INDIAN FAMINES - Institute for Social and Economic Change

APPEXDIX. 239
at least, entirely compatible with them-an inference
which his letters, with fuller details, afterwards justified.
In his telegram of yeste~y our Commissioner gives
the reckoning on which his statements was founded.
It is quite true that adults receive one anna and a half ;
hut the 'something less for women or children,' in the
words of the Viceroy's telegram, is actually that women
have one anna and children half an anna. As one anna
is equivalent to three-halfpence, it will be easy to see
that in a family consisting of father, mother, and one
child there would be received three annaH a-day, equal
to three-halfpence for each person; affording, as
to-day's telegram says-' a daily ration. of one pound
and a half of rice, with no allowllnce for salt, dall, or
other life - sustaining condiment: Our Commissioner
further says that he 'personally discovered, not one, but
numerous cases of irregular payment, entailing incalculable
intensification of the distress.' It will be
further noted that the transport service actually did
suffer from the lowness of the Durbungah treasury; and
that at this moment, at Seetamurree, similar inconvenience
Btill exists from the lowness of the treasury, which
also delays the erection of storehouses. We note these
points, from no desire to depreciate the efforts of the
Indian Government, but to stimulate activity as far as
any stimulus is applicable. The public will al80 note
,vith satisfaction the carefully prepared basis of personal
ob8ervation, inquiry, Rnd calculation on which the
short statements in our Commissioner's telegrams are
founded."