HC Deb 14 March 1917 vol 91 cc1122-6W
Mr. D. WHITE

asked the Secretary of State for India whether the Indian cotton mills are subject to requirements like those of our Factory Acts; what is the minimum age at which children and young persons may be employed in them; what are the restrictions on the hours of employment; and what are the current rates of wages?

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN

supplied the following figures:

BOMBAY. AHMEDABAD.
Per month. Per month.
I. Skilled Labour. £ s. d. £ s. d.
Blacksmith 3 0 0 2 0 0
Fitter 3 0 0 1 14 8
Carpenter 3 6 8 1 16 0
Bricklayer 3 0 0 1 9 4
Mason 3 6 8 2 6 8
Weaver 2 0 0 1 10 8
Spinner 1 2 8 0 15 0
Dyer 3 0 0 0 10 8
Engine driver 7 13 4 1 5 4
Boiler man 2 6 8 1 5 4
II. Unskilled.
Messenger 0 18 8 0 13 4
Cooly (man) 0 18 8 0 14 8
Cooly (woman) 0 10 8 0 10 8

Mr. WHITE

asked (1) what were the quantities and values of the manufactured cotton goods belonging to the classes to which the new Indian cotton duties are applicable imported into India from the United Kingdom during each of the years 1913, 1914, 1915, and 1916; and (2) what were the quantities and values of the manufactured cotton goods belonging to the classes to which the new Indian cotton duties are applicable, imported into India from Japan during each of the years 1913, 1914, 1915, and 1916?

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN

issued the following statistics:

IMPORTS into India from the United Kingdom of Cotton Goods belonging to the classes to which the new Indian Cotton Duty is applicable.
QUANTITY.
1907–8. 1908–9 1909–10. 1910–11. 1911–12. 1912–13. 1913–14. 1914–15. 1915–16.
Blankets lbs. * * * * * 234,915 231,175 372,865 32,747
Canvas yards 130,303 197,978 138,927 156,848 248,567 249,955 222,137 184,967 1,158,149
Handkerchiefs and Shawls in the piece No 13,372,582 18,417,005 15,172,104 17,362,459 18,100,086 24,961,692 31,660,227 16,267,798 7,529,355
Hosiery
Lace and Patent Net yards 1,764,873 1,149,396 1,643,816 1,910,518 1,607,855 1,846,562 1,610,577 1,210,509 2,001,523
Piece Goods yards 2,487,243,589 1,942,964,497 2,140,955,532 2,251,878,853 2,379,479,804 2,911,899,132 3,104,311,465 2,378,047,971 2,049,138,517
Piece Goods of Cotton and Artificial Silk yards * * * * * * * 838,3[...]3 984,801
Rope lbs 842,110 317,450 461,297 429,185 445,115 653,331 747,453 178,122 557,175
Towels in the piece yards * * * * * 30,525 49,258 12,431 125
Other sorts of Manufactures lbs. 4,9l5,060† 5,247,552† 4,176,301† 6,069,311† 6,560,458† 1,453,699 1,443,925 1,138,638 1,131,546
Total

VALUE.
1907–8. 1908–9. 1909–10. 1910–11. 1911–12. 1912–13. 1913–14. 1914–15. 1915–16.
£ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £
Blankets lbs. * * * * * 9,773 10,755 12,658 1,877
Canvas yards 5,851 7,060 6,298 8,364 12,867 13,391 12,142 12,376 35,446
Handkerchiefs and Shawls in the piece No 221,778 242,787 175,187 215,946 235,901 283,811 440,358 268,490 75,087
Hosiery 26,099 30,862 30,679 31,183 41,970 40,373 47,314 37,901 38,756
Lace and Patent Net yards. 30,805 24,521 34,99 37,961 32,981 31,713 30,812 25,590 49,086
Piece Goods yards 27,068,999 20,397,980 21,523,488 24,700,364 27,210,156 88,715,800 36,544,336 27,324,134 28,395,887
Piece Goods of Cotton and Artificial Silk yards * * * * * * * 45,484 48,226
Rope lbs. 11,044 15,229 21,247 21,333 22,709 30,185 37,602 24,481 27,481
Towels in the piece yards. * * * * * 850 1,593 325 3
Other sorts of Manufactures lbs. 262,039† 251,318† 209,771† 311,509† 323,668† 98,575 104,117 85,014 90,897
Total 27,656,615 20,069,757 22,000,969 25,825,760 27,880,552 34,223,971 37,229,059 27,836,453 23,762,746
* Not separately recorded.
† Includes "Belting for driving machinery," which is free.

IMPORTS into India from Japan of Cotton Goods belonging to the classes to which the new Indian Cotton Duty is applicable.
QUANTITY.
1907–8. 1908–9. 1909–10. 1910–11. 1911–12. 1912–13. 1913–14. 1914–15. 1915–16.
Blankets lbs * * * * * 371 59,729 22,516 366,202
Canvas yards 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 36,720
Handkerchiefs and Shawls in the piece No. 9,528 39,770 6,145 2,400 1,128 160,977 284,582 148,189 208,431
Hosiery
Lace and Patent Net yards 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Piece Goods yards 99,827 117,679 76,831 154,413 622,861 5,880,723 8,900,578 16,042,064 39,001,998
Piece Goods of Cotton and artificial Silk yards * * * * * * * 0 0
Rope lbs 0 0 0 0 0 0 147 763 3,320
Towels in the piece yards * * * * * 0 11,728 0 0
Other sorts of manufactures lbs. 10,161† 11,657† 50,856† 110,491† 102,754† 150,736 466,173 217,989 635,934
Total

VALUE.
1907–8. 1908–9. 1909–10. 1910–11. 1911–12. 1912–13. 1913–14. 1914–15. 1915–16.
£ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £
Blankets lbs. * * * * * 15 2,586 555 16,301
Canvas yards 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 338
Handkerchiefs and Shawls in the piece No. 385 1,520 223 85 38 6,138 10,341 4,588 5,893
Hosiery 273,095 241,665 304,206 461,339 438,035 414,951 555,865 443,618 376,041
Lace and Patent Net yards 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Piece Goods yards. 1,871 2,186 1,208 2,312 8,403 73,396 117,851 192,087 460,733
Piece Goods of Cotton and artificial Silk yards * * * * * * * 0 0
Rope lbs 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 29 111
Towels in the piece yards * * * * * 0 1,274 0 0
Other sorts of manufactures lbs. 595 557 3,717 7,921 6,005 9,876 22,342 12,733 45,246
Total 275,016 245,928 509,354 471,657 452,481 501,376 710,268 653,610 901,663
* Not separately recorded.
† Including belting for driving machinery, which is free.