§ MR. BURTasked the Under Secretary of State for India, Whether his attention has been called to the complaint made in the petition presented by the Natives of Chingleput, Madras, last month, to Lord Ripon, that Government "levy Duty of two rupees, or thirty-two annas, on three annas' worth of salt;" and, whether this taxation does not exist now throughout India, though in many parts the cost of carriage equals the cost of salt and Duty?
§ MR. J. K. CROSSSir, I have not seen the Memorial referred to. If the price of salt at Chingleput is only three annas per maund, a duty of two rupees would have to be paid on three annas' worth of salt. This taxation certainly exists throughout India, and in some parts, far from railway communication, the cost of carriage is, no doubt, equal to both, first cost and duty.