VALUE OF TRADE. 215 



phically, when I enquired about this subject that in those days they 

 had simply to do what the king told them, and there was no remon- 

 strating against his orders. With the monopoly the price of the oil 

 rose considerably, I cannot ascertain whether at once to its later 

 figure or only gradually ; from 1879 to 1 891 the price was R25 per 

 100 viss brought up the river and R15 per 100 viss brought down 

 the river. Afterwards the price for upcountry oil rose to R25, 

 that for Lower Burma fell to R7 per 100 viss, but it subsequently 

 recovered and till April 1891 the ordinary selling price of crude oil 

 delivered at the river bank was R15. The local Government 

 having given back the right of free sale to the native well owners 

 the price of the crude oil dropped at once owing to the competition 

 of the oil from the drilled wells and in May 1891 it sold for R 2- 12-0 

 per 100 viss delivered at the river bank. 



The cost price of the oil is very low, and it seems that it has not 

 changed for a good many years, but unfortunately no information 

 may be obtained about this subject from previous accounts about the 

 oilfields. Captain Cox states that four labourers were required to 

 haul up the oil and that they received one sixth of the value of the 

 oil drawn at the rate of ij ticals per 100 viss. This would roughly 

 amount to 4 annas per 100 viss ; cart hire seems to have been paid 

 separately, as Captain Cox states that the value of the oil is in- 

 creased to three eighths of its value at the oilfields, the price at the 

 river bank being 2 ticals (R 2-8-0). Should this be correct, the 

 actual cost price per 100 viss was originally low, but was consider- 

 ably increased by the cost of cart hire, which was something like 15 

 annas per 100 viss. 



In later years the actual cost price, including cart hire, was re- 

 duced to 8 annas per 100 viss. It was supposed, that the man who 

 carted the oil down to the river, had to provide also the labour 

 of hauling up the oil. This was generally done by members of his 

 family, and he received 8 annas for every 100 viss of oil, under the 

 obligation, however, that he was to cart the oil down to the river, 



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