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‘BOMBAY – 1924-25. A Review of the Administration of the Presidency’ [‎579v] (90/316)

The record is made up of 1 item (156 folios). It was created in 1926. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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BOMBAY, 1924-25
Prisons points out that the Dharwar Juvenile Jail can take only non-
habitual criminals who have been sentenced, to at least one year’s imprison
ment. Under the present system a young thief receives a succession of
short sentences which he undergoes in an ordinary jail with the result that
he becomes a confirmed criminal; whereas if the law allowed him to be
sentenced for his first or second offence to detention for at least a year in a
Borstal institution, there would be every hope of turning him into a
respectable citizen. Steps in this direction have already been taken by
Government by the re-organisation of the Dharwar Juvenile Jail on the
lines of a Borstal institution, and the question is being given careful
attention by the Inspector General of Prisons.
The problem of dealing with overcrowding in jails has been taken in
hand and now that the Hindalgi Central Prison has been opened and the
Arthur Road Jail, Bombay, and the Nasik Central Jail and the Women’s
Jail at Yeravda are being completed, sufficient accommodation will exist
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. proper to meet any likely increase for some years. Steps
have already been taken by Government to reduce overcrowding in Sind
by the extension of the jails at Karachi and Hyderabad and the re-opening
of the Shikarpur prison.
The number of prisoners sentenced to simple imprisonment was 1,177
and it is pointed out that many of the prisoners sent to jail under section
109 of the Criminal Procedure Code are habituals with several previous
convictions and the Inspector General suggests that it is undesirable that
such persons should be maintained for months or years in entire idleness
at the public expense.
DISCIPLINE
The discipline of the jails was highly satisfactory. The number of
prisoners punished by the imposition of fetters fell from 7,343 in 1923 to
6,781 in 1924, and the number of jail offences dealt with in criminal courts
also declined from 85 to 48. There was a slight fall in the number of
offences dealt with by jail superintendents and the number of jail Hoggings
inflicted decreased from 98 to 40.
HEALTH AND DIET
The health of the prisoners was good. The average daily sick in hospi
tal fell from 281'1 in 1923 to 264'2 in 1924, the death rate per thousand
being 10'3 against 10'9 in the previous year and was lower than in any
other province. Four jails, namely Dharwar, Ratnagiri, Rajkot and the
Deccan Convict Gang, Visapur, had no deaths at all.
Although there was an increase in the jail population, the cost of dietary
fell by nearly Rs. 45,000, a result that is due partly to a fall in prices
and partly to the economy exercised by superintendents and jailors. It
has also been found that the system of departmental purchase is more
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Annual administration report 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. , providing a summary record of the main events and developments in each department of the Government of Bombay From c. 1668-1858, the East India Company’s administration in the city of Bombay [Mumbai] and western India. From 1858-1947, a subdivision of the British Raj. It was responsible for British relations with the Gulf and Red Sea regions. during the financial year 1924-25. The report was printed at the Government Central Press, Bombay [Mumbai], in 1926.

The report is divided into two parts. Part I (ff 541-554) comprises a report ‘GENERAL SUMMARY’, consisting of: [Political]; Finance; Trade and Commerce; Agriculture; Department of Agriculture; Instruction; Law and Justice; Police and Crime; Bombay City Police; Public Health; Salt; Excise; Forests; Co-operative Movement; Public Works; Bombay Development Department.

PART II (ff 555-683) comprises the following headings, which are further divided into sub-headings:

  • CHAPTER I ‘INDIAN STATES.’ (ff 555-560), consisting of: I. North Gujarat; II. South Gujarat; III. North Konkan; IV. South Konkan; V. The Deccan; VI. Kolhapur and Southern Maratha Country States; VII. Sind [Sindh]; VIII. Aden; Condition of the people
  • CHAPTER II ‘ADMINISTRATION OF THE LAND.’ (ff 560-565), consisting of: Land Records; Revenue Surveys; the Record of Rights; Remissions of Revenue; System of Land Tenure; Gujarat Talukdars’ Act; Sind Incumbered Estates Act; the Court of Wards Act; Department of Land Records; Routine Measurement Work; Revenue Surveys; City Surveys; Revision Settlements
  • CHAPTER III ‘LAW AND JUSTICE.’ (ff 565-572), consisting of: the Budget; Resolutions and Questions; Course of Legislation; Administration of Justice; Civil Justice; Criminal Justice; Registration; Joint Stock Companies
  • CHAPTER IV ‘POLICE AND CRIME’ (ff 573-580), consisting of: Mofussil and Sind Police; Bombay City Police; Village Police; Aden Police; Government Male and Female Workhouses; Bombay Jails; Criminal Tribes
  • CHAPTER V ‘AGRICULTURE, WEATHER AND CROPS’ (ff 582-602), consisting of: Nature of the Crops; Outturn of the Crops; Agricultural Stock; Condition of the Agricultural Population; Department of Agriculture; Note on the Weather; Prices; Labour and Wages; Forests; Co-operative Movement; Horticulture
  • CHAPTER VI ‘TRADE AND COMMERCE’ (ff 603-624), consisting of: Industries; Department of Industries; the Factories Act; Sea-borne Trade; Foreign Trade; Foreign Merchandise; Indian Produce and Manufactures; Trade According to Countries; Shipping; Coasting Trade; Subordinate Ports 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 Trade of Sind; Shipping Offices; Labour Office
  • CHAPTER VII ‘PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT’ (ff 624-634), consisting of: Irrigation; Sind; Deccan and Gujarat; Railways
  • CHAPTER VIII ‘VITAL STATISTICS AND MEDICAL RELIEF’ (ff 634-649), consisting of: [Births and Deaths]; Epidemic Diseases; Hospitals and Dispensaries; Sanitation; Vaccination; the Haffkine Institute; Veterinary; Chemical Analysers; Wild Animals and Venomous Snakes; Mental [psychiatric] Hospitals; Acworth Leper Asylum [hospital for people affected by leprosy or Hansen’s Disease], Matunga
  • CHAPTER IX ‘LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT’ (ff 650-656), consisting of: District Municipalities; Bombay Municipality; Local Board Administration; Village Panchayats; Bombay Improvement Trust; Bombay Port Trust; Karachi Port Trust; Aden Port Trust; Working of the Rent Acts
  • CHAPTER X ‘COLLECTION OF REVENUE AND FINANCIAL REVIEW’ (ff 656-670), consisting of: the Budget for 1924-25; Loan Accounts; No Revenue from Income Tax; Land Revenue; Public Works Revenue; Customs Administration; Salt Department; Excise; Cotton Duties Act; Stamps; Taxes on Income
  • CHAPTER XI ‘INSTRUCTION’ (ff 671-676), consisting of: Education; Yeravda [Yerwada or Yerawada] Reformatory; Books and Publications; Newspapers; Royal Asiatic Society, Bombay; Victoria and Albert Museum, Bombay; Prince of Wales Museum of Western India, Bombay; Natural History Section; Victoria Museum, Karachi
  • CHAPTER XII ‘ARCHAEOLOGY’ (ff 677-678), consisting of: [Archaeological Survey of India, Western Circle]
  • CHAPTER XIII ‘MISCELLANEOUS’ (ff 679-683), consisting of: Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction; the Established Church of England; the Established Church of Scotland; Stationary; Printing; Bombay Development Department; Back Bay Reclamation; Industrial Housing in Bombay; Suburban Industrial Schemes; Suburban Development; Water Supply in Salsette; Railway Schemes; Advisory Committee; Organization of the Directorate; Military (Indian Auxiliary and Territorial Forces); Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; Advances to Cultivators.

The report includes the following photographs:

  • ‘Gateway of India, Apollo Bandar, Bombay.’ (f 540)
  • ‘Large Hand Sizing Machine (suitable for a hand-loom factory An East India Company trading post. )’ (f 606)
  • ‘Group of castings made at the P. W. D. Workshops, Dapuri, Poona [Pune]. The large roller rim weighs over a ton.’ (f 625)
  • ‘Dragline Excavators for the three Right Bank Canals ex Indus at Sukkur. Ruston and Hornby’s Model No. 300, crossing the North-Western Railway line at Bagerji [Bagarji].’ (f 627)
  • ‘Dragline Excavators crossing Sukkur Canal on a bank 16 feet high, pierced with 6 ‘armco’ pipes 36” in diameter to carry the canal discharge.’ (f 629)
  • ‘Four machines ready to start on their journey to the site of work.’ (f 631)
  • ‘Lake Arthur Hill, Bhandardara Dam. Downsteam full view from south Bank.’ (f 633)
  • ‘Lloyd Barrage Circle. View of the Barrage Township at Sukkur.’ (f 635)
  • ‘Another view of the Barrage Township.’ (f 637)
  • ‘Alandi Fair–Pilgrims taking baths in the ‘Chakratirtha’’ (f 644)
  • ‘Alandi Fair–View of the pilgrims encamped on the river side from the bridge over the Indrayani River.’ (f 646)
  • ‘Alandi Fair–Lady Volunteers from the Seva Sadan, Poona, assisting the pilgrims in securing a darshan.’ (f 648)
  • ‘Salt Department. West wall of wharf at Dabhol. S. S. “Jayanti” alongside wharf, south side.’ (f 664)
  • ‘East end of wharf at Dabhol, showing landing steps and Indian Company’s office at far side.’ (f 666)
  • ‘Mohenjo-Daro (District Larkana, Sind). Well and paved baths.’ (f 676)
  • ‘Mohenjo-Daro (District Larkana, Sind). Seals with pictographic writings.’ (f 678).

There are also diagrams showing the following: ‘WAGES AND COST OF LIVING’ (f 597); ‘Chart I DEATHS IN 1924 AND PREVIOUS YEARS.’ (f 639); ‘DEATH-RATE AT AGE-PERIOD’ (f 640); ‘CHART VI - ANNUAL INCIDENCE OF DEATHS FROM EPIDEMIC DISEASES.’ (f 641); ‘CHART VII MONTHLY INCIDENCE OF DEATHS FROM EPIDEMIC DISEASES’ (f 642); ‘DISTRIBUTION OF PRINCIPAL HEADS OF REVENUE FOR THE YEAR 1924-25.’ (f 657); ‘DISTRIBUTION OF PRINCIPAL HEADS OF EXPENDITURE MET FROM REVENUE FOR THE YEAR 1924-25.’ (f 659); ‘TOTAL EXPENDITURE CHARGED TO REVENUE [1913-14 to 1924-25]’ (f 661).

There are appendices on folios 684-686, and an index on folios 687-689. There is a map 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. on folio 690.

A table of contents listing the headings and sub-headings of the report is on folios 538-539. In a small number of instances, there are discrepancies in the phrasing or inclusion of sub-headings between the table of contents and the body of the report. In these cases, the sub-heading as it appears in the body of the report is included above.

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‘BOMBAY – 1924-25. A Review of the Administration of the Presidency’ [‎579v] (90/316), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/V/10/317/4, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100152998490.0x0000aa> [accessed 3 August 2026]

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