1 REPORT ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE NORTHERN INDIA
2 REVIEW BYSECTIONS. 67 ; rassi and sajji 1,466, increase 200. As regards saltpetre,
3 INTERNAL BRANCH. crude and refined, beth. Assistant Commissioners agree that
4 good demand and high prices stimulated the production.
5 As regards khari and rassi and sajji, the demands for these
6 products somewhat developed locally in the upper districts of
7 _ the North-Western Provinces ; and (3), in the Lower Provinces
8 of Bengal in 1893-94, refinery licenses, 390; crude saltpetre,
9 40,440; khari, 5,801 ; sajji, 1; in 1894-95, refinery licenses, 402,
10 increase 12,owing to high prices for refined saltpetre in Calcutta;
11 crude saltpetre licenses 38,948, decrease 1,497 owing to pro-
12 longed rain and the damp condition of the soil hindering
13 this open air industry; khari licenses, 5,249, decrease 552, causes
14 the same as in the case of crude saltpetre ; sajji 3, increase 2.
15 ONE eo ea bepreczeae 68. The statement included in this paragraph shows the
16 : ware number of refineries at work in the Internal Branch, and the
17 operations carried on in them for the past four years:—
18 Quantity of Quantit
19 ; ty of | Total qnan-
20 Year, Nua oF a a refined salt- | tity of salt
21 i P ecived 8 petre pro- educed.
22 . duced.
23 Mds, Mds. Mads,
24 1891-92 on ase 561 12,86,529 8,47,278 1,07,567
25 1892-93... oo. oe 546 1,294;357 802,945 1,11,782
26 1893-94 ... ave eee 540 10,05,191 5,90,814 8,5,748
27 1894-95 ... ose ior: 575 12,24,090 7,26,287 1,14,569
28 The working refineries increased by 35 within the year
29 just ended. More crude saltpetre was dissolved by maunds
30 2,18,899 or 21°77 per cent. The outturn of refined saltpetre
31 increased by maunds 1,35,473 or 22°92 per cent. and the educ-
32 tion of salt rose from 85,748 to maunds 1,14,569, an increase of
33 maunds 28,821, or 83°61 per cent. The cause of this in-
34 creased activity was undoubtedly the great demand for and the
35 higher price procurable in Calcutta during the year for refined
36 saltpetre. The average price for refined saltpetre of the first
37 quality in that market was one rupee and six annas a maund
38 more than in 1898-94, and the Assistant Commissioner of the
39 Upper Division reports that locally “ prices were higher during
40 1893-94 than during 1892-93, and there was a still further
41 advance during the past year. During the latter half of it the
42 demand from Calcutta was very strong, and fairly good refined
43 material sold for as much as Rs. 10 per maund, and refiners
44 made every effort to produce asmuch as they could. They were,
45 however, hampered by the dearth of a sufficient supply of crude
46 saltpetre.” Crude saltpetre in the upper Provinces reached as
47 high as Rs. 5 per maund, probably a rate seldom before at-
48 tained, and Mr. Ashton. says that “much more work would
49 have been done on crude works had the weather been more
50 favorable. But the latter half of the year was unusually wet.
51 Heavy rain fell repeatedly, preventing crude saltpetre factories
52 from working, and in a large number of cases from even open
53 ing, so that work in refineries was greatly checked owing to
54 the scarcity of crude saltpetre. It is owing entirely to this
55 that work during the past year was not on a much more exten-
56 sive scale than the figures show.” It is stated that the compara-
57 tively larger increase in the eduction of salt from the saltpetre
58 that was refined is owing to the great demand that existed for
59 purified saltpetre of the best quality. Ordinarily when prices
60 are dull the high purification of refined saltpetre is not so much
61 considered,
62 ( 58 )