bank will be lost; and it is even doubtful whether the shareholders may not be called upon for farther advances to make good the debts that have been so recklessly incurred. The Agra Bank, established in 1833, has a branch in Calcutta. tively safe by a skilful and excellent, though costly pilot establishment. Table of Rates of full and broken Pilotage, chargeable to Ships and Vessels, inward and outward of the River Hooghly. Hire of the chain moorings at Diamond Harbour, 17. per diem. The lowest charge to a ship requiring the accommodation of the chain moorings at either of the places above mentioned, is for 10 days; and using them longer a farther charge is made at the established rate per diem for every day exceeding 10. The charge for transporting a ship from her moorings into any of the docks at Kidderpore, Howrah, or Sulkea, or from any of the docks to her moorings, is fixed at 50 rupees; and no higher charge for such service is authorised. Besides pilotage, every ship is chargeable with the hire of a row-boat to accompany her; viz. for a boat of the first class, 24s.; of the second class, 15; and of the third class, 148. Of late years a lighthouse has been erected at Kedgeree, for which the charge on British or American flags is at the rate of 3d. per ton per annum. Ships proceeding to Calcutta must land their gunpowder at the powder magazine at Moyapore: the charge is at the rate of 1d. per ton for each voyage. The whole pilot establishment and the care of the navigation of the Hooghly is under the management of government, and is directed by a marine board, with a master attendant and harbour-master. The Marine Board at Calcutta have issued the following regulations with respect to pilotage, &c. 1. Commanders are requested, prior to quitting their vessels, on arrival off Calcutta, to fill up and certify, or cause to be filled up and certified, a form of certificate, showing the actual registered tonnage, the draught of water, and whether the vessel has or has not been tugged by a steamer any part of the way, or has or has not had the use of a row-boat; which form will be furnished to the pilot, in order to the bills of the vessels being correctly made out. 2. Commanders are further requested, as early after their arrival as possible, to notify in writing, to the master attendant, the name and residence of the reference for the payment of his vessel's bills. On the receipt by the master attendant of the above certificate, and written reference for payment, a single bill will be prepared, including inward pilotage, light-house duty, Movapore magazine duty, and row-boat hire (if any), which, together with the certificate, will be forwarded to the marine payinaster, for collection within 15 days of the arrival of the vessel, and having on it the name and residence of the party referred to for payment, which commanders are requested to fur ish to the master attendant, in writing, as early after their arrival as practicable, that officer will more readily be enabled to present it. By this arrangement, ail the charges connected with the vessel, up to her arrival off Calcutta, will be embodied in one bill, instead of, as hitherto, being made up in separate bills. 4. In the event of vessels docking, or being transported at the desire of the commander, it is requested that a certificate may be given by the commanding officer of the operation having been performed, in order to its accompanying the bill when pre-ented for payment to the referee. 5. The practice of charging for hauling to the chain-moorings, for their monthly hire, and for hauling from the moorings, in separate bills, is discontinued, and henceforward one bill will be prepared, including the charge for hauling to the moorings, that for occupying them, and that for hauling from them; and commanders are requested to give, or cause their commanding officers to give, to the master attendant, or the harbour-master, certificate of the date of hauling to and from the moorings, which certificate, as before, will accompany the bill when presented for payment. The hire of the moorings will be charged for the day on which the vessel is hauled thereto, without reference to the period of the day; and in like manner, no charge will be made for the day on which she hauis from her moorings, however late in the day she may quit them. The charges connected with the chain-moorings will thus be embodied in one bill, and be discharged in one payment, instead of three or more, according to the number of months the vessel occupied the moorings. 6. The system of charging outward pilotage on an estimated draught of water, with an addition of 10 per cent., subject to adjustment after the vessel has sailed, and of charging a certain number of days for a row-boat, subject to a like adJustment, is abolished; and in future the outward pilotage and charge for row-boat hire on outward-bound vessels will be as follows: When the vessel is finally laden, the commander is to give notice thereof to the master attendant, when the draught of water is to be ascertained and certified by the commander or commanding officer on the part of the vessel, and by the harbour-master on the part of government; subje t, in case of dispute, to the decision of the master attendant. On receipt of the certificate, the master attendant will cause a bill to be made out for the regular amount of pilotage, and for the rowboat hire, according to an average rate, with reference to the size of the vessels and the season of the year, fixed by a marine committee which lately sat at the Bankshall, the majority of which was composed of members of houses of agency and commanders of ships. The bill and certificate will be presented in due course for payment. 7. As, however, it frequently happens that vessels are taking in cargo or filling their water up to the last day of their departure, or that from other causes the bills for the chainmoorings and outward pilotage cannot be made out till the eve of departure, owners, agents, and commanders are in such cases particularly requested, with a view to despatch, to cause an individual to att nd at the Bankshal, and expelite the transmission of the bill and certificate to the board for registry, and to the Pay Office for collection; at each of which offices they may in such cases depend upon the most ready and special attention. 8. In the event of a vessel being tugged any part of the way down by steam, or not having the use of a row-boat, commanders are to obtain from the pilot of Kedgeree a certificate to that effect, which they should forward by ak to their agents. On receipt thereof, agents are requested to make out a bil against the honourable Company for the quarter deduction from the pilotage allowed if tugged by steam, or for the rowboat hire paid, as the case may be; and to forward it, toge: her with the certificate, to the marine board for audit and payment. 9. In cases where a vessel leaves Calcut'a avowedly intended to fill up cargo at some place below, the pilotage will be charged at the draught at which she leaves Calcutta, in like manner, though at the reduced amount, as it she had proceeded to sea; and, with respect to the subsequent pilotage charge, from the place at which the vessel takes in the additional cargo to sea, owners or agents of vessels will be required to furnish a special guarantee to pay the amount chargeable according to a certifi cate of the draught of water, to be signed by the commander or commanding officer and pilot. 10. Six sets of moorings at Diamond Harbour having been fitted specially to enable vessels arriving in distress from loss of anchors and cables to be readily moored, the charge will he Co.'s Rs. 50 for mooring and unmooting, and the daily hire the same as for the moorings at Calcutta. The moorings will, of course, be available to vessels not in distress from loss of anchors and calics; but the harbour-master will be instructed all times to keep two sets vacant during the S. W. monsoon, ta meet casualties. There are several dry docks at Calcutta, in which vessels of any size may be built or repaired Ships built at Calcutta are of inferior durability to those constructed at Bombay, in con sequence of the framework being always of the inferior woods of the country; and the planks, sheathing, upper works, and decks, alone, of teak; which last is furnished almost entirely from Peru. In 1818, the number of registered ships belonging to the port of Calcutta was 134, of the burden of 43,569 tons; being at an average of about 330 tons for each. The largest class of vessels carry nearly 750 tons; but ships drawing so much water are unfit for the navigation of the Hooghly. Not being able to at Calcutta, they are obliged to receive part of their cargo at hamond Harbour, about 34 miles farther down the river. The most convenient-sized ship for trade between Calcutta, and Europe, and Americs, is from 400 to 500 tons. Dacies, &c. The export and import duties and drawbacks are regulated by an ordinance of the year 1836, revised in 1845, and are the same for every port under the government of Bengal; or, as it is technically called, the Presidency of Fort William and British India generally. ACT No. XIV. of 1836, and No. IX. of 1845. I. It is hereby enacted, that such parts of Regulations IX. and X. 1810, Regulation XV. 1825, and of any other regu trane | lations of the Bengal Presidency as prescribe the levy of inland customs' duties, or of town duties; and like the schedules of duties and provisions of any kind contained in these or any other regulations for fixing the amount of duty to be levied upon goods imported into or exported from the said presidency by sea, shall be repealed. II. And it is hereby enacted, that duties of customs shall be levied on goods imported by sea into Calcutta, or into any other place within the provinces of Bengal and Orissa, according to the rates specified in schedule A. annexed to this act, with the exception specified theren, and the said schedule, with the notes attached thereto, shall be taken to be a part of this act. III. And it is hereby further enacted, that duties of customs shall be levied upon country goods exported by sea from any port of Bengal or Orissa,ccording to the rates specified in schedule B. annexed to this act, with the exceptions therein specified; and the said schedule, with the notes attached thereto, shall also be taken to be a part of this act. N. B. These duties are to be collected under the same regulations as former duties; and baggage is to be passed by the collector of customs as heretofore. The remaind r of the act relates to regulations respecting ships' manifests, &c. Under the schedules annexed to this act high discriminating duties were laid on most articles when imported or exported on foreign bottoms. In the last impression of this work we animadverted on this practice as follows:-"It seems quite inconsistent, seeing that we have admitted the reciprocity principle into the trade of Britain, that we should exclude it from that of India. The best informed parties concur in opinion that the effect of the discriminating duties is to diminish trade without promoting, in any material degree, the employment of British shipping, and to provoke retaliatory measures on the part of the foreigner. The sooner, consequently, that this distinction is abolished, the better it will be for all parties. Regulations of this sort are never productive of any real advantage." We are glad to have to state that this objectionable distinction no longer exists. It was abolished by an act of the Indian Government, which took effect from the 25th March, 1848, and which also abolished all duties on goods carried coastwise in the Company's territories. I. It is hereby enacted, that from and after the 25th day of March, 1848, all goods imported on foreign bottoms by sea into any port of the Presidencies of Fort William, in Bengal, Fort St. George, or Bombay, shall be charged only with the same rates of duty as such goods would now by law be charged with, if such goods were imported into any of the said ports on British bottoms, anything in any act of the Council of India contained to the contrary notwithstanding. II. And it is hereby enacted, that from and after the said day, all goods exported on foreign bottoms by sea, from any port of the said presidencies, shall be charged only with the me rates of duty as such goods would now by law be charged with, if such goods were exported from any of the said ports on British bottoms, anything in any act of the Council of India contained to the contrary notwithstanding. 111. And it is hereby enacted, that from and after the said day no duty shall be charged on any goods lawfully carried from any port in the territories subject to the government of the East India Company, to any other port in the said territories, anything in any act of the Council of India contained to the contrary notwithstanding. IV. Provided always, that nothing in this act contained shall apply to the articles of salt or opium. SCHEDULE A. Rates of Duty to be charged on Goods imported by Sea into any Port of the Presidencies of Fort William in Bengal, Bombay, or Fort St. George. Bullion and coin Precious stones and pearls Books printed in the U. Kingdom, or Foreign books And when the duty is declared to be ad valorem, it shall be levied on the market value without deduction; and if the collector of customs shall see reason to doubt whether the goods come from the country from which they are declared to come by the importer, it shall be lawful for the collector of customs to call on the importer to furnish evidence as to the place of manufacture or production, and, if such evidence shall not satisfy the said collector of the truth of the declaration, the goods shall be charged with the highest rates of duty, subject always to an appeal to the Board of Customs, salt and opium. And upon the re-export by sea of goods imported, excepting opium and salt, provided the re-export be made within 2 years of the date of import as per custom house register, and the goods be identified to the satisfaction of the collector of custorus, there shall be retained one eighth of the amount of duty levied, and the remainder shall be repaid as drawback. And f goods he re-exported in the same ship without being landed, (always excepting opium and salt, in regard to which the special rules in force shall continue to apply,) there shall be no import duty levied thereon. SCHEDULE B. Rates of Duty to be charged upon Goods exported by Sea from any Port or Place in the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal. Free. Ditto. Grain and pulse Ditto. Horses and other living animals Ditto. Ditto. Ice Coal, coke, bricks, chalk, and stones Ditto. in any British possession Ditto. 3 per cent. Marine stores, the produce or manufac ture of the U. Kingdom, or of any British possession 5 per cent. Horse and living animals Ditto Do., the produce or manufacture of any other place or country 10 per cent. Metals, wrought or unwrought, the pro- Woollens, the produce or manufacture of Do., te produce of any other place or Do., the produce of any other place Cotton wool exported to Europe, the U. Do. exported to places other than above Sugar and rum exported to the U. King- 1 anna per bag, not exceeding 2 mds. of 80 tolas to the seer, or if exported otherwise ihan in bags an anna per maund. - Rs. 3 per md, of 80 tolas to the seer. 4 per cent. All country articles not enumerated or 34 as. per seer of 80 tolas. 3 as. per seer of 80 tolas. 4 as. per maund. 3 per cent. When the duty is declared to be ad valorem, the same shall be levied on the market value of the article at the place of export, without deduction. Since the 1st April, 1837, credit has not been given, nor drawback allowed, of any inland customs or land-frontier duty paid at any custom-house or chokee of the Jumna frontier line, or of Benares, except only upon the article of cotton wool, covered by ruwanas taken out at the custom-houses of the western provinces, and proved to have been destined for export by sea, when passed out of those provinces. Remarks on the above Dutics. The policy of charging duties on exported articles seems very questionable. The great difficulty under which India labours, in a commercial point of view, consists principally in her inability to furnish equivalents for foreign imported goods, and to make the necessary payments abroad; and, when such is the case, it is certainly not a little contradictory to lay duties on exports. The most obvious considerations of expediency and common sense would suggest that they should be allowed to be exported duty free. There can be no doubt that the stimulus this would give to their production would, by increasing the public wealth, infinitely more than compensate the government for the loss of the inconsiderable sun produced by the duties with which they are charged. Trade of Calcutta. Exports. During the last 30 years the trade of Calcutta has experienced some very striking vicissitudes. Previously to the opening of the trade in 1814-15, cotton piece goods formed the principal article of export from India; the value of those exported from Calcutta, at an average of the 5 years from 1814-15 to 1818-19, being (at 2s. per sicca rupee) 1,260,7367. a year. The extreme cheapness of labour in India, and the excellence to which the natives had long attained in several departments of the manufacture, would, it might have been supposed, have sufficed to place this important department beyond the reach of foreign competition. But the wonderful genius of our mechanists the admirable skill of our workmen, and our immense capital, have far more than countervailed the apparently insuperable drawback of high wages, and the expense of bringing the raw material of the manufacture from America, and even India itself; and have enabled our manufacturers to bear down all opposition, and to triumph over the cheaper labour, contiguous material, and traditional art of the Hindoos. The imports of British cottons and twist into India have increased since 1814-15, with a rapidity unexampled in the annals of commerce; and the native manufacture has sustained a shock from which it is not very likely it will ever recover. The influence of these circumstances on the trade in piece goods has been very striking. During the year 1841-42, the value of those exported from Bengal was no more than 17,629., being only about one seventieth part of what it amounted to 26 or 28 years previously! It will be seen, from the subjoined account, that the importation of bullion at Calcutta has fluctuated in an extreme degree since the opening of the trade in 1814. Bullion had from the earliest period been one of the most advantageous articles of export to the East; and it continued to be largely imported into Calcutta down to 1827-28. But from that period the imports rapidly declined, and were comparatively inconsiderable down to 1837-38; indeed, in 1831-32, and 1832-33, the exports of bullion exceeded the imports; but since 1837-38 its importation has again become very considerable, principally, it is believed, in consequence of the glut and low price of British products in the market. It does not, however, appear to be very difficult to account for these variations. Formerly the export of bullion to India, though influenced by other causes, was mainly occasioned by the difficulty under which we were then placed of providing articles of merchandise suitable for the Indian markets sufficient to balance our imports. The astonishing increase of our exports of cotton goods and yarn to India has, however, gone far to obviate this difficulty; in truth, the fair presumption seems to be, that in future the circumstances of the case will be reversed, and that the difficulty of procuring return cargoes of produce suitable for our markets will, in ordinary years, be found to be the principal obstacle to the extension of our trade with Hindostan as well as with China. There seems to be no limit, other than the necessity of furnishing equivalents in their stead, to the indefinite sale of our products in the East. And, in so far, at least, as India is concerned, the facilities for furnishing such equivalents will, most likely, be gradually increased. The soil and climate of Bengal seem to be peculiarly well suited to the production of grain, sugar, indigo, opium, silk, cotton, saltpetre, and a host of other articles. And as the inhabitants are not deficient in industry, nor in a desire to improve their condition, it would seem that there wants only a reduction of the land-tax, which is so heavy as to paralyse all their energies, to enable them to increase their articles of export to an indefinite extent, and to render the country comparatively flourishing and prosperous. Statement, showing the Imports and Exports of Treasure to and from the Presidency of Bengal, and to and from British India generally, in cach Year from 1814-15 to 1839-40. (See Account No. 2. in Appendix 42. to Lords' Report on the Petition of the East India Company.) At present (1848) the great articles of export from Calcutta are indigo, opium, sugar, raw silk and silk piece goods, saltpetre, rice, hides, cotton and cotton piece goods, gunny bags and gunny cloth, rum, &c. We subjoin An Account of the Quantities and Values of the Native Produce and Treasure exported from Calcutta during the Official Years 1844-5 and 1845-6. Remarks on Exports. The reader will elsewhere find (articles CANTON and OPIUM) pretty ample information in relation to the trade in opium. It is sufficient here to state that it has rapidly grown in magnitude and importance. At an average of the years 1830-31 and 1831-32 the exports from Calcutta were 7,273 chests, worth 1,121,5604.; whereas during the year 1845-46 the exports had increased to 20,481 chests, worth 2,795,962. China is not the principal merely, but almost the only market for opium; so that the trade between Calcutta and her is now second only to that between the former and England. It is true that large quantities of opium are shipped for Singapore and other intermediate ports, but China is its ultimate destination. Subjoined is a Statement of the Quantity and Value of the Opium shipped from Calcutta in 1830-31, 1840-41, and 1845-46. Previously to the close of the American war, the exports of Indigo from Calcutta were comparatively trifling. But about that period Europeans began to engage in the business; and the culture of the plant was, in consequence, so much extended, and the preparation of the drug so much improved, that it has been for a lengthened period an article of primary commercial importance. Of late years, however, the growth of indigo appears to have been nearly stationary; the shipments in 1830-31 and 1831-32 being about equal to those in 1840-41 and 1845-46. This stationary state of the trade has been ascribed partly to the influence of the importations from Java, where indigo is now very extensively raised, and partly to the alleged decrease in the use of blue cloth. France is, next to England, the great market for indigo. Statement of the Quantity and Value of the Indigo shipped from Calcutta in 1830-31, 1840-41, and 1845-46. We had occasion to remark, in the former edition of this work, that of the various articles brought from India, sugar seemed to be the one in which an increase of importation would most likely take place. We have not been disappointed in this expectation. In 1835, the duty on East India sugar, which had previously been comparatively high, was reduced to the same amount as that on West India sugar; and that circumstance, and the continued high price of sugar in this country, could not fail to give a powerful stimulus to its culture in and exportation from India. On the whole, however, great as the increase in the exports of sugar has been, we are rather surprised that it has not been decidedly greater and we doubt, when the sugar trade is placed on a proper footing, by the abolition of the discriminating duties on foreign sugars, whether the importations from India will not be reduced. Subjoined is a Statement of the Quantity and Value of the Sugar shipped from Calcutta in 1830-31, 1840-41, The exports of cotton from Calcutta continue stationary; and the expectations that it would be improved in its quality by greater attention being given to its culture and preparation, have not been realised. The exports of saltpetre from India, have not, as many anticipated, been affected by the competition of nitrate of soda from South America. In 1830-31 the exports from Calcutta were 424,729 fact, maunds ; whereas, in 1845-46, they amounted to 618,560 maunds. The exports of rice from Bengal fluctuate very greatly. This is not caused so much by variations in the crops of the country, as by variations in those of other countries; for, when a scarcity occurs in most parts of continental Asia, or in any of its islands, recourse is almost invariably had to Bengal to supply the deficiency; and the demands thence arising have been sometimes enormous. In 1831-32, for example, the exports of rice from Calcutta to the coast of Coromandel amounted to only 16,545 maunds, whereas in 1833-34, they amounted to 1,252,056 maunds.--(Bell's Comparative View of 1832-33, and 1833-34, p. 41.) It is worthy of remark, that while Bengal is shipping immense supplies of rice and other grain to distant parts, a large part of her own population is frequently in a state of great want and suffering. Ireland is not, therefore, the only country in which the most abject poverty and wretched. ness on the part of the inhabitants, are found combined with great fertility of soil, and a large exportation of food. Besides the articles of native Indian produce exported from Calcutta, she re-exports pretty considerable quantities of various articles brought from other parts. The value of the British cotton goods reexported amounts to about 200,000. a year. They are principally bartered with the Burmese for silver. The conveyance of the latter out of the Burmese dominions is strictly prohibited; but in Burma, as in England and elsewhere, the ingenuity of the smuggler is too much for the vigilance of the government, and the trade is carried on without much difficulty. Imports. The great articles of import into Calcutta are, British cotton manufactures and cotton twist; bullion; copper with spelter, tin, lead, iron, and other metals; woollens; wines and spirits; ale and beer; haberdashery, millinery, &c.; coffee; hardware and cutlery, spices; coal; coral, glass, and bottles; plate, jewellery, watches, &c.; books and stationery; tea, &c. |
