1 SALT. REVENUE DEPARTMENT FOR THE OFFICIAL YEAR 1897-98.
2 The whole of the salt which issued during the year under REVIEW BY SECTIONS.
3 review was sold at one uniform rate of four annas a maund, SAMBHAR.
4 and this has been the sale price of the past three years. A
5 small quantity, maunds 37,320, was sold at two and-a-half
6 annas a maund during 1896-97, owing to its inferiority, but
7 this rate was a special one, and only applied to the salt at one
8 particular store heap. We do not now manufacture salt differ-
9 ing so much in quality as to necessitate varying prices. The
10 arrangements at the Lake tend to the production of salt of
11 uniform market value.
12 39. The quantities of salt sold at the Sambhar Lake _ Details of sales.
13 during the past four years will be found entered in the follow-
14 ing statement :—
15 Ordinary trade,
16 Through jo Grand
17 Year, traffic trade, Por For total of
18 erail-borne. | removal by | removal by Total, sales.
19 railway. road,
20 Mds. Mads, Mads. Mds, Mads:
21 1894-95 ... ea 20,90,778 17,69,585 1,71,255 19,40,840 40,31,618
22 1895-96 1. one 9,41,584 26,00,699 1,783,491 27,74,190 87,15,774
23 1896-97 .. ve 12,00,327 25,54,400 1,76,483 27,30,883 | {a)39,31,210
24 1897-98... ve | 17,44,564 | 22,315,160 | 143,726 | 28,58,886 | (a)41,08,440
25 Through trafic-—The sales of salt under this head
26 during the past year are in excess of the figures of 1896-97
27 and 1895-96, but are below those of 1894-95. In past annual
28 reports, I have explained that the decline in this branch of
29 traffic during 1896-97 and 1895-96 was owing to the issue,
30 together with salt of first rate quality from our walled enclo-
31 sures, of some fresh salt of fine grain from Lake edge pans,
32 which it was inadvisable to store owing to its liability to cake
33 in large heaps: that the local traders made large purchases
34 under these arrangements, but the salt could not be sent to
35 through traffic traders without first consulting them, and that
36 it was impossible to do this, scattered as they were over large
37 areas of consumption. The trade of the year under review was
38 not affected in this way, and shows a great improvement, 42°51
39 of the entire sales of the Lake having been indented for under
40 the through traffic system for despatch by departmental agency.
41 Under favqurable manufacturing conditions, I anticipate that
42 this branch of trade will quite recover itself.
43 Ordinary rail-borne trade.—The figures under this head
44 are of salt sold to purchasers locally for despatch by mercan-_
45 tile agency. The year under review shows a decrease in this
46 branch of trade, but this is more than counterbalanced by the
47 increase under through traffic.
48 Road traffic—The following is a classification of salt
49 removed by road during the past four years :—
50 Banjara Local
51 trade. sales. Total.
52 Mads. Mads. Mds.
53 1894-95 ‘ae ‘ap us ta 1,67,612 3,643 1,71,255
54 1895-96 on wee ose ox 1,70,316 8,175 1;78,491
55 1896-97 ave ose oe wee 1,738,448 8,035 1,76,483
56 1897-98 tee ow oe ‘8 1,839,081 4,645 1,438,726
57 There was a large decrease in the quantity of salt sold for
58 removal by Banjaras. This does not show that there was
59 (a) Includes maunds 5,000 delivered on realization of price, but free of duty, to the Ram.
60 pur Darbar.
61 ( 87 )