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PREFACE.
PREFACE.
The remarkable reception accorded to General Booth's "In Darkest England and the Way Out," makes it hardly necessary for me to apologise for the publication of the following pages, which are intended solely as an introduction to that fascinating book, and in order to point out to Indian readers that if a "cabhorse charter" is both desirable and practicable for England (see page 19, Darkest England) a "bullock charter" is no less urgently needed for India. In doing this it is true that certain mo
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PART I.
PART I.
I. Why "Darkest India?" II. Who are not the Submerged Tenth? III. The minimum standard of existence IV. Who are the Submerged Tenth? V. The Beggars VI. "The Out of Works" VII. The Homeless Poor VIII. The Land of Debt IX. The Land of Famine X. The Land of Pestilence XI. The White Ants of Indian Society (a) The Drunkard (b) The Opium Slave (c) The Prostitute XII. The Criminals XIII. On the Border Land XIV. Elements of Hope...
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PART II.
PART II.
I. The Essentials to success II. What is General Booth's scheme? III. The City Colony IV. The Labour Bureau V. Food for all—the Food Depôts VI. Work for all, or the Labour Yard VII. Shelter for all, or the Housing of the Destitute VIII. The Beggars Brigade IX. The Prison Gate Brigade X. The Drunkards Brigade XI. The Rescue Homes for the Fallen XII. "The Country Colony"—"Wasteward ho!" XIII. The Suburban Farm The Dairy The Market Garden XIV. The Industrial Village XV. The Social Territory, or Poo
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CHAPTER I.
CHAPTER I.
It is unnecessary for me to recapitulate the parallel drawn by General Booth between the sombre, impenetrable and never-ending forest, discovered by Stanley in the heart of Africa, and the more fearfully tangled mass of human corruption to be found in England. Neither the existence, nor the extent, of the latter have been called in question, and in reckoning the submerged at one tenth of the entire population it is generally admitted that their numbers have been understated rather than otherwise
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CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER II.
Before passing on to consider of whom the destitute classes actually consist, it will be well in a country like India to make a few preliminary remarks regarding the numbers and position of their more fortunate countrymen who have employment of some sort, and are therefore excluded from the category. The entire population of British India, including Ceylon, Burmah, and the Native States amounts according to the Census of 1881 to about two hundred and sixty-four millions. These I would divide int
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CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER III.
What may reasonably be said to be the minimum scale of existence, below which no Indian should be suffered to descend? Fix it as low as you like, and you will unfortunately find that there are literally millions who do not come up to your standard. Pick out your coarsest, cheapest grains, and weigh them to the last fraction of an ounce. Rigidly exclude from the poor man's bill of fare any of the relishes which he so much esteems, and the cost of which is so insignificant as to be hardly worth me
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CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER IV.
By classifying and grading the various orders that constitute Indian Society according to their average earnings, and by considering their minimum, standard of existence, I have sought to prepare the way for a more careful investigation of those who actually constitute the Darkest India, which we are seeking to describe. I have narrowed down our inquiry to the fifty millions, or whatever may be their number, who are either absolutely destitute, or so closely on the border-land of starvation as t
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CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER V.
One of the chief problems of Indian Society is that of beggary. India is perhaps the most beggar-beridden country to be found. Nor would it be possible under present circumstances to pass any law forbidding beggary. In the absence of a poor-law, it is the last resource of the destitute. True it is a plague spot in society and a serious reflection both on our humanity and civilisation, to say nothing of our religious professions, to tolerate the continued existence of the present state of things.
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CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VI.
I should question whether there is a single town or country district in India which does not present the sad spectacle of a large number of men, willing and anxious to work, but unable to find employment. Moreover, as is well known, they have almost without exception families dependent upon them for their support, who are necessarily the sharers of their misfortunes and sufferings. There is one district in Ceylon, where deaths from starvation have been personally known to our Officers, and yet t
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CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VII.
On this question I do not propose to say much, not because there is not much that could be said, but because in a climate like India it is a matter of secondary importance as compared with food. The people themselves are comparatively speaking indifferent to it. The "bitter cry" of India if put into words would consist simply of "Give us food to fill our stomachs. This is all we ask. As for shelter, we are content with any hovel, or willing to betake ourselves to the open air. But food we cannot
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CHAPTER VIII.
CHAPTER VIII.
One of the darkest shadows on the Indian horizon is that of debt. A drowning man will snatch at a straw, and it would surely be inhuman for us to find much fault with the unhappy creatures who constitute the submerged tenth for borrowing their pittance at even the most exorbitant rates of interest in the effort to keep their heads above water. I have no desire here to draw a gloomy picture of the Indian Shylock. In some respects I believe him to be a decided improvement on his European and Jewis
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CHAPTER IX.
CHAPTER IX.
Any review of Darkest India would be incomplete without some mention of the widespread and calamitous famines which periodically devastate the country and which reappear from time to time with terrible certainty. In a country where so large a proportion of the population is agricultural, and where the poor are almost entirely paid in kind, the failure of a single crop means the most terrible scarcity and privation for those who even in time of plenty live at best but a hand-to-mouth existence. A
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CHAPTER X.
CHAPTER X.
Happily a description of English destitution does not call for any reference to plagues, such as those which annually or at least periodically, devastate India, and that with such certainty that their presence has come to be regarded, almost with indifference, as a matter of course, or at least of necessity. Indeed we suppose that some would even look upon it as a Divinely ordained method for reducing the population. True, that in Europe the matter is regarded in a very different light. Public o
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CHAPTER XI.
CHAPTER XI.
Hitherto our description of the Submerged Tenth has concerned those who may be styled principally the children of misfortune, and who in their struggle for existence have resort to means which are indeed desperate in their nature, but against which no moral objection can be raised. General Booth next calls attention to another great section of the Submerged Tenth who have found a temporary shelter or asylum in the temple of Vice,—those who either trade upon the sins of society, or are the misera
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CHAPTER XII.
CHAPTER XII.
The most recent report of the Indian Government informs us that there are now no less that 737 Jails in British India (exclusive of Native Territory), with an average population of 75,922 prisoners. In the course of last year in the Bombay Presidency alone no less than 76,000 criminals were convicted, while 152,879 were placed on trial before the various courts. In the whole of India the number of annual convictions amount to upwards of one million, while the number who appear before the Court a
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CHAPTER XIII.
CHAPTER XIII.
Besides the 25,000,000 who constitute the actual destitute and criminal population, we estimate that at a very low computation there are 25,000,000 who are on the border-land, who are scarcely ever in a position to properly obtain for themselves and for their families the barest necessities of existence. I do not say that they are wholly submerged, but they pass a sort of amphibious existence, being part of the time under water and part of the time on land,—some part of their life being spent in
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CHAPTER XIV.
CHAPTER XIV.
The picture which I have endeavoured to paint in the foregoing pages is dark enough to strike despair into the hearts of the most sanguine. And if there were indeed no way of escape for these victims of sin and misfortune, we might well prefer to draw a veil over the sad scene, and to bury in the ocean of forgetfulness, the very recollection of this earthly purgatory. But there are elements of hope in the consideration of this problem, which should prevent us from regarding it despair. 1. In the
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CHAPTER I.
CHAPTER I.
General Booth prefaces his scheme for the deliverance of the submerged by laying down briefly the essentials to success. I cannot do better than quote from his own words. (1) "You must change the man , when it is his character and conduct which constitute the reasons for his failure in the battle of life. No change in circumstances, no revolution in social conditions, can possibly transform the nature of man. Some of the worst men and women in the world, whose names are chronicled by history wit
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CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER II.
His object is to supply the destitute with food, shelter and clothing, to provide them with work and to set them on their feet for making a fresh start in life. With a view to this he proposes to call into existence, a threefold organisation, consisting of self-helping and self-sustaining communities, governed and disciplined on the principles of the Salvation Army. These he calls "Colonies", and divides into (1) The City Colony, (2) The Country Colony, and (3) The Over-sea Colony. All these are
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CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER III.
The first portion of General Booth's threefold scheme consists of the City Colony. This may aptly be compared to a dredger, which, gathers up all the silt of a harbour, and carries it out to sea, leaves it there and then returns to repeat the operation. If such an operation is necessary in a harbour, and if without it the best anchorages in the world would often get choked with rubbish and become useless, how doubly important must it be in the case of the human wastage that abounds in every larg
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CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER IV.
One of the most painful sights with which modern civilisation presents us is the enormous and increasing wastage of valuable human labor. The first step towards remedying this gigantic and alarming evil will be to ascertain its extent. This we propose to do by means of our Labor Bureau. Here all classes of out-of-works will be welcomed, from the respectable well educated intelligent youths, who are being poured out of our colleges by thousands, to the most squalid specimen of a Lazarus that lies
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CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER V.
In England, owing to the severity and uncertainty of the weather, the food and shelter questions go hand in hand. This is not the case in India, where the shelter is not so important as the food, and there is no such urgency in dealing with the former as with the latter. For instance during nine months out of twelve it is not such a very great hardship to sleep in the open air in most parts of India. I have myself done it frequently and so have many of our Officers. It is true that we should not
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CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VI.
But it may next be asked, what we shall do in the case of those who have no money with which to buy their food, even at the reduced rates we would propose? To this we would reply that such will be expected to perform a reasonable amount of work, in return for which they will be given tickets entitling them to obtain food from the depôts just referred to. In order to do this we shall establish labour yards, where we shall provide work of a suitable character for the destitute. This will involve v
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CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VII.
A considerable portion of General Booth's book is devoted to the description of shelters, improved lodgings and suburban villages for the poor. As elsewhere remarked this question is not of such vital importance for India as for England, though the dealing with it is simply a question of time. We would therefore simply refer our readers to the admirable proposals embodied in General Booth's book. It is possible that there may be some who will desire that immediate steps should be taken for the p
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CHAPTER VIII.
CHAPTER VIII.
I now come to a special element of both hope and difficulty in the solution of our Indian Social problem,—The Beggars. Here we have the lowest stratum of the submerged tenth, excluding from them the religious mendicants with whom we are not now concerned. I have classified them as follows:— 1. The blind and infirm. 2. Those who help them and share the proceeds of their begging. 3. Able-bodied out of works. Now I propose to deal with them in a way which will not call for Legislation. In the first
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COLOMBO PRISON GATE HOME.
COLOMBO PRISON GATE HOME.
Picturesquely situated among palm trees in one of the most beautiful suburbs of Colombo, within easy reach of the principal city jail, is our Sinhalese Prisoners' Home. Cinnamon Gardens, as the district is called, forms one of the attractions of Colombo, which every passing visitor is bound to go and see. The beauty of the surroundings must be a pleasant contrast to those dull prison walls from which the inmates have just escaped. Still more blessed and cheering must be the change from the Warde
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JAIL GATE BRIGADE—COLOMBO—ITS RESULTS.
JAIL GATE BRIGADE—COLOMBO—ITS RESULTS.
Prisons. A.—This Return for the preceding month shall be forwarded on 1st or 2nd of each month, by the Officer Commanding Salvation Army, through the Superintendent of the Convict Establishment to the Inspector General of Prisons, with columns 1, 6, 7, and 8, duly filled in. B.—The Superintendent Convict Establishment shall fill in columns 2, 3, 4, and 5, and send on the Return to the Inspector General. 1. Name and age of Prisoner. 2. Nationality and religion. 3. Name of Offence. 4. Length of im
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OUR BOMBAY PRISON GATE BRIGADE.
OUR BOMBAY PRISON GATE BRIGADE.
This work in Bombay was commenced some two years ago at the instance of a leading Parsee gentleman, with a generous subscription of Rs. 1,200. Owing partly to the fact that we have been hitherto unable to secure suitable premises and partly to the entire absence of any assistance on the part of Government, the work in Bombay has been much more uphill and discouraging than in Ceylon. Nevertheless we have persevered in the teeth of all sorts of difficulties, and the results have been very encourag
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LIEUTENANT HIRA SINGH
LIEUTENANT HIRA SINGH
Is a Hindu of the Kshatraya caste. He comes of a soldier race and family, his father having served in the East India Company's army before him, and he having from his youth followed the same profession for the past eighteen years, serving successively as Private, Lance-Corporal, Corporal, and Sergeant in a native Regiment. He went through the last Afghan campaign, having been to Cabul, Quetta, and other places. For many years his conduct was excellent, but latterly he took to drinking, got into
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HARMANIS.
HARMANIS.
"I am a native (Singhalese) of Kalutara in Ceylon. My father was a toddy-drawer. We were very poor. Sometimes my uncles would give me a cent or two for mounting guard to give them warning about anybody's approach while they were slaughtering stolen cattle in the jungles. Once, being very hungry, I climbed up a palm tree to steal cocoanuts, but was caught by the owner and handed over to the police. The magistrate sent me to jail for three weeks. After my release I came to Colombo, and falling in
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PODI SINGHA
PODI SINGHA
This is only one of the many aliases by which he is known. He has been one of the worst thieves and bad characters to be met with even in Colombo, where there is a pretty good assortment of the scum of slumdom. Adopted as an infant by a pious Mahomedan, he was trained up in that religion. But in spite of every effort that was made for his reformation, he rapidly went from bad to worse, till at length he found himself in the hands of the police. His first sentence was twelve months for throwing s
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JANIS
JANIS
Was brought from his village by a Singhalese gentleman when quite a little boy, but, leaving his master, thought he would start life on his own account. He soon became a practised thief. "I always managed to escape," he says, "till one day with some of my companions I robbed a Buddhist temple. I managed to get a silver 'patara' (plate), which we sold for Rs. 24, but was caught and sent to jail." "But you were yourself a Buddhist," said the Captain. "How came you to rob your own temple?" "What of
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CHAPTER X.
CHAPTER X.
Hundreds of habitual drunkards have been soundly converted and reformed in connection with our ordinary spiritual work in India. Probably there are not less than 500 such enrolled in our ranks in this country, and turned into staunch and perpetual abstainers. The terrible nature of the drinks and drugs consumed by the Natives, I have already had occasion to describe, as also the increasingly large number of those who are becoming enchained by the habit. In connection with our present Social Refo
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CHAPTER XI.
CHAPTER XI.
Here again we have made a beginning. It is now a year since the opening of our Home in Colombo, and during that time 52 girls have been received into our Home. Of these 2 have been restored to their friends, 4 are with others—doing well, 23 have turned out unsatisfactory, and 23 are with us in the Home, almost without exception giving evidence of being truly reformed. Heart-rending are the tales which have reached our ears as to the way in which many of them have been decoyed from their homes, a
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CHAPTER XII.
CHAPTER XII.
As has been already explained in the first part of this book, the congested state of the labor market in the agricultural districts is leading to an enormous and increasing immigration of the country population towards the towns, not as a matter of preference, or of choice, but of dire necessity. The object of the Country Colony, as applied to India, will be twofold: 1. It will seek to divert into more profitable channels the steadily increasing torrent of immigration from the villages to the to
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CHAPTER XIII.
CHAPTER XIII.
The connecting link between the City Colony and the Country Colony will be the Suburban Farm. Situated conveniently near to the largest cities, it will serve many important purposes. 1. It will form the channel, or outlet, by which the agricultural portion of the labor overflow in the cities will make its way back to the country. In fact, it will constitute a sort of sluice which will in time act with the same regularity and ease as those which are attached to any reservoir of water, directing t
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CHAPTER XIV.
CHAPTER XIV.
For the Industrial Village we have already before our very eyes an admirable object lesson in the existing organisation and subdivision of an ordinary Indian village. Indeed it is singular how precisely India has anticipated just what General Booth now proposes to introduce in civilized Europe. The village community so familiar to all who have resided in India consists of an independent or rather interdependent, co-operative association which constitutes a miniature world of its own, producing i
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CHAPTER XV.
CHAPTER XV.
Probably the biggest wholesale emigration scheme ever undertaken was that of Israel out of Egypt into Canaan, under the leadership of Moses. The circumstances were so very similar to those with which we are dealing, that I may be excused for referring to them, as they have a direct bearing on the present problem, and may help largely towards its solution. It is said that "History repeats itself" and certainly this is true in regard to the evils that then existed, and we do not see why the remedy
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CHAPTER XVI.
CHAPTER XVI.
I am tempted again to turn to Hebrew history to find a parallel for what would I believe be easily accomplished at an early period in connection with our "Poor Man's Paradise." I refer to what was styled the "City of Refuge." The object of this institution was to provide a temporary shelter for those who had unintentionally killed any one, so that they might escape from "the avenger of blood." If on inquiry it could be proved that the death was purely accidental, the fugitive was entitled to cla
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CHAPTER XVII.
CHAPTER XVII.
(1.) Public Works — While the central idea of the entire system will be that of providing permanent, as contrasted with temporary work for the destitute, there is no reason why the former should not be supplemented by the latter. The great public works which at present afford occasional relief for thousands would still be possible, only provision would be made for the redistribution of the masses of labour thus withdrawn from the ordinary channels as soon as the public work in question was compl
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CHAPTER XVIII.
CHAPTER XVIII.
As in England, so in India, the establishment of a colony over the sea will in the end prove the necessary completion of our scheme for supplying work to the workless. There are sure to be found eventually in overcrowded centres many for whom work at home cannot be found, and for whom vast reaches of unoccupied territories in other lands wait to afford a home. Happily this will not be an immediate necessity in India. Over the extended area occupied by the various races which comprise the Indian
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(1) THE INTELLIGENCE DEPARTMENT.
(1) THE INTELLIGENCE DEPARTMENT.
In connection with our Labor Bureau we shall establish an intelligence department, the duty of which will be to collect all kinds of information likely to be of use in prosecuting our Social Reform. For instance, it would watch the state of the labor market, would ascertain where there was a lack of labor and where a glut, would inform the public of the progress of the movement, would bring to our notice any newspaper criticisms or suggestions, and would generally make itself useful in a thousan
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(2) THE POOR MAN'S LAWYER.
(2) THE POOR MAN'S LAWYER.
This would meet a long-felt want, and could also be worked in connection with the Labor Bureau. The poor would be able to get sound legal advice in regard to their difficulties, and we should be able to help them in their defence where we believed them to be wronged....
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(3) THE INQUIRY OFFICE FOR MISSING FRIENDS.
(3) THE INQUIRY OFFICE FOR MISSING FRIENDS.
This has been established for some time in England with admirable success, our worldwide organization enabling us to trace people under the most unfavorable circumstances. No doubt there would be much scope for such a department in India. At the outset it would form part of the duties of the Labor Bureau, and would not therefore entail any extra expense....
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(4) THE MATRIMONIAL BUREAU.
(4) THE MATRIMONIAL BUREAU.
A thoroughly confidential matrimonial bureau which would wisely advise people desirous of getting married, would certainly be of great service in India. Its operations would no doubt be small in the beginning, but as it got to be known and trusted it would be more and more resorted to. Even supposing that outsiders should hold aloof from it, we should have a large inside constituency to whom its operations would be very valuable, and it would be thoroughly in accordance with native notions for t
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(5) THE EMIGRATION BUREAU.
(5) THE EMIGRATION BUREAU.
The subject of emigration has been already referred to elsewhere. No doubt we shall ultimately require a separate and special office for this purpose in all the chief cities but at the outset its duties would fall upon the Labor Bureau and Intelligence Departments who would collect all the information they could preparatory to the launching of this part of the scheme....
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(6) PERIODICAL MELAS.
(6) PERIODICAL MELAS.
In place of the "Whitechapel by the sea" proposed by General Booth, a suitable Indian substitute would I think consist of periodical "melas" similar to those already prevalent in various parts of the country. These might be arranged with the treble object of religious instruction, bodily recreation, and in order to find an occasional special market for the surplus goods that we produce. Everything would be managed with military precision. The place would be previously prepared for the reception
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CHAPTER XX.
CHAPTER XX.
In order to put the whole of the foregoing machinery into motion on an extensive scale, there can be no doubt that economise as we may, a considerable outlay will be unavoidable. True we are able to supply skilled leadership under devoted and self-sacrificing men and women for a merely nominal cost. True we have Europeans willing to live on the cheap native diet, and to assimilate themselves in dress, houses and other manners to the people amongst whom they live. True that we have raised up arou
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CHAPTER XXI.
CHAPTER XXI.
In proposing at once to deal with the problem of lifting out of the jaws of starvation India's poorest and darkest however impossible it may look to some, we have the immense advantage and encouragement which arises from the fact that General Booth's scheme (which I have followed as closely as the widely differing conditions of Indian society would admit) has already received the all but universal approval of the best and ablest in Europe from the Queen downwards. It has in fact so commended its
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APPENDIX.
APPENDIX.
The Poor Whites and Eurasians. It will doubtless be noticed that I have excluded the consideration of this question from the foregoing pages. This has been decided on, though with considerable hesitation, for the following reasons:— 1. Numerically they are much fewer than the submerged India of which we have been speaking. 2. Influential charitable agencies already exist, whose special duty it is to care for them; any effort on our part to apply General Booth's scheme to them would probably be r
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A MIRACLE OF THE BURNING BUSH.
A MIRACLE OF THE BURNING BUSH.
Another distinctive feature of the book is the extent to which it combines the shrewdest and most practical business capacity with the most exalted religious enthusiasm. The fanatic is usually regarded as somewhat of a fool; no one can read this book through and think that General Booth has the least deficiency in practical capacity, in shrewd common sense and enormous knowledge of men. From one point of view it is easy to be a saint, and it is easy to be a man of the world; the difficulty is to
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THOMAS CARLYLE REDIVIVUS.
THOMAS CARLYLE REDIVIVUS.
It is impossible not to be impressed by the parallel and at the same time by the contrast between General Booth's book and the latter day prophecies of Mr. Carlyle. For forty years and more Mr. Carlyle prophesied unto the men of his generation, proclaiming in accents of deep earnestness, tinged, however, by a bitter despair, what should be done if we were not utterly to perish. I remember the bitterness with which he told me, while the shadows of the dark valley were gathering round him, that wh
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CATHOLICITY—SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS.
CATHOLICITY—SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS.
Another distinctive characteristic of this book is its extraordinary catholicity. In this respect I know no book like it that has appeared in our time. While declaring with passionate conviction the truth and necessity of the gospel which the Salvation Army preaches, there is not one word of intolerance from the first page to the last. It is easy to be broad when there is no intensity of conviction. The liberality of indifference is one of the most familiar phenomena of the day. But General Boot
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A SHIFTY AND RESOURCEFUL MARINER.
A SHIFTY AND RESOURCEFUL MARINER.
General Booth shows himself in the capacity of a bold and shifty mariner who has been ordered to take a ship filled with precious cargo across a stormy and rock-strewn ocean to a distant port. Quicksands abound, cross currents continually threaten to carry the ship from her course, the wind shifts from point to point, now rising to a hurricane and then dying away to a dead calm. But alike by night and day, whether the sky be black with clouds, or bright with radiant sunshine, in the teeth of the
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