1 NOVEMBER 1856, Page 2

Herat ceases to occupy a foremost place in the Indian

news ; it sinks, indeed, to a small demonstration in defence of a small place ; but the really important intelligence is economical. Cholera, floods, and other crosses, have cut short the rice crop of the natives in the North ; while the demand for the expoit of rice has continued to increase at an enormous rate, being in 1856 more than double what it was in 1854. A slightly defi- cient crop is said to benefit the cultivator in Bengal, as he gets more money to pay his rent with ; but in some parts of India those natives who have escaped drowning are threatened with starvation.