476
BURMA
Upper Burma till 1891. At the end of 1892 the reserved forests in Upper Burma amounted to 1059 square miles. On 30th June 1896 the reserved area amounted to 5438 square miles. At the close of 1899 the area of the reserved forests in the whole province amounted to 15,669 square miles, 962 square miles being the addition made during 1898-99. The revenue in 1898-99 amounted to Rs. 83,50,888, and the charges to Rs. 23,62,055, showing a surplus of Rs. 59,88,833. The receipts for the previous year had been Rs. 72,15,257, and the average receipts for the preceding live years had been Rs. 61,02,382. The proportion of the surplus to the gross revenue for that period showed a percentage of 67‘48. Fisheries.—The gross demand of fishery revenue in Lower Burma in 1898-99 was Rs.18,77,933, an increase of Rs.1,37,875 over the figures of the preceding year. To this total fishery leases contributed Rs.16,52,227, an advance of Rs.1,43,713, and licenses for fishing implements Rs.2,25,706, or Rs.5,838 less than in 1897-98. In the Irrawaddy division, where most fishing is done, the revenue rose by over a lakh of rupees, and in the Pegu division by Rs.37,405. In Upper Burma the gross revenue derived from fisheries increased from Rs. 3,02,216 to Rs. 3,05,372. Manufactures.—There were in 1871-72 twenty-six steam ricemills in the province. Five years earlier there were only three. The total number of factories in 1889-90 was 125. In 1898-99 there were 136. The mechanical power in every case is steam, and the factories are mostly either rice or timber mills, and in some cases both combined. In 1898-99 two new rice mills were opened in the Toungoo district, and one each in Hanthawaddy, Henzada, and Rangoon town. Saw-mills were established in Toungoo, Bassein, Rangoon, and Hanthawaddy, an iron and brass factory at Moulmein, and a cotton factory in the Thayetmyo district. The average daily number of operatives in 1899 was 16,181, of whom only 110 were females. The manufacture locally of silk and cotton stuffs is steadily dying out, and aniline is superseding the old natural dyes. Silver work of peculiar and delicate workmanship is perhaps extending, and the pottery, brass, and copper work and lacquer work remain stationary. Gommerce.—r£iQ following table shows the progressive value ot the trade of Burma since 1871-72 :— Total. Exports. Imports. Year. Rs. Rs. Rs. 1871-72 3,15,79,860 3,78,02,170 6,93,82,030 1881-82 6,38,49,840 8,05,71,410 14,44,21,250 1891-92 10,50,06,247 12,67,21,878 23,17,28,125 1898-99 11,68,08,404 16,46,67,442 28,14,75,846
cleared, 169 ; tonnage, 245,017. In 1898-99 the number of vessels and the aggregate tonnage engaged in the sea-borne trade was : Vessels, 6344 ; tonnage, 4,133,436. These were distributed in the following proportions:— Cleared. Entered. Port. Tonnage. Vessels. Tonnage. Vessels. 1,431,773 1235 1,417,373 1225 Rangoon . 166,752 282 167,158 290 Akyab 78,058 42 78,123 40 Bassein 270,413 712 263,089 674 Moulmein. 130,220 922 922 130,477 Smaller ports
376 steamers with tonnage aggregating 625,030 tons, and 130 sailing vessels with a total tonnage of 98,918, entered; and 428 steamers with a tonnage of 739,246, and 139 sailing vessels with a tonnage of 110,702, cleared. , Internal Communications.—In 1871-72 there were 814 miles ol road in Lower Burma, but the chief means of internal communication was by water. Steamers plied on the Irrawaddy as iar as Thayetmyo. The vessels of the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company now ply to Bassein and to all points on the Irrawaddy as far north as Bhamo, and in the dry weather to Myitkyina, and also on the Chindwin as far north as Kinpat, and to Homalin during the rams. The length of roads has not greatly increased in Lower Burma, where there are now about 70 miles of navigable canals, but there has been a great deal of road construction in Upper Burma. At the end of the year 1898-99 there were in the whole province 6032 miles of road, 1322 of which were metalled and 1179 unmetalled, but bridged and drained, and the remainder partially bridged and drained. But the chief advance in communications has been m railway construction. The first railway from Rangoon to Prome, 161 miles, was opened in 1877, and that from Rangoon to Toungoo, 166 miles, was opened in 1884. Since the annexation of Upper Burma this has been extended to Mandalay, and the Mu Valley railway has been constructed from Sagaing to Myitkyina, a distance of 752 miles from Rangoon. The Mandalay-Kunmng railway is under construction, and trains run from Mandalay to Nawnghkio, a distance of 72 miles. The Sagaing-M6nya-Alu branch and the Meiktila-Myingyan branch were opened to traffic during 1900, so that the length of line now approaches 1200 miles. The MandalayKunlong railway will be carried at least as far as Lashio, 180 miles, and branches between Bassein and Henzada and Tharrawaddy and Henzada are being surveyed, as is also the bridge over the Irrawaddy at Sagaing, where there is now a steam ferry. Posts and Telegraphs. —There were, in 1899, 34 head post offices, Of the total sea-borne trade of the province 76-5 per cent, passed 88 sub-offices, and 64 branch offices, a total of 186 imperial post through Rangoon in 1898-99, as compared with 78'5 in 1897-98. offices for the province, besides 1 district sub-office and 89 branch Rice and timber are by far the most important articles of sea-borne offices, making 276 in all. There were 176 post offices doing savings exports. The contributions made by the various kinds of country bank business, with 47,652 accounts. In all 17,417,670 postal produce were in 1898-99 in the following proportions articles, including parcels, were delivered in the year. Ui the 1-20 Raw cotton 82-04 articles received for delivery 18 per cent, were addressed m Burmese Rice . •54 Jade-stone . 7-79 and Chinese. There were 238 telegraph offices open for paid teleTeak . 20 Rice-bran 1-09 grams in 1898-99. The length of telegraph lines in the province Cutch . 3Other articles 1T7 was 5296 miles, and the total length of wire 12,148 miles. 2 Raw hides . •80 History.—In 1862 the province of British Burma, the present Raw caoutchouc Lower Burma, was formed with Sir Arthur Phayre as chiei comThe chief articles of import are cotton twist and yarn, cotton, silk missioner. In 1867 a treaty was concluded at Mandalay providing and woollen piece goods, crockery, hardware, gunny bags, sugar, for the free intercourse of trade and the establishment ol regulai tobacco, and liquors. relations. King Mindon died in 187 8, and was succeeded The system of inland trade registration was m a more or diplomatic his son King Thibaw. Early in 1879 he excited much horror by less experimental and progressive state until 1892, when it was by a number of the members of the Burmese royal family, thoroughly revised. In the year 1898-99 there were twenty regis- executing relations became much strained. The British resident was tration stations in Upper Burma, and nine in Lower Burma. The and in October 1879. The government of the country total trade registered at these stations had an aggregate value ot withdrawn became bad. Control over many of the outlying districts Rs 2 89,23,907, which showed the slight increase on the previous rapidly lost, and the elements of disorder on the British frontier were year’of Rs.’46,304. A review of the trade returns of the previous six wasstanding menace to the peace of the country. The Burmese years however, shows that the trade was expanding. The value of acourt, contravention of the express terms of the treaty of 1869 the total trade during the three years ending with March 1899 was createdinmonopolies to the detriment of the trade both ol England 35'07 per cent, in excess of that registered in the three years ending Burma ; and while the Indian Government was unrepresented with March 1896. Of this increase exports advanced more rapidly and Mandalay, representatives of Italy and France were welcomed than imports, and the expansion under both heads was greater in at two separate embassies were sent to Europe for the purpose ol Upper Burma than in Lower Burma—that is, more with the Shan and new and, if possible, close alliances with sundry European States and Western China than with Siam and Karen-ni. The value of contracting Matters were brought to a crisis towards the close of 1885 the trade with Western China in 1898-99 was Rs.36,68,610, showing powers. the Burmese Government imposed a fine ol £230,000 on the an increase of 2'8 per cent, over 1897-98, but considerably less than when Trading Corporation, and refused to comply with a in 1896-97 when Rs.39,57,936 was registered. Trade with the Bombay-Burma suggestion of the Indian Government that the cause of complaint northern Shan States showed a growth (luring the year from shoiild be investigated by an impartial arbitrator An ulti64 29 744 to Rs.72,96,789. In the southern Shan States the matum was therefore despatched 22nd October 1885. Un figures were Rs.94,60,636 for 1898-99, against Rs.93,59,613 for the 9th November a reply was received on in Rangoon amounting to an unconditional refusal. The king on 7th November issued a pro^llippinfmid Navigation. —The number of vessels engaged in the clamation calling upon his subjects to drive British into the sea-borne trade in 1889-90 was 6435, with a tonnage of 3,360 045. sea On 14th November 1885 the British the field force crossed Vessels entered, 2619 ; tonnage, 1,016,3/3 ; vessels cleared, 2469 ; the frontier, and advanced to Mandalay without any tonnao-e 1 011 880. The traffic to and from Burma thiough the serious resistance (see Burmese War). It reachedincurring Ava on 2bth Suez Canal was: Vessels entered, 40; tonnage, 62,618; vessels
