378 



INDIA. 



tions showed that 171,735,000 were dependent on 

 agriculture, 25,468,000 on earth work and general 

 labor, 14,576,000 on the preparation and sale of 

 food, drink, and stimulants, 12,611,000 on making 

 textile fabrics and dress, 11,220,000 on personal, 

 household, and sanitary services, 5,672,000 on the 

 learned and artistic professions, 5,600,000 on serv- 

 ice in the state and local administrations, 4,686,- 

 000 on commerce, 4,293,000 on working in wood, 

 cane, and matting, 3,953,000 on transportation 

 and storage, 3,821,000 on working in metals and 

 precious stones, 3,646,000 on provision and care of 

 cattle, 3,522,000 on light, firing, and forage, 3,285,- 

 000 on working in leather and horn, making 

 boxes, etc., 2,361.000 on making glass, pottery, 

 and stoneware, 1,438,000 on building trades, 

 1,155,000 on producing articles of supplementary 

 requirement, 664,000 on military and naval de- 

 fense, 500,000 on the service of foreign states, 392,- 

 000 on the gathering and preparation of drugs, 

 dyes, gums, etc., 147,000 on vehicles and vessels, 

 141,000 on sport and amusements, 1,563,000 on 

 undefined and disreputable callings, and 4,774,000 

 on their independent means. The registration of 

 vital statistics is attempted throughout British 

 India, though in some of the provinces the rec- 

 ords are very imperfect. The official reports for 

 1896 show a birth rate per 1,000 of 43 in the Pun- 

 jab, 38.03 in Bengal, 36.76 in Bombay, 34.5 in the 

 Northwest Provinces and Oudh, 33.69 in Assam, 

 32.27 in Lower Burmah, 31.72 in the Central 

 Provinces, and 29.9 in Madras. The death rate 

 was 49.31 in the Central Provinces, 36.33 in As- 

 sam, 34.17 in Bengal, 33.32 in the Northwest 

 Provinces and Oudh, 31.69 in Bombay, 31.5 in the 

 Punjab, 23.63 in Lower Burmah, and 20.6 in Ma- 

 dras. The number of coolie emigrants in 1896 

 was 12,390, most of them bound for Demerara, 

 Trinidad, Mauritius, and other British tropical 

 colonies. The population of the principal cities of 

 India in 1891 was as follows: Calcutta, 861,764; 

 Bombay, 821,764; Madras, 452,518; Hyderabad, 

 415,039; Lucknow, 273,028; Benares, 219,467; 

 Delhi 192,579: Mandalay, 188,815; Cawnpur, 188,- 

 712; Bangalore, 180,366; Rangoon, 180,324; La- 

 hore, 176,854; Allahabad, 175,246. 



Finances. The revenue in 1897 was Rx 94,- 

 129,741, and the expenditure was Rx 95,834,763, 

 of which Rx 69,600,508 were expended in India 

 and Rx 26,234,255 in Great Britain. The loss by 

 exchange was Rx 10,438,419, making the sterling 

 expenditures in England 15,795,836, offset to 

 the extent of 327,107 of receipts in England, on 

 which the gain by exchange was Rx 216,163. The 

 revenue collected by the Government of India 

 was Rx 17,131,376, and expenses of the General 

 Government were Rx 22,241,456; revenue of the 

 Central Provinces Rx 2,178,831, and expenses Rx 

 1,768,753; revenue of Burmah Rx 5,883,624, and 

 expenses Rx 4,222,271; revenue of Assam Rx 

 1,322,549, and expenses Rx 899,538; revenue of 

 Bengal Rx 20,957,055, and expenses Rx 9,794,785 ; 

 revenue of the Northwest Provinces and Oudh Rx 

 10,165,235, and expenses Rx 6,281,637; revenue of 

 the Punjab Rx 8,042,650, and expenses Rx 4,874,- 

 948; revenue of Madras Rx 13,563,169, and ex- 

 penses Rx 9,549,378; revenue of Bombay Rx 14,- 

 341,982, and expenses Rx 9,967,742. The land 

 revenue, which was Rx 26,200,955. in 1896, de- 

 clined, in consequence of famine, to Rx 23,974,489 

 in 1897, but recovered in 1898, in which year it 

 was Rx 25,932,300, according to the revised esti- 

 mates. The opium revenue has fallen, as a result 

 of the extension of the poppy culture in China, 

 from Rx 8,515,462 in 1888 to Rx 5,179.700 in 1898 

 The salt tax produced Rx 8,592,400 in 1898. The 

 expenditure for the army has doubled since the 



Indian mutiny, amounting in 1898 to Rx 27,073,- 

 000. Railroads, which cost Rx 22,801,300 to oper- 

 ate in 1898, yielded a revenue of Rx 22,167,300. 

 The revenue of the post office, telegraphs, and mint 

 was Rx 3,348,300, and the expense was Rx 2,878,- 

 000; the revenue of irrigation works was Rx 

 3,591,100, and the expense Rx 3,138,200. Civil 

 salaries in 1898 amounted to Rx 15,721,300, and 

 miscellaneous civil charges to Rx 5,724,500. The 

 charges of collection were Rx 8,991,000. For 

 famine relief and insurance Rx 5,414,200 were 

 charged to that year. The result of the widespread 

 famine and scarcity and of military operations 

 on the northwest frontier was a deficit in the 

 year's accounts of Rx 5,283,100. The cost of the 

 famine to the Government, adding the loss of 

 revenue to Rx 7,470,000 spent on famine relief in 

 1897 and 1898, is estimated at Rx 14,240,000, not 

 ihcluding Rx 1,850,000 of suspended revenue and 

 Rx 1,370,000 lent to cultivators for the purchase 

 of seed. The budget estimate of revenue for 1899 

 was Rx 99,085,400, and of expenditure Rx 98,- 

 194,000. The land revenue was estimated at Rx 

 27,568,200; opium, Rx 5,329,800; salt, Rx 8,728,- 

 000; stamps, Rx 4,855,900; excise, Rx 5,717,300; 

 provincial rates, Rx 3,860,000; customs, Rx 4,590,- 

 500; assessed taxes, Rx 1,892,900; forests, Rx 

 1,735,600; registration, Rx 462,200; tribute, Rx 

 919,400; interest, Rx 929,800; post office, tele- 

 graphs, and mint, Rx 3,203,900; civil depart- 

 ments, Rx 1,733,000; miscellaneous, Rx 918,600; 

 railroads, Rx 21,823,600; irrigation, Rx 3,228,100; 

 buildings and roads, Rx 678,700; military depart- 

 ments, Rx 909,900. The expenditures for interest 

 on the debt were set down as Rx 3,378,600; re- 

 funds and compensations, Rx 1,880,100; charges 

 of collection, Rx 9,330,800; post office, telegraphs, 

 and mint, Rx 2,932,000; civil salaries, Rx 15,694,- 

 800; miscellaneous civil charges, Rx 5,777,600; 

 famine relief and insurance, Rx 1,099,200; rail- 

 road construction, Rx 5,800; railroad revenue ac- 

 count, Rx 23,921,400; irrigation, Rx 3,213,100; 

 buildings and roads, Rx 6,021,500; the army, Rx 

 25,055,900. The sum total is Rx 98,310,800, from 

 which are deducted Rx 116,800 of expenditures 

 from provincial balances. The famine grant of 

 Rx 1,500,000 a year, to obtain which the salt 

 duties and other taxes were increased, was di- 

 verted for many years to strategical railroads and ' 

 other military purposes. The estimates for 1899 

 provide for the expenditure of the full amount 

 under the head of famine relief and insurance 

 and on railroads for the transportation of food 

 supplies in times of scarcity. Extraordinary ex- 

 penditures on railroads and irrigation not charged 

 against revenue amounted to Rx 4,604,600 in 1898 

 and Rx 5,749,300 in 1899. 



In the financial year ending March 31, 1899, the 

 gold liabilities to England were reduced 2,695,- 

 000. There was a reduction of Rx 1,973,000 in 

 the annual expenditure, and an increase of Rx 

 1,658,200 in the revenue. The year closed with 

 the surplus of Rx 4,759,400, the largest ever real- 

 ized. The land revenue, opium, the salt duty/ 

 customs, and other branches of revenue' showed 

 an unexpected and, after a famine, a remarkable 

 improvement. For 1900 the revenue was esti- 

 mated at Rx 62,477,000, and expenditure at Rx 

 58,544,400. The unremunerative debt of India at 

 the end of 1899 amounted to only 31,689,000. 

 The total public debt of British India on March 

 31, 1897, amounted to Rx 237,325,160, of which 

 Rx 113,883,233 represent the permanent debt in 

 England, Rx 109,115,053 the permanent debt in 

 India, and Rx 14,326,874 the unfunded debt in 

 India. The accounts for 1898 closed with a deficit 

 of Rx 5,630,000, which was Rx 350,000 more than 



