'ANNUAL REPORT OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY, FOR THE YEAR 1909-1910' [‎151v] (34/148)

Births and
Deaths-
XXVI
BOMBAY ADMINISTRATION REPORT.
U 909.1^0
nlWhuted Increased expenditure under the same head accounted for the lise
in the expenditure which exceeded the income by about R s . 3 o )0oo
compared with an excess of 2j lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees in the preceding year The accounts 0 f
S funds were audited and each fund proved to be solvent. The receipt, o{
J majority of Cantonment Funds improved, particularly those of Kirkee,
Poona nd Hyderabad. In the first case, the increase was due to the carrying
out of conservancv departmental! y, and was counterbalanced by heavy expend;,
ture on the widening of Holkar’s Bridge. Improved income from taxes and
dues accounts for the increase at Poona, while Hyderabad Cantonment F U n d
received laro-e grants-in-aid for various purposes. All Police Funds increased
their receipts and closed with credit balances, while Port and Marine F„n d8
more than doubled their closing balance. Anew Medina und appeared on
the books of the Accountant General’s office, v%z., t e Hyderabad Medical
School Eund.
63 The vital statistics of the year display no very marked deflection
from the satisfactory position attained to in the preceding year when the
birth-rate was the highest and the death-rate the lowest in the decennial period.
The recorded bii th-rate has transcended the mean of the previous ten years by
66 686 though it is less by 2,516 than the rate for 1908. The rate per thousand
was 35-59, a decrease of ‘IS. There was an increased birth-rate in all Collectorates
of Gujarat accompanied by a decrease in the death-rate, and the general decrease
in birth-rate was absorbed by the Southern, Western and Sind Registration
Districts. The death-rate for the whole 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. shows an increase cf 4,098
from 27-15 to ^7"38 per thousand but it is still 12 per thousand below the
decennial mean. Compared with the previous year there was a decrease in the
recorded death-rate in all Collectorates except East Khandesh, Nasik, Satara,
Belgaum, Dharwar, Bijapur and Larkana where cholera, plague and small
pox accounted for the increased mortality. While the continuous decline in
plague mortality was sustained and the number of deaths was the lowest
since the appearance of the scourge, the effect of this improvement was
eclipsed by a widespread outbreak of cholera most virulent in the Central ami
Southern Divisions whither pilgrims from the Sinhast festival at Nasik carried
the infection. The deaths from this disease numbered 28,714 compared with
1,759 in 1908 and are mainly responsible for the increased general death-rate.
The decrease in the death-rate from all other principal diseases except small
pox was continued from the previous year and the most noticeable abatement
was in the mortality from malaria which was the lowest since 1898, a fact
which indicates that success is attending the special measures directed against
the ravages of this disease in the most infected districts.
Emigration and -^ rom Bombay and Karachi small contingents of men emigrated for
immigration, service on the Uganda Railway on a three years’ agreement and over five
hundred returned on the expiry of their terms. Other emigrants were attracted
by the oil industry in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . Emigration to South Africa proceeds
on a diminished scale and much dissatisfaction at the colonial restrictions
prevails amongst the Mahomedan trading community in Kolaba District. 0 n
the other hand the numbers who annually leave Surat for temporary employ-
ment in South Africa and their eagerness to settle there with their families
indicates that they do not ffnd the restrictions a burden. Cultivation in many
villages of the Surat District has been diminished owing to the number oa
emigrants hut it is estimated, that in one taluka alone of that district over a
lakh One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees of rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. is remitted to their families by those who have sought a h veil
hood in South Africa. Within 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 complete absence of a11 ^
abnormal shifting of the population demonstrates the character of the sea s0 J