'REPORT ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY, FOR THE YEAR 1907-1908' [‎15r] (28/137)

SUMMARY.
^OT-IWS.]
XyH
the value of improved methods and implements for the hand-weavim? industry
with a view to arrest its further decay before the progress of the power loom’
This year the weavers, like the jewellers and other handicraftsmen, drew oonsider’
able profit from the multitude of marriages decreed by the Hindu calendar Most
of the new enterprises mentioned in the report last year continued working and
paid their way, but the sugar factory An East India Company trading post. at Nasik and the fibre factory An East India Company trading post. at Dhlrwar
were not in a flourishing condition.. The fall in the price of manganese led to some
abatement of the activity in the mining industry created by the success of the
Shivrajpur and Bamankua mines in the Panch Mahals. But the set-back is
only temporary. Most of the southern portion 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. is under explo
ration for manganese, gold, or other minerals, and prospects are fairly encoura°-
ing. There is some hope that mining may do for the South Konkan what the
development of the city and harbour of Bombay, through the stimulus mven
to brick-making and quarrying, is doing for Thana and Kolaba. In Sind the
chief features^ of the year were the continued expansion of the rice-husking
industry in Larkana and the growth in industrial importance of the towns of
Mirpurkhas and Jacobabad.
37. From the commercial point of view 1907-1908 was a record year, the
foreign, coasting and land trade alike exhibiting a very remarkable improve
ment. The increase in the volume of trade is even more noteworthy than the
increase in value, for the latter was partly due to, while the former was in spite
of, a general and considerable rise in prices. The large increases in articles of
luxury and comfort are a sure indication of advancing prosperity, while the
heavy imports of Raw Materials, of Machinery, and of Railway Plant testifv to
the steady industrial progress 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. .
The chief port, Bombay, absorbs practically all the foreign 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. proper—the subordinate ports sharing only to the extent
of a lakh One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees and a half—and over 80 pu* cent, of the coasting trade. The
private trade of the port improved bv over 16 per cent, and was valued at
151£ crores or about 101 millions sterling. If the variable factor of Treasure
be excluded, imports show a rise of 6 f crores or 17 per cent, and exports a rise
of 6 cr >res or i per cent. Allowing for fluctuations in prices this increase in
value represents an increase in the vomme of trade amounting to 13 per cent,
in the case of imports and 5 per cent, in the case of exports. The improvement
in the former was most marked in the largest class. Articles Manufactured and
Partly Manufactured, which comprises more than half the total imports. All
sub-heads in this class show increases. Cot ton Manufactures, which form the
bulk, improved by 116 Mkhs, and Twist and Yarn, Silk and Woollen Fabrics
by 26, 19 and 34 Idkhs, respectively. Increases of i26 and 79 Ukhs under
White and Coloured Piece-goods, the latter due in large measure to the abnormal
number of marriages, counteracted a heavy fall of 84? lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees in Greys,
the result partly of high prices in Manchester, partly of the steady expansion
of the weaving industry in India. The class Metals and Manufactures of
Metals comes next in importance, and in it the net increase amounted to
2§ crores, of which more than half was contributed by Railway Materials.
Under Machinery and Mill work there was an increase of 36 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees , which was
almost entirely absorbed by Textile Machinery. The advance of 44f lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees
under the group Raw Materials, to which Silk and Cotton chiefly contributed,
would have been much larger but for a heavy drop of nearly i7 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees under
Precious Stones and Pearls, due to the financial crisis in America, wiiich made
Pearls a drug in the market. Provisions, Spices, and Tna shared the increase
of 34 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees in Articles of Food and Brink. Imports of Chemicals continued
to expand with the growth of industrial enterprises, and there was a marked
e 999 — 5 s
Trade.
Bombay.