138 



India. 



are much more abundantly stocked with fish than are those of Europe, consequently it appears 

 strange why the majority of the sea-fishermen should be badly off, considering the almost 

 unlimited inland market for fish which exists. A long investigation led to the conclusion 

 that the fisheries were in a depressed condition wherever salt was expensive or the employment 

 of untaxed salt-earth prohibited, as in Bombay, along the Coromandel coast of Madras and the 

 Bay of Bengal. That they were flourishing where salt was cheap or the use of untaxed salt- 

 earth permitted, as in Sind, the Western coast of Madras and Burma. That where untaxed 

 salt-earth could be obtained the superior quality of salt was rarely purchased for fish curing. 

 That (with the exception of Sind and Burma) where the use of salt-earth was prohibited, the 

 fish-curer had to dry his fish in the sun, or purchase monopoly salt, while the sole way to keep 

 down the cost of this latter description of cured fish was to pay the very lowest possible price 

 for the fishermen's captures and employ a minimum amount of salt. 



Prior to considering the incidence of the salt tax upon the fish curers' and fishermen's trade, 

 I would draw attention to the following figures, which show, as far as returns are available, the 

 amount of salted and dried fish exported by sea from Indian ports. The value is given in 

 pounds sterling, calculating 1 rupee at 2 shillings. 



The duty on salt in Sind has been 2s. a maund of 82f Ib. avoirdupois, sometimes less, 

 during the entire period comprised in the above table. The first great increase in salting fish 

 occurred in 1860-61, in which year the salt duty was raised in Bombay from 2s. to 2s. Qd. a 

 maund. The next spurt of this trade in Sind was in 1864-65, when the salt duty was again 

 raised in Bombay from 2s. 6d. to 3s. a maund. Possibly the importations into Bombay from 

 Sind would subsequently have been more, but Government decided in 1867 to admit all salt 

 fish from foreign ports, where no salt duty exists, into British India free of duty, to the immense 

 advantage of the Portuguese settlements and the Meckran coast, but completing the ruin of 

 Indo-British fishermen and fish-curers unless they were advantageously located. 



The following table from different districts on the west or Malabar coast of Madras shows 

 the annual sale of Government or monopoly salt, along with the value of the salted and dried 

 fish which were exported by sea : 



The above table shows that the amount of annual exports of salt and dried fish in 

 Western India had very little if any connection with the quantity of monopoly salt which was 

 disposed of, the explanation being that the people were permitted to use the salt-earth in the 



