---

Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 4, p. 162.

162 THE iVDIAN EMPIRE [CHAP. rural rates now amount to about 3- crores, and some portion of this was already paid in I860 in the form of voluntary and other cesses. The rural rates are included in the general accounts, and practically the only taxation outside those accounts is that levied for municipal government. Expiana- Apart from the growth of the revenue, it may occasion surprise tion of the that the total (about 85,000oo,ooo in 1904-5) should exceed half larg -total revenue. the amount of the Imperial receipts in so wealthy a country as the United Kingdom. But in making a comparison between India and England there are several circumstances of great importance to be taken into consideration. The population of British India is more than five times that of the United King- dom, and the Indian accounts include the figures of eight large Provinces, each of which is a kingdom in itself. The Govern- ment of India performs many functions outside those which ordinarily fall to the state in England. In addition to govern- ing the people, it holds in large parts of the country the position of a landlord; it is also a great proprietor of railways, irrigation works, and forests, and a manufacturer of salt and opium; it provides a large portion of the expenditure on national educa- tion and medical relief; and it undertakes many duties which in England are performed by private persons or bodies. Fur- thermore, it must be remembered that, apart from the 32 crores of municipal rates, the Imperial accounts of India include, as stated above, practically the whole extent of taxation, while in the United Kingdom the local rates form a heavy addition to the general burden. But India could not have afforded her present scale of expenditure were it not that she is fortunate in deriving more than half her income from sources other than taxation. The land revenue, the largest item of all, represents a charge on agricultural profits which would in Western coun- tries be appropriated by private landlords, and the fact that in India it is paid to the Government does not alter its nature. A large but varying sum is derived from opium consumed in China; and the forests, the railways, the irrigation works, the post office, the telegraphs, and the mints all contribute their quota. The direct taxation of the Mughal empire, raised as it was from a smaller population and cultivated area, and when the purchasing power of the rupee was considerably higher than it is now, was heavier than that now levied by the Indian Government . See on this subject Hunter's Indian Empire (3rd edition>, pp. 357 and 547; Mr. Stanley Lane Poolc's Awrangzeb Rulers of India series), chap. vii; and chap. vii of the present volume.