1 OF THE PUNJAUB. 89
2 they invariably sell in pairs) of the most costly
3 shawls.at no less than 7007. Von Hiigel esti-
4 mates the expense of a tolerably fine pair at
5 2001. This of course refers only to the cost of
6 production, and bears no proportion to the sums
7 paid in England or India for the best offspring of
8 the Kashmir loom.
9 As the arms made by Kashmirian workmen at
10 Lahore are superior to the handicraft of the Pun-
11 jaub, it may easily be conceived that those manu-
12 factured in the valley of Kashmir itself are of a
13 still superior order to the products of Lahore.
14 It is more particularly in the casting, boring,
15 polishing, and staining gun and pistol barrels,
16 that the Kashmirian artisans excel; but their
17 sword-blades are likewise of a good quality.
18 Nor is it to these works alone that Kashmirian
19 ingenuity is confined. Their lackered ware and
20 jewellery, their leather, their polished paper, and
21 aromatic oils, all claim attention for their pecu-
22 liar beauty and superior quality. Nevertheless
23 the commerce is insignificant in extent, for Sikh
24 tyranny and misgovernment have in a measure
25 blighted the efforts of the artisan.
26 The transit of goods from countries beyond the
27 Indus to Hindostan, and vice versd, forms a larger
28 source of mercantile revenue than the returns
29 upon the home manufactures upon the country.
30 But in this respect also the paralyzing effect of
31 internal disturbance has been felt, and the want