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progress made in this direction will be seen from the figures 

 given in the subjoined table : 



Note. — The figures shown above under " coasting trade " represent the value of im- 

 ports from and exports to ports within the Presidency as well as ports in other parts of 

 India. As, however, in the former case the imports of one port are the exports of another, 

 the value of interportal trade within the Presidency is reckoned twice over. For instance, 

 in the U-37 millions, Rx. shown as the value of the coasting trade, 4-6 million, Rx, 

 represents the aggregate value of import and export trade as between ports within the 

 Presidency and half of it should be deducted from the total trade. 



The table above given shows that, during the first half of the 

 century, there was not only no improvement in sea-borne trade, 

 but that it showed a tendency to decline. The East India 

 Company was deprived of its commercial privileges except as 

 regards the China trade in 1813, and the monopoly of the 

 China trade also was abolished in 1833. The internal trade of 

 the country, owing to the want of communications and the levy 

 of the oppressive transit duties, was very restricted, and the 

 Presidency itself was suffering from agricultural depression. 

 Since 1850, however, in consequence of the development of 

 communications, the abolition of transit duties and customs 

 duties on interportal trade and other causes which have been 

 already more than once referred to, the trade has advanced by 

 '' leaps and bounds." This will be still more manifest if we 

 take one port, Tuticorin for instance, and examine how its 

 trade has progressed. In the early years of the century the 

 trade of the whole district of Tinnevelly, both by sea and land, 

 was very small. There were only 16 ships (native craft) 

 engaged in sea traffic, and the trade was chiefly in jaggery 

 with Madras and in cloth with Colombo. The total exports by 

 sea and land amounted only to 14 lakhs of rupees, of which 

 about 4 lakhs represented the Company's investments. The 

 trade by land consisted of raw cotton valued at Ks. 80,000 

 and tobacco valued at Es. 75,000. The imports were insignifi- 

 cant, consisting of small quantities of pepper and occasionally 

 rice, The, progress of sea-borne trade since 1830 has been as 



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