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provided so?7ie increase in pay he given ^ for although these recruits 

 have found the work sufficiently profitable, and express themselves 

 particularly well satisfied with the treatQient meted out to them, there 

 is some doubt if they will return if the pay be not raised, as they get 

 double the Tuticorin rate when they work in their home waters 

 (Kilakarai), and also because, from their newly acquired experience of 

 the Tuticorin fishery, they have good hopes of finding the hitherto 

 unworked deep-water beds off their own coast as profitable in the 

 numbers of shells available for fishing as the beds oft' Tuticorin. I 

 doubt, however, if the quantity fishable in the former place is so great 

 as they expect, but as the pay is so much better, this will compensate 

 for smaller catches. Hence to retain, as is necessary, their services 

 in part for the Tuticorin fishery, and to bring back the local men who 

 have drifted to other occupations, I am strongly of opinion that 

 the time has now come for a reasonable increase in the rate paid, if 

 the prosperity of the fishery is to increase as it ought. If this be done 

 we shall also be enabled to recruit larger numbers of the Kilakarai 

 divers, in which case (and it is only a question of a small increase in 

 the rate of remuneration) there is no reason why instead of the present 

 2f lakhs produced by the Tinnevelly beds, these should not yield 

 double this quantity. 



10. Demand from the Calcutta chank market at present is good 

 and competition keen for any contracts that are open. I'he Tanjore 

 chank fishery, formerly let on a three years' lease ending 29th Febru- 

 ary 1916, for a payment in kind of 12, coo shells annually, has been 

 re-let for another three years' term for a rent of 42,000 shells per 

 annum ; the bulk of these rental shells have in turn been sold forward 

 for a term of three years, at the rate of Rs. 141 per 1,000 as against 

 Rs. 55 per 1,000 formerly paid. On this basis the Tanjore fishery 

 will eventually produce a net revenue of Rs. 5,922 per annum. 

 Here again we have attained at last a satisfactory return to the old 

 era of prosperity which closed in 1826 when the fishery was sold 

 for Rs. 5,444 per annum. Between 1826 and the present time only 

 once did the fishery bring in Rs. 2,500 while from 1866 onwards 

 till now never did it rise beyond Rs. 750 per annum. 



11. The firmness of the Calcutta market makes it certain that the 

 Ramnad contract now under negotiation will be concluded at a 

 greatly enhanced rate, as off'ers much higher than the present contract, 

 shortly to end, have already been received. 



12. The chank fisheries belonging to or leased by this Government 

 have now been brought to a condition of prosperity never before 

 equalled, and if the present generous policy in development be con- 

 tinued and extended, the net profit to Government will certainly be 

 very greatly enhanced. As showing the growing importance of this 

 branch of fishery work I may point out that the sum of Rs. 60,691 

 was paid into the Treasury on account of chanks during 191 5-16, 

 and that this sum will in turn be exceeded in 1916-17, is already 

 assured by the stock now ready for delivery in the Government 

 god owns at Tuticorin and Ramesvaram. I am quite satisfied that 

 within three years a return of a full lakh of rupees will be produced 

 by these fisheries. 



lO-A 



