'REPORT ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY, FOR THE YEAR 1914-1915' [‎174v] (18/150)

X
BOMBAY ADMINISTRATION REPORT.
Famine relief.
Co-operative
societies.
Forests.
Power
industries and
handicrafts.
h9
control of export. There was a heavy fall in cotton but a recovery to l
at about the time of harvest so that the cultivator did fairly well. f n ° 0k place
shutting down of many public works and the decrease in the price 0 f ° f ^
the scarcity of labour continued and wages showed no tendency to dedi
the high level reached in recent years; some districts actually reported' 'T fr0111
increase. Under conditions in which the supply of labour is perennially J U!lller
to the demand it is inevitable that while a bad season will not have much
lowering wages, a good season will check any tendency to fall, because ^ ^ !n
e\gry
who can cultivate his own land will prefer to do so, so that one source of
the class of small cultivators is not available for labour in a a 0 nrl r •
1 . . ~ u > ear - In Sind
su Pply,
O J
wages were about 50 per cent, higher than in the Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. proper
33. The Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. was entirely free from famine. The onlv H' v
1 • i * • j QlSti lets in
which there was anything approaching scarcity were Poona and ShnPnn ,
. ... . . , - jii ' j idpur ) where
there was a partial failure of crops m some localities. Substantial suspensions
land revenue were granted in this limited area but no relief works were fo/d
necessary nor was any fodder imported from outside the districts.
34. The rate of progress in co-operation was less rapid than in the two
previous years, mainly owing to the greater caution exercised in registering new
societies. The number of societies in the Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. proper increased by r )e r
cent., the number of members by 27 per cent., and the working capital by 20 ^
cent., while the profit on the year’s working increased by 30 per cent ^ The
Bombay Central Co-operative Bank paid a dividend of 6 per cent, carried
Rs. 6,500 to the reserve fund and set aside a like amount to be paid in’ bonuses
to borrowing societies. It is satisfactory to note that only 5 per cent, of the
aggregate working capital of the agricultural societies represents loans from
Government. The percentage has been steadily falling since 1910, when it
was 20. A hopeful beginning has been made in organizing societies for the
distribution of agricultural products. The non-agricultural societies made good
progress, a noteworthy feature being the establishment of 14 societies in the city
of Bombay for the redemption of the urban labouring classes from debt. Three
new societies were established in Sind and one was cancelled.
35. There was a decrease in revenue in all circles of the Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. proper,
chough there was a slight increase in Sind. Expenditure increased slightly in the
Northern and Central Circles, but decreased in the Southern and Sind Circles,
The Noith and South Nasik divisions were transferred from the Central to the
Northern Circle, while the Kolaba division was transferred from the Northern to
the Central Circle. 1 here was a decrease in the number of prosecutions for forest
offences and a slight increase in the area traversed by fire.
36. The cotton industry is. by far the most important industry in the
Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. and it centres chiefly in Bombay and Ahmedabad. No fewer than
629 of the 706 working factories which fall under the Factories Act are con
nected with this industry. The industry was seriously affected for some time after
the outbreak of war and several Bombay mills actually shut down, though all
the up-country mills continued working. All the mills had heavy accumulations
of stock at the end of the year. Great difficulty was experienced in the manu
facture of cojpured goods owing to the cessation of imports of chemicals and
dyes.. The hand-loom industry also suffered severely from this cause. The silk
weaving and gold and silver embroidery industries also suffered from the effects
0 the. war. The match factories find great difficulty in meeting Japanese
competition. The metal-work handicrafts suffered somewhat owing t°
1 culty m obtaining metal sheets from Europe. As in previous years a con-
si erable number of new oil presses and flour mills were opened. 1 he sugarcane
industry continues to flourish.