Coll 1/49 'Aden. Administration and control: changes consequent on Indian constitutional reforms; transfer to HMG' [‎369r] (746/968)

and sugar. On the whole the balance of trade is against Aden and in
favour of India. During the ten years 1923-24 to 1932-33 Aden sold
Rs. 2.09,28,441 worth of merchandise to India (including ’ salt worth
Rs. 2,03,14,545) while she took Rs. 5,57,96,113 worth of merchandise from
India. The salt works alone contribute by way of income-tax, royalty,
ground rent, port trust, tolls and municipal taxes over Rs. 5 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees annually
to the revenues of British India exclusive of the receipts from the salt
excise duty. These conditions would be wholly altered by the fact of
separation.
The above figures relate to the trade of Aden with Bombay and
Karachi as well as Bengal. It may be mentioned that so far as Bengal
Bombay and Karachi are concerned, there is a greater reciprocity of
Adens- trade with Bengal than with other ports, in the sense that Bengal's
export trade with Aden is intimately bound up with the imports of salt
into Bengal through facilities of shipping. If the salt imports from Aden
were reduced and consequently return freight was not available, it is
obvious that the price of Aden salt would go up. Likewise the prices of
produce from India will also be adversely affected owing to freight for Aden
being not freely available if salt shipments cease or are materially reduced
It may also be pointed out that the Government should have a greater
concern for Aden salt than for salt even from Indian states, from the
point of view of revenue, because the latter makes no contribution to the
Indian Exchequer, while Aden is a source of considerable revenue to the
Government. The large export trade of Aden in salt has made it possible
for specially low rates of freight to be offered by ships returning to Aden
after delivering their cargo of salt in Calcutta, thereby stimulating the
Indian export trade. Aden is primarily a distributing centre for this
trade and its prosperity depends upon the wealth of this trade. In its
own turn, the wealth of this trade depends largely on the imports of salt
from Aden. The bankers of Aden are mostly Indians, so that the finance
Aden s trade, and therefore its prosperity, is inextricably bound up with
the system of credit followed by the Indian community of Aden.
The Port Trust of Aden and the Settlement Committee of Aden,
both of whom derive a Irge revenue from the Salt Works and from
the shipment of Salt from Aden to the tune of about 300,000 tons of salt
annually, have opined by unanimous resolutions that the Aden Salt
ustry is the principal industry in Aden which gives employment to a
siderable number of people and that any inequality of treatment in India
this industry will, therefore, have serious effects and further in conse
quence the financial position of the Port and Settlement of Aden will also
be adversely affected. They also strongly urge the fact that the balance
bf trade between Aden and India is greatly in favour of India and they
ould therefore, claim that it is to the advantage of India that Aden
Salt should continue to receive equal treatment with Indian Salt and
preference over foreign salt specially from Red Sea Ports and Germany
order that the import trade from India to Aden may continue on the
Present scale.