'ANNUAL REPORT OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY, FOR THE YEAR 1909-1910' [‎141r] (11/148)

SUMMARY.
V
190^ 10 *J
s of plag 116 an( ^ ^ or adoption of special measures, such as evacuation,
^ulation and rat-destruction, to limit infection, was continued in the districts
igaum, Satara and Kaira. In order to test more fully value of the
^ nire of* rat-destruction in preventing the spread of plague, the Sanitary
mission was authorized to organize rat-catching parties in these districts.
o.
There were few changes amongst the ruling chiefs. H. H. the Nawab An honorific title; an official acting as a provincial deputy ruler in South Asia; or a significant Muslim landowner in nineteenth century India. Native states.
f-R'ihanpur February and the orders of Government recognizing his
01 ^ __ V. ^ ~ n-nrn44-/A/^ o 4- the 6nd Of 41^^ TTrtor. T^Vw-ii
" o-er brother as his successor were awaited at the end of the year. The
Ir fof Aundh having been deposed, Bhavanrav Shrinivasrav Pant Pratinidhi
11 se i ec ted by Government as Chief in his plane. H. H. the Mir of Khairpur
was installed on the gddi and the Chief of Sdngli was invested with full powers
oygr his jaghir.
Visits were paid to Europe by H. H. the Raja King of Rajpipla and by the Chief
of Jamkhandi.
The season was generally more favourable than in the preceding year, parti
cularly in the States of North and South Konkan, the Rewa Kantha Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent.
a ncl some of the Southern Maratha Country States where the outturn of the
principal crops was excellent. In some States, particularly in Kolhapur and
Kathiawar, the rainfall, though sufficient, was ill-distrib uted to the detriment
of the kharif and rabi crops, but only in Phaltan were there any signs of scarcity.
There large remissions were given and a test-work was opened, which was, however,
attended by few people owing to the demand for labour in the neighbourhood.
As in British districts, wages were high and the demand for labour in excess of
the supply. Generally, the prices of staple grains were stationary, except in
a few States where the excellence of the season permitted a slight fall. Those
Native States which claim a sea-borne trade shared in the general prosperity
of the year, and, in the ports of Kathiawar, exports rose by 22 per cent, and
imports by 28 per cent. Another mark of the favourable season was the
increase in the revenue receipts and the enhanced outlay ^on public wor^s ia
most of the States. The recovery of the Southern Maratha States from the
depression of the preceding year was noticeable. The facilities for education
improved with the opening of 14:7 new schools while the number of pupils
increased by over 6 per cent., raising the percentage of pupils to the whole
population of the Native States to 2*9 compared with 8*5 in British districts.
The majority of States, in common with the rest 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. , shew a slight
increase in the number of criminal offences reported, hut there was a ^enerax
decrease in litigation in the Civil Courts. The abatement in the ravages Oi
plague was responsible for the widely-spread decrease in the death rate . ut
few States were exempt from the diminished birth-rate. Generally spea in^,,
the condition of the people shewed a marked improvement, and nowhere was
this more evident than amongst the population of Aundh and of^ Khairpur, e
only State in Sind, while in Dharampur, Bansda and Jawhar considerable
efforts were made to ameliorate the condition of the backward classes.
6. Survey parties continued operations in all divisions of the resi ency | nd
roper and in Sind. In the Northern Division one field party was engage m settlements,
miscellaneous measurement work in Ahmedabad and Surat distri cts, in
measurement of survey numbers affected by canals and tanks in Kaira an m
leaking up of large survey numbers and measurement of other survey num
ithe Panch MaMls. Three measuring parties and one classing par y were
a §aged on the Talukdari estates in Ahmedabai and another party was
employed in similar work in the Ranch Mahals. In the on ra 1V1 ^ 10 ^
tires parties were entertainel and over one lakh One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees of acres were measure an
B922—9.