'Lord Curzon's Notes on Persia: About 1889-1890' [‎721r] (1462/1486)

From
To
No. 493 S.
R. G. THOMSON, Esquire,
Offg. Revenue Secretary to Government,
Punjab and its Dependencies,
D. C. JOHNSTONE, Esquire,
Junior Secretary to Financial Commissioner,
Punjab.
Dated Simla, 22itJi July 1890.
Revenue and Agriculture.
General.
Sir,
I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 468 of June
30th, 1890, submitting printed copies of the Report on the External Land Trade
of the Punjab for the year 1889-90, and in reply to convey the following remarks.
2. In accordance with the existing arrangement, this Report is submitted
in full detail triennially and in abbreviated form in the two intermediate years.
A detailed report was last received for the year 1888-89, and the report for the
present year is therefore a brief one.
3 . The total foreign land trade of the Province has increased in value by
18 per cent., being Rs. 2,76,46,689 as against Rs. 2,32,44,251 for the year 1888-89.
The rise is almost exclusively in the trade with countries on the west and north
west of the Punjab. It is most marked in the case of Bajaur, where the figures
of last year have been nearly doubled, but, as explained in your letter, the increase
is partly apparent only and due to improved registration. The increase of 55
per cent, in the value of the trade with Kabul, chiefly under the heads of Import
of horses, of fruits, of ghi and of raw silk, and of Exports of European and
Indian cotton piece-goods, is in a great measure, no doubt, due to the
tranquillity of Afghanistan during the year under report. The apparent diminu
tion in the trade with Kashmir is due to the inclusion of 30 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees of silver
transmitted to the Punjab for special purposes in the figures of last year ; and
as the exports have actually increased, there seems every reason to accept the
conclusion of the Financial Commissioners that the trade with this country is
reviving. In the case of Ladakh, on the other hand, there is no satisfactory
explanation of the decrease of 18 per cent, in imports and of 25 per cent, in
exports which the figures disclose. Except in the articles of tea, Indian and
foreign thefallino- off is almost uniform, and must be taken to indicate a decaying
trade ’ It is observed, however, that the trade with Chinese Thibet, despite a
fall in the exports thither, has nearly tripled itself, the chief increase being under
the head of imports of wool and pasham.
4 The most striking feature ip the figures of import trade is the
great increase in the import of ghi, which has risen from 17 to 25 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees in
value The rise is general, but is greatest in the trade with Ba]aur and Kabul.
This commodity now constitutes one-sixth of the imports from Kabul and nearly
one-fourth of those from Kashmir.