The Letters of Gracchus on the East India Question

by William Augustus Miles

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 In an unpublished work, on the Agriculture and Commerce of Bengal, cited in The Edinburgh Review, for November 1812, that gentleman observes, that, according to the sentiments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.