6 DECEMBER 1873, Page 2

Our great fear still is that the Viceroy, while exerting

himself to the utmost to feed the famine districts, will overlook the human residuum in the distressed districts, with their huge area. There is in every district of Bengal a large class whom a half- crop will slay, literally put to death, and it is this which may be overlooked. We keep hammering at this point, because we be- lieve that it is in the limitation of area alone that the Govern- ment will fail. It can and will do anything in a definite but limited area, but it is certain to dread any dispersion of effort, which will nevertheless be necessary. The people are not to die,. whether in Behar and Rajshahye or not,—that is the first note of the lesson the Indian Government has to learn.