51 



which they were willing to pay. In the event of the 

 fibre turning ^out of use, they further demanded (2) 

 a concession of 3,000 tons at a fair market valuation, 

 provided such price proved profitable to both parties. 

 With regard to the rough papers referred to in the 

 first part of this pamphlet (page 8), the same firm 

 agreed (3) to test their value, if samples of not less 

 than two tons of each kind were sent to them free of 

 all cost, and to become purchasers if the material 

 could be utilized in the paper-trade, and the price 

 fixed by Government was not prohibitory. These 

 terms by no means imply an entire control or mo- 

 nopoly of the trade, for so soon as the fibres became 

 known, the law of supply and demand would deter- 

 mine their real value, and thus the trade would be 

 placed in the best possible ground for insuring ulti- 

 mate success. This prospect of future gain has in- 

 duced me to recommend to the local administrations 

 of Sind and Burma that the foregoing terms be ac- 

 cepted, and I trust both Her Majesty's Secretary of 

 State for India and the Government of India will ap- 

 prove of the measures I have adopted.* 



20. For over a century efforts have been made 

 KS7 l Srt from time to time to reduce the cost of 



few of them will , . , . . , . . r , 



pay. paper by the introduction of a cheaper 



raw material. In the British Museum may be found 

 a record of 60 different specimens of paper, manu- 

 factured as far back as 1772. These experiments go 

 to prove that while the number of fibre-yielding 



* Vide Appendix. 



