The Letters of Gracchus on the East India Question 8
Let us take these several propositions in their order; and examine, how
far they possess that force of truth, which the Company has supposed to
belong to them.
1. In the infancy of the European intercourse with India, the sole
object of those who engaged in its commerce was, to procure the produce
and commodities of the East. In this pursuit, so far were the natives
from opposing any obstacles to their endeavours, that they were found
disposed to afford every facility to a traffic, which brought them
_specie_ in exchange for their manufactures, and for the productions of
their soil. This fact, which is established by every writer who treated
upon the subject of the India commerce during that period, would of
itself constitute a complete answer to those who advance the
proposition, that the natives of India are averse, through an
established prejudice, to engage in commercial transactions with
foreigners.
When the ingenuity of the French and German artists enabled the
speculators in this traffic to introduce _works of fancy_, we learn from
Tavernier, who made six several journeys, between the years 1645 and
1670, from France to India, by various routes, that the Rajahs of
Hindostan and of the Deccan, as well as the Mahomedan princes of those
countries, admitted him into their states; that the articles of
manufacture which he introduced were received and purchased with an
avidity which encouraged him to continue, for so many years, the pursuit
of that commerce; that he found the natives of India, spread over the
whole range of country from the Indus to the Caspian Sea, engaged in the
active prosecution of foreign traffic; and that the number of _Banyans_
(the chief commercial cast of Hindoos) at that time established at
Ispahan, were not less than ten thousand. Forster, who, in a more recent
period, followed Tavernier in one of the routes which he had traversed,
informs us, that, in the year 1783, he found Banyans established at
Astrachan, within the Russian empire. And we further learn from Bruce,
that the principal agents of commerce at Mocha and Jedda, in the Red
Sea, were Banyans; and that they had even extended themselves into
Abyssinia. No stronger evidence, therefore, can be required to make it
manifest, that foreign as well as internal trade has been in all ages,
and still continues to be at the present day, a common practice, and a
favourite pursuit of the Hindoos.
2. With regard to the restrictive operation of the religious prejudices
and customs of the Hindoos, against the adoption of foreign articles of
manufacture; Mr. Colebrooke, lately a Member of the Supreme Council, and
an eminent Oriental scholar, has furnished us with information upon this
subject, equally important and decisive. In an unpublished work, on the
Agriculture and Commerce of Bengal, cited in _The Edinburgh Review_, for
November 1812, that gentleman observes, that, according to the
sentiments of the Hindoos, "All things come _undefiled_ from _the
shop_;" or, in the words of Menu, "The hands of an artist employed in
his art are always pure; and so is every vendible commodity when exposed
to sale: that woollens are purified by a single exposure to air, while
water is necessary to purify other clothes." Proceeding with these
principles, he further informs us, "That the rainy season and winter of
India afford real occasion for the use of woollens; that the fabrics of
Europe are always preferred; and, if the articles were adapted in the
manufacture to the Indian use, and the price reduced, the consumption
would descend from the middle even to the more numerous classes. That
the natives of India do not want a taste for porcelaine, and other
elegant wares; that they require vast quantities of metallic vessels,
and of hardware; that, considering the greatness of the population, and
the disposition of the natives to use European manufactures, it cannot
be doubted, that a great vend might be found, and that the demand will
increase with the restoration of wealth."
The authority of Mr. Colebrooke on this subject would be conclusive,
even if it stood alone: but it may be supported by a reference to the
opinion of many persons, who have been resident in the great cities of
India. Those persons would be found to testify, that at Delhi, at
Lucknow, at Hydrabad, Mysore, and Tanjore, in all the capitals, whether
Hindoo or Mahomedan, a taste prevails amongst the natives for a variety
of articles of European manufacture. The late Nabob of Oude, was known
to have affected the European dress; as may be seen by the costume of
his picture, in the possession of the Marquis Wellesley.
A large assortment of cut glass lustres has been provided by order, for
the Soubahdar of the Deccan; and a person is now proceeding to India,
with the license of the Company, for the express purpose of arranging
them, when they shall have reached his palace of Hydrabad.
The Rajah of Mysore (and, in the same manner, many of the Serdars of
that state), is frequently clothed in scarlet cloth; his servants are
generally dressed in woollen of that colour; and he often travels in an
English carriage, driven by postillions, who are habited in the English
costume. The Rajah of Tanjore exhibits in his palace a colossal marble
statue of himself, wrought by the hand of Flaxman; and the monument of
his revered Mentor, the late celebrated missionary Swartz, sculptured by
the same eminent artist, was executed and sent to Tanjore, at the
express and urgent desire of that enlightened Prince.
We must further observe, that so far are the religious and civil habits
of the Hindoos from obstructing the intercourse of trade, that their
policy has connected trade with religion; and the great festivals of
their worship, are at the same time the appointed periods and scenes of
their most active commerce. Jaggernaut, Ramisseram, Tripetty, are the
most celebrated places of Hindoo devotion within the British dominions;
and every one who has resided in India must know, that _fairs_ are held
at those places at the periods, when the greatest concourse of pilgrims
is drawn to them by the celebration of their religious rites and
ceremonies. In further illustration of the disposition of the natives to
traffic, in every way by which profit can be derived, the following fact
may be stated; which can be attested by every officer who served with
the army under Sir Arthur Wellesley (now Marquis of Wellington), against
the Mahrattas, in 1803. The distant and severe service in which that
army had been engaged, had exhausted the store of European necessaries
with which it had advanced against the enemy; and the officers arrived
at Poonah, almost destitute of those comforts and accommodations. But
they found the native merchants of that capital provided with the most
essential of those several articles, and they were soon supplied,
through the agency of those merchants, with every thing for which they
had occasion. Poonah is the capital of a Brahmin government; and,
therefore, this single fact would serve to furnish a complete answer to
every thing that has been asserted, against the practicability of
introducing and extending the manufactures of Europe into every part of
Hindostan.
3. That the poverty of a large majority of the native subjects of our
Indian Empire is such, as to disable them from acquiring our
manufactures, is certainly true; but it is no less true, that a very
considerable portion of that population possess the means of indulging
in every article of convenience and luxury, both native and European. It
has been very generally stated, that there are only _two_ classes of
people in India, the very rich and the very poor. But a minute
investigation into the society of India, would discover the error of
this statement, and would show, that there exists a third and _middle_
class, far removed from the condition of either of the others; greatly
exceeding in number the former of these, and falling far short of the
latter. This class, as they certainly possess the means, would, if
proper steps were taken, materially contribute to the demand and
consumption of many of our home manufactures.
4. With respect to the evidence, attempted to be drawn from the ill
success of the Portuguese and Dutch traders, we are to observe, that the
situation of the Portuguese and the Dutch, during the period when they
were in possession of the European trade with India, was so exceedingly
different from that of the British nation at the present moment, that it
is scarcely possible to draw a sound comparison between them. The native
Governments were at that time powerful; and the establishments of the
Portuguese, and afterwards of the Dutch, extended but a short distance
from the sea-coast; the manufactures of Europe were, in a manner, in
their infancy; and neither Portugal nor Holland were manufacturing
countries. Whereas, the British empire is now established over the
richest and most populous regions of India, and its influence is
extended even further than its dominion; the manufactures of the United
Kingdom have attained a degree of perfection, which never has been
equalled; they can be fashioned to the tastes, the wants, and the
caprices of every nation and climate; and certainly, the interests of
the country call for the cultivation of every channel, which can be
opened for the enlargement of our commerce.
We cannot better conclude these observations, than by applying the
circumstantial evidence which they afford, to Mr. Dundas's letter of the
2d April 1800; in which that Minister admitted the fact, of a
_progressively increasing_ consumption; but, at the same time,
conceived, that the _customs of the natives_ would prescribe _limits_ to
its extension. "I do not mean to say," says he, "that the exports from
this country to India have not been _very considerably increased of late
years_; and I make no doubt that, from recent circumstances, _they may
be still considerably increased_. But the prospect, _from the causes I
have already referred to_, must always be a limited one." What these
causes are he thus explains:--"The export trade to India can never be
extended to any degree, proportionate to the wealth and population of
the Indian Empire; neither can the returns upon it be very profitable to
individuals. Those who attend to _the manners_, _the manufactures_,
_the food_, _the raiment_, _the moral and religious prejudices of that
country_, can be at no loss to trace _the causes_ why this proposition
must be _a true one_."
The evidence which has been produced demonstrates, that neither the
manners, raiments, nor prejudices of Hindostan, are of a nature to
impede the introduction of articles of European manufacture; and it thus
proves, that _the causes_ assigned for the limitation of our export
trade, are not calculated to impose any such limitation. What, then, it
may be asked, are the causes, why the consumption of the manufactures of
Europe in India has in no degree kept pace with the extension of our
territories, and of their population? The examination of this branch of
our subject would carry us to too great a length on the present
occasion, and will therefore best be reserved for a separate
communication.
GRACCHUS.
LETTER IX.
댓글 없음:
댓글 쓰기