1 ° REPORT ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE NORTHERN INDIA
2 - maunds 88,797 in 1900-01, or an increase of maunds 18,7706,
3 Imports of Thibetan salt into the hill districts of the United
4 Provinces amounted to maunds 34,426 as compared with
5 maunds 30,730 in the previous year, showing an increase of
6 maunds 3,696. Exports exceeded imports by maunds 73,147,
7 representing a sum of Rs. 1,82,867 in duty.
8 Exports comprised 527 maunds of rock salt from the c7s-
9 Indus Mines, 35,929 maunds of Sambhar salt, 2,245 maunds
10 of the produce of the Sultanpur Salt Works and 68,872
11 maunds of other kinds. The greater proportion of this last
12 ‘ quantity was probably salt from Calcutta, which crossed the
13 frontier from the Gonda, Basti and Gorakhpur districts. I
14 have asked the Director of Land Records and Agriculture of
15 the United Provinces to have the whole of the exports classi-
16 fied by description in future, and he has kindly promised
17 that this shall be done,
18 An enquiry was made by Mr. Dane during the year as to
19 the feasibility of taxing the salt which enters India from
20 Thibet. The conclusions arrived at by him were that the
21 revenue which would be realised from a duty on such salt
22 ‘ would be comparatively small, that the cost of collection
23 would be large and effective supervision over the establish-
24 ment employed in collection impossible, and that the idea of
25 taxing Thibet salt should be abandoned. In letter No. 1790
26 S.R., dated the oth April 1902, of the Finance Department,
27 the Government of India concurred with Mr. Dane, and de-
28 cided that the taxation of Thibetan salt need not be further
29 considered at present.
30 Consumption of salt per 61. The following is an abstract of the statistics of con-
31 Gulch alt wacches sumption of salt in the provinces with which this Department
32 by the Department. is concerned, details with regard to which will be found in the
33 Appendix XV. Appendix noted in the margin. Baluchistan is, as usual,
34 omitted for the reason given in previous reports, accurate
35 information of its salt supply not being available :—~—
36 Average ‘con- Average cone
37 sumption per sumption per
38 Province. head according head according
39 to three years’ to one year’s
40 figures. figures.
41 * Ibs. Ibs.
42 The Punjab and North- 4°38 8-32
43 West Frontier Prov-
44 ince, ¢vazs-Indus,
45 The Punjab and North- 7°38 » 744
46 West Frontier Prov-
47 ince, cts-Indus and
48 Kashmir.
49 United Provinces of 9°35 764
50 Agra and Oudh.
51 Province of Behar in 8°35 8:09
52 Bengal.
53 Central Provinces and = 11°34 13°09
54 Berar.
55 Rajputana sos 7°37 7/00
56 Central India nee 8:48 7°86
57 © (Maunds 3,70,738 in There is a marked difference in the figures relating to the
58 1899-1900, maunds country ¢vans-Indus. The variations in the issues of salt
59 429,758 in 1900-oF, . . si
60 maunds 425,799 in from the Kohat Mines during the past three years, as exhibit-
61 290602) ed on the margin,* are not very striking, but the larger export
62 ( 22 )