made in the Indian village system, and though it would never have
succeeded without the informing energy and integrity of "sun-dried
bureaucrats" and the countenance given to it by Government, it has had
the cordial support of many capable native gentlemen. It is now only
eight years old, but it has begun to spread with amazing rapidity. The
report of the Calcutta Conference of Registrars last winter showed that
the number of societies of all kinds had risen from 1,357 in the
preceding year to 2,008, and their aggregate working capital from 44
lakhs to nearly 81 (one lakh or Rs.100,000=L6,666). The new movement is,
of course, still only in its infancy, but it is full of promise. The
moneylender, who was at first bitterly hostile, is beginning to realize
that by providing capital for the co-operative banks he can get, on the
whole, an adequate return with much better security for his money than
in the old days of great gains and, also, great losses. One of the
healthiest features is that, notwithstanding the great expansion of the
system, during the last twelve months, the additional working capital
required was mainly provided by private individuals and only a very
small amount by Government. Another hopeful feature is that the money
saved to the peasant by the lower interest he has to pay on his debts
pending repayment is now going into modern machinery and improved
methods of agriculture. The new system appeals most strongly to poor and
heavily indebted villages, and in the Punjab, where the results are
really remarkable, especially in some of the backward Mahomedan
districts, it is hoped, that within a few years nearly half the peasant
indebtedness, estimated at 25 to 30 millions sterling, will have been
wiped off.

Practical education is, however, as urgently needed for Indian
agriculture as for any other form of Indian industry. The selection of
land and of seeds, the use of suitable manures, an intelligent rotation
of crops, the adoption of better methods and less antiquated implements
can only be brought about by practical education, and the demand for it
is one that Government will hear put forward with growing insistency by
the new Councils on which Indian landowners have been wisely granted
the special representation that the agricultural interests of India so
abundantly deserve.

It was the "sun-dried bureaucrat" again who in regard to Indian
industries as well as to Indian agriculture preached and practise