FAMINE IN INDIA.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5730, 25 November 1896, Page 2

FAMINE IN INDIA.

Forty millions; of!" people, the cable* states, are affected! by the scarcity *• of food in. India 3esulting from the failure o£ : the grain crops in that countryy. The sunn of human suffering that isrepresented by this brief statements can hardly, be ; realised. It is tweatyy years since there was such a dearthi in Indian and on; that occasion thoutsands of people perished of starvation^ in spite-of the; fact that the Government distributed three and a half millions starling in. relief worts and in doles of food. There is*, of course, no scarcity of food! in the ■world; and no lack of means to cottrey it to IndSa. The trouble is that the- forty millions of people are dependent; upon agricultural pursuits for a living,, and a cyclic.- dry season having come roun4 they have not the means to purchase the food 1 which ordinarily is yielded 1 as the result of their toil. It is rather humiliating to reflect that, though this scarcity was foreseen eight months ago, adequate steps were not taken to prevent the. acute distress now being felt, and which has led to public subscriptions being raised in Eussia for the relief of the. sufferers. The Indian Government, it is stated by the London Standard, is in a position; to -deal -with the crisis, because, in the first place, the financial situation has of late been fairly hopeful ;. and, secondly, because, the Government has; recently decided to spend a very large sun* — between fourteen and fifteen million ste.rling — during the- next three years ©a railway extensions* In many cases tlsese works will give employment to thousands of distressed labourers without involving any loss to the. Treasury. In every province, too, chere is now a carefully prepared scheme of public works, which can be started whenever there is a risk of famine. "We may reasonably hope that under these circumstances the authorities will take effective steps to alleviate the sufferings of the unfortunate people.