xxxvi 



REPORT ON 



Report. having returned to England some months after the 

 institution of the experiment, it was continued only 

 for a short time after his departure. 



It has been already stated, that the Court's 

 annual order for raw-silk had, since the year 1823, 

 been for 7,000 bales. It was not, however, until 

 the year 1827, that the consignments to England 

 became equal to the quantity ordered. In that 

 and the three succeeding years, the quantity was 

 rather exceeded. This effect, which was pro- 

 ductive of much benefit to the silk manufacturers 

 of Great Britain, was not however attained with- 

 out a serious increase of the cost of the article to 

 the Company ; insomuch, that the invoice price 

 of the import, on the average of these four years, 

 amounted to the large sum of Sa. Rs. 76,30,000 

 per annum. 



The provision of the silk investment was ejffected 

 by means of advances of cash issued from the seve- 

 ral factories to a class of native agents called 

 Pykars, whose business it was to procure cocoons 

 for the use of the filatures, and in some cases to 

 deliver a proportion of prepared silk. Advances 

 in some instances were also made directly to the 

 growers of cocoons, and to contractors for silk, 

 without the intervention of the Pykars. When the 



agency 



