'REPORT ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY, FOR THE YEAR 1914-1915' [‎205r] (79/150)

3 0 RT.
tr . ose k 7 M,.
..Tories,
» f 'act, 5 ,
«fcs
sideni
^11 from ct
accidents. || t
59 ^diepre%
: 4 convictions, 1:
)ns ffe|- e institiifci;'.
more than tt®;;.
^ the seasonaKg.
1163 twice and ^ ■ '
onswereperfo#i-
• visits were ir
? hygrometer rrai.
ept one in Bo*
Press, and tit t
few strikes rati
inst attempted itk
of the workers 1
let.
residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. , inclwt
lumber offered f«;: :
Tular inspectas;;:
ding year. Inal
for witnessing
or hear appeals.
ainst 1 in IP
a district and®*
istricts. In
ed. Noim^'
, previous year
liture Rs. hn*
amounting tn^:
■ he smaller !>»»;
3 { a portion®®
ts credit Go^:
. notes
atofthecu^P
hi 21 o ul
itofj 2 '
iwi‘ l
C/
1914-1915-]
TRADE.
53
(9) Report on the Rail-borne Trade of the Bombay 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. excluding Sind.
(10) Accounts of the Trade carried by Rail and River in India.
(11) Report on the Trade and Navigation of the Port of Aden.
(1) 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.
Sea-borne trade.
The aggregate value of the total trade of the Bombay 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. excluding Sind was
Rs. 156-3 crores, showing a fall of Rs. 60-31 crores as compared with the total trade of the
previous year. This decrease, which is attributable to the effects of the war, comprises a fall
of Rs. Sy’d 1 errores in private trade and of Rs. 2-89 crores in Government transactions, which
declined from Rs. 7 crores to Rs. 4-11 crores owing to cessation of imports of silver for
coinage. The fall in private trade comprises a shrinkage of Rs. 53-05 crores in foreign trade
and of Rs. crores in the coasting trade. The steady expansion of the foreign trade in
private merchandise was naturally arrested and the value fell below that of the year 1910-n.
The actual figure, Rs. 95 crores, is less than last year's figure by Rs. 36! crores, to which
decreased imports contributed Rs. i6| crores, exports Rs. ig-\ crores and re-exports Rs. 1 crore Equivalent to ten million, or one hundred lakhs. Used especially in connection with money (rupees). .
In 1913-14 the trade with Germany was valued at Rs. n crores and with Austria-Hungary
at Rs. 4-37 crores; in the current year these figures fell away by Rs. 5-91 crores and
Rs. 2-43 crores, respectively. Moreover, since the outbreak of war trade with Belgium has
ceased entirely and that with France has been greatly curtailed. For the second year in
succession the value of treasure imported and exported contracted by Rs. 16 crores. The
war, while it has greatly affected the movements of gold, has not interfered widely with its
production, although decreased production in the Transvaal led to a slight decline in the
world’s output Imports of gold on private account, which had fallen by Rs. 13 crores in
1913-14, again fell by Rs. 15-35 crores. The decrease under bullion was Rs. 6-57 crores and
that under sovereigns Rs. 8-7 crores. The fall is explained by the fact that the United
Kingdom, Egypt and Australia—and indeed nations and governments the world over—were
naturally occupied in conserving and increasing their stocks of gold. Exports of gold bullion,
consisting mainly of the produce of the Indian mines, were reduced by Rs. 1-93 crores to
Rs. 1-5 crores, and there was a fall of Rs. 30 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees in the value of sovereigns exported to
Bahrein Islands, Arabia and the Straits Settlements. There were practically no imports of
gold on Government account ; while sovereigns to the value of Rs. 80-7 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees were shipped
with the expeditionary forces. Imports of silver on private account rose by Rs. 2 crores to
Rs. 8-68 crores, but exports fell by Rs. 70 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees owing to the cessation of the demand for
British dollars in China. There were no imports of silver bullion on Government account for
coinage. Exports of silver on Government account consisted of Government of India rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf.
to the amount of Rs. 83! lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees , which were mainly sent with the expeditionary forces. After
the disposal of the silver once held in London by the defunct Indian Specie Bank, the London
market for a while regained its normal conditions which, owing to the enormous speculative
commitments for a rise of certain operators, had not prevailed for three years. But normal
conditions were again upset by the outbreak of the war. At the end of June the price of
silver was as high as 26^. ; at the dose of December it was only 22^d. The curtailment ol
credit and the heavy fall in the prices of raw textiles—cotton, jute and silk—combined with a
greatly diminished demand from the East contributed materially towards this reduction of
price. The lowness of the quotations, which ranged very much below the average obtaining
since the closing of the Indian Mints, stimulated the importation of silver into Bombay on a
large scale. Indeed, had it been possible to deal for forward delivery, speculators in India
would have been ready to take considerably larger quantities than they did. But the
determination of London and America to keep resources liquid did much to prevent the
locking up of cash which the stocking of silver would have involved. Some of the articles
previously imported from Germany and Austria-Hungary are now being replaced by
importations from other countries, notably from Japan. Since the outbreak of war imports of
iron and steel from America have increased; while Japan has supplied copper and yellow
metal sheets, Portland cement, glass lamps, chimneys, bottles and jars, glass bangles and
enamelled ware in considerably larger quantities. The quality of Japanese copper and
yellow metal sheets is said to be similar to that of the German article, but the price is a few
annas lower. Japanese glass bangles are known as (( reshmy ” or “ silky ”, and they are
more brittle than the Austrian product. Japan has, moreover, made good all the deficiency
in imports of cheap Austrian and Belgian matches. The prices of the Japanese matches
are still somewhat higher than those of the Austrian and Belgian articles, but the quality of
late has greatly improved. The value of Indian produce and manufactures exported dropped
by Rs. 19-26 crores to Rs. 46-82 crores. The trade is practically monopolised by raw cotton,
seeds, cotton twist and yarn, grain, pulse and flour, and raw wool, which represent 86^ per
cent, of the total exports and which all show substantial decreases. Ihe cessation of export
of opium resulted in a fall of Rs. 1-4 crores.
A.'—Chief Port—Bombay.
The total trade of the Port of Bombay, exclusive of Government transactions, was
valued at Rs. 145-47 crores, a decrease of Rs. 56-88 crores from the previous year. Including
Government transactions the total trade was Rs. 149-52 crores. The aggregate value of
the trade of the port decreased by 31 per cent. Owing to the scarcity of tonnage freights
rose from 12 a ton in July 1914 to 60 a ton in March 1915.
h 1314—14
Chapter IV.
PRODUCTION
AND
DISTRIBUTION.