Coll 1/49 'Aden. Administration and control: changes consequent on Indian constitutional reforms; transfer to HMG' [‎373r] (754/968)

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(e) And shall not sell any salt for Aden local consumption other than to
Government without permission in writing first had and
obtained of Government, who shall be entitled at any time and
in any particular case to with-hold such permission or to with
draw, suspend or cancel any such permision or to withdraw, sus
pend or cancel any such permission as may have been granted.
(f) And will not use or permit the said pieces cr parcels of land to be
used for purposes other than for the cultivatiion or manufacture
of salt and salt works.
We had entered into the leases with the Government of India and
have invested lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees of rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. in the belief that Aden would ever remain
a part of India and we never thought nor did we have an occasion to think
that it would be separated from India.
All these considerations point to the validity of Aden’s claim to be
included in a scheme of protection for the salt industry of India, as ad
mitted in para 10 of the third report of the Salt Industry Committee of
the Legislative Assembly (March, 1933). The consideration of its claim
to participate in the advantages of a scheme of protection for the Salt
Industry of India, if Aden ceased to be a part of British India, is also-
recognised therein. Aden has never stood or operated against India’s
-sources of Salt Supply. It did not ask for any indulgence in the past, but
the position of the entire Salt Industry (inclusive of Aden) is now threat
ened by the cut-throat competition forced mostly by Red Sea foreign
salt interests on the one hand and by the proposal of transfer of Aden
to British Colonial Office on the other. The latter will have the effect at
one stroke of placing what pre-eminently is an Indian Industry into the
category of foreign undertakings to the evident relief of the Italian and
other Continental concerns. The Report of the Joint Committee on
Indian Constitutional Reform makes no recommendation for the preven
tion of measures, legislative or administrative, which might subject
Aden goods specially Aden salt, imported into India from Aden, to discri
minatory or penal treatment as has been recommended in the case of
British Goods. (Page 205, Para 345 of Vol I Part I of the Joint Parlia
mentary Committee’s Report). This glaring omission in the Report is
incomparatible with the traditional British policy for justice and fairplay.
May we venture to express the hope that this admitted wrong to the
cause of Indian producers whose produce is exported to Aden and also
of consumers of salt in Bengal and the Indian salt manufacturers in Aden
will soon be righted!
In conclusion we beg to point out that with reference to the separa
tion of Burma the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Indian Consti
tutional Reforms recommend:
“We refer to the case of companies established already in Burma with
United Kingdom personnel and United Kingdom capital Such
companies have established themselves in Burma as Province of Bri-