MR. C. J. O'DONNELEI beg to ask the Secretary of State for India whether he is aware that the net profit on the £1,836,075 capital of the Chenab Canal, near which the new Colonies affected by the Colonisation Bill are chiefly situated, was, exclusive of land revenue, £399,214, 1221 or 21.76 per centum in last financial year; and whether he will direct a reduction of the water rates.
§ MR. MORLEYThe water rates on the Chenab Canal are not higher than the rates levied on other large canals in the Punjab, and, judging from the demand for land in the colony and its high selling value, the rates appear to be considered moderate by the cultivators. The reason why the Chenab Canal is an exceptionally profitable undertaking is that the area irrigated by it is very large and the supply of water abundant; but the fact that the profits are large is not in itself a sufficient reason for a reduction of rates.
§ MR. C. J. O'DONNELLIs it not a fact that the total amount charged on the land in the Punjab is now four times what it was fifty years ago?
§ MR. MORLEYI am afraid I have not the figures here.