'REPORT ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY, FOR THE YEAR 1907-1908' [‎7v] (13/137)

There was no sign, except in some of the Native States in Gujarat, of the
increase in crime which is the usual concomitant of scarcity. In spite of very
heavy mortality from plague, there was a decided fall in the death-rate; and
a general improvement in the public health is indicated by the decreased
mortality from all other principal diseases and the diminished population of
the hospitals. For the remarkable increase in the consumption of liquor and
drugs and in expenditure on luxuries indicated by the Excise and Trade
returns there was a special reason; the approach of a Sinhvast year entailed
an extraordinary number of marriages, and, good season or bad, money is
always forthcoming for a marriage ceremony. Still it is safe to assume that the
lavish expenditure on festivities denoted at least a general freedom from the
pressure of severe poverty. On the whole it may be said that, while the
improvement noticeable Iasi year in the condition of the cultivating classes met
with a temporary check, there was no appreciable retrogression ; and this,
considering the character of the season, a very severe epidemic of plague, and
the general prevalence of cattle-disease in tbe 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 as satisfactoiy
a result as could have been hoped for.
If the year was inauspicious from the cultivator’s point of view, commerci
ally it was characterised by phenomenal prosperity both 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
Sind. The foreign trade of Bombay showed a further very substantial im
provement, imports forging ahead by 6 f crores and exports by over 3 crores in
spite of the famine prevailing in the United Provinces, while the foreign trade of
Karachi showed an advance of 3f crores on the record figures of 1906- 1 907.
The expansion was shared by all the principal constituents of the import trade;
and though part of the increase was due to high prices, the very fact that the
rise in prices has not been able to restrict the volume of trade attests the
Materials, Machinery and Railway Plant, Chemicals and Oils are a striking indi
cation of industrial progress, while the large increases in articles of luxury and
comfort point as clearly to general economic improvement. It is also note
worthy that the re-exports of foreign goods, which had been latterly checked
by the opening of direct communication between Europe and Eastern
countries, have been steadily gaining ground, and the volume of this year, for
Bombay, was the largest of the quinquennial period. The coasting trade 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. improved in value by crores; the land trade by over 7 crores;
and the coasting and land trade of Sind showed less marked but still consider
able increases. From the industrial point of view the principal feature of the
year was a further large increase in the number of cotton mills and factories-
especially in Ahmedabad. There was an extraordinary advance of nearly 20
million pounds in the production of woven goods, and though the total output
of yarn fell heavily owing to the reduced demand for export to China there
was an increase of over 7 million pounds in the spinning of the higher counts.
Large shipments of Indian yarns found their way to European markets and
now that certain local mills have established a reputation for good delivery
there is every prospect of an extensive trade being established with Europe.
The financial position was, naturally, largely affected by the circumstances
indicated above. There was a large falling off in the receipts of land
revenue as the result of the bad agricultural season, and a lari^e advance in
the customs receipts as the result of commercial prosperity. Other outstanding
features were the notable expansion of the Excise and Opium revenue and the
contraction of the salt revenue by 42 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees owing to the reduction of dutv.
The gross revenue showed a small increase of lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees .