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 BENGAL 213 near Raniganj, where iron ore and coal are found together. 1893-94. 1897-98. Imports— Rs. In 1898, the total output of pig-iron was 19,719 tons, of Rs. Foreign 31,30,17,449 31,03,61,126 which 15,779 tons were sold and 8515 tons were consumed in the Coasting 6,23,26,924 8,66,26,161 foundries. Jute is grown throughout the marshes of Eastern Bengal. Total 39,96,43,610 37,26,88,050 Apart from the quantity exported and the quantity made up by hand, it supports a prosperous mill industry, chiefly in the neighExports— bourhood of Calcutta and Howrah. Jute presses, mostly worked Foreign by steam or hydraulic power, employ nearly 30,000 persons. The 42,26,18,585 46,31,20,317 Coasting following table gives the chief statistics of jute mills in Bengal for 6,42,39,959 9,31,17,535 1895-98:— Total 48,68,58,544 55,62,37,852 Persons Employed. No. of No. of No. of Grand total 85,95,46,594 95,58,81,462 Mills. Looms. Spindles. Men. Women. pg°^| Children. Total, It will be observed that the foreign imports show hardly any change, while the foreign exports have improved by 9*5 per cent. 189596 10,406 4,000,875 50,973 15,640 4082 6,923 77,618 The considerable increase in both branches of coasting trade is due 189697 12,611 4,366,225 59,339 17,092 5649 9,174 91,254 mainly to the importation of rice from Burma on account of 189798 13,444 4,567,500 61,343 16,995 6023 10,405 94,766 famine, and to the growing exportation of coal and jute manuIn foreign trade the rate of increase during a period of In 1898, the number of cotton mills, all in the same neighbour- factures.years is 52 per cent, for imports, and 45 per cent, for exports. hood, was ten, with 200 looms and 379,082 spindles, employing twenty The principal imports are cotton piece goods, railway materials, 11,739 hands. The total out-turn was nearly 45 million ft of metals and machinery, oils, sugar, cotton twist, salt. The prinyarn, chiefly of counts between 10 and 20, and 63,266 lb of cipal exports are jute, tea, hides, opium, rice, oil-seeds, indigo, lac. woven goods, chiefly dhutis, chadars, and shirtings. There were Internal trade.—The interprovincial trade of Bengal is carried on also four paper mills, employing 3222 hands, with an out-turn of mostly with the North-Western and Central Provinces and with 33 million lb of paper, valued at Rs. 49,72,850. The materials In 1897-98, the total imports by rail were valued at used are rags, jute, grasses, old gunny bags, &c., and paper of Assam. Rs.14,08,97,894, of which 66 percent, came from the North-Western good quality is produced. The number of flour mills, large and and 14 per cent, from the Central Provinces. The principal articles small, was 25 ; of oil mills, 83 ; and of rice mills, 1. opium, hides, raw cotton, wheat, shell-lac, and oil-seeds. The Railways.—Bengal is well supplied with railways, which natu- were exports by rail were valued at Rs.12,26,27,407, of which 71 per rally have the seaport of Calcutta as the centre of the system. cent, went to the North-Western and 13 per cent, to the Central South of the Ganges, the East Indian follows the river from the Provinces. The principal articles were cotton piece goods (more North-Western Provinces, with its terminus at Howrah on the than one-fourth of the total), rice, coal, gunny bags, iron and Hooghly, opposite Calcutta. A chord line passes by the coalfield of steel, unrefined sugar, oil, cotton twist, gram and pulse, Raniganj, which enables this great railway to be worked more tobacco, manufactured kerosene silk, raw silk, and salt. In 1897-98, the economically than any other in India. The Bengal-Nagpur, from imports from Assam by river steamer were valued at Rs. 5,05,74,823, the Central Provinces, also has its terminus at Howrah, and the entirely tea, with some oil-seeds and jute. The exports to section of this railway through Midnapur carries the East Coast almost Assam by river steamer were valued at Rs.2,95,84,768, chiefly line from Madras. North of the Ganges the Eastern Bengal runs cotton piece goods (nearly one-third of the total), rice, gram and north to Darjiling, and maintains a service of river steamers on pulse, salt, twist, sugar, tobacco, and gunny baus. The the Brahmaputra. The Bengal Central serves the lower Gangetic imports fromcotton Assam by country boat were valued at Rs.1,27,10,294, delta. Both of these have their termini at Sealdah, an eastern chiefly rice (one-third of the total), oil-seeds, timber, limestone, suburb of Calcutta. Northern Behar is traversed by the Bengal hides, jute, mats, oranges, raw cotton, and dried fish. The exports and North-Western, with an extension eastwards through Tirhut into Assam by country boat were valued at Rs.88,50,073, chiefly to join the Eastern Bengal. The Assam-Bengal railway will connect sugar,, spices, kerosene oil, tobacco, gram and pulse, rice, the Brahmaputra valley with the Bengal port of Chittagong. In provisions, dried fruit and nuts, andsalt, Indian piece goods. The addition there are a few light lines and steam tramways. trade of Bengal is registered with Nepal, Sikkim and Canals and Rivers.—Rivers and other waterways still carry a frontier Tibet, and Bhutan, but, except with Nepal, the amount is insiglarge part of the traffic of Bengal, especially in the delta and alon" nificant. In 1897-98 the imports from Nepal were valued at the Brahmaputra. The Government maintains two channels Rs..1,45,97,183, chiefly rice (more than one-third), other food through the Sundarbans, known as the Calcutta and Eastern grains, cattle, hides, tobacco, ghee, and timber. The canals, and likewise does its best to keep open the Nadiya rivers, exports oil-seeds, into Nepal were valued at Rs.1,46,54,634, chiefly silver which form the communication between the main stream of the (more than one-fifth), cotton piece goods, salt, tobacco, spices, Ganges and the Hooghly. There is further a route by water brass and copper, provisions, sugar, betel-nuts, and iron. between Calcutta and Midnapur. The most important canals, Administration.—The administration of Bengal is conducted by those in Orissa and on the Sone river in Southern Behar, have been a lieutenant-governor, a chief secretary, two secretaries, and constructed primarily for irrigation, though they are also used for three under-secretaries.withThere executive council, as in navigation. _ The following table gives the financial results of the Madras and Bombay ; but there isis a noboard of revenue, consisting four chief irrigation schemes, classified as “major works,” for of two members. For legislative purposes the lieutenant-governor has a council of twenty members, of whom not more than ten may be officials. Of the remaining members seven are nominated Capital Revenue Working Simple Excess Loss on the recommendation of the Calcutta corporation, groups of per municipalities, groups of district boards, selected public associaOutlay. Receipts. Expenses. Interest. Expenditure. cent. tions, and the senate of Calcutta university. The number of Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. divisions or commissionerships is 9, of which Chota Nagpur ranks Orissa Pro- 2,63,02,141 5,54,757 5,42,752 10,27,516 10,15,511 3-83 as “non-regulation.” The number of districts is 44, excluding the ject Midnapur 84,65,427 2,75,636 2,41,831 3,31,130 2,97,325 3-51 cities of Calcutta and Howrah. The total number of civil and Canal revenue judges is 380, and of magistrates of all kinds, 2739. In Hijili Tidal 26,15,242 92,210 40,167 1,02,063 50,020 1-93 1898 the sanctioned strength of the district police was 23,788 of all Canal ranks. In addition, the railway police numbered 654, and the Sone Pro- 2,67,91,549 12,66,974 6,30,326 10,37,108 4,00,460 1-49 ject military police 300. These numbers give a proportion of one to every 2880 of the population, a much lower proportion Total 6,41,74,359 21,89,577 14,55,076 24,97,817 | 17,63,316 2-11 policeman than for India generally. The village police, or chaukidars, about 160,000. Various other “minor works,” against which no interest is charged, number the reorganization of the Indian army in 1895, show an excess revenue of Rs. 2,20,720, being 1-78 per cent, on a theArmy.—Since Bengal command, under a lieutenant-general, comprises all capital outlay of Rs.l,23,81,67l. Except as a protection against Northern India, except the Punjab. It consists of two first-class famine, expenditure on irrigation cannot be considered remunera- and six second-class districts, of which only one—the Presidency tive in Bengal. wholly within the province of Bengal. Apart from Commerce.—The seaborne trade of Bengal is almost entirely district—lies Fort William and Barrackpur, near Calcutta, the only other concentrated at Calcutta, which serves also as the port of Assam important station is Dinapur, near Patna, which is and the North-Western Provinces. A small share is conducted at included inmilitary the Allahabad district. In 1898 (he strength of the Chittagong and the Orissa ports. The following table gives the Bengal command was 23,252 European and 31,822 native troops— value of the total seaborne trade of the province, foreign and 55,074. In addition there were 13,085 enrolled volunteers. coasting, but exclusive of Government transactions, for the two total Local Government.—Excluding Calcutta the number of municiyears 1893-94 and 1897-98 palities in Bengal is 151. The number of persons within municipal