1 REVIEW BY SECTIONS.
2 PUNJAB MINES.
3 Through traffic aud or-
4 dinary sales,
5 REPORT ON THE ADMIN'STRATION OF THE NORTHERN INDIA
6 bags in which to despatch it; but traders did not require the
7 salt, and<hence would not supply the bags to load it into
8 for despatch.”
9 Ordinary sales account for maunds 32,884 out of the entire
10 falling off of maunds 83,821, showing that the through-traftic
11 business done only lést ground to the extent of maunds 937
12 compared with 1892-93. The ordinary trade sales (that is, the
13 transactions in salt made over at the depdts to the purchasers)
14 of the Warthganj and Warcha depdts show a decrease of
15 maunds 52,015 and maunds 3,696 respectively, while those of
16 the Kalabagh and Nurpur depdts show increases to the extent
17 of maunds 22,451 and maunds 376.
18 18. Comparative figures showing both kinds of trade
19 (through-traffic and ordinary) for the past four years are given
20 below for the whole division :—
21 1890 91.
22 1891-9°, 1892-93. 1893-94.
23 Mis, Mas. Mas. Mads.
24 Through-traffie ‘ee ove 16,98,668 17,47,583 18,21,713 18.20.776
25 Ordinary an 2,41,613 2,30,915 2,84,728 2,51,844
26 Total eis 19,40,281 19,78,498 21,06,441 20,72,620
27 In 1893-94 the through-traffic business, which is transacted
28 entirely at the Warthganj depét, amounted to maunds 18,20,776,
29 and comprised 87°84 per cent of the whole trade of the
30 division. For the three previous years the percentages of
31 through-traftic trade similarly are 86°48 in 1892-93 (maunds
32 18,21,713), 88°32 in 1891-92 (maunds 17,47,583), and 87:54
33 (maunds, 16,98,668) in 1890-91. ‘the sales from Warthganj
34 (through-traffic and ordinary) comprised 91°34 of the whole
35 sales of the division in 1893-94, and 92°39 of the same gn
36 1892-93. The falling off in the rail-borne trade of the Warth-
37 ganj depét is due to the railway line having been seriously
38 breached by floods in July 1893 between Khewra and
39 Malakwal. From this cause no salt was removed by rail-
40 way from the 18th of July to the 10th of August, and
41 in this time the uncleared balance of through-trattc salt await-
42 ing removal increased by a lakh of maunds. When the line
43 was again open for trafic the demand for labourers was so
44 great all over the country to repair damage tu houses, &c.,
45 caused by the floods, that men could not be procured in sutticient
46 numbers to meet the rush that followed in the depot. Clear-
47 ances were delayed ; but salt was in great demand, and under
48 these circumstances traders turned to Kalabagh, where their
49 requirements could be met and.the salt could be removed by
50 the Mari-Kundian branch of the railway. They could, how-
51 ever, draw on Kalabagh only to a limited extent owing to its
52 greater distance from the important markets. As soon as book~
53 ing could be resumed, traders therefore returned to the Warth-
54 ganj depdt; but labour remained scarce, and the demand for
55 salt was much greater than could be promptly met; and at one
56 time the uncleared balance of through-tratic salt rose to
57 maunds 3,92,375. All this undoubtedly checked the sales at
58 Warthganj deyét, while it stimated the trade in Kalabagh
59 salt.
60 ( ie j