Page:Younghusband - Kashmir.pdf/214

 158 THE HISTORY OF KASHMIR

many centuries of misgovernment, and especially of the harsh, cruel rules of the Afghans and Sikhs, His officials were accustomed to the old style of rule and knew no better. In the early ’sixties cultivation was decreasing; the people were wretchedly poor, and in any other country their state would have been almost one of starvation and famine ; justice was such that those who could pay could at any time get out of jail, while the poor lived and died there almost without hope. There were few men of respectable, and none of wealthy appearance; and there were almost prohibitive duties levied on all merchandise im- ported or exported. By the early ‘seventies some slight improvement had taken place. The labour- ing classes as a general rule were well fed and well clothed, and fairly housed. Both men and women were accustomed to do hard and continuous labour, and it was obvious that they could not do this and look well unless they were well nourished. Their standard of living was not high, but they certainly had enough to eat. And this is not surprising, for a rupee would buy 80 to 100 lbs. of rice, or 12 lbs. of meat, or 60 Ibs. of milk. Fruit was so plentiful that mulberries, apples, and apricots near the villages were left to rot on the ground. And