1 REVIEW BY SECTIONS.
2 PUNJAB MINES.
3 Cost of excavation,
4 REPORT ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE NORTHERN INDIA
5 _ And the statement “that follows shows the cost of exca-
6 vation of salt at the Mayo Mines for the same periods: —
7 «
8 * Your Quantity of salt Cost of excava- Rate per 100
9 excavated. tion. maunds,
10 Ded
11 Mds. ; Rs. : Bs. a. p.
12 1891-92 one ate 19,95,627 61,495 38 1 365
13 1892-93 tee mn 18,02,348 59,105 3 4 563
14 1893-94 wee ven 18,19,233 57,278 3 2 4°50
15 1894-95 ee os 17,19,269 60,919 8 8 & 32
16 Sales and deliveries.
17 The opening balance of stock in the year under review was
18 maunds 5,50,375, maunds 17, 19,269 were excavated, maunds
19 15,96,895 were issued from the mines, and the closing balance
20 was increased to maunds 6,72,749, or more than the opening
21 balarice by maunds 1,22,374. The outturn of weight of salt per
22 100 cubic feet excavated remained the same as in 1893-94, v2z.,
23 135 maunds per 100 cubic feet. The cost per 100 maunds has,
24 however, increased from Rs, 3-4-53$* to Rs. 3-8-8'32. It was
25 stated in last year’s annual report that the rate then paid, viz.,
26 84 pies per cubic foot of space excavated in salt was reported
27 by the Assistant Commissioner to be insufficient to remunerate
28 the miners, owing to the increase of wages in the neighbourhood
29 and the more remunerative employment that the miners
30 were procuring at the Government collieries at Dandot, and
31 that the miners working in the Mayo Mines were discontented
32 and wanted better payment for their work. During the winter
33 the matter was exhaustively enquired into and the facts reported
34 by the Assistant Commissioner having been completely establish-
35 ed, the rate to be paid was raised from February 1895 from 8}
36 pies to 10% pies per cubic foot of salt excavated.
37 17. The total sales and deliveries of Punjab Mines rock
38 salt from all the four depéts in the division for the past four
39 years are displayed in the following statement :—
40 Increase | «
41 Year. . Sales, Deliveries. | decrease over
42 sales.
43 Mds. Mds. Mas.
44 1891-92 ave ae or tee 19,78,498 20,08,973 + 30,475
45 1892-93 ove aes ane one 21,06,441 20,83,686 ~~ 22,765
46 1893-94 eee an ry) “A 20,72,620 20,68,221 —~ 4,399
47 1894-95 ove wee aee see 18,41,408 17,83,646 -- 57,762
48 Decrease in sales and de-
49 liveries,
50 The year just ended has proved to have been a very in-
51 different one for the sale of rock salt; indeed, it would be
52 necessary to go back to 1887-88 before a year could be found
53 —
54 * The statement shows the rate to have been Rs. 3-2-4, but, ore last year’ annual
55 report, the inclusion of maunds 72,695 of unbooked stock, discovered on mbasuring up the
56 balances of past years, lowered the rate to this amount, the payments for the salt actually
57 excavated in 1893-94 being at the rate of Rs. 3-4-53 per 100 maunds,
58 iy
59 ( 12)