Tempo:
206
^^-
HISTORY OF THE SIKHS
chap, vml
which should at once become the centre oi a vast traffic.^ The treaty of 1834 had placed a toll on boats which used the channels of the Indus and Sutlej, and in 1839 the Sikhs deferred to the changing views of! their allies, and put the duty on the goods themselves,! according to an assumed ad valorem scale, instead ni
on the containing vessels.^ This scheme inevitably gave rise to a system of search and detention, and in
June 1840 the tolls upon the boats were again reimposed, but at reduced rates, and with the omission of such as contained grain, wood, and limestone.^ B t in n) spite of every government endeavour, and of the ad1-: ventitious aid of large consuming armies, the expecta tion of creating an active and valuable commerce by the Indus has not yet been fulfilled; partly because Sind and Afghanistan are, in truth, unproductive countries on the whole, and are inhabited by half-savage races, with few wants and scanty means; and partly because a large capital, has for ages been embarked in the land trade which connects the north of India with the south, which traverses the old principalities of Rajputana and the fertile plains of Malwa., and which gives a livelihood to the owners of numerous herds of camels and black cattle. To change the established economy of prudent merchants must be the work of time in a country long subject to political comm.otion, and the idea of forming an emporium by proclamation savours more of Eastern vanity than of English sense
and soberness.^ Government to Mr. Clerk, 4th May 1840. The establishment of a great entrepot of trade was a main feature of the scheme for opening the navigation of the Indus. (Government to Capt. Wade, 5th Sept. 1836.) 2 Mr. Clerk to Government, 19th May and 18th Sept. 1839, and Government to Mr. Clerk, 20th Aug. 1839. For the agreement itself, see Appendix XXXI. 3 Mr. Clerk to Government, 5th May and 15th July 1840. For the agreement itself, see Appendix XXXII. Subsequently, '
idle discussions occasionally arose
with local authorities, as to
whether lime was included under limestone, whether bamboos were wood, and whether rice was comprehended under the technical term 'grain', which it is not in India. Similarly the limited meaning of 'corn' in England has, perhaps, given rise to the
modern phrase 'bread-stuffs'.
the experiment was repeated in 1846, on the annexation of the Jullundur Doab, when it was hoped, but equally in vain, that Hoshiarpur might suddenly become a centre of exchange. Every part of India bears various marks of the unrealized hopes of sanguine individuals with reference to the expected benefits of English sway, which diffuses, indeed, some moral as well as material blessings, but which must effect its work by slow and laborious means. 4 Nevertheless
hi
^^-
HISTORY OF THE SIKHS
chap, vml
which should at once become the centre oi a vast traffic.^ The treaty of 1834 had placed a toll on boats which used the channels of the Indus and Sutlej, and in 1839 the Sikhs deferred to the changing views of! their allies, and put the duty on the goods themselves,! according to an assumed ad valorem scale, instead ni
on the containing vessels.^ This scheme inevitably gave rise to a system of search and detention, and in
June 1840 the tolls upon the boats were again reimposed, but at reduced rates, and with the omission of such as contained grain, wood, and limestone.^ B t in n) spite of every government endeavour, and of the ad1-: ventitious aid of large consuming armies, the expecta tion of creating an active and valuable commerce by the Indus has not yet been fulfilled; partly because Sind and Afghanistan are, in truth, unproductive countries on the whole, and are inhabited by half-savage races, with few wants and scanty means; and partly because a large capital, has for ages been embarked in the land trade which connects the north of India with the south, which traverses the old principalities of Rajputana and the fertile plains of Malwa., and which gives a livelihood to the owners of numerous herds of camels and black cattle. To change the established economy of prudent merchants must be the work of time in a country long subject to political comm.otion, and the idea of forming an emporium by proclamation savours more of Eastern vanity than of English sense
and soberness.^ Government to Mr. Clerk, 4th May 1840. The establishment of a great entrepot of trade was a main feature of the scheme for opening the navigation of the Indus. (Government to Capt. Wade, 5th Sept. 1836.) 2 Mr. Clerk to Government, 19th May and 18th Sept. 1839, and Government to Mr. Clerk, 20th Aug. 1839. For the agreement itself, see Appendix XXXI. 3 Mr. Clerk to Government, 5th May and 15th July 1840. For the agreement itself, see Appendix XXXII. Subsequently, '
idle discussions occasionally arose
with local authorities, as to
whether lime was included under limestone, whether bamboos were wood, and whether rice was comprehended under the technical term 'grain', which it is not in India. Similarly the limited meaning of 'corn' in England has, perhaps, given rise to the
modern phrase 'bread-stuffs'.
the experiment was repeated in 1846, on the annexation of the Jullundur Doab, when it was hoped, but equally in vain, that Hoshiarpur might suddenly become a centre of exchange. Every part of India bears various marks of the unrealized hopes of sanguine individuals with reference to the expected benefits of English sway, which diffuses, indeed, some moral as well as material blessings, but which must effect its work by slow and laborious means. 4 Nevertheless
hi
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