1 SALT REVENUE DEPARTMENT FOR THE OFFICIAL YEAR 1899-1900,
2 Traders were of course at liberty to change the destination
3 of their despatches after leaving the mines, and the figures
4 therefore afford only a general indication of the course of the
5 trades
6 The same may be said of the figures below obtained from
7 the returns of the Statistical Bureau, as salt crossing the fron-
8 tier at points other than those on recognised trade routes
9 escapes registration, and the accuracy of the figures recorded
10 at frontier trade posts is not above suspicion :—
11 1898-99, 1899-1900, Difference.
12 Mas. Mds. Mds,
13 Kabul .., 81,216 19,212 —12,004
14 Tirab ... 12,843 16,721 +3,878
15 Bajour (Swat) 1,78,583 4,07,082 -2,28,499
16 Total wr = -2,22,642 4,43,016 +2,20,373
17 Departmental bookings and the returns of the Statistical
18 Bureau agree in showiag a decrease in exports to Kébul.
19 They differ widely, however, in regard to the exports to
20 Bajour, but stocks in the Pesh4war Valley may have been
21 drawn upon during the year: The scarcity of fodder in the
22 Kohat district probably deterred traders from visiting the
23 mines.
24 The appointment of better paid officers to the charge of
25 the mines ought to lead to some improvement in the Depart-
26 mental registration of the destination of the salt issued. The
27 manner in which salt cleared for local consumptionin Kohat
28 has hitherto been registered has in particular been very
29 defective; and the practice observed at the different depots was
30 not even uniform.
31 42, There was nochange during the year at the Mandi
32 Mines, either in the rates of taxation of the salt or in the pro-
33 cedure followed for realization of the revenue. The issue
34 price of the salt is Re. 1-2-0 a maund, (véz., 104 annas sale
35 price and 74 annas duty), and the proceeds are divided be-
36 tween the British Government and the Rdja of Mandi in the
37 proportion of 5 annas on every maund to the former and 13
38 annas to the latter. The following isa summary of the finan-
39 cial results of the past two years as shown in Appendix I :—
40 9 1898-99. 1899-1900. Difference.
41 Receipts ' Rs. Rs. Rs.
42 Share of British Government 39,599 39,668 +69
43 Share of the Raja of Mandi 1,02,955 1,03,1388 +188
44 Total amount realized on salt sold ac 1,42,554 1,42,806 +252
45 Re, 1-2-0 a maund. eee
46 Charges— \
47 Establishment ... 7,374 7,721 +347
48 Contingencies .,. ais oe 831 937 +106
49 Total 8,205 8,658 +453
50 Net revenue derived by British Govern- 31,394 31,010 — 884
51 ment.
52 oy ——e en
53 The trade was steady, maunds 1,26,939 of salt having been
54 sold during the year compared with maunds 1,26,715 during
55 1898-99. The increase in the fixed charges was the result of
56 an increment of pay drawn by the Superintendent posted at
57 the mines. There was no change in the strength of the estab-
58 lishment. The slightly larger expenditure under contin-
59 gencies does not call for any special explanation.
60 43. Particulars relating to the salt sold from the two
61 quarries at Guma and Drang, and its distribution over areas of
62 consumption, will be found in Appendix IV. The following
63 ( 25 )
64 a
65 KOHAT MINES.
66 (3)
67 MANDI MINES:
68 E xceipts and charges.
69 Trade:
70 Sales and issues of salt.