Skip to item: of 968
Information about this record Back to top
Open in Universal viewer
Open in Mirador IIIF viewer

Coll 1/49 'Aden. Administration and control: changes consequent on Indian constitutional reforms; transfer to HMG' [‎370r] (748/968)

The record is made up of 1 volume (480 folios). It was created in 12 Oct 1933-3 Jun 1937. 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. .

Transcription

This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.

Apply page layout


3
It may also be mentioned that the large number of labourers,
boats, lighters and tugs maintained in the harbour and the Port of Aden
owing to their employment for the enormous shipments of salt, have
always contributed to the development of the Port of Aden in as much as
the shipping have found in them a great facility for being able to load and
unload not only economically but also very expeditiously and efficiently
and we submit that this is not a negligible asset for strategically
important coaling and distributing Port of Aden which protects the
Empire’s important routes and encourages its trade. During the Great
War the Port of Aden with the people of the Settlement ungrudgingly,
nay, voluntarily placed all these facilities, resources and their personal
services at the of the Empire and they are proud that they
were able to give a good account of themselves in every manner. The
continual dredging of the Port in order to afford comfortable and safe
berths for larger boats coming in every day and the high sanitary care
are the chief activities of our Port Trustees and members of the Settlement
Committee.
Aden is at present a free port and on this fact depends to no small
extent the importance of Aden as a Distributing Centre. A promise has,
indeed, been made that Aden will continue to be a free port even if it is
separated from India. The history of Somaliland Protectorate, however,
does not encourage the trading and commercial interests of Aden to rely
too much on this promise. We apprehend that the proposed transfer is
the beginning of the end of the Indian commercial community at Aden.
We now beg to draw your Excellency’s attention to the actual
position of India’s supply and demand of salt. Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and
Assam are the only Provinces which do not produce salt. The Indo-Aden Salt
Works was the only Indian salt works at Aden in 1927. The Hajeebhoy
Aden
Salt
Works,
Ltd.,
and
the Little
Aden
Salt Indus-
trial
Co.,
were
floated
later.
Prior to
1929,
Bengal
got
its
salt
supply
largely
from
foreign
salt
importers
at
the Red Sea littoral. They virtually monopolised the market and kept
the rates high so much so that during the Great War the price of salt
went up to over Rs. 200 j- per 100 maunds. The Tariff Board instituted
an inquiry in 1928 and submitted its findings to the Legislative Assembly.
A salt duty on the import of foreign salt was imposed and since that day
the import of foreign salt mostly from the Red Sea has considerably
decreased.
The production of salt in India proper has not reached even to the
extent of 50% of the total requirements of the Bengal Market which is about
5,40,000 tons per year in between Calcutta and Chittagong. Salt from Aden
Works, however, meet with the supplies to the required extent. If the
export of salt from Aden was insufficient, the Red Sea foreigners
specially Italian and Hamburg Salt (German,) would have got a chance
to come in at once and exploit the Market which had to be supplied the
deficit from sources other than at Aden and in India proper. Aden has
thus enabled the consuming Provinces, namely, Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and
Assam to secure their salt requirement at the rate of Rs. 501- per 100 maunds
against the rate of about 751- per 100 maunds, the rate which prevailed

About this item

Content

The volume contains papers regarding the transfer of the civil administration of Aden from the Government of India to the Colonial Office, and the preparation of the Aden Colony Order in Council A regulation issued by the sovereign of the United Kingdom on the advice of the Privy Council. (1936), and 'Royal Sign Manual and Signet to the Governor and Commander in Chief of the Colony of Aden (1937)'.

The volume is predominantly made up of correspondence between the 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. Political Department, the Colonial Office, the Aden Chief Commissioner (later Governor) Bernard Reilly, the 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. Legal Advisor's Department, and the Secretary of State for India. The volume also contains numerous heavily-annotated drafts of the Order in Council A regulation issued by the sovereign of the United Kingdom on the advice of the Privy Council. and the Royal Instructions, plus minutes of meetings held at the Colonial Office, and extracts from the Home Affairs Committee and the Joint Committee on Indian Constitutional Reform. Final drafts can be found at folios 13-20, in addition to copies of Reilly's inauguration speech (folios 25-28).

The correspondence covers a range of topics, including: Indian and Arab sentiment over the transfer; problems of condominion; the importance of Aden to Britain's imperial aims; representations from the Indian and Aden business communities; the maintenance of representation for Aden subjects at the Bombay High Court; Aden's free port status; questions of income tax and salt duty; the wording of the Order in Council A regulation issued by the sovereign of the United Kingdom on the advice of the Privy Council. and Royal Instructions; and a proposal to list the Kuria Muria Islands as a named dependency of Aden, comparable to Shaikh Othman, Imad and Hiswa, and Perim.

The volume includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the volume by year. This is placed at the end of the correspondence (folio 4).

Extent and format
1 volume (480 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in rough chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 480; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. The fold-outs on f 147, f 158 and f 159 are A and B items which are attached to the folios in order to add additional information about the document.

Written in
English in Latin script
View the complete information for this record

Use and share this item

Share this item
Cite this item in your research

Coll 1/49 'Aden. Administration and control: changes consequent on Indian constitutional reforms; transfer to HMG' [‎370r] (748/968), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/1485, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100038447218.0x000095> [accessed 29 March 2024]

Link to this item
Embed this item

Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.

<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100038447218.0x000095">Coll 1/49 'Aden. Administration and control: changes consequent on Indian constitutional reforms; transfer to HMG' [&lrm;370r] (748/968)</a>
<a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100038447218.0x000095">
	<img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000555.0x000015/IOR_L_PS_12_1485_0753.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" />
</a>
IIIF details

This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000555.0x000015/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images

Use and reuse
Download this image