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Letter and memorandum by George Henry Maxwell Batten, Commissioner of Inland Customs,concerning the abolition of the customs line between Rajputana [Rājasthān] and the Central Indian States. [‎4r] (7/16)

The record is made up of 1 file (8 folios). It was created in 30 Sep 1873-09 Jan 1874. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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( 3 )
bbar salt will be imported from Rajputana
into British Territory.
During the last three years that the Lake
lias been under British management,
the average annual quantity of salt manu
factured has been loj lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees of maunds,
after allowing a deduction of 10 per cent,
for wastage. In ordinary years, when
the rainfall is not excessively great so
as to weaken the brine, which seldom
happens, there is practically no limit to
the quantity which might be manufac
tured in a year if labor were available.
Owing to the fact that the greater part of
our charges, i, e., the rent of the Lake and
the cost of establishment, are fixed, while
the actual cost of manufacture is extreme
ly small, the more salt we make, the less
it costs per maund. With increased labor,
or, what amounts to the same thing, in
creased mechanical facilities for extracting
the salt, we could easily make double the
quantity hitherto manufactured. The
salt would then cost about 44- annas per
maund at Sambhar. The Railway charge
to Agra should not exceed 4 annas per
maund, and to Dehli very little more.
At these prices Sambhar salt would en
tirely command the market at Dehli and
Agra, and even in Bajputana itself.
The price might still further be reduced
by our giving up, as under treaty we
have a right to do, the Nawa-Godha works,
and concentrating the manufacture on
the south side of the Lake. This would
bring down the cost of the salt at Sam
bhar to about 2f annas per maund. At
this price with the Railway in our hands,
we could defy competition from Nawa
and Godha. It is anticipated, even now,
that Bhartpur salt, from its inferior quali
ty and comparatively high price, although
produced near the Line of Railway, will
not be able to compete with Sambhar
salt. Didwana and Pachbhadra, being far
from the Railway and dependent on car
riage by camels and Banjara cattle, could
not come into competition.

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Letter from George Henry Maxwell Batten, Commissioner of Inland Customs, regarding Lewis Pelly's desire to abolish the customs line between Rajputana [Rājasthān] and the British Territory.

The letter encloses a confidential memo which Batten wrote at Lord Northbrook's request on the feasibility of such a proposal and goes on to detail the only way in which the customs line could be abolished. Batten's proposal is to levy excise duties on salt at their place of production however this subsequently raises the practical difficulties of how to ensure salt is only manufactured for trade at those places the excise duty is being levied.

The enclosed memo, dated 30 September 1873 is titled "Note on the feasibility of abolishing that part of the Inland Customs Line which is on the frontier of Rajputana (including Bhawalpur) and the Native States of Central India".

It outlines details of the customs line including costs, manpower requirements, its purpose and the amount of taxation produced by it and the difficulties that would be encountered in abolishing it. Batten goes on to outline the only way he can see to abolish the line by levying excise duties on salt production and gives considerable detail on the way in which he believes such a proposal could be implemented.

Extent and format
1 file (8 folios)
Physical characteristics

Foliation: The file has been foliated in the front top right corner of each folio with a pencil number enclosed in a circle.

Written in
English in Latin script
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Letter and memorandum by George Henry Maxwell Batten, Commissioner of Inland Customs,concerning the abolition of the customs line between Rajputana [Rājasthān] and the Central Indian States. [‎4r] (7/16), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F126/74, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023252834.0x000008> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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