Scrapbook of newspaper cuttings about Afghanistan [‎104ar] (213/312)

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Tho remains of General Sir Thomas Middleton Biddulph,
K.O.B., Keeper of Her Majesty's Privy Parse, were
interred yesterday in a vault in the churchyard of
Clewer, near Windsor. On their arrival from Soot-
land on Friday last, they were deposited at his late
residence at Hensy IIL's Tower, Windsor Castle, where
the funeral cortige formed yesterday morning shortly
after 12, and left in the following order :—First carriage,
Mr. V. M. Biddulph (the son of the deceased), Captain C.
Seymour, Major Seymour, Mr. H. Seymour (brothers of
Lady Biddulph) } second carriage, Kev. Mr. Maude, Lord
Spencer, Lord C. Bruce, Colonel Stirling ; third carriage,
Mr. R. Biddulph, Mr. M. Biddulph, Mr. J. Biddulph, Mr.
0. Maude; fourth carriage. General Parker, General
M'Donald, Captain Bulkeley, Sir Watkin Wynn; fifth
carriage, his Royal Highness the Duke of Connaught, the
Marquis of Lome ; sixth carriage, his Royal Highness
the Duke of Cambridge ; seventh carriage. Lord Bridport,
representing the Queen, and the Right Hon, R. A. Cross.
The following were also present, having been conveyed
direct from the Great Western Railway Station to the
churchyard Sir Dighton Probyn (representing the Prince
of Wales), Lord Colville (representing the Princess of
Wales), Colonel Colville (representing the Duke of Edin
burgh), Lord Hertford (Lord Chamberlain), Lord Sackville,
Lord F. Kerr, Lord Sidney, Sir W. Jenner, Mr, Bell, Sir
J. Cowell, the Hon. A. Yorke (representing Prince
Leopold), Colonel Maude, Colonel Du Plat, Sir H. Elphin-
stone. Lord Alfred Paget. The Hon. C. G. 0. Eliot drove
from Cumberland-lodge to represent Prince Christian.
Lady Biddulph and Miss Biddulph drove direct to the
church and awaited the arrival of the funeral cortige
there,a whioh arrived at the churchyard gates about
1 o'clock, and was met by the choir of St. George's Chapel,
under the direction of Sir George Elvey, Mus. Doc. ; the
Rev. T. M. Everitt, the Rev. E. G. Edwards, and Rev. A.
Tahourdin, Minor Canons; the Hon. and Very Rev.
Gerald Wellesley, Dean of Windsor ; and the Rev. Canon
Carter, Rector of Clewer. The mourners followed the
body to the church in the order given above, Mr. Biddulph
carrying a palm-branch. The procession was joined by
those who had driven to the churchyard, also by Admiral
Sir B. Seymour, Hon. Ponsonby Pane, Hon. and Rev. G.
Anson, Lord Denman, Mr. R. R. Holmes, Rev. St. J.
Blunt, Captain Welsh, Captain Bannister, Dr. Ellison",
Mr. Seabrook, Mr. Howe, M. Calvin ; and the Mayor and
several members of the Corporation of Windsor, and a
large number of officials and Royal servants followed.
The choir sang the introductory sentences, " I am the
Resurrection," by Croft. The service in the church was
read by the Dean of Windsor, and the choir sang the
anthem, " Come unto Him," by Gounod. On the pro
cession being re-formed Lady Biddulph, Miss Biddulph,
Lady Spencer, Lady Charles Bruce, Mrs. Biddulph (of
Chirk), the Hon. Mrs. Wellesley, and the Hon. Mrs.
Ponsonby followed the body to the grave, where the Dean
performed the remainder of the service, the choir singing
the hymn, " When our heads are bowed with woe."
Before the coffin was lowered into the vault a great
number of wreaths and floral devices were placed upon it,
some of them being very beautiful. A large number of
spectators assembled in the churchyard to witness the
ceremony.
ELEGT RIG LI GHTING.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.
Sir,—In your article of this day you refer to the electric
light for illuminating purposes and to the difficulty of
using it for household purposes. I have just been informed
by the American Commissioners that Edison, the inventor
of the phonograph, has succeeded in dividing the electric
light, so as to apply it to the existing gas fixtures at a
considerable reduction in price. Patents are now being
applied for. Yours truly, S. R. TERRAULT.
Paris, Oct. 5.
The following description of Mr. Edison's alleged inven
tion is taken from the New York Sun :—
^ " Mr.^Edison says^ that^ he has discovered how tn •.—1
W i&dta?
TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.
Sir,—I must appeal to your courtesy for the favour of &
little space in which to reply to your correspondent " 0.,"
whose letter is printed in The Times of this morning. " 0."
says that in my paper with the above heading in the current
number of the Nineteenth Century I have " committed the
error of arguing from an English money value at the place
of production upon articles of consumption, the true value
of which is their food sustaining power to the people who
consume them," and he quotes figures from last year'g
report of the Punjab in order to show that what he is
pleased to call my " alarming article " ought in truth to be
very reassuring. Sir, I have committed no such error as
" O " accuses me of, nor anything at all like it. At page
690 of the paper referred to I expressly state that " to
compare one country with another In matters of this kind
is an altogether fallacious test of prosperity, and no stress
whatever ought to be laid on this point." It is upon
Indian values measured in rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. , and upon Indian scales
of diet as measured in tho gaols,that my argument is based.
Neither do I attribute the present lamentable condition of
India solely to the weight of the Government assessment
on the cultivators, I attribute it to the total weight of
taxation and to the economical drain which is steadily
going on, owing to the fact that the rulers of the country
do not live in it. I demur also to the statement that my
article is " entirely based on an assumption that the total
gross produce of India can be accurately measured by a
money value of £277,000,000." I bring forward a great
number of facts and figures, all of which go to show the
increasing impoverishment of the people of India, quite
apart from any calculation of values. But I do say, and I
now repeat, that the estimate of £277,000,000 for tho total
gross value of the agricultural produce of India is made
from the returns for an exceptionally good year, and is
probably largely in excess of the gross value of Indian pro
duce in any year since.
It so chances that " C " has chosen for examination by
tho light of my figures what is on the whole—with the ex
ception of portions of Bengal—the least impoverished pro
vince in India. The total acreage under cultivation is
larger than elsewhere in proportion to the population, and
the soil apparently is better. Comparing, for instance, the
Punjab and the North-West Provinces, both have under
cultivation about 22,000,000 acres; but whereas the popula
tion of the Punjab is only 17,600,000, the population of the
North-West Provinces is not less than 30,700,000. Thus in
the Punjab there is an acre and a quarter under cultivation
per head of population, and in the North-West Provinces
not more than three quarters of an acre. But taking even
this comparatively prosperous province of the Punjab, the
aspect of affairs is by no means satisfactory.
The Government land assessment of £1,905,000 which
your correspondent speaks of must be paid in good years
and in bad years alike, and it must be paid in money. But
this does not represent nearly the amount of produce which
must be sold for money before the ryot begins to eat.
Local cesses, salt, &c., must be provided for as well in
cash, and taking everything into consideration, nearer one-
third than one-sixth of the wheat crop would have to be
exported in a favourable year.in order to meet unavoidable
charges. This, without reference to the action of the native
money-lenders. There would be left, then, for all purposes
4,400,000 acres of wheat, instead of 5,500,000 acres and
the rest of the cultivated area of which " C " speaks.
But the matter is far more complex than this. It is
evident that " C " is not an agriculturist. If he were, he
never could have omitted to deduct a certain proportion
for seed in considering the quantity of food which can be
left for the support of the people. This allowance ought
not to be placed, when waste and damage are reckoned, at
less than 10 per cent.; though I have adopted only 6 per
cent. A reduction of one-tenth (or one-sixteenth) would
therefore have to be made from" O's" standard of
nourishment on this account alone.
A still more important point,however,arises in regard to
the keep of the livestock. "C"does not apparently
know of their existence. Yet there are in the Punjab no
fewer than 6,570,212 bullocks, cows, and buffaloes, 84,000
horses, and 218,000 donkeys. Nearly all these animals are
absolutely necessary for purposes of cultivation. The great
majority of them must be fed somehow out of the produce
of the 21,000,000 acres which "C." has entirely devoted (less
the amount of produce sold to defray taxation, and the
acreage covered by uneatable crops) to the sustenance
of the human beings of the Punjab. Now, Sir, I,
too,know little about agriculture practically, but I believe
there is no doubt that bullocks and horses need a con
siderable extent of land to provide them with food for a
year. There are less than 5,000,000 acres of grazing land
in the whole Punjab, and even this, I am informed, is of
a very poor quality. Consequently, as I say, at least,
6,000,000 of the bullocks, &c., have to be fed out of the
land which " O." has given up entirely to feed the
people. I fear that when they are provided for the
weight of food left per head of population will be some,
thing very different from what " C." estimates. Either
of these two extraordinary oversights about the seed and
the live stock would alone completely vitiate " O.V
calculation} taken together they render it utterly worth-
But a more trustworthy criterion of the condition of
tho cultivators and labourers is at hand than any mere
unchecked statistics could afford. In the high estimate
which I have adopted the agricultural produce of tho
Punjab by itself is taken oa the spot at a value of £2 per
head of population—an amount largely in excess of the
average for all India. " C." will himself admit that the
the Punjab is a fair test of the value of the food, not in
England, but in India. The figures are given most
elaborately in the very report to which " C." refers. The
lowest cost of only feeding a convict in any gaol in tho
Punjab is 14 rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. , the highest is 32 rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. . Rather
more than 13,000 convicts in all cost 260,000' rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. to
feed. The average cost per Jhead was exactly 19r. 6a. 9p.
Their clothing cost per head 4r. 0a. 7p. Thus the feeding
and clothing of a convict last year in the Punjab cost
23 rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. , or roughly, 46s. Making the requisite allow
ance for children under 12 years old, the cost per head
of feeding and clothing the whole population .of the
Punjab out of gaol, on the same scale as the convicts,
would be not less than 343. a head. This leaves in a most
favourable year a margin of only 6s. a head for every
conceivable contingency, including feed of cattle, seed,,re-;
placement of implements, &c., after the gaol rate of,
nourishment is. provided. Even so, no account has been
taken of the fact that the upper classes consume more
than their share per head of the produce. This, therefore,
is the showing for an exceptionally favourable season in
the least impoverished province in India. A melancholy
confirmation of the accuracy of my investigation is to ba,
found in the scarcity, almost reaching to famine, now re-|
ported in the southern districts of the Punjab, The
pressure began before the late floods, and is said to be;
now very sharp. Surely, if " 0.'b "calculations were in, any
way trustworthy, the people would have plenty to fail
back upon after such a good year as the last. But i moat
apologize. Sir, for taking up so much of your valuable 1
space, and I will only say, in conclusion, that the more
closely the circumstances are looked into the more cleariji
will it appear that the plain truth in regard to India ia
really far more " alarming" than any statements coarj
tained in my article. J
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
London, Oct. 5. H. M. HYNDMAN.
Disastbes at Sea .—Yesterday morning the
Norwegian bark Aagat, Captain Neilsen, of Sveede-
strand, from Hudickswall for Santander, was towed into
Portland harbour by the screw steamer Peer of the Realm,
of Newcastle, having met with a serious collision at
3 o'clock on Sunday morning with a bark the name of
which is unknown. The Norwegian vessel is almost a
complete wreck, and but for the buoyancy of her cargo,
timber, must have sunk in a few minutes after the colli-
sion ; as it was, in 20 minutes afterwards she became
completely waterlogged. It appears that at the time named
the Norwegian bark was about 26 miles distant from St.
Catherine's Point, the wind at the time being S.S.W.,
she being close-hauled and heading west on the port tack.
The unknown ship, supposed to be an iron one, struck the
Norwegian bark on the starboard bow, cutting her down
to the water's edge, the force of the blow carrying away
the fore and mizzen masts; in fact,almost every bit of gear.
The crew of the unknown vessel must have been aware of
the serious extent of the collision, those on board of the
Aaga begging the other ship to render them assistance as
the water came pouring in. All their entreaties
were disregarded and the stranger proceeded on her
way, positively refusing to give help. Lloyd's
agent at Constantinople reports the occurrence of
a disastrous collision in the Sea of Marmora on Sunday.
Theteteamer Livonian, belonging to F. Leyland and Co., of
Liverpool, in going up to Constantinople, came into col
lision with the steamer Zoe, supposed to be from Odessa,
and so severe was the blow that the former, although a
large, powerful vessel, was sunk. The other vessel also
received serious injuries, and brought up at Constantin
ople. Fortunately, the disaster appears not to have been
attended with any loss of life. The owners state that the
Livonian had on board from Liverpool, after leaving
Smyrna, about 750 tons of Manchester goods—100 tons
weight for Constantinople, besides 100 tons for tho
Danube, Trebizond, Varna, Poti, and Salonicaf; but they
have no knowledge of any homeward cargo being on board.
The Livonian was a screw vessel, of iron construction,
built in 1874, and her gross burden exceeded 1,500 tons.
The Gkosser Kurfuerst .—The Weser Zeitung
mentions that 145 different schemes for raising the Grosser
Kurfiirst have been received at the German Admiralty.
The task will, in all probability, be intrusted to a picked
body of men told off from tba Garman Navjr*