ABSTRACT
Emporia of commerce must grow of themselves, and cannot be called suddenly into existence by the fiat of the wisest autocrat. Calcutta monopolizes the commerce, not only of Lower Bengal, but of the entire river-systems of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra. Bombay is the sole outlet for the products of Western India, Gujarat, the Deccan, and the Central Provinces; Kardchi performs a similar office for the valley of the Indus; and Rangoon for that of the Irawadi. The growth of their prosperity is an index of the development of Indian commerce. The internal trade of India greatly exceeds her foreign internal commerce; but it is impossible to estimate its amount. A successful venture made the fortune of all concerned, but trade was a lottery, and not far removed from piracy. The long Indian coast, both on the east and the west, is dotted with decaying villages which were once the busy scenes of those nations' early European trade.
