— BASSEIN TOWN.
202
stands on the right bank. To the east of Myothit stretches a plain covered with pagodas, monasteries, and colossal images in every stage of decay, where the feasts and religious assemblies of the inhabitants are held.
The Trade of the port has rapidly progressed under British rule. During the years immediately preceding the annexation of Pegu, a few small vessels visited Eassein, taking away cutch, stick lac, lead, and timber, to foreign and Indian ports. The export of rice was prohibited by the native Government but the Burmese Collector of Customs, who
owned a few
vessels, contrived to export small quantities to the Straits,
receiving in return
and other produce.
de
In 1853-54, the
value of the imports into Bassein was returned at ;^2o,892, and the
^6922; total, ^^27,814. Five years later, in 1858-59, the imports amounted to ^36,378, and the exports to ^152,783 ; total, ^189,161. Up till i860, the imports consisted mainly of betel-nuts, exports at
gunny-bags, and tobacco from inter-provincial ports cotton piece-goods, and tobacco, almost
bags,
The
ports.
when a
first
and
also gunny-
entirely
from Indian
made
in April 1854,
cargo of rice for foreign ports was
ship-load was despatched to the United States.
rapidly increased,
and the port
steadily
advanced
This trade
in prosperity.
Be-
1881-82 the imports increased from tween 1862-63 6,480 to
- ^79,i37 in value; and the exports from
102, 108 tO;^958,56o. The total value of the trade increased from 18,588 in 1862-63 to ^1,037,697 in 1881-82, or by nine-fold. In the earlier years of British administration, the imports consisted chiefly of betel-nuts, gunny-bags,
To
raw tobacco, and cotton piece-goods. salt,
coal,
these have since been added
machinery, hardware, provisions, wines,
The
etc.
inter-
owing to of communication afforded by numerous creeks between
provincial sea-borne trade has almost entirely disappeared, greater facilities
Rangoon and
Bassein.
In 1861-62, the value of the inter-provincial
sea-borne trade was _;^24,i78;
The
in
character of the export trade
1881-82 is
entirely confined to the export of rice
it
had
also changed,
and a
little
fallen to _;^4o62.
and
timber.
is
now almost In 1881-82,
out of a total export trade valued at ^^958,560, no less than ;^9S6,348 In 1880-81, the total value represented the value of the rice exports.
of exports was
- ,^i, 010,574,
of which rice represented ;^i,oo7,826
exclusive of treasure, ;^7 1,635; tonnage of The following description of the busy scene vessels cleared, 100,056.
total value
in the
of imports,
harbour
is
taken from the Blue
Book on
the Trade of British
India, 1872-73 to 1876-77 (published in 1878): ‘
The
rice season here
—
resembles in
its
aspects the rice season else-
where in Burma creeks crowded with boats laden with paddy, mills at work from morning to night, the surface of the river and creeks covered inches thick with paddy husks, and shipping busily faking in
