drought.  If  the  drought  be  intense  or  widespread,
famine  occurs,  mainly  among  the  agricultural
classes.  Such  famines  have  happened  in  all  cen-
turies, though  naturally  they  have  been  recorded  and
observed  more  carefully  in  the  nineteenth  century
than  in  any  other.  Towards  the  end  of  the  eight-
eenth century  there  was  dreadful  distress  from  this
cause  on  several  occasions,  notably  in  Bengal  about
the  year  1770.  From  1800  to  1872  drought  with
distress  more  or  less  approaching  to  famine  occurred
in  thirty-three  different  years ;  affecting  not  of  course
the  whole  Empire  but  parts  of  it  here  and  there.
This  frequency  of  recurrence  has  served  as  a  warn-
ing to  the  Government.  Up  to  this  time  the  pro-
vincial authorities  dealt  with  the  distresses  as  best
they  could  with  assistance  from  the  Central  Govern-
ment. In  1874  a  still  graver  case  occurred  in  Be-
har  and  parts  of  Bengal,  and  the  Government,
under  the  direction  of  Lord  Northbrook,  then  Gov-
ernor-General, accepted  the  responsibility  of  apply-
ing all  its  resources,  financial  and  administrative,
to  saving  of  life  from  famine.  This  was  effected
with  entire  success,  and  at  great  cost.  In  1877  a
similar  calamity  befell  Southern  and  Western  India.
The  same  measures  were  adopted  and  at  equal  cost,
though  the  success  was  not  quite  so  full,  because
epidemic  sickness  supervened  upon  famine.  A  still
more  widespread  famine  occurred  in  Northern,  Wes-
tern and  Southern  India  in  1896-7.  The  calamity
was  encountered  in  the  same  manner  and  with  a


THE  LANDED  INTERESTS.  1Q9

large  degree  of  success  on  the  whole.  The  gigantic
efforts,  put  forth  on  these  really  awful  occasions
by  the  Foreign  rulers  to  save  their  people,  must  have
made  an  indelible  impression  on  the  mind  of  the
Natives.
