THE SUPPLEMENT TO THE 



Tropical Agriculturist and Magazine of the G. A. 8. 



Compiled and Edited by A. M. & J. FERGUSON. 



No. 6.] 



JUNE, 1910. 



[Vol. VI. 



THE TOBACCO TROUBLE IN 

 TRAVANCORE. 



HOW WILL IT BE SOLVED? 



We learn from South India that the recent 

 impost on tobacco levied by the Travancore 

 Durbar in conformity with the rate of tax fixed 

 by the Imperial Government has proved to be a 

 serious drain on the tobacco traders of the 

 State and is likely to ruin them. The system 

 under which the trade is carried on is explained 

 in the last Travancore Administration Beport :— ■ 



"The tobacco required for consumption in 

 the State is imported by merchants on their 

 own account, by land, sea or rail, and bonded 

 in Sirkar warehouses, where it is allowed to 

 remain in the joint custody of the Durbar and the 

 merchants. The merchants remove the tobacco 

 from the warehouses after paying the import 

 duty of R90 per candy for all kinds." 



It has always been the policy of the Travan- 

 core Government to encourage and foster the 

 tobacco trade, and at one time nearly half the 

 revenue of the State was derived from the 

 tobacco trade of which the Government had the 

 monopoly. Subsequently the Government 

 monopoly was abolished, and the trade was 

 thrown open to public competition. The import 

 duty on Ceylon tobacco was then fixed at B190 

 per candy. Having realised by experience that 

 so high a duty as R190 per candy on Oeylon 

 tobacco was injurious to the trade and to the 

 best interests of the State, the Government 

 reduced the import duty on Ceylon tobacco to 

 R90 per candy at which rate it remained till 

 February 25th last. The solicitude which the 

 Government had for the growth of the trade was 

 so great that with a view to encourage tobacco 

 merchants and prevent smuggling, warehouses 

 on different trade routes and at convenient 

 centres for storing tobacco were placed at the dis- 

 70 



posal of the traders. As will be seen from the 

 quotation given above, this practice prevails 

 even now. Another concession which tobacco 

 traders enjoyed has been the privilege of pay- 

 ing the duty on tobacco by degrees as sales 

 were gradually effected. The tobacco being kept 

 in bonded warehouses under the care and super- 

 vision of Government Officials, the traders have 

 been at liberty to sell at their convenience, and 

 after each sale to pay the duty on the quantity 

 sold — a privilege not enjoyed by tobacco traders 

 elsewhere. They were also encouraged to im- 

 port all the tobacco they could afford to buy 

 during the season of the North-East Monsoon 

 when alone the Travancore oorts are available 

 for safely landing goods, and to keep it in 

 the bonded warehouses. The peculiarity with 

 the Ceylon tobacco is that Travancore and 

 Cochin are the only countries where it is 

 principally consumed. In Travancore it is 

 used by all classes of the native inhabitants as 

 an almost indispensable ingredient in chewing 

 betel. The average consumption per head of 

 the population last year was 4 - 2 lb. against 4 lb. 

 in the year previous. The way in which the 

 Ceylon tobacco is cured and prepared is highly 

 relished by Travancoreans who consider it an 

 antidote to the evil effects of malaria and the 

 dampness of the climate. The traders in Trav- 

 ancore have invested a large amount of capital 

 in the purchase of Ceylon tobacco and in making 

 advances to tobacco cultivators in the district 

 of Jaffna in Ceylon where this variety of tobacco 

 is exclusively grown. The total capital invested 

 this year alone is R16 lakhs. They have also in 

 stock in the Government warehouses in Trav- 

 ancore 2,600 and odd candies of tobacco valued 

 at R5i lakhs, and they have now in Ceylon, 

 ready for shipment, 1, 500 and odd candies valued 

 at about R3 lakhs. The newly-levied duty is 

 Rl A3 8 per pound of tobacco which is R900 per 

 candy. This huge enhancement at one sweep is 



