1 CISiNDUS MINES. ,
2 Kohat Salt, cis-Indus,
3 (2)
4 KOHAT MINES,
5 Sales and [-sues,
6 Appendix Ul.
7 Di-tribution of galt
8 igcued.
9 App:adix Vf,
10 Present state of aTairs,
11 Reduction of establish.
12 ment,
13 REPORT ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE NORTHERN INDIA
14 the temporary establishment charges. These men are
15 appointed by selection and hold office only during such time
16 as they may give satisfaction in the discharge of their duties,
17 and their allowances were wrongly charged to the permanent
18 establishment. The net annual saving effected by the reor-
19 ganisation of the establishment amounted to Rs. 15,576 a
20 year,
21 43. No Kohat salt was seized czs-Indus this year; and,
22 from enquiries made, it does not appear that any was import-
23 ed except in very small quantities. There is, however, some
24 reason to believe that a little is consumed in villages near the
25 river, north of Mari. The deliveries during the year of salt from
26 the c7s-Indus Mines and Kalabagh for places along the indus,
27 from Makhad in the Rawalpindi District to Mithankot in the
28 Dera Ghazi Khan District, fell short of those of 18¢9-1902
29 by 18,339 maunds, but the greater part of the decrease is
30 probably due to Kohat salt having forced cis-Indus salt
31 back from the ¢rans-Indus country, which it had temporarily
32 occupied. The necessity for maintaining the existing res-
33 trictions on the possession and transport. of Kohat salt in the
34 czs-Indus ‘country still remains.
35 44. Maunds 4,37,378 of Kohat salt were sold during
36 the year compared with maunds 3,73,269 in 1€99-1900 and
37 maunds 4,62,375 in 1898-1899. ‘The trade in this salt was
38 affected by the prohibition of the importation of Kohat salt
39 into Kabul, which is now enforced, and by the Mahsud block-
40 ade. The result may therefore be considered satisfactory.
41 The sales in the current year up to date have, however, again
42 fallen off; and at present it appears that the prohibition of
43 this salt in Kabul and the enhancement of the duty are likely
44 to have a lasting effect upon the demand for the salt across
45 the border. All the salt sold, except maunds 875, with maunds
46 3,255 sold in 1899-1900, was cleared and issued to traders,
47 45. The departmental registration at the depéts of the
48 i.fended destination of salt sold and issued shows that
49 maunds 3,211,119 were declared for British territory ¢rans-
50 Indus and maunds 1,18,639 for export across the border.
51 Maunds 95,920 were declared for Swat, being inexcess of the
52 quantity declared in the previous year by maunds 25,66c.
53 46. No change has yet been made in the system under
54 which salt is issued, and traders are still allowed access to the
55 quarries and make their bargains with the miners for salt on
56 the spot. The objections to the system are that honest traders
57 are needlessly delayed and that dishonest traders have oppor-
58 tunities for removing, in collusion with the miners, more salt
59 than they have paid duty for. A new depét has been con-
60 structed at Malgin and another is under construction at
61 Bahadur Khel near the quarries, but the miners will not agree
62 to stack salt in the depéts for sale. The question has been
63 complicated by the attitudeassumed by the grant-holders in
64 regard to the performance of services which they are bound
65 to render by the terms of their grants, and a full report on the
66 subject has been submitted for the orders of the Government
67 of India,
68 47. In paragraph 9 of my letter No. 2432, dated 7th
69 August 1899, I informed the Government of India that when
70 responsible officers were placed in charge of the Kohat salt
71 depéts and the system of compulsory payment of salt revenue
72 into treasuries was introduced, it would be possible to effect
73 ( 16 )