CHAPTER XLII. THE MAHARAJA AND THE RESIDENT. INTERVIEW WITH RANBIR SINGH HIS FATHER A FISH-TRANSMIGRATION THE MAĦARAJA'S ALLEGED MISRULE-HIS IMPROVEMENTS— SERICULTURE-SHAWLS-COL. GARDINER-NIGHTS AT THE RESIDENCY-AN AFGHAN ABDIEL-CHARACTER OF LE POER WYNNE— HIS EARLY DEATH-THE ABHORRED SHEARS THE TRUE CONSOLATION OF FAME. THE Resident at Srinagar procured me a private audience of the Maharaja Ranbir or Runbir Singh, which was given in a balcony, overhanging the river, of his city palace, within the precincts of which there is a temple with a large pagoda-like roof that is covered with thin plates of pure gold. His Highness is reputed to be somewhat serious and bigoted as regards his religion. It was mentioned in the Indian papers a few years ago, that the Gúrús having discovered that the soul of his father, Golab Singh, had migrated into the body of a fish, Ranbir Singh gave orders that no fish were to be killed in Kashmír, though fish is there one of the great staple articles of food among the poorer classes. The edict, however, was calculated to cause so much distress, that the Gúrús, after several years, announced that the paternal spirit had taken some other form. I never heard this story contra dicted; and it affords a curious instance of the reality of the belief in transmigration which exists in India. As the character of these transmigrations, and the amount of suffering and enjoyment which they involve, is considered to depend on the good or evil conduct of preceding lives, and especially of those which are passed in a human form, such a belief would be calculated to exercise an important influence for good, were it not for the sacrificial theory which attaches so much importance, as good works, to sacrifices to the gods, and to gifts to their priestly ministers; and its beneficial effect is also lessened by the tendency of the Indian mind to assign an undue value to indiscriminate acts of charity such as often do harm rather than good. It is curious to think of a Maharaja looking from his balcony beside his golden temple into the waters of the Jhelam, and wondering whether his royal father is one of the big or of the little fishes floating about in its stream or in some adjacent water. Some visitors to Kashmír have blamed its ruler severely for the condition of the country-as, for instance, Dr Adams, who says: "It is vain, however, to hope that there can be any progress under the present ruler, who, like his father, is bent on self-aggrandisement." This, however, is entirely opposed to the substance of many conversations I had on the subject with Mr Wynne, who seemed to regard his Highness as one of the very few honest men there were in the country, sincerely anxious for the welfare of its inhabitants; and he mentioned to me various circumstances which supported that conclusion. Without going be * Wanderings of a Naturalist in India. By A. L. Adams, M.D. Edinburgh: 1867. P. 296. yond diplomatic reserve, he said it was only to be hoped that the Maharaja's sons would follow their father's example. I do not profess to see into a millstone farther than other people, but may say that the little I saw of this prince conveyed a superficial impression quite in accordance with Mr Wynne's opinion. He seemed an earnest, over-burdened man, seriously anxious to fulfil the duties of his high position, and heavily weighed down by them; but it can easily be conceived how little he can do in a country which has been for time immemorial in so wretched a state, and how much reason he may have for wishing that he were expiating his shortcomings in the form of a fish. And it should not be forgotten that this prince was faithful to us, and in a very useful manner, at the time of the great Indian Mutiny; for he sent six battalions of infantry, two squadrons of cavalry, and a battery of guns, to assist us at the siege of Delhi; and, by this, considerable moral support was afforded at the moment to the British Raj. I met, going down to the Jhelam, a Kashmír regiment which had been at the siege of Delhi, and the officer in command spoke with some pride, but by no means in a boasting or offensive way, of his having fought along with English troops. Among the improvements introduced by Ranbir Singh are those in the administration of justice and the manufacture of silk. The Chief-Justice of the Court of Srinagar is an educated native, I think from Bengal, who was well spoken of—and, absurdly enough, is in charge of the silk department also. He has been at pains to make himself acquainted with the breeding of silk-worms and the spinning of their cocoons, as pursued in other countries, and has turned this knowledge to good account in Srinagar. One pleasing and extraordinary innovation which he has been able to introduce is that of inducing children and others of the Brahman caste to engage in the spinning of silk. Anything like such an occupation has hitherto been considered as degrading, and forbidden to Brahmans, and has not been entered on by those even in such advanced Indian cities as Calcutta and Bombay. It shows a curious way of managing matters that the Chief-Justice of Srinagar should also be the head of the silk department; but such is, or at least very lately was, the case; and under his management sericulture has been improved and developed. In 1871, the Maharaja set apart £30,000 for the development of this branch of industry, and part of the sum was expended on the construction of buildings in which an equal temperature could be maintained for the silkI saw the process of extracting and winding the silk in the factory beside Srinagar: it was skilfully conducted, and the threads produced were remarkably fine and perfect. The mulberry-trees of Kashmír have hitherto enjoyed exemption from disease and injury from insects, so that the prospects of this production are very good, and a commencement has been made in weaving the silk into cloth. The whole production is a monopoly of Government; but it gives increasing employment to a considerable number of persons, on what, for Kashmír, are good wages. In 1872 the quantity of dry cocoons produced amounted to 57,600 lb., and the resulting revenue was estimated at 124,000 chilki rupees, a portion of it, however, being required for the improvements which were made. worms. The famous shawls of Kashmír are now somewhat at a discount in the world, except in France, where they still form a portion of almost every bride's trousseau, and where, at least in novels, every lady of the demimonde is described as wrapped in un vrai Cachemere, and wearing a pair of Turkish slippers. France alone takes about 80 per cent of the Kashmír shawls exported from Asia; the United States of America take 10, Italy 5, Russia 2, and Great Britain and Germany only 1 per cent each. Of course the late war almost entirely destroyed the shawl trade, but it has for the time being returned to its former state; and, at the period of collapse, the Maharaja humanely made enormous purchases on his own account. The revenue from this source has diminished to at least half what it was some years ago; but still a superior woven shawl will bring, even in Kashmír, as much as £300 sterling; and about £130,000 worth of shawls is annually exported, £90,000 worth going to Europe. The finest of the goat's wool employed in this manufacture comes from Turfán, in the Yarkand territory; and it is only on the wind-swept steppes of Central Asia that animals are found to produce so fine a wool. The shawl-weavers get miserable wages, and are allowed neither to leave Kashmír nor change their employment, so that they are nearly in the position of slaves; and their average wage is only about three - halfpence a-day. Nearly all the English visitors had left Kashmir before I reached that country, and this gave me more opportunity of enjoying the society of Mr Le Poer Wynne, of whom I may speak more freely than of other Indian officials who remain. Two or three officers, on their way out of the valley, appeared at the |