72 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
Whatever may have been the merits of the Imperial system of Government from the military, political, legislative, or administrative points of view, it is a melancholy fact that as a system of finance it proved unequal to the strain imposed upon it. From its very start it suffered from the fatal disease of financial inadequacy, and it was only occasionally that the efforts of the Finance Ministers were successful in restoring an equilibrium and staving off the hour of crisis. How chronic the deficits were may be seen from the following figures :— [1]
I NSUFFICIENCY O F I MPERIAL F INANCES
| Year | Surplus | Deficit | Year | Surplus | Deficit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1834-35 35-36 36-37 37-38 38-39 39-40 40-41 41-42 42-43 43-44 44-45 45-46 | £ … 1,441,513 1,248,224 780,318 … … … … … … … … | £ 194,477 … … … 381,787 2,138,713 1,754,852 1,771,603 1,346,011 1,440,259 743,893 1,496,865 | 1846-47 47-48 48-49 49-50 50-51 51-52 52-53 53-54 54-55 55-56 56-57 57-58 | £ … … … 354,187 415,443 531,265 424,257 … … … … … | £ 971,322 1,911,986 1,473,225 … … … … 2,044,117 1,707,364 972,791 143,597 7,864,222 |
Anyone who ponders upon this pitiable story of Indian Finance as revealed by these deficits can hardly fail to wonder with Disraeli who remarked in the House of Commons that—
“able as has ever been the administration of India, considerable and distinguished as have been the men whom that administration had produced, and numerous as have been the great Captains, the clever diplomatists, and able administrators of large districts with whom the Government has abounded, the v state of the finances of India has always been involved in perplexity, and India that has produced so many great men, seems never to have produced a Chancellor of the Exchequer.” [2]
1 From the Financial Statement of British India for 1860-1 by Mr. Wilson. H. of C Return 33 of 1860, p. 100.
2 Sir Charles Woods’ Administration, by West, pp. 65-6.