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I
VfiRA^^^
^ »t
tA
EEPOET
ON THE FAMINE IN THE PANJAB
DURING 1869-70.
Contntt^ :—
Beport by Sec- : tary to the Central ReKef Committee,
Statement shoTvIng amounts received and expended on relief of
distress in the districts affected by the famine,
Statement showing receipts and disbursements of the Central
Committee,
y
Abstract of amounts received and expended on account of direct
relief by Local Committees, J
Letter from President Central Committee submitting the Secretary's
Report to Government,
Review of the Report by the Honorable the Lieutenant Governor,
Paffes.
1-^7
49—52
53—54
Lahore:
PUNJAB PEINTma COMPANY, LIMITED,
18 7 0.
H
n
' r
^O
* /-'■
Prom
LEPEL GRIFFIN, ESQUIBE,
To
ROBEET EGEETON. ESQUIRE,
PbESIDBKT, CbNTIUL RsLIEf COMMITTBB, PaNJAB.
Murree, 28th July 1870.
Sir,
Some explajiation seems necessary of the delay whicli has occurred in
submitting a report on the operations of the Famine Relief Committee, during
the y&u 1869 and the early part of 1870*
2. The final meeting of the Central Committee was held on the 29th
of November last, when I submitted a general statement of receipts and
expenditure, which was accepted by the Committee. The operations of the
Committee, owing to the continued distress in the Cis-Satlej districts, were not
however closed until March 1870 : when the work of preparing an abstract of
the whole expenditure of the Local Committees had to be commenced. This
work, as you will understand from the accounts submitted, was a very tedious
and laborious one. Numerous references to districts were necessary, and it was
not till last month that the accounts were complete. The more care has been
taken in their preparation as so large a portion of the amount expended was
contributed by private subscribers, to whom it is due to show that a careful
supervision was exercised over the expenditure and that satisfactory results
have been obtained. It is difficult or impossible to check expenditure accurately
in times of famine, and it would have been unwise to consider too closely the
nature of applications for relief when distress was almost universal. But the
public who subscribed generously, and the Government, who only insisted that
the people should not be allowed to die of hunger, may be satisfied that what
was given was spent wisely and weU by the district officers and the Secretaries
( 2 )
of the Local Committees, whose humane exertions were eminently snccessfuL
It must be remembered that the famine of 1869 was in realify most severe.
The price of grain was generally far higher than it was &i 1860-61 ; and that a
terrible mortality did not occur is due to the excellent arrangements of Deputy
Conmiissioners and their Assistants, especially in the districts where distress
was the greatest : Hissar, Bohtak, Sirsa and KamaL
3. The accompanying report is no more than a brief record of facts.
A detailed account of the Kelief operations in the several districts is lesa
necessary, as, during 1869, I pubHshed almost weekly memoranda of the progress
of events and at the close of the year prepared a r^sum^ of the operations fctf
the Administration Report of the Panjab.
I have the honor to remain.
Sib,
Your most obedient servant,
LEPEL GRIFFIN,
Secretary to Central Relief Commttee.
i
*i
REPORT ON THE FAMINE OF 1869-1870.
1. The scarcity in the Panjab during the year 1869, so severe as to be
justly called a famine, was due, in a great measure, to the
The can«Hi of the famine, f^y^^ ^f ^he harvest of 1868. The harvest of 1867 had
been scarcely an average one, and the stock of grain in the province at the
commencement of 1868 was unusually low. During the early months of 1868
so much rain fell that it was anticipated that the rainy season would be injuri-
ously affected, and this proved to be the case.
The summer was exceedingly hot, and during July and August only
a few showers fell, too light to be of any material benefit
to the crops. The grass was burnt up and the cattle
began to die in great numbers. Their usual fodder, ' chari,' owing to the
droughty became hard and indigestible, and produced a severe inflammation of the
bowels, occasioning in some districts a great mortality. In the districts south
of the Satlej and in the independent Rajputana States the wells and tanks dried
up, water was impossible to procure in sufficient quantities, villages were
deserted, and the people flocked northward, driving their cattle to the banks of
the Panjab rivers, where they hoped to obtain sufficient grass to preserve their
lives.
2. On the 14th of September 1868, the Government of the Panjab
Th first aotion of fhe ^^^ressed all Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners
Government, ^ ^^ Province, calling their most special attention to the
distress, more or less severe, which might be expected to prevail, if the drought,
from which most districts were ilien suffering, should continue. It was
directed that all District Officers should watch closely the progress of events,
the rise of prices and the increase of destitution, and, in communication with the
Commissioners, should at once determine what special works might most
advantageously be set on foot in their respective districts to aflbrd work to such
of the poor aa might be thrown out of employment. Preliminary arrangements
were to be made to insure efficient superintendence of any such works and the
general principle was affirmed that the interests of the public and grain-dealers
were identical and any disposition to interfere with prices or grain-dealers should
be discouraged, and, if necessary, peremptorily stopped
( 4 )
3. The drought in the Panjab still continued, and the reports from the
direction of Sirsa and Hissar became extremely grave*
Forther orders*
By the commencement of October the Kharif crop had
entirely failed and the grass had withered away : the tanks had dried. up, the
wells had become brackish and unserviceable, so that the inhabitants had no
choice but to abandon their villages and seek food and pasture elsewhere, while
the number of immigrants from Rajputana, where the aspect of afl&drs was still
more gloomy, added greatly to the distress. In the Hissar Division the
Government were, as early as October, compelled to give direct assistance, and
ordered any necessary outlay for relief works to be incurred without formal
sanction. Such works were accordingly commenced on an extensive scale, and
gave employment to a very large number of persons at the time when such
assistance was most needed. The advantage of relief works is most evident at
the commencement of periods of severe distress. The time arrives when the
people, emaciated, weak and heart-broken, are unwilling if not unaUe to work,
and have so lost energy and courage that they prefer to die in their villages to
asking for the work which the Government is ready to ^ve them.
4. On the 5th of October, by direction of the Government of the Panjab,
Formation of Local BeUef *^® Financial Commmissioner circulated to all District
Comnntteefl. Offioors and Commissioners of Divisions copies of the
Resolution of the Government of India, No. 3847, of the 22nd September 1868,
laying down rules for the adoption of measures advisable in case of famine, with
a letter from the Secretary to the Panjab Government, directing the financial
Commissioner to supply frequent periodical reports of the rain-fall, the state of
the crops and the price of grain ; while the Inspector General of Police was
directed to furnish any information of importance received through his depart-
ment. Local Relief Committees were ordered to be formed wherever necessary,
and rules for the conduct and superintendence of specifd works were laid
down.
5. On the 21st of October the Government sanctioned the suspension of
a * XV /^ the Revenue demand wherever Commissioners might be
Snspenaion of the €k>Tem- ^
ment Bevenne deoiand. satisfied that the realization of it would cause serious
distress : this suspension not being lightly made, but on good and suificient
grounds, and on the understanding that the zamindars should exercise the same
clemency towards their tenants that the Government showed towards them.
( 6 )
6. At the close of 1868^ it appeared certain that the Babbi harvest^
which furnishes all the food grain, would be very deficient^
seribe^ for fhe relief of difl-' and in many parts of the province . would altogether fiedl
treBB.
as the Kharif harvest had done. The Government accord-
ingly informed Commissioners of Divisions, by a Circular dated the 2nd January
1869, that the measures which had already been sanctioned for the employment
of able-bodied persons on special works would be insu£Scient to meet the case
of those whose age or infirmities unfitted them for labor, and that the time had
arrived when the public should be invited to supplement by their contributions
the efforts of Government to prevent mortality and relieve distress. Local
Committees, wherever they were not already formed, were directed to be
organized without delay, for the collection and distribution of funds, which
would be supplemented in the case of private subscriptions by a contribution of
equal amount by the State.
7. At Lahore a Central Committee was formed under the orders of
The formation of the Oen. ^^ Lieutenaut-Govemor, composed of the following gentle-
inJ Belief Committee.
men : —
President
BoBERT Egebton, Esquire, Financial Commissioner.
Members : —
Mr. Justice Boulnois.
Major General S. Abbott, Agent Panjdb and Delhi Railway.
Col. R. Maolagan, Secretary to Government^ Department Public Works.
Lt. Col. Drummond, Secretary to Government^ Railway Department.
Lieutenant Colonel Coxe, Commissioner of Lahore.
The Keverekd Kilbee Stuart.
Lt. Col. Gulliver, Secretary to Government^ Irrigation Department.
Dr. C. M. Smith, Cidl Surgeon.
Lieutenant Colonel Younghusband, Inspector General of Police.
Leslet Probyn, Esquire, Accountamt General.
Dr. Dallas, Injector General of Prisons.
Dr. DeRenzy, Sanitary Commissioner.
Captain W. R. Holroyd, Director of Public Instruction.
Hector Gunn, Esquire, Agent Agra Bank.
J. A. E. Miller, Esquire, Secretary to Financial Commissioner.
Honorary Secretary^ Lepel Grifpin, Esquire.
( » )
Several changes in the constitution of this Committee, which held its
first meeting on the 16th January audits last on the 29th November, were
made during the year. Mr. Egerton left for England in March, and hk place as
President was taken by Mr. P. S. Melvill, Officiating Financial Commissioner,
Colonel Coxe was succeeded by Colonel Cracrofb^ and Dr. Dallas by Dr. Gray.
During three weeks in October Colonel Gulliver kindly acted for the Secretary,
who was absent from Lahore.
8. The operations of the Committee were to be confined to the relief
The duties of the CentriJ ^^ *^^®® classcs of the population, who, from any cause
whatsoever, were unable to work for their own livelihood,
or to obtain, by their work, sufficient to support life. For the able-bodied
portion of the population special work had been provided under the direction
of the local authorities and the Department of Public Works. The Committee
was to have control over and administer all subscriptions for the reKef of
general distress and the funds assigned by Government for the relief of the
infirm poor. They were to be a consulting body, to which District Officers were
to apply for advice and guidance in questions of difficulty ; and were to supply
funds wherever local means were insufficient. They were moreover to supervise
the procedure of local officers in matters of relief and to take care that it was
consistent, rational, and in accordance with the principles laid down by the
Government of India in their Besolution of the 22nd September 1868. The
Committee did not interfere with the disposal of sums collected in the several
districts for the relief of local distress, and left the utmost latitude to Deputy
Commissioners, who were empowered, in cases of urgency, to act on their own
responsibility in drawing advances from the treasury, referring the case to the
Central Committee for submission to Government. The Committee, moreover,
was the channel through which all applications for Government assistance or
for the grant of equivalents to subscriptions realized were to be forwarded.
Lastly, the Central Committee had the duty of auditing the accounts
of District ReUef Committees.
To enable the Central Committee to perform these several duties,
Statements, Weekly and Monthly, in a prescribed form, were directed to be
submitted from each district, showing the income and expenditure, the
number of infirm poor relieved, and the number of able-bodied paupers employed
upon relief works under the District Officers. Although the Committee had
1
J
( 7 )
no concern with the employment of able-bodied paupers yet it was necessary
to collect statistics of their numbers ; both to estimate the amount of general
distress and to ascertain if the number of those relieved gratuitously bore li
fair proportion to those who gave an equivalent of work.
9. During the Ic^st quarter of 1868, the price of all food grains in
• thePanj»bw«oxc.edu.glyhigh.The»ver<^.fwheatw«
The priooB in ik« Panjsb i -i • r>i« • t
anring the last quarter of about 10 sccrs the Hipee, though m Sirsa it was as low as
8 seers, 8 chataks ; in Hissar 9 seers : in Hoshiarpur the
same. Nor were the inferior grains, generally used largely by the people in
times of scarcity, cheap enough to be able to afford much relief. Gram was
only one seer cheaper than wheat : Barley averaged 13 seers the rupee. Bdjra
( spiked millet ) was as expensive as gram : Jodr ( great millet ) and Moth a
pulse ( Phaaeolus aconitifolius, ) averaged 11 seers, while the price of Rice was
altogether prohibitive. With the prices of grain everything had risen rapidly :
GM^ from the destruction of the cattle, became a luxury which few could afford,
and Gtojss and Bkdm were enormously expensive.
10. During the last few days of January and the first ten days of Feb-
ruary 1869, rain fell in considerable quantities in the
p5S> i]^^^ ^ ^ Panjab. In the Jalandhar Doab and the northern districts
of the BAri and Rechna Doabs it was heavy, while south
of the Satlej, though less in amount, it was still of great benefit for the time, and
the grass, which had almost disappeared, began again to spring up. The accounts
from most districts were brighter and the improvement continued throughout
February and March, so that, on the 22nd of the latter month, the Central
Committee considered that it was unnecessary to continue the collection of
private subscriptions towards tile General Fund.
11. The state of the funds at this time was as
The funds atulable.
follows : —
Private subscriptions to the general distress
with equivalent.
Interest on old Famine Fund,
Advances firom ditto,
Balance of the Lancashire Fund, . . .
• . •
. . «
• « •
. Bs. 9,053
. „ 7,500
. „ 10,000
. „ 1,575
Total, Ks. 28,128
( 8 )
Of this sum little more than Es. 5,000 had been spent^ leaving a balance
of Rs. 23,000. The Government had placed at the disposal of the Committee
a lakh of rupees from the old Famine Fund, of which it was determined to with-
draw, at present, no more than Rs. 20,000 from its investments. Ten thousand
having been already credited to the Committee's account : a balance of Rs.
1,13,000 remained available, seeming to warrant the Committee" asking for no
further subscriptions from the public. In addition to this sum, Rs. 90,742-^-4
had been collected, with the Government equivalent, for the relief of local
distress ; while during the month of February 4,70,588 infirm poor had been
relieved, at a cost of Rs. 26,948-14-3, and 89,387 persons had been employed on
special works.
12. During March a considerable quantity of rain fell ; in some districts
so heavily as to injure the crops : but the general condition
The month of IfM ry^ i
of the Panjab north of the Satlej had much improved and
there was little fear for the future. But the state of Hissar, Rohtak, Sirsa
and Karnal grew daily worse^ and the number of immigrants from foreign
territory constantly increased.
13. In June rain fell in the districts north of the Satlej, but to the
south, where it was most urgently wanted, there was little
The progress of distress.
or nona Food rapidly rose to prices which prevented any
of the poorest classes frx>m obtaining sufficient to support healtiby life, the grass
again withered away, and fodder of any kind became very scarce. Locusts
made their appearance in great numbers, and an imusual amount of sickness,
caused in a great measure by insufficient and bad food, added to the distress.
During the month of Jime, the people in the Hissar Division had found a most
welcome and important addition to their scanty food in the unusually large crop of
jungle berries. The Government waste lands in the neighbourhood of the town
of Hissar were the residence of hundreds of families of Bikanir immigrants,
including women and children of all ages, who lived on the finit of the her, crowd-
ing under the bushes during the heat of the day, and sleeping there, often, at
night. Many of these poor wretches were emaciated in the extreme, and during
the later weeks of June,, there was a large addition to their numbers, fresh
arrivals having come from Dehli and elsewhere, whither they had vainly gone in
search of employment, waiting for the first fall of rain to return to their villages^
All the large cities of the Punjab were now crowded with immigrants from foreign
territory, for whom it was necessary to organize special relief arrangementa
( 9 )
The richer classes of natives were liberal in the extreme, feeding daily thousands
of their poorer countrymen, and the figures which show the amount of subscrip-
tions to the Fund are no guide to the amount expended by private charity, which
was very great and honorable to the humanity of the natives of the Panjab.
1 4. During July rain fell, in many districts, revivitig' the standing
Aflkb. bocoiM Tery ori- ^^ops, and rendering the soil fit for the Autumn soxfrings.
But the weather Was excessively hot, and the fierce winds
like the blasts from a furnace dried up the moisture too soon. The condition
of the Panjab became critical in the extreme. As in the previoui^ y®^> the heavy
spring rains seemed to have prevented the usual rain-fall at the proper season :
through the whole province, week after week, not a cloud was visible in the!
sky, and the crops withered and fell away. Aboiit the middle of August,
it became certain that unless rain fell speedily a famine more terrible thact
any known in the Panjab sane^e the evil year of 1783 must result. The stock
Tw lUie of iiie oonntey ^^ grain in the Panjab was now almost exhausted<^ Ericour-'
aged by the heavy raiuB, early in the year, the people
had sown a gre^^r breadth of land^ than in any yeai^ since annexation. This
diminished greatly the stock of food, and what remained was risii^g d&j by day
to a price which meant starvation to many and want to all save the rich. The
people had, too, begun to lose heart, and fancied that a curse had come upon
the land. Year after year they had reaped scanty harvests, and now, a* k«(t,
When the promise was so good, and they had mortgaged houses and fields to
buy seed to sow every available acre of land, the heavens were shut up and
they saw the crops turn a sickly yellow, while the cattle died, and there was
iothing but death or ruin before them. Even had there been sufficient grain
in the country, the people, especially the artisan class, had no money to buy it.
the high prices, so long continued, had exhausted their savings ; their houses
and ornaments were pledged, their scanty furniture sold, and the money-
lenders would advance nothing more. The people were, moreover, unable
to bear famine so well as during the last year ; for they were exhausted with
anxiety and want, atnd a terrible sickness was doubling the lists of mortality. The
prices in some of the richest districts of the province were far higher than they
tad been in the poorest districts during the famine of 1860-61, and the grain-
dealers, though in many cases unjustly accused, were creating an immense
toiount of ill feeling, by storing up the grain, by mixing inferior grain with
the wheat, and by raising the prices quickly and continuously. The great
( 10 )
crime of these men may simply have been that they were prospering while otheni
were being ruined ; but it is no use to expect people who are starving to be
logical, and the cry against the banniahs, a cry which has an unhappy significance
in time of famine, rose louder and louder. Every night the people came out
of the towns and villages, and with drums and processions to every shrine
prayed for rain, while the hearts of those who had to think for the people grew
sick with longing for the rain which never came. Those who saw most of
The excellent conduot of **^® P^^P^® during thcsc Unhappy days will know that
^ ^^^ *' no tribute of praise to their conduct can be exaggerated.
Crime, it is true, largely increased in some districts ; but the increase was only
in theft ; and whatever any code of morality may say it is more reasonable to
steal than to die. But the mass of the people bore their suflTerings with
a patience, a reticence, and a courage truly noble. They understood that the
Government was doing all it could for them, and they accepted its relief
gratefully ; but they did not apply for relief till it was needed to save their
lives : they complained little, and remained at the worst and the darkest time
patient, obedient and loyal. The people have deserved well of the Government,
and no race in the world could have borne themselves, \mder such trying
circumstances, more bravely or well.
15. Towards the end of August the wished-for rain came, but it was very
partial and too scanty to be of much advantage, and, on the
The rain at last fallB.
1st of September, the Central Committee again appealed
to the public for assistance. They showed how the expectations of a rich
harvest, which had been natural and general after the heavy rains of July, had
been disappointed, and that unless rain immediately fell, the harvest would be
utterly lost and the cattle would perish as they perished by tens of thousands
early in the year. But on the 4th and 5th of September, when almost all
hope was gone, a heavy fall of rain literally saved the Panjab. It was general
over the whole province from the Jamna to the Indus, and was plentiful in
those Cis-Satlej districts which needed it most. Here it had come too late
to make a harvest, half withered away, good : but the crops, even where they
were worst, recovered in a wonderful manner, and north of the Satlej and
on the frontier there was hope of at least an average harvest, while some
districts eventually reaped a harvest exceptionally good. How imminent had
been the danger, how intense the anxiety, and how great the relief, the people
of the Panjab and the officers of Government will not soon forget.
••• -•«
t •
• • . • • •
• • • • •
• • • *
\
( 11 )
1 6. The operations of the Central Relief Committee were not at once
aflfected by the rain-fall. The fear for the future was
The operatioxis of tlie i i t t t^ •
Central Committee were not at an end, Dut the present distress was very great. Prices
mnoh Aif eoted by the rain.
continued to rise owing to the smallness of the stock, and
it was only in March 1870 that they began sensibly to decline. The cattle
had died in such numbers that Government assistance was necessary to purchase
new oxen to plough the land, and the distress in the districts of the Hissar
Division did not show, till November, much tendency to decrease, though the
Hajputana immigrants left for their own villages.
17. But no special report need be made of the further operations of the
Central Committee. On the 29th of November a meeting
The ipeoial oi>erations of
the Central Committee are was held at which it was rcsolvod that the time had
eloeed.
arrived when the direct action of the Committee in the
way of relief might appropriately cease, and that what future relief operations
were necessary might more conveniently be left to the district authorities
acting in their ordinary executive capacity. At this meeting grants of Rs.
12,000 were made to the districts of Kamal, Gurgaon, Hissar and Sirsa, and the
general accounts of the Committee's income and expenditure for the year were
submitted by the Honorary Secretary and approved. It was thought necessary
to ascertain that the sums received from the Central Committee and the
Government equivalents had been correctly credited in the Local Committees'
accounts ; and that the abstract of their whole expenditure from the commence-
ment of the operations should be published. The preparation of these accounts
has involved a great deal of labor and has been the cause of some delay in the
submission of this report. The accounts have had to be checked over and over
again ; for the system followed by the several districts was not, in all cases,
uniform, and it is only during the last month that the accounts have been
satisfactorily made up.
18. The Accountant General furnished a statement of sums which had
The amonnt of Goyeni- ^^®^ granted as Govemmeut equivalent to local or general
ment eqniYaienta. subscriptions. This Ust did uot coiucide with the accounts
furnished by districts ; but the diflTerences and his explanation are given in the
following statement, which includes everything so sanctioned during the
financial years 1868-69, 1869-70 :—
( 1^ y
Dl9rSICT8.
A«w««> .o ^^J-^noount as per
Amount as per ns-n-inf Xr
AcconntaBt
1. Hissar Distriet^
•••
2. Sirsa District,
••I
Geiterars
Statement.
16,471
2,154
8. Rohtak District,
4. Delhi District,
5. Kamal Disarict,
10
1
District or
Local Coin
mittee's tState-
ment.
Difference.
3 *24,435
•••
<l Ckagaoa District^ ...
t. Lafaert Diafesiety ...
I. Ilrozpnr District, ...
9. Amritsar District^ ...
10. Jalandhar District, ...
1 1 . HnshlarpvT District,
12. Ambala District, ...
18,034
5,000
20,386
4,384
11,547
6,500
6,788
1,324
7,584
2,425
8
6,013
13
15
10
5
8
Total amount to Districts,
18. Central Relief Committee,
Rs.
Rs.
Total Equivalents, ... 1,56,448
{64,884
5,000
15,386
12
11
7,954
t3,859
4,384
8
6,500
6^788
1,324
6,976
2,425
1,49,335
7,113
10
46,850
§5,000
8
6
4 |6,921
>»4
15
10..
Rbmabes.
• • • •..
11
T558
7,113
* The Depo^ Comrnissioner as*
serts the amount to be correct $ tberv^
must be some omissions in the
Accountant Geueral*s Siatement.
t Rs. 8,475-4 and Rs. 884-6-C
to the amoant of difference, orer-*
looked in the Accountant General'a
statement
} The Deputj Conimissioiier a^
serts the correctness of his state-
ment
§ Treasury adyaaee^ afterwafds
repaid from ftmds reeeired from tb^
''Central Relief Committee** ii^clnd-^
ed in the Accountant 6enaral*» state*
ment
I Rs. 801-5-0 sanctioned' In €k>T-
ernment letter No. 669, dated 14th
May 1868, are omitted to be^ shewn
in Accountant Generars statement;
and this amount added ta the differ*
ence makes 7,128, of which 7,113
are those sanctioned for ** Central
Relief Committee.** and Rs. lOadifEer*
ence between 998-5-4 and 988-5- 4v
the latter amount being acknowledged
by theDiBputy Commissioner, whHv
the Accountant General asserts ( io
February 1869) the fomev.r
J This sum was sanctioned for
relief works, Tand»road, and not for
direct relief.
This amount was included in the
Lahore grant (See No. 7 in the
Accountant General's Statement. )
19. The statements now submitted are four in number. The first, in
1 6 parts, from A ta P, gives an abstract of the income
and expenditure of each of the districts aflTected by the
famine.* Statement No. 2 contains the total abstracts of the several districts.
The statements snbmitted.
* This statement has not been printed.
( 13 )
"wiih their grand totals showing the receipts and disbursements on a<5count of
relief in the Panjab during the whole period over which relief operations extended.
It also includes the amounts of subscriptions and donations collected for the
General Belief Fund by those districts in which no local relief was necessary.
Statement No. 3 contains merely the accounts of the Central Relief
Committee, and was submitted by me to the meeting of the 29th of November,
and published in the Gazette of the 1 6th of December. The further operations
of the Committee during 1870 are, however, added to this statement, which is
a complete record of its work. Statement 1 is an abstract of the whole accounts
of Central and Local Committees throughout the Panjab, showing the income
and its nature, with the expenditure and the manner in which the money has
been expended.
20. From these accounts it will be seen that the sum of Bs. 4,21,674-2-11
The abrtTMt of the ac has been expended in the direct relief of paupers unable
* ooonte, the work done, and
the relief afforded. to work. In the hauds of the Central Committee and in
Local Treasuries a balance remains ofBs. 21,882-8-7| although it is probable
that some of this may have been expended since District Officers forwarded their
latest accounts to me. The number of destitute persons relieved was over
six millions, that is to say, there were 6,160,045* cases of relief, comprising
19,54,224 men, 23,93,895 women, and 18,11,926 children; and the number of
persons who were employed on local works under the control of the district
authorities was 2^ millions — 2,583,990 — ^being 11,77,206 men, 9,00,718 women,
and 5,06,066 children.
To these should be added the very large number employed under the
Public Works Department on special or ordinary works. In some districts
the Department Public Works was able to provide sufficient work for the able-
bodied, as in Kangra, where a great number of persons were employed on the
new roads under the Executive Engineer, and at Madhopur, Gurdaspur district,
in the construction of a new dam. The excavation on the Sirhind Canal,
between Rupar and Douraha-ki-Serai, gave employment to all who asked for it :
while on the Western Jamna and Bari Doab Canals, and on the Inundation
Canals of the Multan and Dera Ghazi Khan districts, abundance of work was
procurable.
9 Thil is tlie onaber leUered for ono dsy, ooQntiiig ihft mm, of the nuinbera reliered dallj dnxioff tlie whole period.
( 14 )
In addition to the work given to able-bodied paupCTS, and the direcrt
relief given to those unable to work, the Gbvemm^it throughout the distrean
made large adrancee ( Takdvf ) to zamindars and others for digging and repaiir-
ing tanks and wells^ and, later in the year, for the purchase of cattle. Theao
advances amounted during the year 1869-70 to Se. 5,49,706 for the whole
province, of which no less than Bs. 3,99,091 was advMiced in the Delhi and Hissar
Divisions alone. Remission of revenue demand during 1869-70 was granted in
the Rohtak district to the amount of Bs. 89,201, and in Sirsa Ks. 13,320. Con^
siderable sums were suspended during the famine, but were for the most part
collected before the end of the year 1869-70.
21. The expenditure of the Central Committee on i^tablishment was
The expenditw© on trifling. An auditot ou Bs. 50 a month looked over tl^e
monthly accounts ; and with a clerk on Be. 25 formed the
whole establishment. Printing Statements and Circulars cost Be. 116-2-8,
and the only miscellaneous expenditure during the year amounted to Bs. 1-6-0.
Mr. Stanley McGowan audited the monthly returns to the satisfaction of the
Committee, and Qurdit Singh, my English clerk, kept the accounts and general
business of the Committee in the most careful and complete manner.
36. A brief account must now be given of the progress of distress and
An ftoooimt of rei]«f ope- relief Operations in the several districts of the Punjab, and
Mtionsin the seTenJ dis-
trioti. for the sake of convenience of reference the districts will
be taken in alphabetical order.
37. In the Ambala district the distress was at no time very great ;
^^^^•^ the harvest was fairly good, and the necessity for relief
arose chiefly from the presence of a large number of starving inmiigrants from
Bikanir and the Bajputana States. But the local subscriptions were sufficient
to meet the wants of the district, and no applications for assistance were sent
to the Central Belief Committee.
38. The Amritsar district, the centre of the Jat Sikh country, is one of
^^^**"- the most rich and populous in the province. In its
northern portion it is well wooded and exceedingly fertile, the water is near the
surface and the Ban Doab Canal supplies it with any exceptional irrigation it may
require. Towards the south, in the direction of the Satlej, the land rises in level ;
the wells are deep and no canal irrigation is possible. It is therefore evident
e Iff )
1]iat drought would be more severely felt in the southern than the northerd
portion of the district. Indeed to the north in the sub-divisions of Battala and
Ajnala distress was little felt. The population was purely agricultural, plentiful
irrigation enabled them to produce crops at least of an average quality, and the
high prices allowed them to make large profits, and to support without difficulty
the ^ kamins ' or village servants who in times of distress are always supported
by the proprietors of the land, if indeed these latter are not themselves suffers
ing from want. The presence of a great city like Amritsar, with 136,000
inhabitants, increased the difficulties of the district, for its reputed wealth made
it the centre to which all distressed persons were attracted from both British
and foreign territory, and there were at one time many thousand immigrants in
the city and its neighbourhood subsisting wholly upon charity. They did not
appeal in vain to the rich merchants, who acted with great liberality and daily
fed very laurge numbers of the poor.
39. So early as September 1868, a meeting had been held to determine
the works which might best be undertaken should the occasion arise, and
it was arranged that the works should be carried on simultaneously in the
different sub-divisions of the district so as to avoid any inconvenient concen-*
tration on a single point. It was not thought necessary to commence worit
at once; but at the end of October 1868, a proclamation was issued direct-*
ing all those who required work as a means of subsistence to apply to the
Executive Engineer, who would provide it for them. On the 20th November
ihe Deputy Commissioner issued a general order that Uie village Malbah
fund, an extra cess contributed by the zamindars for village purposes^ should be
made available for charitable relief as far as possible.
40. The following letter of the Commissioner of the Division, of the 14th
December, will show the state of the upland country or b^gar.
^^1 have to report that having personally inspected' the high Manjha country
betyreen Taran T&ran and the Bias, I am of opinion that the time has come for opening
works for the relief of the people. The zamindars have still a moderate stock of food
but the necessity of providing for the village seps and kamins ( village servants ) presses
heavily upon them. The attitude of the people is admirable. I have not seen a single
beg^gar : there is no attempt to get up a fictitious appearance of distress, and only in one
small tract have the zamindars hinted that a suspension of Gk>vemment demand in
February would be a desirable relief. This will certainly be necessary unless rain opens
the granaries. Certainly at present tliere is no starvation in this part of the country.
The zamindars are well of£f and the labor of the/ seps ' is so valuable to them that they
make their interests identical with their own. But the village stores of grain will with
( 16 )
difficiilt7 but till next hanrest^ and any work which will enable piirt of the popolatioii t»
boy food of the grain merchants will be a great relief."
41. Belief works were th^i started in the district on which labour
was paid for at &mine rates : roads from Batala to Sri Hargoyindpnr, Jhandiala
to Taran Taran, and Taran Taran to YairowaL These works^ whidi were
undertaken for the benefit of the yillagers^ did not attract many labourers ; but
the distress in the city became very great, and it became necessary to establish
poor-houses at which the poor might be fed. A Local Committee was formed^
and the district was divided into several sub-divisions, each being placed under
the charge of a special officer. Under the Executive Engineer were the
roads from Amritsar southward to Hariki-ghat on the Satleg, and from the cily
to Ajnala, both of which gave work to a very large number of persons.
42. At the city itself there was abundance to be done : around the
walls was the great ditch, from which the materials for the rampart had
beeu excavated, now a foul sewer fruitful of disease^ aud ou thia work it waa
determined to commence.
With reference to the rate of wages on relief worki^ the following
remarks from the report of Mr. W. Coldstream^ the Secretary Local Belief
Committee, may be quoted : —
** The rate of wages has been on the chief works 1} annas to adalts^ male and
female : 1 anna to children over 10 years of age» and 6 pie to children under 10. These
rates vary from those stated by Qovt. of IndiSi in its ^ memoranda of measures approyed ^
to be used, in making no distinction between the pay of adolt men and adolt women and
in giving children over 10 one anna instead of 6 pies. The rates adopted commend them*
selves, as, for this part of India at least, more fair and equitable. The city ditch work at
Amritsar was started at a 2 anna rate for men and women, but this was obviously excessive^
as new applicants, in crowds, continued to throng the work after the rates had been
lowered. The vrt^es of women, however, were reduced about the beginning of April to 1
anna, and then raised to li anna. The reduction in wages did not lessen the attendanee
at the works.
Towards the close of the operations, and with a view to bringing the work to a
conclusion, a one anna rate for adult men was adopted. The immediate effect was a
reduction in the average per head of work done and a large decrease in attendance.
I have been carefal to go into these fia.ct& regarding the rate of wages on our
principal works, because a fair estimate of the proper rate of wages during such a crisis
may be formed from them : and your Committee deem that the rates adopted were those
under the circumstances most suitable, viz.
A. P.
Adults, male and female, •• ... ... 1 6
Children above 10, ... ... ... 1
Do. under 10, ... ... ... %
( 17 )
TThe avei'age cmbic feet per head for all famine works was 19 : and ihid is nearly
double what was accomplished at the Amritsar works, where the average was onlj 10
cubic feet. This rate is unquestionably low. At such work under favorable circumstances
an able-bodied man ought to accomplish his 100 cubic feet per diem. Nevertheless the
eamses of this small amount of work done are easily found.
The proportion of women and children was more than 60 per cent. Women with
children in arms were allowed to earn their mite, and children of tender years carried
their tiny loads to swell the household earnings.
Though there was a fair proportion of able-bodied laborers, yet undoubtedly the old
and feeble were numerous : and charity forbade the rejection of any one able to work at all.
The season was a very trying one to work in. The fierce summer sun prevented
imything like active work daring a great portion of the day.
The burning heat had the effect of hardening the ground near the surface to such
an extent as to render it very difficult to break. This was particularly the case at Sari&li
where the ground was so baked that 10 strokes of a mattock hardly cut one inch into
the ground. At the same time, when the work was closely supervised by a European
officer, the dally average of work rose gre^^tly. Thus, in his report for the week end-
ing 13th February, Mr. Macpherson states that he spent one day at the works, and under
the direct supervision of himself and Mr. Nicholl the work-people did more than usual ;
the average per head being 22 cubic feet ; but this result, says Mr. Macpherson, cannot
always be obtained, as personal superintendence cannot be given daily. I think it may
fairly be concluded that had strict supervision been employed a considerably larger amount
of work would have been done by the gangs ; and had the Committee, at the commence-^
ment, anticipated the dimensions to which these operations would attain, they might
Irisely have arranged for more effSective superintendence.
The following account of the organization of the wdrkiiig parties on the Amritsar
city ditch works has been supplied by Mr. Yaughan :—
The proportion of men, women and children employed on the work, from a detail
in Mr. Yaughan's report for the week ending the 20th March, appear to have been as
follows :—
Men, about, , six- thirteenths.
Women, „ .• four-thirteenths.
Children, , » three thirteenths."
43. The proportion of able-bodied labourers seems to have been about
25 per cent ; as the scarcity increased the proportion of the able-bodied labourers
rose, and this was a good test of the severity of the distress. At the time of the
great pressure on the work at the city ditch in April, where nearly 3,000 a
day were employed on this work alone, the proportion of Amritsar people to
foreigners and persons from other districts was as 123 to 100. The districts which
sent most paupers were Sialkot, Bikanir, Sirsa, Hoshiarpur, Sahdranpur, Shahpur
and Lahore. At the beginning of April, after the rtun had removed the chief fear
of famine, the works were brought to a close*
( 18 )
44. On the Amritsar ditch works, Rs. 12,819-8-9 had been spent,
giving a day's wages to 1,19,331 persons, of whom 50 per cent were men andtha
remainder women and children.
45. The Hariki road works started for the relief of the population of the
Mdnjha employed 96,849 people. The work performed was 22,54,003 cubic
feet, an average of 23 cubic feet per head, a high average compared with Amrit«
sar, and accounted for by the fact that the work consisted principally in dressing
embankments and not in excavation. The class of people employed was, more-
over, agricultural, more accustomed to out-of-door labor than the Amritsar paupers.
46. With regard to direct relief, three poor-houses were started in the
city of Amritsar, one at each of the Tehsils, and one at Attari, under charge of
Sirdar Ajit Singh, Honorary Magistrate. The number of people relieved was
1,08,185. It was attempted to obtain some light work from the paupers at
the poor-houses, in making rope and thread and spinning, but the profit was not
appreciable and in most manufactures there was a decided loss. The most
profitable labor was grinding wheat.
47. About the middle of August the continued drought and increasing
distress made it necessary to recommence relief works at Amritsar, and the
Ahluwalia Dh^b,* a vast morass in the centre of the city in which the sewage
collected, was considered the most suitable work. A great number of persoiifii
were employed upon this : —
Terson9.
From 21st to 31st August, ... 7,250
1st to 4th September, ... 5,008
5th to 11th Do., ... 12,251
12th to 18th Do., ... 14,539
1 8th September to 9th October, 1 7, 420
9th to 16th „ ... 17,939
16th to 23rd „ ... 17,760
The average proportion of men, women and children was pretty constant :
and taking the number for the last week recorded, 17,760, the proportion was
divided as follows : — ^men, 4,987 ; women, 9,131 ; children, 3,642 ; — ^being a far
higher proportion of the two latter classes than on the works at the beginning
Seera. Ghstakfl. of the vcar. The work was continued till the close g£
Wheat, 11 8 ^
^^^' \l 1 1869, and continued till its close to attract a great number
jowS, 11 10 of persons. The prices of grain during the quarter ending
the 30th September were as shown in the margin.
( 19 )
48. The whole arrangements of the Amritsar district were admirably
carried out : and reflect great credit on all the officers who took part in them.
49. Although in the Gurgaon and Kamal districts of the Dehli Division
distress was both very severe and early felt, in the Dehli
district itself there was scarcely any need for assistance
from without. The reason for this is partly found in the presence of the large
and rich city of Dehli, to which the distressed poor flocked when unable to
support themselves in their villages. As in Amritsar and Lahore, the richer
classes acted with great humanity and liberality. All the great merchants fed
nttmbers of poor daily and charity was scarcely ever asked in vain.
•
50. On the first appearance of distress in November 1868, the Superin-
tending Engineer was requested to supply work to all who asked for it : and
sufficient was found in the district for able-bodied paupers till the close of
scarcity.
51. The harvest in the district was indifferent : the gram crop almost
entirely failed, and on unirrigated land the wheat and barley, which had been
largely sown, was much below the average.
52. The following letter from the Deputy Commissioner of Dehli, dated
20th September 1869^ will show the state of afiairs in the autumn after it had
become necessary to renew relief operations :^ —
1S[q. 2363 of 20^A September 1869, from Deputy Commissumer DehJiy to Commissioner Dehli
Division.
In continuation of my No. 862 of this day's date, I have the honor to report the
steps which have been taken to relieve the distress in this town, and the further ones
which I consider it necessary to propose for the district.
2. At a general meeting of the Municipal Commissioners, at which you presided,
the measures for the town of Dehli now reported were inaugurated.
8. The Municipal CommisBioners made a donation of Bnpees 2,000 from the
Municipal Funds. Eupees 5,000 have np to date been subscribed by English and Native
gentlemen, and it is believed that Rupees 2^000 more will yet be collected :—
Total collected, .. .. Rs. 7,000
Promised, .. .. ,. „ 2,000
Total, .. Rs. 9,000
4. I trust you will move Government to supplement this by a liberal donation,
equal, if possible to the amount raised by private subscription. 1 fear that high prices
( 20 )
will prevail for some time^ It is true that within the last few days Indian Com
( << mukkae'' ) has fallen from 11 seers to Hand 16 for the mpee, but other cereals
maintain their high prices, and wheat and barley will probably remain near their present
figure until the Rubbee crop is ripe.
6. Belief operations have already been set afoot. Cooked food ( bread ** roti/' )
is distributed daily to between 2,000 and 3,000 people. I was present at the distribution
yesterday. Nine- tenths of those relieved were women and children: the rest consisted
of boys, infirm old men, and cripples. Nearly two-thirds of the mass consisted of
immigrants from Mewat and other distressed parts of the country,
6. The experiment was made of requiring the poor to work at reduced rates,
Ibut it was found that classes resorted to the relief works who were not deserving of
relief, and practically no return was obtained for the expenditure.
7. I have now to solicit sanction to start bakeries for the gratuitous distribution
of bread at Soniput, NujjuiBFgurh, Furreedabad, and fiuUubgurh ; some relief seems very
desirable. A constant stream of immigrants is pouring through the district from other
pai*ts of the country who are all more or less urgently in need of relief. To these must
be added the women and children of our own poor. An able-bodied poor man often
earns only two (2) annas a day ; and when he has a wife and three or four children this
is insufficient, with gprain at its present high price, to feed the whole family,
8. I propose to limit the expenditure as follows :—
Nvjlffigurh, } ^' 300 per mensem.
Furreedabad, •• •• ••99 250 „
BuUubgurh, ... ... #• „ 200 „
9. I trust that the respectable inhabitants of these towns will emulate their
brethren of Dehli, and subscribe half the amount required ; for the rest I must look
to Government.
10. I have to-day addressed the Secretary, Belief Committee, on this subject, bat
shall be glad to receive your sanction to commence at once. The expenditure will be
required probably for nearly two months.
11. In conclusion, I desire to especially bring to your notice the exertions of the
Bae Choona MniL Native gentlemen, as per margin,* who have been especially pro-
Bae Sahib Singh. nxinent in their exertions. Not only have they contributed liber-
Bae MahaiBh Dosa.
Laiia Bnmmee Mui. ally themsclves ( Choona Mull heading the list with Bs. 500 ) ; not
Khan ICaihboobbnx*
only have they gone from house to house in a body to collect con-
tributions ; but they are doing what is even more valuable, giving up their time to the
laborious and painful task of personally superintending the cooking and distribution of
food and the exclusion of the unworthy from the mass of those who apply daily for relief*
Their arrangements are complete and good.
53. The price of flour in October 1869, varied from 9 seers at
Dehli and Balabgarh, to 9 seers 6 chitaks at Sonipat, and 14 seers 10
chitaks at Farldabad. Bijra was selling at 17 seers.
( 21 )
54. The district of Firozpur might naturally be supposed to be almosl
more liable to famine than any other in the province*
"* Some hundred years ago it was well cultivated and fertile,
and the home of a large and flourishing population ; but> from various causes,
more or less obscure, it relapsed into jungle ; the sand deserts to the south
drifted year by year more to the northward, the villages were deserted, and thft
wells choked up. Such was the disteict when it came under English administra-
tion. Since then order and good government have done much and cultivation
has largely increased ; but much remains to be done to secure the district ajgainst
£tmine. The river Satlej, which flows to the north of Firozpur, has still to be
utilized and employed in irrigating the dry country to the south; for well irrigatiou
is in many parts impossible ; in Mokatsar the water is at 180 feet from the surface^
at Bhadour 200, and as a consequence wells are few : the people contrive to col-
lect sufficient water during 8 months of the year in tanks, and during the dry
season drive their cattle to the banks of the Satlej for pasture and water. But
with aU this, and relying almost entirely on rain for harveste, the soU of
Firozpur is rich and peculiarly suited for barley, and the tract between th<»
old and new bed of the Satlej, for wheat During 1868-69, distress was far
less in Firozpur than in many districts more favorably situated. This was
partly owing to the custom of storing large quantities of grain in the villages,
and also that districts in which drought is the normal and not the exceptional
state of things, are more able to bear without suffering an imusually severe
drought. Jhang and Shahpur districts, which depend very little on irrigation,
suffered little during the scarcity.
55. But Firozpur was close to the Bikanir country, from which the
inhabitants were early driven by want of water, not only for irrigation, but
even for drinking purposes ; and in December 1868 it became necessary
to call a meeting to consider what steps should be taken to support the immi-
grants. At this meeting Rs. 5,000 were subscaibed, and the following extract
fit)m a letter of Mr. Wakefield, dated 14th January, Secretary Municipal Com-
mittee, will show the state of things at that time : —
** We have now nearly 1,000 starving poor, supported either by labour or pure
charity, as each case may require ; and with the Bs. 10,000 which will now be available,
we have calculated th^t we shall be able to support these people for the next five months—
«. tf., till June next — when it is hoped that the fall of the periodical rains will enable them
to go to their homes in Bikanir territory. The resifJents proper of the district have not
as yet applied fqr aid. They do not as yet beg for either labour or food, and there is still
( 22 )
hope that a gui&oient latter rain will saye the standing Bubbee crops, so as to prevent
tbeir being reduced to such straits/'
A large number of persons were relieved from poor-houses opened in
the district, and able-bodied paupers were employed on the construction of
a road over the old bed of the Satlej, and in improving the neighbourhood
of the city of Firozpur. During the last week in February, 5,931 pei«Q|is were
in receipt of direct relief and 3,485 were employ^ on special works. That
there was a sufficiency of grain in the district is proved by the fact that during
this week the exports w^re 15,581 maunds while the imports were 3^528:
maunds. Fodder hac^ however, almost disappeared and the cattle died in
great numbers from actual starvation, and the gram crop had been much injured
by a caterpillar which devoured the leaves of the plant. In, August this;
district was compelled to apply to Central Conmiittee for assistance., Fprtionft
oi the district such as Mokatsar^ had lost both the Babbi and Kharif cropa;
absolutely, and it became necessary to re-organize relief-houses, which wera
formed at all the Tehsils aAd at the ferry over ilie Satlej, where food was;
distributed.
56. The XiOQal Relief Conmijittee dissolved oe^ the 11th of September,^
the n,ecessity for any geuexul system of relief having ceased with the heavy rain^
During the last two weeks of August 23,036 persons, of whom only 3,095 were.
men, received gratuitous relief ; and from, the 1st to the 9th of September 2^,235,
of whom 260 were nien^
The operations however could not be brought to a close so soon as wa»
auticipated, and it was tlie beginning of November before gratuitous relief
ceased, the number of paupers during the nxonth of October being nearly 10,000.
57< There is^ no occasion to give any detailed account of this district^
which is fertile, well watjered, and \7ith 9, light assessment^
Subscriptions were made for the relief of Ipcal distress ;
but the people were well oft aad able to support their own poor, and the ^sub-
scriptions might with advantage have been sent to the Cen^tral Committee for
expenditure where they were really wanted,
58« On the 19th November 1868, sanction was conveyed to the expend-
iture of Rs, 5,000 in the Gurgaon district for the relief of
GnrgMiL
distress; but no special works were then undertaken,
though food was givw to all the really iiifim^ not v^ry many in nuniber^
( 23 )
In January the Commissioner of Delhi reported that there waa vei*y little
distress in this district but subscriptions were invited. Though about 1,000
per week received food, there does not appear to have been any great distress
till August 1869, when prices rose to 8 and 9 seers of flour per rupee, the
demand for grain for seed being very great^ and the export southward
being four times as great as the import. In September the sufferings of the
poor were very great : large numbers of immigrants from Rajputana were in
the district, nearly half of them so emaciated as to be unable to work
59. During the two weeks ending the 5th of September, 4,058 infirm
paupers were relieved ; and for the general state of things the Deputy Commis-
sioner had better speak for himself :—
« Daring the month of September a very large amount of rain fell and quite dis-
pelled all fears of drought. The crops and grass sprung up very luxuriantly, but
towards the close of the month the continued wet did much injury to the hajraj knocking
off the blossom and turning the formed grain black; fowar, moie, Ac, sown along with the
high millet, also rotted, but where these different descriptions of growths were sown
apart, they have thriven well, and are expected to yield an ample harvest, should the
clear weather just set in continue.
2. Pood grain continued at famine rate^ during the whole month and distress
WM great in consequence, but during the last week there has been a slight alteration for
the better.
3. During the month of September, 8,336 persons were relieved at the different
alms-houses in the district, the expenditure being Es. 1,510-4-9, leaving, at the close of
the month, Bs. 385-6-1 in hand.
4. This sum wiU suffice for little more than a week, and the destitute must
still be fed for some time to come, as they are incapable of earning their own livelihood ;
besides •Marwaries* and 'Bigreea* arrive daily in a most destitute state and must
be provided for, though it be only for a day at a time,
5. The meals issued were as follows :—
For males, 11,403 = Eg. 463 15 10
For females, 28,140 = ^^ 788 9 4
For children, 18,809 --: 257 11 7
Total, ,.. 28,352 Bs. l,51o" 4 9
Being on an average per male, 6 chattaoks, =? 8 pies per diem.
Female, 4 „ « 5 ditto.
Children of 10 years and less, 3 „ ^24 ditto,
6. The rarions works employed daily—
■««». Women. Childrm.
^^^ 121 107 =423 persona.
( 24, )
7* I beg that 1,500 Rb. be granted, as otherwise the alms^hoases will hare to be
oloeed at once and large numbers of persons will starve.
8. The cold and damp at night are very much felt by these poor, who have
hardly any clothing on their persons, and not sufficient stamina to battle with the weather ;
they will therefore require at least a blanket each : this should also be taken into con-
sideration, and an additiontd provision made as early as possible.
d. A good deal of fever has already appeared, owing to hot days and cold nights.''
60. The district of Hissar suffered perhaps more than any other in the
whole province from the famine, though Kamal was not
far behind. Situated on the border of the Bikanir desert,
it shared many of its desert characteristics, and was almost entirely dependent on
rain for its harvests. The drought and scarcity were felt here very early, and
so early as August 1868 foreigners from the neighbouring Independent States
came in for food and work
On the 28th September, the Commissioner of Hissar^ in reply to letters of
Government submitted a list of works, of the estimated cost of 75,475 Bupf^es,
which were proposed to be undertaken for the relief of distress in the Sirsa dis-
trict, consisting of roads, wells, and a bridge over the Ghaggar at Khyraha.
The state of the Division was such that immediate action was desirable, and
sanction was conveyed to the commencement of such works as were reconmiended
to be first imdertaken. On the 7th October, sanction was accorded to the
commencement of two works in the Hissar district, viz., re-metalling the Hissar
and Hansi road, estimate 19,008 Rupees, and improving the road betwe^ii
Hand and Bhewani, estimate Bs. 4,752.
The reports from this Division were already, in the first week of October,
gloomy in the extreme. The E^arif crc^ and the grass crop had both entirely
failed, and the people, so far as fodder for cattle was concerned, were in a worse
condition than during the famine of 1860-61. The tanks had all dried up, and
the wells in many places had become brackish and unserviceable, so l^t the
inhabitants had no choice but to leave their villages and seek food and pasture
elsewhere, while the numbers of people flocking from Hajputana, where affairs
were still more gloomy, still further complicated the case. The Government
accordingly gave general sanction on the 13th October for incurring such outlay
as might be necessary on famine works in anticipation of formal sanction. At
the same time sanction was given to an expenditure of Ks. 6,000 for digging
hatcha wells in the Division, and a little later to an expenditure of 28,000 HupeeB
from Imperial funds for digging, enlarging and deepening tanks in the Hissar and
( 25 )
lUiotak districts, where no local funds were any longer available. In the Sirsa
district, the local funds were sufl&cient for the time to afford the relief required.
On the 31st October, the Government sanctioned Takivi advances
aggregating 16,420 Rs., in the Hissar district ; at the commencement of November,
a further grant of Rs. 10,000 for repairs to wells and tanks ; and on the 27th of
that month, Rs. 3,784 for the clearance and improvement of the Jahdzghar tank
in the Rhotak district. Every effort was made in the Hissar Division to supple-
ment the Government aid by private subscriptions, which amounted on the 5th
of December to Rs. 18,243-3-5, in the following proportions : —
Hissar, Rs. 9,175-9 -3
Rhotak, „ 5,208-0 -0
Sirsa, „ 3,859-10-2
Total, Rs. 18,248-3 -5
The Government conveyed sanction, on the 19th December, to general
Takdvi advances of unlimited amount, for the purpose of digging wells and
tanks in the Hissar Division. The late Financial Commissioner, four years
before had made a somewhat similar jwoposal, but the people, in times of plenty,
were not eager to sink wells, and did not accept the State assistance with any
alacrity. At the present time, however, they are fully conscious of the desir-
ability of storing up water agii^inst a future famine, ^nd the demands for advances
to sink wells and tanks are very numerous.
61. In January the local subscriptions, with the Government equivalent,
ware found sufficient to meet actual requirements. Relief -houses were established,
where the infirm received food, cooked or uncooked, and public works
were in progress giving employment to all able-bodied persons who required
it. Up to the 20th of February, 106,808 men, and 126,970 women and children,
had received relief, and 80 poor-houses were tiieiii open at which food was
distributed.
During the month of March above 110,000 persons were relieved and
about 33,000 were employed, and this average was maintained during the
following month ; but during May the distress f^ist increased, the great heat
withering up the grass and the cattle beginning to die in great numbers.
Many immigrants from Bikanir again came into the district, and the poor, unable
to buy grain, supported themselves on the fruit of the karil (capparis aphylla)
( 26 )
w hich was unwholesome when eaten in any quantities, and the berries of the
jhal or pilu ( Salvadora oleoides ). But whether the jungle fruits were whole-
some or not they were the means of saving many lives ; for this year of famine,
the crop of wild fruits was larger than had been ever before remembered, and
during the month of June gave food to many thousand people.
62. But the condition of Hissar, in July, became critical in the extreme.
The fruit of the * ber ' ( Zizyphus jujuba ) which had been the chief support of so
many, was now exhausted, while the number of immigrants had largely
increased, a stream passing through daily from the south, othe rs returning from
the neighbourhood of Dehli to their homes. The people we re losing heart,
fodder was almost unprocurable, and wheat rose to 11 — 12 seers the rupee.
The rain which fell so generally during the latter part of July did very
temporary good to Hissar. The weekly number relieved had risen on the 1 7th
of July to 40,000, and the mortality was so severe among the cattle that
11 8, 33 8 had already died,
63. The state of affairs in August will be seen from the following letter : —
From W. E. Purser Esquire^ Officiating Deputy Commissioner Hissar ^ to Lepd Griffin
Esquircy Secretary Central Relief Committee^ No. 692 dated 18th August 1869,
<« The state of this district has now become so serious that I think it right to
bring the matter prominently to your notice. There has been no rain to speak of sinpe
the 27th July, and, at present there is not the least sign of any more rain — a fierce west
wind, sometimes perfectly hot, reminding one of the beginning of June rather than the
end of August, sweeps day and night over the country, burning up the crops and grass,
and rendering all agricultural operations impossible. Even if we were to get rain now,
the extent of land sown is so small compared with the usual area cultivated that relief
measures could not be safely suspended till the Eharif of 1870, though no doubt they
would be on a reduced scale,
2. But if, as appears highly probable, and every day without rain renders more
certain, the " Kharif' in the barani lands is again to prove a total failure, a calamity will
arise such as has not been known within the memory of man in this part of India.
8. The district is at the best of times never a rich one. The people are, in a great
measure, * Pachadas' to the north, and * Ranghurs' to the south — two castes notoriously
poor, lazy, and improvident.
4. In most places there is only one crop, the Elharif.
5. The people depend for great part of their support on their cattle.
6. The district is exposed to the first shock of the immigration of the starving
population of the Rajpootanah States. Considering then that, being always poor, we
have no resources left unused ; that there will have been no harvest for two years j that
( 27 )
for all practical purposes cattle no longer exist in the district ; and that we are being
inundated by a flood of paupers from Beekaneer, Jeypoor, and other States, the calcula-
tion which gives three quarters of the people of the district as the number which will have
to be fed by Government, if they are not to starve, does not seem incorrect. Indeed, in
saying that one-fourth of the population can do without aid, it is only on the supposition
that the Canal authorities will afford a reasonable supply of water to the district.
7. It appears then that, in case the ^ Kharif fails, there will be some 350,000
people to whom relief must be given.
8. It is in vain to expect that every exertion possible can prevent a fearful mor-
tality, but much can be done, especially if the matter is looked boldly in the face, and pre-
paration made without delay. If the distress is once allowed to get to a head^ it will bo
utterly hopeless trying to control it.
9. Two things are absolutely necessary in order to meet the emergency, — money
and a proper establishment. This district cannot supply any more funds worth mention ;
a few thousand rupees may, perhaps, be collected, but this is a drop in the ocean.
10. The necessary funds cannot be raised in India unless the Government supplies
them. It becomes then requisite to try to raise them elsewhere, and to apply once more
for assistance to the English people, who are always able and willing to give largely.
11. But, besides money, a proper establishment is required to supervise the relief
operations. It is too much the custom to throw all the additional work caused by a
famine on the ordinary district staff ; which at the best of times, is too often overworked ;
the result is that the real supervisors are Munshees, at eight or ten rupees a month, and
Tehseel Ghuprassees on five ; Government money is spent, and the poor receive scanty
relief. 1 speak from practical experience. There ought to be at least one European officer
whose sole business it should be to control the relief operations. He would have under
him Native Supervisors on a fair salary in each Tehseel. His work would be principally
inspection ; and, in order to enable him to do this properly, he should have as little office
work as possible. Relief-houses should not be scattered broad-cast over the land, multi-
plying returns and increasing facilities for cheating. All unnecessary reports and returns
should be done away with ; red tape must yield when the lives of tens of thousands are
at stake : of course the medical staff will have to be increased also.
12. It will be necessary too to make some provision for children whose parents
will die or abandon them.
A Relief Committee has been formed here ; it consists of the European officers of
the station, the Extra Assistant Commissioner, the Tehseeldar and the Municipal Com-
mittee of Hissar.
13. At the first meeting held yesterday various new works were proposed ; sug-
gestions were made for removing the starving poor outside the town, and for increasing
the relief establishment and diminishing its work by shutting up unnecessary relief-houses
and attaching the recipients of relief to other poor-houses. When these measures have
been matured they will be duly communicated.
14. It was at this meeting that the calculation was made that three-quarters of
the population would require relief. It was also ascertained that the stock of grain in the
district is rapidly becoming exhausted, exports being largely in excess of imports : wheat
IB to-day selling at eight seers for the rupee^ and a further serious increase is expected.
( 28 )
15. The number of persona receiving relief is daily increasing. There can be no
doubt that in some villages, the landowners have left in numbers greater or less. I heard
yesterday of five villages in the Bhewanee Tehseel alone. No reports have been received
on the subject trom the other Tehseels. Still the cases are isolated and few.
16. The Beekaneer people who went home are coming back again. Cholera (if
the disease really is cholera) is still continuing its ravages at Sewanee ; and after having
been apparently stamped out at Balsamund has appeared again in &n aggravated form.
It has now established itself to the north of the canal in the Futtehabad Tehseel, but as
yet the deaths are few.
17. The state of the district is very bad and the prospect most gloomy. But I do
not wish to be understood as saying that all hope has passed. If within the next fort-
night there is rain, there will be some crops, and much distress will be averted, but if not,
and there is no sign of rain at present, it will be necessary to prepare for the calamity I
have mentioned. It appeared better to make this report this week than next, in order
that the Central Committee might be well informed of what may be expected, and that
it may take such measures as seem necessary in the emergency.
18. I have written fully and freely on this subject because it is one of paramount
importance. I should fail in my duty if I kept silepce."
64. The report the week following the above-quoted letter was some-
what more favorable, and Mr. Purser's letter gives so admirable an account of
the state of the district that no apology is needed for q^oting it in extenso.
From W. E. Purser Esquire^ Officiating Deputy Cammissionery Hissar^ to Lepd Griffin^ Esquire^
Secretary y Famine Belief Committee, Lahore — No. 720, dated Hissar, 2bth August 1869.
^^ I am glad to be able to inform you that there has been a fair fall of rain in some
parts of the district since I wrote last.
On the 22nd there was a slight shower in several villages to the south ; at Hissar
itself the rain was confined to one side of the station.
On the 23rd there T^as a good shower, measuring 1*8 inches at the Court house, and
* 0-8 at the Tehseel.
The rain-fall in the district has as yet been reported as follows :*—
Hissar ... 1*3 and 0*8
Hansee ... \ 1*25
Bhewanie ... Drizzling (24th).
Burwalla ... 0-25
ruttehabad ... 0-0
The rain has therefore not been genend, and has not extended far to the north of
the canal. Still much good will be done : a considerable extent of land will be brought
under cultivation, principally with moth, moong^ andjowar.
The seed formerly sown will be saved and may be expected to germinate. In some
places the land previously sown has been covered with sand, but in most places, where
there has been rain, the seed is safe for the present. K there are two or three more good
( 29 )
ftliovrers a tolerable harvest may be expected. Of course, these remarks apply only to the
area affected by the recent rain. Distress is rapidly increasing. Placed as Hissar is, as
the frontier post between the British and Native territories, it is only to be expected that
it will be first affected by the influx of the starving population of the latter ; who being
uncared for by their own rulers, seek refuge in the former, where some attempt, however
imperfect, is made to relieve the wants of the needy. During the last few days there has
been a stream of people coming in from the surrounding Native States. The returns do
not show this, because they are not kept up in such a way as to show the daily number of
persons receiving relief. These are divided into two classes, — those with tickets, and
those without. The former get bread; the latter grain. No new arrivals ever get tickets,
and those without tickets are only counted once a week. I do not see the object of the
distinction, and the sooner it is discontinued the better. The difficulties in the way of
properly distributing relief are enormous, and can only be met by proper supervision,
which at present is not available.
The people are so reduced by starvation and want that their bodies are almost
rotten ; the least blow biings on a festering sore. To use physical force to such is impos-
sible. Many of them are so wild with hunger, and others wish to get more than their
share by scrambling, that orders to keep quiet and to wait till the turn of each person
comes are quite unheeded, and as soon as the food is brought a general rush takes place,
and the people shove and scramble like so many wild beasts. It may be possible to stop
this. The distribution of food now takes place outside the town instead of inside. Six
rows of stables have been placed at the disposal of the Relief Committee, which afford
admirable shelter to the foreign poor. They prefer in fine weather loafing about and
sleeping on the banks of the canal ; but when it rains they seek the shelter of those build-
ings, where every arrangement has been made to supply them with water and everything
else required. Even if there is more rain, and that all over the district, it must be expect-
ed that distress will grow more and more intense for the next two or three months. The
number of able-bodied poor seeking work will probably diminish, as many will be employ-
ed in agricultural operations ; but the number of infirm seeking relief will increase.
Now is the time to make arrangements to meet the still too probable famine. Our
funds are quite exhausted ; in fact some of the relief-houses have been shut up, but I had
them opened again. The funds will be supplied from the Treasury in anticipation of a
grant.
In addition to the Rs. 5,000 previously asked for, I would solicit a further grant of
the same amount, with which it will be possible to carry on relief measures for some time
longer."
65. After this the accounts from Hissar became slightly more favor-
able. Some rain fell early in September, but prices continued to rise, wheat
selling at 8 seers 8 chittaks the rupee, and during the week ending the 28th
of August 63,000 persons received relief and the next week 62,710.
The rain again held off : ploughing had to be suspended owing to the
strong west wind which dried up the soil. Unless more rain fell inmiediately
( 30 )
the good results of the showers of July would come to nothing. There were no
mgns of rain, and the prospect of at least another year of fanune became each
day more distinct.
But during the first week of September the abundant rain, so long with-
held, at last feU. Writing to the Committee on the 8th September, the Deputy
Commissioner says : —
«' It is hardly too much to say that the rain, if followed by one or two more showers,
has saved the district. The Kharif crop will not, however, be more than half the usual
quantity, if so much ; and the rnin caused by the drought of last year was so great and
vnde spread that it is now painfully apparent in the untilled fields of every village. It is
'doubtful, Mr. Purser continues, whether this district will be able to feed itself during the
next year, but the late rains justify a hope that there is no longer any fear of the terrible
calamiiy which seemed impending."
66. The worst was now over, but distress could not be expected for
long to subside. The immigrants from the south, however, departed to their
homes ; in the week ending the 23rd of October the number receiving relief had
fallen to 35,939, and a final grant of Rs. 4,500 on the 29th November to
Hissar closed the accounts of the Central Relief Committee with this district,
to which it had sent during the year Bs, 35,500,
67. ' No praise can be too great for the officers of this district. Native
and European, who worked splendidly and with the greatest success,
68. The only distress in the Hoshiarpur district was firom the high
prices, and among the village servants, artisans, and immi-
grants from Kajputana. The district is an exceedingly
rich one ; cultivation is general ; irrigation is abundant, and lying close under the
Kangra hills ; the rain-fall was greater than elsewhere. Such being the case
it seems at first sight strange that prices should have risen in Hoshiarpur to a
height hardly reached in districts suffering severely from famine. During the
last quarter of 1868 wheat had been at 9 seers the rupee, higher than any district
in the Panjab with the single exception of Sirsa, where it was 8 seers 8 chatacks,
and the same as Hissar. For the quarter ending the 31st March 1869, wheat
was 1 1 seers the rupee ; the next quarter it remained about the same ; and during
the quarter ending the 30th September it again rose to 9 seers the rupee.
One reason of the high prices was that in the Hoshiarpur district the custom
of storing grain was not followed by the villagers, who sold or exported the com
immediately after the harvest.
/
( 31 )
By the end of January a Relief Comm ittee had been established^ and the
woAb suitable to be taken in hand had been decided upon. Any distress was,
however, much relieved by the heavy rain at the beginning of February and
the villages of the Kundi and Jaswan Dhtin alone required special assistance-
Two tukavi advances for canals in the upper valley were accordingly sanctioned,
a tank at Bhawnour, and another at Baroti. Relief-houses were opened ^i
Unah, Amb, Garshankar, Harianah and Dussooah. Sixteen hundred men were
employed on the Tanda road, but the distress was not so great even in the
Kundi villages as to require special works to be undertaken.
Up to the 18th of September 1869, 32,800 persons had been employed,
at a cost of Rs. 5,720-13-9, and 33,515 had received relief at a cost of
Rs. 2,153-6-2. * By this time all necessity for special works had ceased and the
harvest in the Hoshiarpur district was exceptionally good.
69. This, ttie neighbouring district to Hoshiarpur, is also exceedingly
rich and fertile. The distress here was owing to the high
prices alone, caused by the same habit of exporting all the
grain of the district. Relief works were started in February, and employed a
large number of people, though the rate paid was not above two annas a day,
and the district roads, especially that to Nakodar, gave all able-bodied laborers as
much work as was required ; poor-houses were opened at which food was distrib-
uted ; but the only people who came were ordinary beggars and foreigners
from other districts, and during the whole year the only assistance asked from
the Central Committee was Rs. 200 for the Cantonment poor.
70, In the hill district of Kangra tiie ordinary works carried on by the
Public Works Department, under Captain James Browne,
Executive Engineer, were at first suflScient to employ the
people. At Dhangu, near Pathankot, about 100 men were daily employed,
between Nurpur and Kangra 1,500, and between Kangra and Piror over 4,000,
making ^ daily average of 5,600 men. In these early days of February 1869,
Kangra sent the subscriptions collected in the district to the Central Committee ;
but six months later was compelled to ask assistance itself. The truth was that
Kangra is exceptionally situated at the end of a long valley, backed by the
Himalayas. There were no good highways through the country, and no large
towns to attract grain-defers and importation. Maize and rice were, more than
wheat, the specialties of the Kangra valley, and the consequence of a long
drought was that the. stock of grain became speedily exhausted and the
( 32 )
price of wheat rose to 6 seers the rupee, far dearer than in any district
of the Punjab. This price was not long maintained, and the first week in
October had fallen to 8^ seers, but this was altogether prohibitive to the poorer
classes, of whom 2,583 were relieved during tiie week in question. The crops
were now being cut, and as the harvest was, on the whole fair, the • distress
rapidly declined.
71. The district of Kamdl, lying naidway between Rohtak and Ambala,
K*™^- has suffered from famine as severely as Hissar, and per-
haps more severely when it is remembered that the Grand Trunk Boad runs
through the district giving every opportunity for importation of grain. The
eastern and south-eastern portion of Kamdl is protected from famine by the
Western Jamna Canal ; while in the northern parganahs or sub-divisions, well
irrigation is practicable. The western portion, the hdrh, hdngar or upland tract,
comprising the western portion of the Karndl parganah, the sub-divisions of
Asundh and Kathdna with part of Kythal, covering an area of about 600
square miles, is especially susceptible to distress from drought, owing to the
absence of means of irrigation, from the great depth of the water and the idle
and improvident character of the people. The istumrdri villages of the Mandal
Chiefs, which, ever since their cession by Lord Lake in 1806 have been in a
poor and depressed condition, have suffered most. The Chiefs, themselves
foreigners and involved in debt, take little interest in their estates, and view
any suspension of revenue, in seasons of drought, by the Government with
great dislike. In 1861 great numbers died from famine in tiiese villages,
and the relief so largely afforded in 1869 alone prevented a like deplorable
result.
72. The Deputy Commissioner of Karndl, Major J. Parsons, submitted
a final report on famine operations, on the 14th of May last, which was for-
warded to Government by the Financial Conmiissioner with his No. 372
dated 4th June 1870. His Honor the Lieutenant Governor considered that
the report should be printed, as it was extremely creditable to all the oflScers of
the district, and was a good exemplar instance of the way in which the famine
operations were conducted
As his report is short I have included it in my own. The statements
accompanying it are all given, in abstract, in my accounts, and need not be
published.
mm
( 33 )
No. 73, dated Wh May 1870, from Major J. Papmn^y Deputy Ommisnonar RuaSnal, to
Colonel B. Toung^ B^ J?., Oon^tssigner and Superiniendeni Delhi Divipon.
'< On the eve of departore fpr pother diatriot I have the honor to submit for the
•r TT TTT TV information of Government a brief report and a few statistical
AppendiooB I, n, nit IV ^
•and Y. returns regarding the measures taken from the commencement
for the alleviation of distress frpm th^ late ftimine, ^^hich was ver^ severe in the Kumal
district.
2. Action was first taken in the matter in September 1868, when owing to the
complete failure of the Ehurre^f harvest of that year in a large portion of the district, it
became imperative to provide employment for distressed agricultqripts and laborers. In
that month relief works from local funds were commenced at Ni^doo, Joolmana,
Gounder, Amoopoor, Dachour and other villages in the central portion of the district,
where distress vras already showing itself ip a severe form, and relief works were provided
from Municipal Funds at the towns of Eumal and Eythul.
3. In the following mopth sanction was received for commencing several relief
works from Imperial Funds, and further works were 3imnltaneou9ly c^orif^ on from
Municipal and Local Funds.
4. Near the close of November 1868 a private subsoription list was opened to
obtain a fund for the relief of persons unable tp work, but no expeodltare was incurred
from this fond during thifi and following month, it being adviaable m a cheek to pi^uper-*
ism to require heads of families and communities to SQpport th^ own dependants ag
long as possible ; relief works were however carried on Cii^ntimioudly*
In the laiter part of Janua^ 1899 distribution of food to helpless persons com-*
menced^ bat operations in iSaiB vespeek were confined to the sudder station only.
5. By the end of February 1869 the local private subscriptions amounted to
Bs. 8,454-8-0, and by that time it having been found impossible to stay the increasing
distress hj reUef works alone, or Buppiemeated by distribution of food at a few points
only, arrangements were auade for feeding the helfdess poor at several points of the
district where distress preivailed.
6. £Vom March to Octoba: 1869 distress was very severe, and necessitated a large
ezpenditiice in both relief works and in distribution of food to persons unable to work,
emaciated and helpless men, women, and children. Ilelief works from Imperial Revenue
do^ed in January 1874), but some relief works were constructed from Local Funds in
Hareh 1870. The distributicm €i food to the helpless still continues at a few localities,
ftBd should remain for some months longer.
7. As connected with the famine relief arrangements it may be added that awB^-
pensionof revenue was sanctioned for several villages, and that an increased amount of
assistance was afforded toiihe agriculturists in tuccavee advances for sinking wells^ and
that special advances were made for the purchase of seed and plough bullocks. The
great scarcity of pasturage owing to the prevailing drought caused the zemindars very
lieavy losses in cattle, which died in g^^eat numbers in botii the years of 1868 and 1869.
8. Bince the commencement of the famine to the close of the past year the aggre-
gate expenditure in relief measures from the different sources has been as follows—
( 84 )
1» From Priyate Stoibscriptions.
A. Local, ... .. 15,870 11 4
B. Eeceived from Central Re^ \ o^ qaa n o / 62,670 11 4
lief Committee at Lahore, / ^^'^^ " "
2. From Imperial Funds :—
C. Tuccavee advauces for con- 1 - - goi
structinp wells, • • • J
D. Ditto for bollocks and seed, 44,750
8. From Local Funds,
4. From Municipal Funds,
1,11,290 1 9
• • • • • •
• • • •
oj
•
8,982 6
•
8,700
Ra. ... 1,71,643 8 1
The aggregate amount of revenue demand suspended was in Ehalsa villages
Bs. 24,454. Ditto in Jagir and Istumrar villages Bs. 22,193.
9. The famine works executed were principallj tanks, earth-work, being a descrip-
tion of employ in which women and children as well as unskilled laborers could take part ;
the tanks moreover were very convenient for the distribution of labor throughout the district
as required, being useful in many localities owing to the scarcity of wells therein, and the
distribution of the work was a matter of much importance as it is unfortunately a fact that
zemindars will not go long distances from their houses to obtain labor until reduced to
the utmost straits and privation, or till they may be too much emaciated to be able to
work.
10. The largest number of helpless persons receiving relief was in April 1869, when
there was an average of 12,120 persons per diem receiving food at 81 poor-houses through-
out the district; of this number nearly four-fifths were women and children. It was found
practically better to maintain a number of poor-houses than to attempt to congregate the
helpless at a few points : many will not attempt to go long distances to be relieved till they
are too weak to travel, and there is moreover great difficulty in providing shelter for large
numbers of strangers and in making adequate conservancy arrangements, and great danger
of epidemic diseases breaking out amongst the people congregated. At the head quarters
of tbe district and at the Kythul out-post the ticket system ci distribution of food was
enforced ; this was not practicable at the villages, but all the recipients of food were duly
registered.
11. The largest number of laborers employed on famine works was during the
month of April 1869, when there was a daily average of 1,814 men, women and children
at the works.
12. The allowance of flour at the food distributing localities was 8 chuttacks
per diem for male adults each, 6 chuttacks for women and for children from 10 to 14 years
of age, and 4 chuttacks for children under 10 years of age ; and as distress decreased grain
in the above quantities was substituted for flour.
( 35 )
13. On the \A April last distribution of food eontinned at 5 localities, v%»., at the
head quarters and at 4 villages in the Eythul TehsiL At Eumal the recipients are reduced
to the oidinary paupers of the town, and they will be in future provided for by the Munici-
pality. It will probably not be advisable to close poor-houses in the Kythul Tehsil before
43&e ensuing Khurreef harvest. Those remaining are in the Euthana and Assundh
pergunnahs (one at the Revd, Mr. Carleton's village, Suntokh Majra,) where I found in
my last tour in that direction, that distress is not yet extinct. There has been a very
general failure of Rubbee crop in these two pergunnahs. The expenditure required for
these poor-houses will be about Rs. 400 a month, and there is now a balance of about Rs.
800 at the credit of the combined private subscription and Government eqtdvalent fund.
ffince December last Government equivalent grants have ceased ; to make them equal to
the aggregate of local private subscription a further sum of Rs. 1,445 would be required ;
with this addition there would probably be a sufficiency of funds to carry on the remaining
comparatively smidl amount of relief as long as necessary.
14. I should still advise a few relief works being added in the Euthana Purgunah ;
however this might be chiefly arranged for from Local Funds.
15. The expenditure for the relief of distress in the district through the late
anxious time has undoubtedly been heavy,, but it was altogether unavoidable, for with
a more limited expenditure arrangements could not have been effectually made to avoid
mortality among the people from starvation, nor to prevent the impoverishment of the
^^culturists to an extent ruinous to themselves and most detrimental to the State, and
to prevent very extensive emigration, which is by no means desirable from lightly
populated tracts. Moreover, no expenditure was incurred that waa not absolutely necessary,
and a large portion of it, m., upwards of Rs. 15,000, was from private subscriptions ; and it
might be here noted that the entire pecuniary assistance from Imperial Funds is as
nothing in comparison with the increase of canal revenue from increased demand for
water during the drought; the results moreover have been most satisfactory in the
suppression of dietress, whereas in the prior famine of 1860-61 there was much mortality
among the people and ultimately heavy expenditure. I attribute the success of the
late arrangements in a great measure to the early appreciation of the dangerous state
of the district and the early remedies provided.
Had matters been allowed to go unheeded for some length of time at first great
mortality would have ensued notwithstanding any amount of expenditure of money.
16. The most distressed parts of the district have been the central or Bar
portion of the Eumal Tehseel, known as the Nurdhuk, the southern portion of the
Kythul Tehsil, and the Assund and Euthana Pergunnahs of that lehsil; in all these
localities the lands are almost entirely * baranee, * well water is very scarce and at depths
varying from 100 to 150 feet from the surface of the ground ; the Nurdhuk, which is
principally Jagir or. Istumrar, has moreover the disadvantage of a comparatively high
rate of assessment. Much of the eastern and south-eastern portions of the district
are protected by the Western Jumna Canal, and the northern portion has the advantage
of more or less well irrigation. I had long been recommending the commencement of the
new Hansi branch of the Western Jumna Canal. With this branch, which is now com-
menced, and the new Indree and Sirsa branch ( via Eythul ) much of the Bar tract will
( 36 )
be protected by canal water» and this district will in fatare years enjoy comparatifre im*
munity from famines.
17. I am greatly indebi^ed to the late Central I^amine Belief Committee at Lahore,
for the kind assistance readily accorded whenever required for this district throughout
the famine. Its Secretary, Mr. Lepel Griffin, was most courteous in his correspondence,
and made due allowance when from the great pressure of works in this district returns
were occasionally late in submission, and he much facilitated work by allowing demi-
official notes in emergencies to take the place of formal correspondence. I also received
very great assistance,from both the Commissioner^ Colonel McNeile, and from the Financial
Commissioner.
18. Mr. Purser, Assistant Comihissionei", was ihost l^jdiergetic While lamployed iti
Hie district. He attended greatly to relief measures while at the Kythul out-*post, and
had then much opportunity for seeing to the prevailing distress and assisting in all
projects for its alleviation. He frequently rode long distances in the hottest weather
to superintend the working of different poor-houses and relief wor?>:s of the Kythul
Tehsil. The late Extra Assistant Commissioner Gopal Sahai also rendered much assist-
&ilce in ^his department in the Eumal Tehsil. To the Bevd. Mr. CaHeton of Suntokh-
^ajra in the Eythtil Tehsil I am also much indebted tor his cordial co-operation, he both
supeiint^ded Works and relief-houses in his neighbourhood.
19. Tehsildars Ameer Ali, flurdeo Sahai, tind Ba;^ Lall, and Naib Tehsildar
Hiifuntit Singh also performed good Bcrvice in the famine relief arrangements ; likewise
the late Supervisors MaJiomed Tuccee and Sheonanth Bai, who were endployed in
the Kythul and Kurnal Tehsils respectively from April liS^S to January 1870. The
Distiict Boad Superintendent, Kunhya Lall, had very heavy duties, and was most ns^ol
in >preparing plans and estimates, as well us ^perintending various works. 13ie Kaib
Superintendent of the Yemaeular Department, Guneshi Lall, bad also heavy statistical and
other additional duties to perform in connection with the relief arrangements, and
performed the same in the most zealous manner. The Kythul bxlA Eumal Municipal
Committees rendered me also considerable assistance in this department.''
73. The district of Lahore generally did not suffer very severely,
although in the City itself there was great dii3tress. The
Bari Doab Canal flows through the district and the land in
its neighbourhood was preserved from the worst effects of the drought : but a
very small portion of the district is thus watered and the country generally is
dry, bare and dependent upon rain for any harvest. On the 1st of February
1869, a meeting was held in the Lawrdnce Hall, the lieuteaant Governor being
present, to inform the public of what had been done in the district and to ask
for help. Large subscriptions and donations were collected, and to the end of
the year Lahore asked no aid from Government or the Central Comnxittee, but
supported its poor by private charity.
( 37 )
74. ReKef was, howevw, commenced on too extravagant a scale, and
thousands who should have been required to work for their living received
gratuitous relief. This was. soon stopped, and those who desired maintenance
were compelled to reside in the poor-houses, while special works were started in
the neighbourhood of the City and the Civil Station of Anarkalli in filling up
holes, dressing embankments, and improving the sanitary condition of the place.
The report of the Executive Engineer shows that, on the 6th February, 326
idea, 151 women and 47 boys were employed, said that on the 25th February,
the average was 1,033 per diem. Of tiiese about half were inhabitants of the
district ; 146 from Bikanir, and the remainder from all parts of the Punjab, and
even from places so far south as Lakhnow, from whence 47 labor^s came. The
richer classes in the City acted ^th much liberaUty, and Mir Muhammad
Sultan, Lala Mela Ram and others distributed food to largis nximbers of poor
daily. The liberality of natives can be but poorly tested by subscription lists.
They like to give in their own way ; and the way chosen by the authorities
often does not resemble it in the least. They prefer to dispense their own alms>
and, in Lahore, or in the *' Ahluwalia Katra," the Regent Street of Amritsar,
hundreds and even thousands of poor were relieved daily at the doors of the
shops. The charity was not discriminative, but there was little need of discrimi-
nation when half the population was starving : and ostentation may have been
the motive for charity, as indeed it generally is : but so long as men givey their
motives are immaterial.
In March, after the rain, direct relief and special works were brought to
an end ; but the condition of the district was very imsatisfactory. The
mortality among cattle, owing to the want of fodder, had been very great, and,
in the Sharakpur Sub-Division, a grievous murrain had doubled the number of
deaths. In this and the Lahore pargannah, ihe Rabbi harvest was estimated at
only one-third of the average yield ; in Chunian one-fourth, and in Kassur
one-half
75. In August it became necessary to re-open the poor-houses, and to
recommence special works. There was abundance of work to be done in the
Civil Station, and a great number of poor were employed in excavating a small
lake in the public gardens, and in levelHng the ground in the neighbourhood.
76. In the district, ^art from the city operations, the only special work
undertaken was a lUjbaha or canal cut from the canal to the town of Chunian.
The money for this useftd work was raised by private subscriptions, and only a
( 38 )
email grant was required from the Central Committee, in February 1870, to
complete the work.
^^. The road between Eaiwind, a station on the Multan line of Railway,
and Kassur gave employment to a large number of laborers throughout the
year : but the want of water made the work difficult and unsatisfactory as to the
amount performed
78. At the beginning of February a meeting was held at Ludhiana to
consider what arrangements were necessary for the relief of
distress. In accordance with the resolutions of this meeting
a system of tickets was devised, the holders of which were entitled to receive relief
in the form of cooked food. Special work in excavation was provided from the
4th of February : but, at the beginning of March, it was stopped as it appeared
that all the immigrants from Bikanir were able to obtain work, at higher rates,
on the Railway itself. The issue of relief in food was, at the same time»
reduced, and on the 15 th of March was entirely stopped.
The prospects of the district were thus reported to the Financial Ccnn-
missioner : —
'* The want of rain was much felt till the heavy showers which fell about the 26th
January. The crops were greatly benefitted by these falls, and grass is now springing up.
Cattle have suffered greatly from want of fodder. The demand for labour is not on the
increase ; those who desire employment find it on the Bailway. The area of irrigated
land cultivated is not less than in preceding years, but owing to want of rain at the proper
time, less unirrigated land than usual has been cultivated. The Eubbee is expected to be
an average one. In the Jugroion Tehsed the crops on irrigated lands are above the average^
as unusual pains have been taken with them. The area of unirrigated land sown is com-
paratively small. In some villages the out-turn will be much below the average. There
has been great mortality amongst the cattle owing to want of fodder; as yet there is
hardly any grass except in the low lands near the Satlej. SumrdUa Tihseeh — The prospects
of the Babbee were much improved by the rain which fell at the end of January. It is
anticipated that there will now be ample fodder for cattle. Zemindars who formerly
wished to sell their cattie do not now desire to do so. Most of the immigrants ivovtk
Bikaneer are believed to have returned to their homes.'*
79. No further relief operations were necessary till August, when
Captain Gurdon, Ofl&ciating Deputy Conmiissioner, wrote on the 17th to the
Secretary Central Relief Committee as follows : —
*^ 3. I regret to say that now matters have assumed a much gloomier aspect than
they presented in the spring ; the rains here, as in most places in the Punjab, are unhap-
pily holding off, and there is fear now that, unless we speedily have rain, the seed-grain^
( 39 )
ifhxch was necessarily withdrawn for purposes of cultivation from the market, must be
looked upon as thrown away : with the hope of a good rainy season the cultivators sowed
every available piece of land, and this naturally put an extra strain on the grain market.
The prices round about in other districts are so approximate to Ludhiana rates that all
imports, except from the villages of the district in very small quantities, are at an end.
4. The present rates here are as follows : — wheat 8 seers, gram 9 seers, and flour
7 seers, for the rupee ; and, ovring to the rain holding oflF and the want of imports, there
18 no telling to what rate prices will not rise in the next few days even.
5. There is a large poverty-stricken population of Oashmiris here, besides other
weavers who used once to earn fair wages, but are now more or less out of work owing to
tke depressed state of trade.
6. I have addressed the Commissioner of the Division at length on the subject of
this letter to-day, but my principal object is to urge the necessities of Ludhiana on the
Central Committee and to beg for assistance."
80. The rain, up to this time, had been only sufficient to keep the crops
alive : and they were fast withering away. Prices continued to rise, and on the
1st of September flour was quoted at 7 seers per rupee. During the first week
in September, 20,052 paupers received gratuitous relief, 1,993 men, 6,911 women
and 11,148 children- The Conamittee had reduced the amount of food given,
to four chittaks : but this was found to be insufficient, and it was raised to six
chittaks, which was still too low. If people are to be fed at all, it is necessary
to give sufficient to keep them in healtK Six chittaks is certainly not sufficient
for an adult : but the recipients probably obtained food elsewhere than at the
poor-houses. The week of the greatest distress was that ending with the 12th
of September, when 31,665 persons received relief, 29,000 of these being women
and children. A month later the cheaper kinds of grain were coming into the
market ; the crops, saved by the opportime rain, recovered ; and the relief
operations were gradually closed. Ludhiana only asked for Rs. 1,000 from the
Central Committee : the richer inhabitants subscribing liberally, among whom
Sirdars Uttam Singh and Badan Singh and Bhai Narain Singh are mentioned
with special praise.
81. The district of Rohtak, like Sirsa, KarnaJ and Hissar, began early
in 1868 to suffer from the effects of the continued drought,
and besides the general sanction for digging wells and tanks
in the Hissar Division, a special grant was accorded to the Hissar and Rohtak
districts : and, on the 27th of December, a grant of Rs. 3,784 for the clearance
and improvements to the Jahazgarh tank. Subscriptions were raised in the
district, amounting, on the 5th of December, to Rs. 5,208 ; and by the following
( 4a )
month special works for the employment of all able-bodied paupers were in full
operation. The month of December showed 54,334 paupers receiving gratuitous
relief, and January 150,102, an increase of nearly 300 per cent : during February
there were 26,649 persons on the rolls ; in March 146,256 : and during the first
week in April 115,630. These great fluctuations in the number of actual
paupers and the proportion between those receiving gratuitous aid and the able-
bodied persons employed, was so startling that the Committee called the earnest
attention of the Deputy Commissioner of Rohtak and several other districts to
the reiterated orders of Government, that no relief should be afforded to persons
able to work, except in return for labor. To give relief on any other system
was merely to pauperize a district, and intensify, instead of diminishing, distress,
82. The Deputy Commissioner of Rohtak reported that the lists had
been prepared with great care : that those receiving relief were for the most
part women, the crippled, the lame, blind and otherwise helpless^ At the same
time the proportion between the two classes was inversed a few wedcs later ;
and for the weeks ending the 9th and 16th of May, 5,478 and 7,069 infirm persons
only were relieved, while able-bodied persons employed were 30,530 and 30,088*
The numbers rose towards the end of the month, but the system of keeping
up the lists varied in the several Tehsils, which accounted for many remarkable
fluctuations) and the report submitted by Lieut Colonel Hawes, the Deputy
Commissioner, in May was highly satisfactory, and contains so much interesting
information that it is given here in its entirety, as abstracted in a letter firom the
Secretary to the Financial Commissioner : —
** 2. Two-thirds of this district are dependent on rain for the prodaction of a crop >
and if the rain fails,, the scarcity that results ig neeessarily severely felt. In the barani
tract two saccessive crops of cereals and of fodder failed, and the consequence was a great
scarcity of food and loss of employmeut to the people, and great mortality and depreciation
in value of cattle.
3. The Deputy Commissioner states that not a single instance of death of a
human being from starvation has come to notice.
5. A very large sum was collected in this district by private subscription, and
the Deputy Commissioner also gives the names of the individuals who distributed food
to the poor at their own expense. The total value of food so distributed was Es. 11,545-10.
The amount of private subscription was Rs. 47,601, which with the Government equivalent
raised the District Relief Fund to Es. 95,202, of which Rs. 74,485-3-11 was expended in
the relief of 6,74,191 able-bodied persons employed in excavating tanks.
The District Fund was apparently independent of any aid from the Central Relief
Committee.
( 41 )
6. In addition to this a separate fund was raised for the gratuitous relief of
persons unable to work, who amounted to 4,99,397. The receipts were Rs. 13,756-18
from private subscriptions, and the same amount from Government, making a total of
Rs. 27,513-10, of which, Rs. 3,876-11 was distributed in cash, and Rs. 9,766-12-11 in food,
leaving a balance available of Rs. 13,870-2-1.
7. There was also a sum of Rs. 25,984-0 sanctioned by Government from Imperial
Revenues for excavation of tanks, of which Rs. 15,094-9-3 was expended.
These works employed 137,703 laborers. A sum of Us. 8,000 was also sanctioned
by Government for roads, of which Rs. 5,449-10-8 was expended, and which afforded
employment to 55,485 persons.
8. Tuocavee advances were given to the extent of Rs. 11,894, for the construction
of 379 kutcha wells.
13. The statement of mortality of cattle alluded to by the Deputy Commissioner
subsequently received shows that 88,300 cattle died, and 50,300 were sent away to graze
in the hills, leaving about 2,11,500 in the district, of which 63,000 were plough bullocks.
From the above figures it is evident that it must have been and still is very difficult for
the people to keep the cattle alive on their ordinary food at such high prices, and unless
a plentiful supply of grass is obtained, the support of their cattle will continue to be a
burden to the people.
The relief which has been afforded to the district in various shapes may be sum-
marised thus :—
Expended in— Rs.
District Fund works ... ••• ••• 74,435
Tanks from Government Funds ... ... ..• 15,096
Roads from ditto ... ... ... 6>449
Private relief ... ... ... 11,545
District Relief Fund in cash and food ... ... 1 3 ,643
Tuccavee advances for kutcha wells ... .•• 11,894
1,82,062
Government revenue remitted ... ... ... 1,62,551
Total ReUef ... 2,94,613
This is exclusive of the unexpended balances of funds amounting to Rs. 43,070,
ftnd Land Revenue suspended, amounting to Rs. 1,73,670.
17. A marked feature of the recent operations is the extent to which private
liberality was evinced by the people of the district, which the Deputy Commissioner (in
his 25th and 26th paras) attributes to his having endeavoured to throw the burden
of the relief of the poor on to the Committees to which they belonged, and to his
having worked with the people and carried them with him in all measures for their
relief and benefit.
18. The OflBlciating Financial Commissioner considers that Lieutenant-Colonel
Hawes is deserving of much credit for his praiseworthy exertions on this occasion, and
( 42 )
that the watchfal care and prudent measares of the Commissioner^ Mr. Naesmytfa,
throughout the famine, not only in this district, but in the entire Hissar Division, merit
the highest commendation.
83. During June and July relief operations were carried on vigorously,
but, in the latter month, no new works were considered necessary ; and at
a meeting of the Local Committee it was resolved to continue operations
till the close of August only, when the small balance left at the credit of the
Famine Fund would be given, without payment of interest, in Takavi advances
for the purchase of seed-grain and plough bullocks : the advances to be repaid
after the gathering of the Kharif harvest. This resolution it was, however,
impossible to carry out, and, during the month of August, relief was more
urgently required than ever. The partial failure of the Kharif harvest and the
total loss of the Rabbi harvest were feared, but the late rain saved the crops
and the distress speedily diminished till in the week ending the 3rd of October
only 6,665 paupers were on the lists, although the price of flour still continued
^t 8 seers the rupee.
84, This district was at no time affected by the famine otherwise than
by the presence of considerable numbers of immigrants
Sialkot.
from Bikanir, Marwar and elsewhere, for whom work was
provided in levelling part of the old fort within the town of Sialkot, and
Ss. 500 was allotted to each Tehsil for the relief of destitute persons.
The Deputy Commissioner of Sialkot in February 1869, proposed to
raise money for the General Relief Fund by means of a cess of two per cent
on the Government Jamma (Revenue Demand) and a "contribution" from each
license tax payer equal to the amount of the tax. The Central Committee
expressed their disapproval of this way of raising money, considering that such
a cess could in no way be looked upon as of the nature of " volimtary contribu-
tions. "
The Deputy Commissioner then wrote that the ftmds raised would be
voluntary, and that he had lowered the contribution to one per cent on the
Jamma. The Central Committee still expressed disapproval, but as Rs. 9,091-3-3
was raised in the district it may be presumed that some sort of cess was imposed.
With regard to the right of a District Officer to impose local cesses, on his own
authority, or the expediency of allowing such a power, the Central Relief
Committee had nothing to do, but they were decidedly of opinion that such
action was quite unwarrantable. To call a cess levied on the whole district, pu
( 43 )
tte Government Jamma, a voluntary contribution, ia absurd. The people may
take good care to show no disapprobation to the District Officer ; but it is a
forced contribution all the same. The Central Committee twice expressed their
disapproval of this method of raising money, and there was no local distress
worth mentioning in the Sialkot district, as ia proved by the Deputy Commis-
sioner, writing to the Committee on the 1st and 18th of June, stating that there
was a balance of Be. 6,158-8-5 still in hand, and requesting that Rs. 762-2-5
might be paid from it to compensate octroi contractors for certain losses sustained
by the temporary removal of the tax on edible grains ; an object which must be
presumed to be quite in opposition to the wishes of subscribers, who, whether
the money raised was voluntarily given or not, intended it to feed starving and
infirm persons, and not to relieve the Mimicipal Fimds of a legitimate burthen.
85. To understand the character of the Sirsa district, which much
influenced its suffering from the famine of 1869, it is
Bixttk,
necessary to say a few words regarding its former history.
The country was formerly known as Bhattiana, inhabited by a wild^
•turbulent pastoral race, the Bhattis, who had preserved their independence for
many hundred years. The tract they inhabited was a strip of desert country
etretching from the borders of Hissar, to the sand wastes of Bahawulpur and
the Satlej, and bounded on the north by Firozpur and the territories of the
Maharaja of Pattiala. The country consisted of vast plains, covered after
rain with abundant grass and scattered over with scrubby low jungle. Irriga-
tion, from the depth and scarcity of water, was almost impossible, and little
cultivation was attempted, the Bhattis Hving chiefly on the produce of their
flocks and herds, which were famous for their numbers and excellence throughout
Northern India,
Raja Amar Singh of Pattiala over-ran Bhattiana more than once and
founded many villages there ; but, in 1783, a terrible famine depopulated the
country. The cattle died, the new villages became deserted, the land newly cul-
tivated relapsed into jungle ; and, when the territory fell into the hands of the
English, in 1803, as part of the territory ceded by the conquered Mahrattas, it
waj3 no better than a desert ; so uninviting that for nearly twenty years the
English did not care to take formal possession, and it was only after the Bhattis
had incited conquest by their raids into the British provinces that the district
w»fi finally annexed
( 44 )
Since then the aspect of things has changed ; where one village formerly
was found there are now ten ; the people are as quiet as m other districts, and
have given up, in a great measure, their pastoral life for settled life in villages
and agricultural pursuits. But the district is as dry as ever, and absence
of rain signifies there entire failure of the harvest except in the few patches
where well h-rigation is possible.
86, Sirsa is in the Commissionership of Hissar, and shared in the relief
measures undertaken in the autumn of 1868 for that Division. Poor-houses had
to be opened in Sirsa early in October, and in the week ending the 20th
February 11,023 persons were receiving assistance and 12,092 were employed
on relief works.
The gradual progress of distress in the district will be seen from the
following table :—
Pebbonb relikved.
Mm.
Women.
Children.
Total.
October, 1868 ...
• •
2,051
1,489
2,250
6,798
November „
...
2,901
7,208
7,589
17,698
December „ ••
• •
10,388
10,958
12,467
33,813
January, 1869 ••
• •
12,844
14,510
18,321
40,715
"^^
Total • . 98,024
The expenditure during these months was : —
October .. •• ... Bs. 292 2 2
November .. .. .. »> 858 2 S
December •• ... ... ,, 2,191 10 6
January ... ... ... ^ 2,189 11 1
Bs. 6,531 10
87. During the first three weeks of March the numbers much increased,
but towards the end of the month there was a considerable diminution in the
number of paupers. The local subscriptions were by this time exhausted and
the Central Committee had to send assistance. The improvement continued
during the months of April and May, and the following letter of Mr. Wilkinson
to the Secretary Central Belief Committee of the 3rd of June^ will show the
state of affairs at that time : —
I
1
1
( 45 )
<< 2. There are altogether 12 relief houses in the district r— one at head quartern
sad three under the direct supervision of European officers of the Customs ; one under the
Extra Assistant Commissioner at Fazilka, and one at Ellenabad under the Naib Tahsildar.
3. The number of persons relieved during the week ending 29th May was on the
• 2aiid Kay, 8,650. whole Icss than that of the previous week, *^ but at the Dubwali
8»tk „ 7,740. relief house the pressure seems to have been very great. In a
I>. O. letter, dated the 28th Maj^ the Patrol writes that ^ things are getting worse daily.
There were over 600 people applying for relief yesterday.' In a letter received a day or
two later, however, the same officer writes : * you will be glad to hear that things are look-
ing better now.' Th» reason for this relief house being mere frequented is that other
centres are at some distance, and that the water supply, scarce and not particularly good
elsewhere, is here tolerably good and abundant.
4. No special reports have been received from other officers ;; but the Civil Surgeon
and the District Superintendent of Police, both of whom have visited the majority of relief
stations during the month> state that the distress iis everywhere still very great, and that
in their opinion relief is not given to any but persons who are urgently in need of it, and
such aer are unable to work. In one or two cases they noticed persons who seemed
€apaUe of labour, but it must be expected that some such would smuggFe themselvea
5k At Dubwali, again, smidl-poz is reported to pvevail,. and a Medical Officer has
been sent to make quarantine arrangements..
6. Immijgration has been very small during the fortnight rep<»ied iq>on..
7. The officers who have visited the relief houses state that the wants of those ini
distress appear to be very carefully attended to, and that with few exceptions the conditioni
o£ the people is not so bad as might be expected..
8.. The scaici^ of water is everywhere Ttry great^ and adds much, to the prevalent
distress..
9. Belief operations must be contimued for some^time.''
And in continuation of the above, writing on the 2Sth of June, Mr..
liVi&inson states : —
^'2. I am ihf&rmed that at fiianeeah and Ellenabad, two relief centires not specSdlj
noticed in my letter of the 3rd current, the relief is properly carried on ; that is to say,,
that deserving persons are relieved and are well cared for. Considering, indeed, the
intense heat of the weatiier (which is represented by residents to* be unusual), it is amatter
(tf surprise that more deaths from exhaustion are not r^K>rted.. The experience of the
Orissa fitmine showed that numbers died from this cause, even after they had received
relief, and the difference here noted is probably attributable to the fact that the relief
lias been given promptly and before the starving were so &x weakened as- to be incapable
of being kept alive.
8. The pressure at the Dubwalee relief-house has considerably decreased.. When
relief operations commenced, it was generally believed that famine works would be under-
taken there onalarge scale,. and with the able-bodied the infinn and old flocked to a. point
\
whieh promlled to be a centra of ettennve relief opehitioas. The (ndigents of foreign
States kelped to swell the munbers.
4. Bain is much reqoired and is aoxioasly looked for. There have been showery
on the 8th and 10th June, 1869, but not of adequate qnantity/'
88. The state of the district did not improTe mudi fill September. On
the 14th of August flour was selling at thi^ee seers less than At the end of the
previous week, the grass had disappeared, and the Crops were dying away.
The rain of the beginning of September saved the crops, but there Was
for some time no sensible diminution in the number of applicants for relief.
Their condition,** writes the Secretary to the Local Committee, " is lamentable
in the extreme : at the head quarters relief house, crowds upon crowds present
themselves daily, emaciated in body and apparently ravenous."
u
u
. •
But a change for the better soon came. Flour fell to 14 seers 6
ehittaks the rupee, and the third week in October it was only necessary to
assist 6,709 persons. But poor-houses could not yet be closed, and, at tile
last meeting of the Central Committee, on the 29tih of November, 1869, a sum
of Bs. 2,500 was granted to Sirsa to enable it to caflry on relief operations, until
they could be closed
*
89. In the remaining districts of the Punjab there was distress, owing
to the exceptionally high prices, but nothing special Ueces*
sary to reocNrd here^ Indeed^ in the districts to the north
and in the Derajat the crops were good, and even the sandy districts of Jhang
and Shahpur did not suffer severely. In Montgomery, early in the year, fears
were ent^i^ained of famine, but distress diminished after the first rains of March.
In Multan, there were plenty of beggars, but Multan is traditionally ftfrnoui
for beggars, and at any rate they were not disposed to work at famine rates.
The Executive Engineer of the Lower Satiej and Chen^b Division tried to
employ them on the Wali Muhammad Canal. For three days the men t&ok
their wages with a great deal of grumbling, but on the fourth day threw the
taoney on the ground and insisted on three annas a day. Not obtaining the.
desired increase, they condescended to take up the money again ; but they then
disappeared and never returned again. Their distress may, oonsequentiy/ be
presumed to have been not unbearably severe.
- V
90. There is no occasion for me at the close of this report to bring ta
the notice of Government, on bdbialf of the Central Belief Conunitti^e^ tiM
( 47 )
names of ihose officers who, in the opinion of the Gonunittee^ have taken the
"wisest and the most successful measures for the relief of distress.
The Government is well aware how its District Officers worked ; and the
result of their labours was that they saved the people from dying of hunger ;
when starvation appeared inevitable. All have done well, but the heaviest
burthen has been borne by the districts of EQssar, Kamal, Sirsa, Bohtak and
Amritsar, in all five of which the amount of work seemed to increase the energy
of the officers ; for the arrangements for relief in these districts were more
systematic and excdlent than in other districts where the pressure was less felt^
LEPEL GRIFFIN,
Bmorcury Seoretarjf Centred Belief C(mmi^i€i*
r 1
STATEMENT No. 2.
SHOWING AMOUNTS EECBIVED AND EXPENDED ON ACCOUNT OP
FAMINE BELIEF, IN THE DISTRICTS OP THE PUNJAB DURING
THE FAMINE OF 1868.69 Ain) 1869-70.
• • ••• ••• •• •
• • •• • •
STATEMENT
AMOUNTS EECEIVED AND EXPENDED ON ACCOUNT
DURING THE FAMINE
DISTRICTS.
1, — Districts in which reli^ operatums
were in progress.
as per Statement No. 1 A., ...
1 B., ..•
1 D., ...
1 £., ...
1 G., ...
1 M.| ...
1 la* ..•
1 «!•} ..*
1 K.| ...
1 L., ...
1 M., ...
1 N., ...
1 O., ...
1 P
Hisaar,
Sirsa, ,, »
Eohtak, „ „
Dehli, „ ,»
Kamalf n >)
Gnrgaon, „ „
Xjahore, ^ n
Firozpnr, „ „
AmritsaTi i, ,|
Sialkot, „ „
Jalandhar, „ „
Hnahiarpxir, »,
Kangra, „ »
Gnjrat, „ „
Ifndiaiia, ,} })
Amhalai d ^
it
II
ft
M
)>
It
>»
If
f}
19
t>
II
91
9»
99
99
99
99
99
99
99
99
99
9)
99 '
99
99
99
2. — Districts which only collected syhscrip^
iions and donations for the ^^Qeneral Relief
Fundr
Bawalpindi, as
per
statement No
.3 Dr.
side
Jehlam, „
99
99
99
99
99
99
Shahpnr, „
99
99
99
91
99
99
Banna, „
99
99
99
99
99
99
Simla, „
99
99
99
99
99
99
Jliang, „
99
99
99
99
99
99
Bera Ismail Kliaa,
99
99
99
99
99
Mnltan, „
99
99
99
99
99
99
Peshawar, „
99
99
99
99
J9
99
Mnzaffargarh,
91
99
99
99
99
99
Montgomery „
99
99
99
99
99
99
Hazara, „
99
99
»l
99
99
99
2
Total,
i
I
P4
"S
Bs.
16,642
583
514
5,126
6,627
...
8,820
...
521
633
2,306
587
41,813
6
INCOME.
'8
i
1
tit to ^
? S 9 o
Bs.
•*.
8,742
64,523
8,182
16,175
6,190
200
5,906
478
9,091
3,274
6,244
*•*
1,693
6,866
2,591
Bs.
24,425
6,013
64,884
5,000
15,386
4,384
5,226
6,500
6,788
...
1,324
6,976
9 ? s
ill
a
Bs.
9,229
533
1,632
1,482
662
529
509
404
389
340
175
148
130
106
45
2,425
1,289
3,102
4,388
1,40,083 1,49,335 20,226
III
Si
9 fi^
s
o
Eh
Bs.
35,572
18,500
3,000
1,200
37,300
1,200
114
4,500
220
100
1,000
.*•
1,000
Bs.
85,870
84,373
1,32,922
14,508
68,861
11,774
13,800
16,906
15,587
10,380
8,444
18,342
3,306
2,280
7,866
5,017
1,482
662
529
509
404
889
340
175
148
130
106
45
1,03,707 4,55,166
8
9
EXPEN-
(0
IB
teq
|i
i g.
Hi (D
Bs.
69,797
32,838
20,055
7,644
63,038
8,885
11,153
9,819
11,427
1,251
3,966
5,170
651
1,074
5,508
1,976
Bs.
939
3,036
13,126
16
72
1,002
3,033
2,54,258
1,66,402
Note. — Annas and piea
. • ••
.• •
••• •••
• • • • •
No. 2.
FAMINE RELIEP IN THE DISTRICTS OP THE PUNJAB,
OF 1868-69, 1869-70.
10
11
12
DITUBE.
9
I
2-3 t
§ « o
|5 .|^o
4 H
Ba.
72
1,043
2,000
1,355
4.47'>
Bs.
«••
885
70
2,000
2,638
1,134
1,482
662
529
509
404
389
340
175
148
130
106
45
o
13
14
Balance AT
THE CLOSE
OF THE BE-
LIEF OPER-
ATIONS.
Bs.
85,870
34,373
1,32,922
13,753
66,835
11,139
11,904
15,739
11,427
4,191
7,003
18,296
3,306
2,280
7,866
5,010
1,482
662
529
509
404
389
340|
175
148|
130
106;
45i
11,652 4,36,845
u
Bs.
756
2,026
634
1,896
1,166
4,159
6,188
1,440
45
Bs.
18,320
15
16
17
18
NUUBBB OF DESTmiTB FEBSON8
BELIEVED.
s
6,84,113
1,83,694
2,80,801
25,382
4,58,805
82,571
30,951
23,649
61,055
4,993
23,598
30,495
4,277
6,216
26,858
26,766
s
M
3
3
o
4,70,714
2,11,163
2,98,288
24,094
8,36,502
1,91,121
32,886
83,261
74,484
2,952
28,007
22,225
5,226
1,997
87,430
20,545
3,57,19115,12,018
2,02,693 5,97,550
1,39,909. 7,18,998
12,247
61,723
6,47,742 19,43,049
G'lJl'So: 3,44,527
21,416| 85,253
1,49,131
55,405
4,848
7,806
17,297
5,468
986
1,12,050
9,902
19,54,224
2,56,041
1,90,944
12,793
59,411
70,017
14,971
9,199
2,26,338
57,213
23,93,89518,11,926
19
20
21
22
Number of able-bodied persons
employed.
a
o
^
s
i
49,369
1,24,642|
5,28,860
21,900,
1,28,286
7,604
45,575
32,691
1,50,000
4,577
13,591
42,068
2,395
650
6,459
19,539
61,60,045
62,913
70,264
5,21,709
21,015
48,015
4,584
18,903
11,887
85,715
33
5,468
30,410
55
150
6,591
14,006
o
u
o
69,119 1,81,401
66,081 2,60,987
1,95,78412,46,353
10,929 53,844
29,328 2,05,629
3,136: 15,324
21,595; 86,073
7,624 52,202
64,285 3,00,00(i
307
4,495
16,481
119
65
4,247
12,411
4,977
23,554
88,959
2,569
805
16,297
45,956
11,77,206 9,00,718 5,06,066 25,83,990
omiited. — Printer,
LEPEL GRIFFIN,
Secretary Central Belief CommUke*
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I
STATEMENT No. 4.
ABSTBAOT ACCOUNT OP THE AMOUNTS RECEIVBD AND EXPENDED ON
ACCOUNT OP DIEECT BELIEF, IN THE PUNJAB, DUEINO THE FAMINE
OP 1868.69, 1869.70.
INCOME.
1. Sabacriptions realized in the several districts for Local and
General Relief Fnnds.— (As per Statement No. 2, Col. 2, ...
2. Donations realized in the several districts, for Local and
Gtoeral Relief Fnnds.— (As per Statement No. 2, Col. 3),...
3. Direct subscriptions and donations to "• Central Relief Com-
mittee,** ( other than the amounts remitted bj District
Officers from No. 1 & 2, ) for ''General Relief Fund".— (As
per Statement No. 3, Dr. Side),
4. Government equivalent to private subscriptions and donations
granted to several districts. — (As per Statement No. 2, Col.
<B^y »•• ••• ••• ••■ •■• ••• ••• •■•
tf. Government equivalent to private subscriptions and donations,
allowed to *' Central Relief Committee**. — (As per State-
ment No. 3, Dr. Side, )
6. Government grants, other than the Government Equivalents^
allowed to several districts. — (As per Statement No. 2^
\yV>. V, t ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
7. Government grants from the '^ Old Famine Fund,** allowed
to ^'Central Relief Committee **.— (As per Statement No. 3,
M^t* O lUt7, J ... ... ... ... ••• ... ...
S» Interest on Gocemment Securities of " Old Famine Fund,**
allowed to " Central Relief Committee **.— (As per State-
ment No. 3, Dr. Side),
9. Balance of the old " Lancashire Famine Fund,** with in-
terest, made over to 'K])entral Relief Committee**.— (As per
Statement No. 3, Dr. Side, )
I
41,613
1,40,083
6
il
2,646
1,49,335
7,113
a,84^542
Total Es„
t*t
tt*
EXPENDITURE.
10, Cost of feeding destitute persons in the several districts of the
province. — (As per Statement No. 2, Col. 8),
IL Amounts of pecutiiary assistance given to destitute persons
in the several district8.^(Asper Statement No. 2, Col. 9,}
1% " Central Relief Committee's *' Establishment pay.— (As per
Statement No. 3, Cr. Side, )
13. Printing lie/te//orfiM and Envelopes, by '' Central Relief
Committee**.—YA8 per Statement 3, Cr. Side, )
14. Cheque Books ( Rank ) for *^ Central Relief Committee**. —
(As per Statement No. 3, Cr. Side),
15. Sundry charges, by '' Central Relief Committee ** .—(As per
Statement No. 3, Cr. Side),
...
16. Amounts refunded in the several districts.— (As per State-
ment No 2, Col. 10),
...
Total Rs.,
BALANCE IN HAND.
*..
«..
75,000
10,762
1,213
*.. ...
%54,258
1,66,462
995
116
4
1
>.. •..
I.. •«.
•18,820
8
10
3
3
1
2
1
6
11
3,564 I...
1,56,448
20,226
12
6
8
86,976
•f • M*
4,20,720
1,116
4,472
... . . <
.10
I
1
r?4,48,193
8
8
4,26,^09
21,^84
mimmmmmmmi^ifm
13 e
111
11 7
I
"* N. JB.— It is possible that sums may have been disbursed from this bal«uice, in some disti'icts, after
the dose of the Central Relief Committee's operations.
LEraL GRIFFIN,
Secrelat^jy Central Relief Committee,
No. 588—5382-
From
R E. EGERTON, ESQUIRE,
President of the Panjab Central Famine
Relief Committee,
To
T. H. THORNTON, ESQUIRE,
Secretary to Goverkment, Panjab.
Dated Lahore^ Vith September 1870.
Sir,
Under the orders of Government, contained in your letter No. 725, dated
29th September 1868, a Central Relief Committee was formed in Lahore to
advise and control the Local Relief Committees, to receive and distribute funds,
to collect information, and carry out measures connected with the famine that
began to be felt in the Panjab about the end of 1868, and continued with more
or less severity, more especially in the Cis-Satlej districts, until the beginning
of the present year.
2. The Honorary Secretary, Mr. Lepel Griffin, has now prepared a
very complete report on the subject, together with a set of statements showing
the results of the operations of the Central and Local Committees and of
District Officers, which I have the honor to submit herewith.
3. The state of the Panjab during the period reported on, if not one
of absolute famine, was one in which the price of the necessaries of life, owing
to deficient and unseasonable rain and consequent failure of crops, was so high
that severe distress was caused to the poorer classes, and even more serious
results might have taken place had not timely and energetic measures been
adopted to avert and mitigate the calamity.
4. The rains of 1868 were deficient, and towards the end of that year
such serious apprehensions were entertained of an approaching famine in Upper
( 50 )
and Central India, that the Government of India issued a Resolution, No. 3847
of 22nd September 1868, laying down the general principles to be observed and
the measures to be taken by the local authorities in the event of those appre-
hensions being realized. It was believed that the pressure caused by high
prices would increase gradually till November, but that " if there should be
" a failure of the September and October rains and the nibbee sowings be lost,
** preparation must be made for a great calamity, the intensity of which could
'* not be expected to cease till the first falls of the summer rain towards the
" end of June 1869, and might even be prolonged for a further period." How
very nearly these anticipations were fulfilled, and how providentially this
province was saved when almost all hopes were given up, the present report will
show.
5. In October 1868, a Central Committee was formed in Lahore, and
about the same time Local Committees were formed in the distressed districts,
for purposes of relief, and in the more favored districts for the collection of
subscriptions.
6. It was feared th^t the spring crop of 1869 would entirely fail.
Pric^^e ro9© steadily during the cold weather and great distress was felt by the
poprer classes. In the end of January and the beginning of February
186p, rain fell in considerable quantities, more especially in the upper part of
ii)ij^ province. The crops revived, grass began to spring up for the sustenance of
the cattle, and the state of affairs was altogether very hopeful, so much so, that
in the end of March 1869 the Central Committee discontinued the collection
of private subscriptions for the General Fund. The state of Hissar, Bohtuk^
Sir^a and Kumal, however, waa still very critical. The ram again failed an<J
sickness and distress increased. Rain fell in many places in July 1869, but it
was insufficient, the season was exceptionally hot, no further rain fell for about
two months, the crops began to dry up, and the condition of the province was
alarming in the extreme.
7. On the 1st of September 1869, private subscriptions were again
palled for. But on the 4th or 5th of that month abundant rain fell all over the
country, not excepting the distressed Cis-Satlej districts. The long continued
scarcity, cojnbined with other causes, had exhausted the stock of edible grain
in the province, and prices continued very high throughout the year.
i 51 )
f
8. In November 1869, the special operations of the Central Committee
were brought to a close, and the further measures necessary were left to the
District Officers.
9. The accounts of the Central and Local Committees could not be
finally closed and abstracted till the middle of 1870.
A sum of Ks. 4,21,674-2-11 was expended in direct relief, that is, in
supplying food or money to persons unable to work. There remained a balance
of Rs. 21,882 in the hands of the Central and Local Committees.
10. Direct relief was afforded to 61,^0,045 persons, viz: —
Men, 19,54,224
Women, 23,93,895
Children, 18,11,926
Total, ... 61,60,045
These figures are the totals of the number of persons relieved each day
throughout the entire period. Of course the same persons were relieved for
longer or shorter periods continuously or at intervals, and appear in the totals of
a great many different days. The figures in fact show the number of " cases of
relief." The number of individuals affected by these cases cannot be stated.
But the number of persons receiving relief at one time is stated in most of the
notices of different districts given in the latter part of the general report.
In addition to those relieved in this way, 25,83,990 persons were relieved
indirectly by being employed on special works of public utility. These consisted
of—
Men, •. 11,77,206
Women, 9,00,718
Children, 5,06,066
This does not include the large number of persons employed on the
ordinary works in progress in the Public Works Department.
11. Takavi advances were freely granted by Government during the
famine, especially in the Dehli and Hissar Divisions. In the latter the amount
advanced increased from Rs. 15,350 in 1867-68 to Rs. 1,65,327 in 1868-69. A
large number of tanks for agricultural and drinking purposes were constructed
in that Division, and also a large number of kutcha or temporary wells.
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