Prediction as to the Bankruptcy of India Fulfilled: 'India is Bankrupt.' A Seven Years' old Exposure. Appendix: India's Greatest Peril and her Worst Enemies. INCR NCREDULITY, annoyance-for a moment or two anger-exhibit themselves in the average Briton when, in his presence, it is asserted that India is in a |