INDIAN FAMINES - Institute for Social and Economic Change
INDIAN FAMINES - Institute for Social and Economic Change
INDIAN FAMINES - Institute for Social and Economic Change
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238 APPENDIX.<br />
Salisbury's questions as to one of our Commissioner's<br />
earlier despatches. In the distant comer of our Indian<br />
Empire from which his telt'gram of yesterday is dated,<br />
our Commissioner had only just heard of Lord Salisbury's<br />
despatch <strong>and</strong> the answer of the Indian Government<br />
which excited attention at home five weeks ago.<br />
It will be remembered that on the 28th Fehruary we<br />
published 0. despatch from Durbungah, dated the evening<br />
be<strong>for</strong>e, in which our Commissioner said that he had<br />
visited the relief-works on that day <strong>and</strong> found 15,000<br />
persons employed on starvation wages of three-halfpence<br />
a-day. He added that these persons were irregu<br />
~ly paid; <strong>and</strong> that there was no supervision, except<br />
one native official <strong>for</strong> one hour in the morning .• He<br />
also blamed the Government <strong>for</strong> not sending European<br />
supervision, <strong>and</strong> said that shortness of money in the<br />
local ~reasury threatened collapse of the transport<br />
serviee <strong>and</strong> the public works. Lord Salisbury immediately<br />
telegraphed the substanee of this despatch to the<br />
Indian dovemment, <strong>and</strong> asked <strong>for</strong> explanatioIL The<br />
explanation was that wages were one anna (equal to two<br />
anu a quarter ponnus of riee) per diem, but' something<br />
less <strong>for</strong> women <strong>and</strong> children;' that' one bad case of irregular<br />
payment had occurred from mistake of the officers<br />
concerned;' that European supervision of the relief·<br />
works was impossible; <strong>and</strong> that though cash had run<br />
low in the Durbungah treasury, it would be fully FUp'<br />
plied, <strong>and</strong> no danger would occur to the transl)ort<br />
service. We at once pointed out that this official de·<br />
spatch confirmed our Commissioner's statements, or W(lS,
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