1 REPORT ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE NORTHERN INDIA
2 Charges exceed receipts considerably at the Sambhar
3 Lake.! The cost of establishment is a-constant factor, while
4 the trade has considerably diminished in volume for reasons
5 already explained. At the Pachbadra Source the cost of
6 clearing salt considerably exceeds the item of three pies a
7 maund paid for the work by traders. The loss on this account
8 at Pachbadra was formerly covered to some extent by profit at
9 Sambhar, but now there is a loss at both sources. If through
10 traffic can be revived at Sambhar, the deficit will disappear or
11 at any rate be largely reduced. At Khewrah the charge
12 made, which is levied on ordinary rail-borne and on through
13 traffic salt alike, is really part of the price. Ordinary and
14 through trafic are both brought by the tramway from the
15 mine to the depét, and the Department makes no additional
16 charge for bagging and despatching the through traffic salt.
17 IN TERNAL 70, There was an improvement of Rs. 6,486 in the
18 BRANCH. revenue of the Internal Branch, the realizations having amount-
19 Receipts and charges. ed to Rs. 1,87, 100 compared with Rs, 1,80,614 in 1QO1-02.
20 Appendices I andl. The quantity of salt excised from saltpetre refineries was larger
21 by maunds 4,524, and there was an increase of Rs. 11,116 in the
22 amount of duty realised. Collections under the head of license
23 fees were, however, smaller by Rs. 4,793. Items of Rs.
24 8,912 and Rs. 6,421 on account of fees levied on the excise
25 of sitta (impure saltpetre salt) from refineries during the two
26 ? years are included under this head. Excluding the item of
27 refunds, which is not properly debitable to the Branch, as
28 the duty refunded was levied at the sources, the charges of
29 the year amounted to Rs. 1,62,999 compared with Rs.
30 1,55,544 in 1901-02, an increase of Rs. 7,455. Expenditure
31 on establishment was practically the same in both years, but
32 - contingent expenditure was larger by Rs. 7,937. The greater
33 part of the excess expenditure was incurred under the head
34 9: of travelling allowance.
35 ieadsch Seeued fae tke 71. Compared with 1901-02 there was a falling off in the.
36 manufacture of saline number of licenses taken out for the manufacture of ail des-
37 substances, ees ° A
38 criptions of saline substances. The number of licenses for
39 AoprndiR At saltpetre refineries declined from 436 to 399 owing to the
40 closure of some small factories for business reasons. The
41 decrease of 5,425 in the number of licenses taken out for the
42 manufacture of crude saltpetre (38,859 against 44,284) oc-
43 curred principally in Behar owing, it is alleged, to the preva-
44 lence of plague which prevented the establishment of factories
45 at places infected. Inthe United Provinces the unfavourable
46 character of the monsoon is said to have reduced the pro-
47 ductiveness of the nitrous earth of many localities, and it was
48 not profitable to work factories at them. The decrease of
49 1,362 in the number of Khari licenses (5,156 compared with
50 6,518 in the previous year) occurred principally in Behar and ,
51 was due to the same reason as the decrease in the number of
52 crude saltpetre licenses. There was also a falling off in the
53 number of Khari licenses issued during the year for the United
54 Provinces, but this was owing to factories having been started
55 later than usual in the season after the close of the year
56 under report. The manufacture of impure carbonates of soda
57 (saj7t and rassz) was somewhat restricted during the year.
58 Operations in saltpetre 72. Though a smaller number of refineries were worked,
59 refineries. 426 against 450 in 1901-02, the quantity of crude salt-
60 Appendix XII. petre purified increased from maunds 919,213 to maunds
61 1,022,448 and the refined produce from maunds 497,000 to
62 maunds 536,513. The quantity of purified salt educed
63 was larger by maunds 8,600 (maunds 68,020 against maunds
64 . ( 28 )
65 we