British Civil Servant

Chapter 253: Plague can break out

"But then again, is Gandhi's hunger strike over?" Sir Barron said vaguely, the steak in his mouth obviously had a negative effect at this time, and the gravy was left between his teeth, hindering the clarity of the words. sex.

"A week of hunger strikes, plus one meal a day for a month, is probably over." Alan Wilson flashed a thought on his face, took a sip of whiskey and continued, "The good news now is that we have probably already Knowing the extent of the drought, it is already mid-July, and the drought should not expand. This drought mainly affected the upper reaches of the Ganges River, and the Central Province of United Province is the hardest hit area. The precipitation in other places has also decreased compared with previous years. Deccan The plateau was also affected, but the losses were acceptable compared to the north."

"It's all inland. This is good news, and it will help us control the situation." Sir Barron nodded, with a relieved expression, "Like the Great Bengal Famine, in important coastal industrial areas, covering all If you don’t stop, that’s a big deal, as far as the current situation is concerned, it’s fine, and the Deccan Plateau isn’t a big problem, it’s mainly the upper Ganges River.”

What Sir Barron is saying is not much, compared to the drought in the upper Ganges, not the Deccan Plateau.

The great famine in India in 1876 was mainly affected by southern India, and the Deccan Plateau was the first among them. Many photos of the great famine in India in later generations were left over from that famine.

In the eyes of some people, the Deccan Plateau is a plateau, but because it is located in a low-latitude tropical area, the water and heat conditions are very good. It is rich in production; just like the Borophan Plateau in Laos, although it is a plateau, it is the country with the most rice production. granary.

The main thing in the granary is not production but stability, otherwise Punjab would not have become the granary of British India. The climate of most parts of British India is not stable, which has to mention the role of the roof of the world.

For the subcontinent, the Himalayas are a heavenly ladder. Just looking at the straight line distance from the snowy plateau should have been India since ancient times, but in fact, this is the same as the meaning of Siberia in China. A place that can never be reached.

In general, the Governor's Office still maintains an optimistic attitude towards this drought and famine. The book losses are only 200,000 people, most of which are not due to the famine, but the hot temperatures that lead to dehydration, heatstroke and other diseases. .

"Statistically, the numbers of tuberculosis and cholera are too conspicuous." Sir Barron, who was holding the statistics, shook his head and knew the inside story. He just put the death figures caused by famine above the disease, and said solemnly. , "Isn't there an outbreak of plague this year?"

Alan Wilson patted his head, took the report handed over with an apologetic expression, and solemnly assured, "It will explode soon."

Neglect, isn't there still statistical data on the plague? Even in the 21st century, almost all the diseases in the world exist in the Indian subcontinent, including diseases that have long been eliminated by various countries. The plague is just a trivial matter.

Against the background that the plague has been almost eliminated worldwide, there was an outbreak of plague in India in the 1990s.

Thirty patients with similar conditions are admitted to hospitals in the Indian industrial city of Surat. Their symptoms were: high fever, coughing, sneezing and vomiting blood, and soon passed out.

Within half a month, more than a thousand people were hospitalized with this symptom, and then news of the plague outbreak spread like wildfire. In order to avoid this disaster, residents supported the old and the young, and used all available means of transportation to escape the plague-stricken city in a hurry.

Then it was no accident that the plague was brought to the whole of India.

This was the case even in India in the 1990s, and now it is still British India. Plague is quite normal, let alone Sir Barron's commissioner.

Alan Wilson was convinced and quickly stated that the disaster was an order, and it would be too late if the plague broke out.

"That's good. In many backward areas, the prevention and treatment of diseases is still very primitive, which is really worrying." Sir Barron said with a bitter face, "We also want to develop colonies, but people in colonies are generally confrontational. Psychologically, it is not an easy task to help a backward nation..."

"It seems that the next stage of the work of the Governor's Office is to formulate a comprehensive health bill." Alan Wilson, still holding the report, nodded to Sir Barron before leaving the commissioner's office.

The house leak happened to rain overnight. British India was united under the leadership of the Governor's Office. Both the Congress Party and the Muslim League abandoned their differences. When it was as quiet as a chicken, a plague hit, which made the British who had already gritted their teeth. It's worse for India.

This plague came suddenly and violently. Even in the areas where plague outbreaks were recorded decades later, the elderly had no impression of this plague, and only remembered the hunger that year.

When fighting against the drought, it also needs to fight against the plague at the same time, so it is very normal to add an anti-epidemic funding. Now that British India has to supply local needs and fight the disaster and epidemic, there is a slight financial tension.

A few days later, Alan Wilson, who had ordered a few health officials to formulate a health bill, went back and forth to Sir Barron's office, saying that while delivering benefits to the homeland, if the anti-epidemic work is carried out, the financial There will be a little difficulty.

"The plague doesn't exist at all, do you need to get funding?" Sir Barron sneered, but it was only a matter of statistical reports, and Alan Wilson became serious, "What health laws are to be formulated? After independence, let Nehru and the others formulate them. ."

"This is also for the sake of the legacy of the British Empire, my dear sir." Alan Wilson lowered his head and said softly, "Everyone is not afraid of having a job, just that nothing will happen."

"Hmm!" Sir Barron, who heard the overtone, leaned back tactically and nodded to continue.

"Sir, it's not impossible to do anything about financial appropriation." Alan Wilson organized the language, thinking about how to start the persuasion work.

"Issue a bond? This is a colony, not a native land." Sir Barron frowned, he understood the motivation of civil servants to want to work, but what about this? It's really hard to do.

The issuance of public bonds in British India requires approval from London. Even if it is approved by London, as a group of colonists, the independence of British India has now become a consensus, but it is forced by the drought to unite with the Governor's Palace. Is there anyone? Subscription of government bonds is still an unknown.

"Actually, we can print a little bit!" Alan Wilson said that your boss is thinking too much. The production line of the money printing machine on the outskirts of the city is still running, but he has been there. Even the recent consumption in New Delhi is the banknotes he brought out last time. .

Precious metals on the rise? In fact, there is also a part of the credit of Alan Wilson himself, but he was never a greedy person, and he also gave some banknotes to his subordinates in Hyderabad for market experiments.

"Printing money? Do you know that unlimited money printing will eventually lead to economic collapse?" Sir Barron was shocked and shook his head. "If something major happens, London will definitely be held accountable."

"Sir, you're talking about unlimited money printing. We're just trying to get through this, limited money printing. Just equalize the Health Act appropriations. With the size and population of British India , an allocation of no more than 30 crore rupees will not make the situation worse, isn't there a famine cover?"

"Now that the flow of private capital due to the drought is close to freezing, this is also to increase the economic vitality of British India. It is not simply printing money, it is more appropriate to call it quantitative easing."

Alan Wilson, who was categorically rejected by Sir Barron, worked tirelessly to persuade him to explain what quantitative easing was.

Calculated in rupees, the annual tax revenue of British India is already close to 2 billion, and the mere 30 million health allocation will not be discovered by anyone, at least not by the Indians.

Quantitative easing policy increases the supply of base money and injects a large amount of liquidity into the market as an intervention method~www.wuxiaspot.com~ Quantitative easing policy encourages spending and borrowing. Quantitative easing refers to expanding a certain amount of currency issuance, and easing means reducing bank funds. pressure.

Quantitative Easing When the securities of banks and financial institutions are acquired, newly issued coins are successfully put into the private banking system.

Alan Wilson is a restrained gentleman. He will not fish out of the water. The last time he used it for himself, it was only 7 million rupees.

"Ellen, this is a big deal." Sir Barron wanted to veto, but when he thought that this assistant was quite capable, mainly because of the relationship of General Mountbatten's daughter, the veto was still unspoken, just to show the seriousness of the matter. sex.

"Of course, Sir. Our imperial civil servants have always been responsible when defending national interests." Alan Wilson did not mention quantitative easing, but still gave assurances.

"You must be restrained." Sir Barron thought for a long time and finally nodded, asking Alan Wilson to pay attention to the scale to do things.

Alan Wilson nodded, and then left the Governor's Mansion. It was not the first time he went to Dela Rue's banknote printing plant in New Delhi, and he was already familiar with it.

The second time I came here, Alan Wilson was still excited, and he breathed a lot more. It seemed that the air was filled with the smell of money. Anyway, after India becomes independent, it will take back the right to print money. .

This time printing money is to test the waters for the official start of quantitative easing in the future. Alan Wilson will naturally use this method with absolute restraint as promised, and spend all the money on the health bill.

As long as there is no problem this time, when using this weapon in the future, there will be much less opposition.

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