150 THE BRITISH EMPIRE : — INDIA AND DEPENDENCIES

1910. Net earnings Rs. 26.44,00,000 against Rs. 23,98,50,000 in 1910 ; average return on the capital expenditure 5*87 per cent, against 5 '4 6 per cent, in 1910.

III. Posts and TELEGr.APii

In 1912 there were 66,923 post-offices and letter-boxes, against 753 in 1856.

In the fiscal year ended March 31, 1912, the number of letters, post-cards and money-orders passing through the post-offices was 876,768,765 ; of newspapers 52,612,161 ; of parcels 7,346,519 ; and of packets 55,908,694 ; being a total of 992,636,139. The following table gives statistics for five years : —

Year ended March 31

Number of Letters, Newspapers, Ac.

Post Letter Offices Boxes

50,425 18,390 : 43,577 18,642 45,743 18,813 46,884

66,923

Total Revenue

Total Expenditure

1908 1909 1910 1911 1912

849,714,801 875,255,832 010,524.127 045,147,612 002,636,139

£ 1,823,090 1,824,513 1,027,755 1,996,922 2.136.034

£

1,772,710 1,807,608 1,910,400 1,950.892 \ 2,003,661

The following are telegraph statistics for five years

Year ended

Number of

Number of

Revenue

Revenue

Number of

March 31

Miles of Wire

Miles of Line 68,940 '

Receipts

Charges

Paid Messages

1908

271,944

£ 890,505

£ 752,411

12,749,923

1909

280,595

70,065

890,203

783,022

13,006,778

1910

287,266

72,746 :

807,948

807,519

12,084,697

1911

287,940

74.413

840,517

791,833

13,090,228

1912

299,343

76,578

951,618

821,624

14,671,819

There were 7,584 telegraph offices in India on March 31, 1912.

Money and Credit.

The total value of the silver, nickel, copper, and bronze coined in British India from 1835-36 to 1911-12 inclusive has been Rs. 5,60,68,77,346, includ- ing Rs. 48,50,52,634, the value of 213,765,192 British dollars, Rs. 8,02,68,091, the value of 35,3/4,555 Straits dollais, Rs. 5,05,520, the value o( 497,630 Straits fifty cent pieces, Rs. 9,40,002 the value of 3,084,365 twenty cent, pieces, Rs. 19,41,938, the value of 12,745,414 ten cent pieces, Rs. 9,57,410 the value of 12,567,483 five cent, pieces, and Rs. 67,72,857 representing the value of cents and fractions thereof ; the heaviest coinage in any one year being Rs. 26,37,52,443, during 1906-07. The value of the money coined at the Calcutta and Bombay mints was as follows in

five years : —