before they can attain the rank of corporal, and then all promotion from this step must be in the way of seniority? And then if each regiment must have over it another set of officers, all foreigners, 22 in number,* the lowest of whom, a young man 18 or 20 years old, without any experience in military affairs, is yet higher in honor and authority, and receives 3 times larger salary than the highest native officer? Must it not be evident that an army thus originated, constituted, and managed, can never be a desirable service for any wealthy, well educated, and public spirited native man? And that however efficient such an army may be for war, and however ready to fight for those who pay them, in their own favorite phrase," whose salt they eat,” yet they can have little of those noble sentiments and patriotic feelings, which constitute the main strength and reliable principles of the armies of Europe and America.

The wars which the English have carried on in India have been but little known to the world, when compared with their wars in America and in Europe. Yet these wars have often been on a great scale, and their history shows many hard fought and bloody battles. In the great battle of Waterloo, the English loss was 1 in 6 of the force engaged. The following is the English loss in some of the battles in their wars in India:

In the battle of Assaye, in 1803, the English loss was 1 in 3 of their force engaged.

Dieg,
Mehidpoor,

“1804,

“1817,

1 in 41
1 in 6

པ

པ

.

Chillianwalla, " 1848,

These battles were all fought with different native princes of the country, who generally led on their own armies, and the above figures show a fearful amount of loss on the part of the English. If the loss on the other side was greater, as it generally was, yet such figures show that India has not been brought to its present state of subjection without repeated and severe struggles to preserve its independence of foreign control, while

*"The complement of European officers for a native regiment is 1 Colonel, 1 Lieut.-Colonel, 1 Major, 5 Captains, 8 Lieutenants, 5 Ensigns, and 1 Surgeon."

the large military force which England finds it necessary still to support in a highly efficient state, shows that all the inhabitants are not satisfied with the government exercised over them.

REVENUE.

The amount of the gross revenue of the East India Company in the latest accounts I have seen, were as follows: Land revenue, £15,178,676. Excise, etc., £1,088,254. Opium, £4,562,586. Salt, £3,289,214. Customs, £946,561. Stamps, fees, and fines, £593,982. Tobacco, £115,000. Post-Office, mint, etc., £1,979,041. In all, £27,753,314. It is stated that when the various deductions for the expenses of the collection, the management of the different items, etc. were all made, this sum was reduced to £23,067,920, which was the amount actually paid into the treasury and available for the purposes of government.

The principal source of revenue in India from remote antiquity has been the tax or rent on the land. It was so when the country was divided into several different kingdoms, and the Hindus lived under their own sovereigns. It was so when the country became subject to the Mohammedans, and the original Hindu kingdoms became provinces of the empire of Delhi, and it has continued to be so since the country became subject to the English. In some territories it has been called a tax, and in others it has been called a rent, the government being regarded as the proprietor, and the occupants as only tenants. This tax or rent has varied in different parts of India, and sometimes in the same territory according to the pretended exigencies of the government and the supposed improvements made in the land. In some places it has been one half of the produce, or of the supposed value of it; and in others it has been one third, one fourth, one fifth, etc. The general opinion and practice have been that the occupants might dispose of their right in the soil, whatever this might be, and that the government might increase the tax or rent at pleasure, the occupants of the land for the time being, having no assurance or security against any increase, and no means of redress when it was exacted from them. And when the produce of the land would no longer pay the tax or the rent, and for the expense of cultivation, then it might be

abandoned or changed into pasture when the tax would be of another kind, or according to another rate.

The course which was pursued in Bengal, and the unhappy consequences to all classes have been mentioned.* In other parts of the country the general practice of the English has been, as district after district came under their government, to continue the system of revenue previously in force till there should appear to be sufficient reasons for making changes, and these have generally been introduced with care and discretion. I am not aware that they have increased the land-tax or rent in any part of India, while in some districts it has been diminished. In some districts the lands have all been measured, and the tax has been fixed for a long period, as 15 or 20 years, during which there is to be no increase. This system gives the owner the advantage of any improvements he can make. It has thus far given much satisfaction to the cultivators, and great advantages are expected to accrue from it. The land-tax in India has generally been very high, and presses heavily upon the agricultural population. This tax has always produced more than half and sometimes as much as three fifths of the entire revenue of the government.

In the accounts given, the amount of revenue realized from opium is the next highest, though generally the revenue from salt has been the second. But they have often been nearly alike. This branch of the revenue was scarcely known under the native princes. It early became a monopoly of the East India Company, and is more fluctuating than any other item. In all the territories subject to the English in India, the cultivation, manufacture, and trade in opium, is a strict monopoly of the government. It can be cultivated and sold freely in the territories of the native princes, but as they have no sea-coast, it must be transported through the English territory before it can be exported, and for this transportation a large transit duty is exacted. The foreign trade in opium is carried on chiefly in Calcutta and Bombay. The export from Calcutta in some years has exceeded 40,000 chests of about 140 lbs. each. The export from Bombay has generally been about half as large as from.

* Pages 195-197.

Calcutta. It is exported by English and native merchants in English ships to countries east from India, chiefly to Canton and other ports of China. The Chinese laws do not permit opium to be produced in the empire, and they forbid its importation and use under heavy penalties. The English traders and vessels appear to have paid little or no regard to the Chinese laws on this subject since the commencement of this century. The vessels and crews engaged in the traffic were armed, and the Chinese government found it impossible to sustain their laws prohibiting the introduction of opium. This illegal traffic inflicted great injuries for many years on China, and at length led to the war between England and China, which was properly designated in Parliament "the Opium War." The Chinese laws all remain unchanged, but they durst not enforce them for fear of becoming again involved in war with England.

The opium produced in India and what is exported to China, is chiefly used for its exhilarating and stupefying effects. It is the worst kind of intoxication. It is an expensive vice, and ruinous to body and mind. The habit is easily acquired, and then it is incorrigible, at least such is the general opinion. The agency of the East India Company and the English government in the production and traffic of opium, and in "the opium war," have been the subject of much severe but deserved censure in India and England. This subject has occupied a prominent place in the journals of India, England, and America. I know of nothing in the history of modern commerce, unless it is the slave-trade, more exceptionable in its moral character, and the manner in which it is carried on.*

The manufacture and traffic in salt is also a monopoly of the government and yields a large item in the revenue. It has been increased at different times, and as it enters largely into the consumption of all classes of people, the tax is regarded as burdensome and oppressive.

The customs, which are the principal source of revenue in the United States, and one of the principal sources generally in civ

* Merchants Magazine, vol. 23, pp. 28, and 146. Also a work on “The Opium Trade, including a sketch of its History, Extent, and Effects, as carried on in India and China," by Nathan Allen, M. D.

ilized countries, produces only one twenty-fifth or thirtieth part of the revenue in India. The amount of revenue collected by the government is not large when compared with the number of the people, but when compared with the means of the classes who pay a large part of it, the taxes are heavy, and the agricultural population are generally poor, depressed in spirits, and in embarrassed circumstances.

The East India Company, soon after beginning to acquire territory in India, began to contract debts, which were increased by the frequent wars in which they were engaged. In 1800, their debt amounted to £12,584,366; and their revenue amounted to £9,742,947. In 1825, the debt had increased to £34,429,682; and the revenue was £20,750,183. In 1850, the debt had increased to £50,847,564; and the revenue was £27,753,314. When the charter was renewed in 1853, about half the debt was in loans at 5 per cent., and half at 4 per cent. The interest is all payable in India, but much of the debt is owed in England. Soon after the charter was renewed, the Company began to pay off the 5 per cents. or exchange them for 4 per cents. at the option of the creditors, and in the course of a few months all the loans on 5 per cent. amounting to about half the debt were paid, or converted into loans at 4 per cent. So great a change effected in a few months shows that the East India Company must have great pecuniary resources, and that the public must have entire confidence in the stability of the English government in India.

It should be mentioned that the Company in order to carry on their complicated operations of governing so large an empire, find it necessary to have a large amount of money in their treasuries and in the hands of their numerous agents. For many years past it is said that this amount has been from £10,000,000 to £15,000,000. The aggregate amount of their property of various kinds, as money, ships, public buildings, munitions of war, etc., has been estimated to be of more value than their debts.

The largest item in the expenses of the government is for the army, which has generally varied from one half to three fifths of the whole expenditure. Another large item is the expenses of the Company in England. These expenses consist of divi