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INDIA

precious stones, and possibly of saltpetre. India does not
supply the world with coal, or iron, or gold, or silver.
The value of her imported metals largely exceeds her
exports, and even in the matter of treasure only about
half as much gold, and about one-third as much silver
‘ound its way out of India, as is represented in the list of
mports of 1896-97. Owing, no doubt, to Government
‘egislation the import of silver has largely decreased
during the last few years, and there have been years
(1892-93 and 1894-95) when the export of gold was
‘our or five times the value of the imports.
Of all developments of mineral resources that which
has occurred in coal is perhaps the most striking and the
most satisfactory. So great has been the late growth of
the Indian coal traffic as to create a demand for extension
 of existing means of railway conveyance on the
East Indian line, Last year (189%) all records were
surpassed ; the total increase in the value of the traffic on
that one line being upwards of one million (expressed in
the conventional ten rupees unit), and the increase in
sarnings being 21 per cent. This is sufficient to assure
us that we may look to Indian coalfields in confidence
that they will eventually meet the full demands of India
without English importations. The output of Indian
coals last year reached four million tons, and the percentage
in consumption of Indian coal has as largely increased as
that of English coal has diminished. The quality of
Indian coal varies very greatly, the best being that
obtained from the Karhabari colliery in Bengal, and this
coal is adopted to give the standard of comparison for
other varieties.
The geological age of the carboniferous strata in
India is very much younger than that of English
measures ; the best coal measures being found between
the permian and lower jurassic formations within the area
of the peninsula; but coal occurs in younger deposits
beyond peninsular limits, se. in Sind, Afghanistan, Assam,
and Burma. Although the coal usually found in the
newer deposits does not as a rule exist in quantities