Again the progress of science and civilization has removed immense barriers that previously existed, and railways, steamers, post and telegraph have rendered possible for us, if not comparatively easy, what was before only within the reach of miraculous manifestations of Divine Power.
Furthermore, the land is there, plenty of it, for centuries to come, some of it across the seas, within easy reach of our steamers, but a great deal of it quite close at hand. Nor will it be necessary to dispossess others to occupy it. The only enemies that will have to be faced are the wild beasts, always ready to beat a retreat when man appears. It does not even belong to some different nationality or Government, jealous of our encroachments, but is the property of the same Power to whom these destitute multitudes are looking for their daily bread.
Hence it is impossible to imagine circumstances more favorable than those which already exist in India at the moment that General Booth's scheme is placed before the public, towards the carrying out on an enormous scale, hitherto never dreamt of, the portion of his projects referred to in the present chapter.
What I would propose is that a considerable section of waste Territory should be assigned to us and placed at our disposal in some suitable part of India, upon which we could plant colonies of the destitute, similar in many respects to those already described, save that we should here carry out on a wholesale scale what elsewhere we should be doing by retail. Into this central lake or reservoir all our scattered streams would empty themselves, till it was so far full that we should require to repeat the process elsewhere. Beginning with a single social reservation in some specially selected district, we should easily be able to repeat the experiment elsewhere on an even larger scale profiting as we went along by our accumulated experience.
From the first, however, I should suppose that it would be preferable to carry out the manoeuvre on as large a scale as possible, for the reason that this is just one of those things which will be found easier to do wholesale than retail.
We have many illustrations of this in business. The merchant who amasses a colossal fortune will perhaps scarcely spend an hour a day in superintending the working of an establishment that covers half an acre, while the poor retail shopkeeper over the way toils from early morning to late at night and is scarcely able then to earn a bare subsistence for the support of his family.
Compare again the labour and profits of a boatman in Bombay Harbour, with those of the owner of an ocean going steamer. The former toils day and night at the peril of his life and earns but little, while the latter rests comfortably at home and enjoys a handsome income.
Or again let the village hand-loom weaver be pitted against the Bombay Mill-owner, and we see at a glance that under certain circumstances it pays infinitely better to do things on a large than on a small scale, and that in so doing the amount of labour and risk are also economised.
Now this applies to the proposal contained in this chapter. Given a people who are well acquainted with Indian agriculture and who are willing to be moved;—given a leader and an organisation in which they have confidence;—given those religious and moral influences which will so help them in overcoming the initial difficulties of the enterprise; and given a suitable tract of country which (without displacing existing population) they can occupy, and I would say with confidence that it will be found easier to accomplish the transfer on a large than on a small scale, by wholesale rather than by retail.
In the present case all the above conditions are satisfied. The entire congested labor of the rural districts is thoroughly versed from childhood in the arts of Indian agriculture. They are willing in many parts of the country to emigrate by thousands even across the "kala pani," to which they have such an intense and religious aversion, or to enlist by thousands in our merchant marine and military forces. Much more then will they be willing to emigrate in far larger numbers to districts close at hand. A leader to inspire, an organisation to enfold, and a plan of campaign to guide, have in the most marvellous manner almost dropped from the skies since the publication of General Booth's book. The religious and moral restraints and incentives, so important for guarding against the abuses of selfishness and for inspiring with a spirit of cheerful self-sacrifice, are provided, and that in a purely Native garb, and yet with all the advantages of European leadership and enthusiasm. And finally there is land in abundance which Government desires to see colonised, and which is being slowly retailed out bit by bit in a manner altogether unworthy of the urgent necessities of the occasion.