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. [‎4v] (8/16)

( 4 )
Under these circumstances, the various
salt sources would yield a very small re
venue to the Native States in which they
are situated, and any negotiations on
a liberal basis for excising the salt at the
various places of production or closing
the manufacture would be much faci
litated.
The British Government could afford to
be liberal, for, as above stated, it would
subject to taxation the whole of the con
sumers in Hajputana and Central India,
who at present pay us no taxes whatever
except those on imported sugar. In fact,
it could afford to give up the whole
amount derived from this new taxation.
It would not be just to put this taxa
tion on the people of the Native States
without relieving them at the same time
from taxes which they at present pay.
The unpopularity of such a measure
would probably prove an insurmountable
obstacle to its enforcement. A grand
opportunity would be afforded of getting
rid to a great extent of the transit
duties, by which, to use the words of Sir
Madhava Ilao, the trade of these Native
States is now tied hand and foot. That
Minister told me that he found it impos
sible to propose any measure to abolish
the transit duties in Holkar's Territory,
unless he was prepared with some equi
valent which would realise the same
amount of revenue. I would propose to
do that for the Native States which we
have done for ourselves in British Terri
tory, and which they cannot combine to
do for themselves. The introduction of
high salt duties in Madras, Bombay, the
North-Western Provinces, and the Punjab
was in each case accompanied by the abo
lition of transit duties on innumerable
articles, which duties formerly covered the
face of the land as they do now in Native
States. The policy pursued was to con
centrate on one article of universal con
sumption taxation which hampered the