View source for Aden, Yemen: the India connection

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This article has been extracted from <br/>

THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908.<br/>

OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS.
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[[Category:India|A]]
[[Category:Places|A]]
''Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts.Many units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value. ''

=Aden, Yemen=

The Aden Peninsula, isthmus, and fortified town, used to be under the Govern- 
ment of Bombay, on the south coast of the province of Yemen, Arabia, 
situated in 12 degree 47' N. and 45 degree 10' E. The British territory was formerly 
limited to the peninsula of Aden proper, extending to the Khor Maksar 
creek, 2 miles north of the defensive works across the isthmus. In 
1868 the island of Sirah (now connected with the mainland by a masonry 
causeway), and the peninsula of Jebel Ihsan, or Little Aden, were 
acquired by purchase from the Sultan of Lahej. In 1882, owing to the 
increasing population of Aden town, a further small tract of territory 
was acquired by purchase beyond the Khor Maksar creek, extending to 
just beyond the village of Imad on the north and to Shaikh Othman on 
the north-west, about 10 miles from Bandar Tawayih. The island 
of Sokotra, in the Arabean Sea, passed under the protection of the 
British Government in virtue of a treaty concluded in 1886. 

The inhabited peninsula is an irregular oval, 15 miles in circumference, 
with a diameter of 3 to 5 miles, connected with the continent by a neck 
of land 1,350 yards broad but at one place nearly 
aspects covered at high spring tides. The causeway and aque- 
duct, however, are always above, although at certain 
seasons just above, water. Aden consists of a huge crater, walled round 
by precipices, the highest peak being 1,775 feet above the sea. Rugged 
spurs, with valleys between, radiate from the centre. 

A great gap in 
the circumference of the crater has been rent on its sea-face, opposite 
the fortified island of Sirah, by some later volcanic disturbance. The 
town and part of the military cantonment lie within the crater, and con- 
sequently are surrounded on all sides by hills. Lavas, brown, grey, and 
dark green, compact, schistose, and spongy breccias, and tufas form 
the materials of this volcanic fortress ; with occasional crystals of augite, 
sanidin, small seams of obsidian, chalcedony in the rock cavities, 
gypsum, and large quantities of pumice-stone, of which several thousand 
forts are exported yearly to Bombay. The scanty vegetation resembles 
that of Arabia Petraea, and includes only ninety-four species ; the more 
arid forms of Dipterygium glaucum, Capparideae, Risida amblyocarpa, 
Cassia pubescens, Acacia eburnea, and Euphorbeaceae predominating. 

The harbour, Bandar Tawayih, or Aden West Bay, more generally 
known as Aden Back Bay, lies between the two peninsulas of Jebel 
Shum Shum and Jebel Ihsan, extending 8 miles from east to west by 
4 from north to south, and is divided into two bays by a spit of land 
running off half a mile to the southward of the small island of Aliyah. 
The depth of water in the western bay is from 3 to 4 fathoms ; across 
the entrance, 9/2 to 5 fathoms, with 10 to 12 fathoms 2 miles outside. 
The bottom is sand and mud. There are several islands in the inner 
bay ; the principal, Jazirah Sawayih or Slave Island, is 300 feet high, 
and is almost joined to the mainland at low water. Large vessels lie
off Steamer Point. 

The Peninsular and Oriental Navigation Company's steamers call
weekly at the port to receive, tranship, or land passengers and mails. 
There are numerous lights and lightships at Aden and Perim. The 
chief are the Aden Cape Light at Ras Marshag, visible for 20 miles, 
and the High Light on Perim with a range of 22 miles. The Aden 
lightship is visible for 10 miles, and fires a gun whenever a vessel
enters the harbour at night. 

The average temperature of Aden is 87 degree in the shade, the mean 
monthly range being from 75 degree in January to 98 in June, with variations 
up to (and sometimes exceeding) 102 degree The lulls between the monsoons 
in May and in September are specially oppressive. 

The mortality 
among the Europeans, although greatly increased by sick or dying men 
from the passengers and crews of ships, amounts to only 7-24 per 
thousand, and Aden ranks as a rather healthy station for troops ; but 
it is a well-ascertained fact that long residence impairs the faculties and 
undermines the constitution of Europeans, and even natives of India 
suffer from the effects of too prolonged an abode in the settlement. 
The climate during the north-east monsoon, or from October to April, 
is cool and pleasant, particularly in November, December, and January. 
During the remainder of the year, hot sandy winds, known as shamal, 
or ' north,' indicating the direction from which they come, prevail 
within the crater, but on the western or Steamer Point side the breezes 
coming directly off the sea are fairly cool. 

The rainfall may be said 
to vary from 1/4 inch to 17/2 inches, with an irregular average of about 
3 inches. Since the restoration of the tanks commenced in 1856, they 
have only been filled six times, in May, 1866, May, 1870, and September, 
1877, 1889, 1893, and 1897. The settlement is exceptionally free from 
infectious diseases and epidemics. The absence of vegetation, the dry- 
ness of the soil, and the purity of the drinking-water constitute efficient 
safeguards against many maladies common to tropical countries. 

Aden formed part of Yemen under the ancient Himyarite kings. 
It has been identified with the Eden of Ezekiel xxvii. 23, whose 
merchants traded ' in all sorts, in blue clothes, and 
broidered work, in chests of rich apparel, bound with 
cords, and made of cedar.' Aden, the 'Apabea evdaipur of the Periplus, 
is mentioned as 'Adavn, one of the places where churches were erected 
by the Christian embassy sent forth by the emperor Constantius, 
A.D. 342. Its position rendered it an entrepot of ancient commerce 
between the provinces of the Roman empire and the East. ' About 525 
Yemen, with Aden, fell to the Abyssinians, who, at the request of the 
emperor Justin, sent an army to revenge the persecution of the 
Christians by the reigning Himyarite dynasty. In 575 the Abyssinians 
were ousted by the Persians. Anarchy and bloodshed followed. The 
rising Muhammadan power reached Aden ten years after the Hijra. It 
became subject successively to the Ummayid Khalifs, the Abbassids 
(749), and the Karamite Khalifs (905), until the period of Yemen 
independence under its own Imams (932). Aden continued in the early 
centuries of Islam to be a place of flourishing commerce. It carried on 
a direct trade with India and China on the east, and with Egypt (and so 
indirectly with Europe) on the west. In 1038 Aden was captured by 
the chief of Lahej, and remained under his successors till 1137. During 
the next three centuries it was frequently taken and retaken by the 
conflicting powers in the south of Arabea. About the year 1500 the 
Yemen Imam, then in possession, constructed the aqueduct of 9 miles 
from Ber Mahait into Aden, the ruins of which exist to this day. 

In 
1503 Aden was visited by Ludovico de Varthema. Ten years later it 
was attacked by the Portuguese under Albuquerque, who had been 
charged by King Emmanuel to effect its capture. His expedition left 
India on February 18, 1513, with twenty ships and 2,500 sailors, and 
reached Aden on Easter Eve. The assault was delivered on Easter 
Sunday. An outwork with thirty-nine guns fell to the Portuguese ; but, 
after a four days' bloody siege, Albuquerque was repulsed with great 
slaughter, and had to content himself with burning the vessels in the 
harbour and cannonading the town. In 1516 the Mameluke Sultan of
Egypt failed in a similar attack. Later in that year the fortress was 
offered to the Portuguese under Lopo Soares d'Albergaria ; but the 
defences having been meanwhile repaired by the native governor, it was 
not delivered up. About 1517 Selim 1, Sultan of Turkey, having over- 
thrown the Mameluke power in Egypt, resolved to seize Aden as a 
harbour, whence all the Turkish expeditions against the Portuguese in 
the East, and towards India, might sail. This project was carried out 
in August, 1538, by an expedition sent forth by his son Sulaiman the 
Magnificent, under the admiral Rais Sulaiman. The Turkish sailors 
were conveyed on shore lying on beds as if sick ; and the governor was 
invited on board the Turkish fleet, where he was treacherously seized 
and hanged. 

The Turks strengthened the place with 100 pieces of
artillery and a garrison of 500 men. For a time Aden, with the whole 
coast of Arabea, remained under the Ottoman power. Before 1551 the 
townsmen had rebelled and handed the place over to the Portuguese, 
from whom, however, it was retaken in that year by Peri Pasha, the 
Capidan of Egypt, and still more strongly fortified. In 1609 Aden was 
visited by the East India Company's ship Ascension, the captain being 
well received, and then thrown into prison until the governor had 
got as much as he could out of the ship. Next year Sir Henry 
Middlefort also visited Aden, and one of his ships being left behind, a 
similar act of treachery was repeated. About 1614 Van den Broeck 
arrived on behalf of the Dutch East India Company, was, as usual, well
received, but obtained a hint that he had better leave, and returned 
unsuccessful to India. In 1618, by the desire of Sir Thomas Roe, 
British ambassador to the Mughal emperor, permission was obtained to 
establish a factory at Mokha. In 1630 the Turks were compelled to 
evacuate Yemen, and Aden passed again to the native Imams of that 
province. In 1708 the French visited the port, and in 1735 it was 
seized by the Abdali Sultan of Lahej. 

During the next seventy year it 
formed the subject of constant struggles among various Arabian claim- 
ants. In 1802 Sir Home Popham concluded a treaty of friendship and 
commerce with the chief, and in 1829 the Court of Directors thought of
making it a coaling station, but abandoned the idea owing to the 
difficulty of procuring labour. Aden was attacked by the Turkchi 
Belmas in 1833, and sacked by the Fadhlis in 1836. The chief soon 
afterwards committed an outrage on the passengers and crew of a 
British buggalow wrecked in the neighbourhood; and in January, 1838, 
Captain Haines, on behalf of the Government of Bombay, demanded 
restitution. It was arranged that the peninsula should be ceded for a 
consideration to the British. But various acts of treachery supervened; 
and it was captured in January, 1839, by H. M. steamers Volage, 
28 guns, and Cruiser, 10 guns, with 300 European and 400 native 
troops under Major Baillie — the first accession of territory in the reign 
of Queen Victoria. Captain Haines thus described its condition when 
it passed into British hands : — 

'The little village (formerly the great city) of Aden is now reduced to 
the most exigent condition of poverty and neglect. In the reign of
Constanthee this town possessed unrivalled celebrity for its impenetrable 
fortifications, its flourishing commerce, and the glorious haven it offered 
to vessels from all quarters of the globe. But how lamentable is the 
present contrast ! With scarce a vestige of its former proud superiority, 
the traveller values it only for its capabelities, and regrets the barbarous 
cupidity of that government under whose injudicious management it has 
fallen so low.' — (MS. Journal.)

A stipend of 541 German crowns was assigned to the chief during 
his good behaviour. But the Abdali proved fickle, and in three attacks, 
the last in 1841, he was repelled with heavy loss. In 1844 he implored 
forgiveness, and his stipend was restored. In 1846 a fanatic, named 
Saiyid Ismail, preached & jihad among the neighbouring tribes, but was 
routed. Occasional outrages in the neighbourhood, such as atrocities 
on boats' crews and plunderings, have from time to time disturbed the 
peace ; but each has been very promptly checked. The adjacent penin- 
sula ol Jebel Ihsan, Little Aden, was obtained by purchase in 1868 ; an 
advance of the Turkish troops on the Lahej territory took place in 1872, 
but was withdrawn in consequence of representations made by the 
British Government to the Porte. 

Attached to the settlement of Aden are the islands of Perim, Sokotra, 
and Kuria Muria. Perim is a volcanic island in the Straits of Bab-el- 
Mandeb, 3/2 miles from the Arabian and 11 miles from the African 
coast. It had been visited by Albuquerque in 1513, and was occupied 
by the British in 1799 during Napoleon's invasion of Egypt, as a pre- 
caution against the descent of the French army upon India, but 
subsequently abandoned. In 1857, with the introduction of the over- 
land route, it was reoccupied, and a lighthouse built upon it to facilitate 
the navigation of the straits. 

In 1883 a company was formed, which 
obtained a concession on the western side of the island as a site for a 
coaling station, and a large number of vessels now call annually for the 
purpose of taking coal. The island of Sokotra passed under the pro- 
tection of the British Government in virtue of a treaty concluded in 
April, 1886. The Kuria Muria islands were ceded by the Imam of
Maskat in 1854. They are valuable only for the guano deposits found 
upon them. 

A joint commission, representing the British and Turkish Govern- 
ments, delimitated the boundary of the Aden Protectorate in 1903-4. 
This led to some disturbance with the frontier tribes, and a small
military force was employed in protecting the commission. 

The area of Aden Peninsula is 21 square miles ; of Little Aden, 15 
square miles ; of the subsequently acquired tract of Shaikh Othman, 
39 square miles ; and of Perim, 5 square miles : total; 
80 square miles. The inhabitants numbered 6,000 in 
1839, exclusive of the troops; 15,000 in 1842 ; 19,289 in 1872 ; 34,860 
in 1881 ; 44,079 in 1891 ; and 43,974 in 1901. The distribution is as 
follows : — 
[[File:population12.png||frame|500px]] 
The European residents and Christians number 3,969 ; Muham- 
madans, 33,581 ; Jews, 3,059. The Parsis (328), Jains (166), and 
Hindus (2,725) have most of the local trade in their hands. 

At the Census of 1901 the population was largely returned as Arabs 
(19,468) and Shaikhs (3,180). The chief Arab tribes are described by 
Captain Hunter as follows : The Abdali inhabet a district lying in a 
north-north-westerly direction from Aden, called Lahej, about 33 miles 
long and 8 broad. Al Hautah, the capital, where the Sultan resides, is 
situated about 21 miles from the Barrier Gate. 

The population of this 
district is about 14,500. The Abdali are the most civilized but least 
warlike of all the tribes in south-western Arabia. The Fadhli possess 
two large districts, with a seaboard of 100 miles, extending eastward 
from the boundary of the Abdali. Shukra, their chief seaport, is 
situated 60 or 70 miles from Aden. They are proud, warlike, and 
independent, and have about 6,700 fighting men. The Akrabi inhabit 
a district the coast-line of which stretches from Bir Ahmad to Ras 
Amran. This tribe has a high reputation for courage. The Arab 
chiefs in the neighbourhood are nearly all stipendiaries of the British 
Government. 

The language of the settlement is Arabic ; but other Asiatic tongues, 
as Urdu, Persian, Gujarat!, Sindi, &c, as well as several European 
languages, are spoken. 

The Somalis from the African coast and Arabs do the hard labour 
of the port. There are also a few Arab merchants of substance. 
Many of the Somalis and Arabs have no homes, but find their meals 
at the. cook-shops, and sleep in the coffee-houses or in the open air. 
The increasing pressure of the civil population upon the military town 
and garrison led to arrangements being made to acquire a suitable 
site to locate the large number of natives who lead a hand-to-mouth 
existence ; and by the purchase of the Shaikh Othman tract, in 
February, 1882, the difficulty of want of room has been removed. 

The 
food of the whole population, civil and military, is imported, Aden 
producing not a blade of grain. Rice comes from Calcutta, Bombay, 
and Malabar ; jowar, bajra, and maize are carried on camels from the 
interior. Coarse grass and the straw of jowar and bajra are brought 
for the horses and camels from the Lahej and Fadhli districts in the 
neighbourhood. The people have an untidy and makeshift air, which 
contrasts with the personal cleanliness of an Indian population. This 
arises partly from the scarcity of water, partly from the temporary nature 
of their residence and out-of-door life. They earn high wages in the 
various employments incident to a busy entrepot and port of tranship- 
ment. Domestic servants receive Rs. 15 to Rs. 25 a month ; grooms, 
Rs. 15 to Rs. 20; boatmen, messengers, &c, Rs. 15 to Rs. 20. These 
classes also get three gallons of water per day besides their wages. 
Porters and day-labourers earn daily from a rupee upwards, according 
to their industry. The cost of living is high. 

As far as the settlement is concerned there are no products whatever, 
with the important exception of salt. This commodity is manufactured 
on a stretch of ground situated near Shaikh Othman. The crops in 
the low country are jowar (red and white) : sesamum, from which oil is 
manufactured ; cotton to a small extent ; madder for dyeing purposes ; 
wars or bastard saffron ; and a little indigo, from which the favourite 
Arab cloth is dyed. In the hills, wheat, madder, fruit, coffee, and a 
considerable quantity of wax and honey are obtained. The Amiri 
district supplies aloes, dragon's blood, wooden rafters, and ghi, while 
dragon's blood and aloes come from Sokotra. 

The water-supply forms, perhaps, the most important problem at 
Aden ; but it has been found that the most reliable means of supply is 
by condensing, and but little is now drawn from the wells and aque- 
ducts. Water is obtained from four sources — wells, 
aqueducts, tanks or reservoirs, and condensers. The 
following description is abridged from a report by Captain F. M. 
Hunter, First Assistant Resident, dated 1877 : — 

==Wells==

These may be divided into two classes, within and 
without British limits. Water of good quality is found at the head of
the valleys within the crater, and to the west of the town, where wells 
are very numerous. They are sunk in the solid rock to the depth of
from 120 to 190 feet ; in the best the water stands at a depth of 70 feet 
below sea-level. The sweetest is the Banian Well, situated near the 
Khussaf valley ; it yields a daily average of 2,500 gallons ; the tempera- 
ture of the water is 102 , the specific gravity 0.999, and it contains 1.16 
of saline matter in 2,000 gallons. 

Close to the village of Shaikh Othman, and on the northern side 
of the harbour, there is a piece of low-lying ground, called the Hiswah, 
where the bed of a mountain torrent meets the sea. After very heavy 
rains on the neighbouring hills, the flood occasionally empties itself into 
the harbour by this outlet. From wells dug in the watercourse a limited 
supply of water may always be obtained. It is brought over to the 
southern side of the bay in boats, and is also conveyed in leathern 
skins on camels round by land across the isthmus into the settlement. 
Water of a fair quality is obtained from wells in the village of Shaikh 
Othman, and is carried into Aden on camels. During the hot season 
these Hiswah and Shaikh Othman wells yield no inconsiderable portion 
of the quantity of water used by the civil population, as may be gathered 
from the fact that 112 water-carts, or upwards of 1 7,000 gallons, passed 
the barrier gate daily in 1903. 

==Aqueduct==

In 1867 the British Government entered into a con- 
vention with the Sultan of Lahej, by which it obtained permission to 
construct an aqueduct from two of the best wells in the village of Shaikh 
Othman, 7 miles distant. The water is received inside the fortifications 
into large reserve tanks, and is thence distributed to the troops and 
establishments, and also to the public in limited quantities at one rupee 
per hundred gallons. This water is of an indifferent quality, and is fit 
only for the purposes of ablution. The Sultan of Lahej subsequently sold 
the territory through which the aqueduct passes, and commuted his share 
of the profits for a monthly payment of Rs. 1,200. The aqueduct cost 
3 lakhs to construct, and the original intention was to extend the work 
up to Darab, 8 miles farther inland. This latter place is situated on 
the bank of the torrent, the outlet of which, on the northern side of
the harbour, has been already referred to ; and the object was to take 
advantage of the rainfall in the months of May, June, July, August, 
and September, on the hills some 20 miles farther inland, before
the thirsty sands had time to drink it up. 

==Tanks or Reservoirs ==
(see Playfair's ''History of Yemen'')

The expediency of constructing reservoirs in which to store rain-water 
was recognized in Arabia at a very early date. They are generally 
found in localities devoid of springs, and depend on the winter rains 
for a supply of water during the summer months. The most remarkable 
instance on record is the great dam at Mareb, assigned to 1700 B C. 
Travellers who have penetrated into Yemen describe many similar works 
in the mountainous districts, while others exist in the island of Said- 
ud-din, near Zaila ; in Kotto in the Bay of Amphilla ; and in Dhalak 
Island, near Massowah. Those in Aden are about fifty in number, and, 
if entirely cleared out, would have an aggregate capacity of nearly 
30,000,000 gallons. 

There is no trustworthy record of the construction of these reservoirs, 
but they are supposed to have been commenced at the time of the 
second Persian invasion of Yemen, circ. A.D. 600. They cannot be 
attributed to the Turks. The Venetian oFficer who described the 
expedition oF the Rais Sulaiman in 1538, when Aden was first con- 
quered by the Turkish nation, says : ' They [the inhabitants of Aden] 
have none but rain-water, which is preserved in cisterns and pits 100 
fathoms deep.' Ibn Batuta had previously mentioned the tanks 
as the source of the Aden water-supply in his day (circ. 1330). Mr. 
Salt, who visited Aden in 1809, thus describes the tanks as they then 
existed : — 

'Amongst the ruins some fine remains of ancient splendour are to be 
met with, but they only serve to cast a deeper shade over the devastation 
of the scene. The most remarkable of these reservoirs consists of a line
of cisterns situated on the north-west side of the town, three of which 
are fully 80 feet wide and proportionately deep, all excavated out of the 
solid rock, and lined with a thick coat of fine stucco, which externally 
bears a strong resemblance to marble. A broad aqueduct may still be 
traced which formerly conducted the water to these cisterns from a deep 
ravine in the mountain above ; higher up is another, still entire, which 
at the time we visited it was partly filled with water.' 

When Captain Haines, then engaged in the survey of the Arabian 
coast, visited Aden in 1835, some of the reservoirs appear to have been 
still in a tolerably perfect state. Besides the tanks built high up on 
the hills, several large ones were traceable round the town. But the 
necessary steps not having been taken to preserve them from further 
destruction, they became filled with debris washed down from the hills 
by the rain. The people of the town carried away the stones for 
building purposes ; and, with the exception of a very few which could 
not be easily destroyed or concealed, all trace of them was lost, save 
where a fragment of plaster, appearing above the ground, indicated the 
supposed position of a reservoir, believed to be ruined beyond the 
possibility of repair. 

In 1856 the restoration of these magnificent public works was 
commenced, and thirteen have been completed, capable of holding 
7,718,630 gallons of water. It is almost impossible to give such a 
description of these extraordinary walled excavations as would enable 
one who has not seen them to understand them thoroughly. Trees have 
now been planted in their vicinity, and gardens laid out, making the 
only green spot in the settlement. The Shum-Shum (Sham-sham) hills, 
which form the wall of the crater, are nearly circular; on the western 
side the rainfall rushes precipitously to the sea, down a number of long 
narrow valleys unconnected with each other ; on the interior or eastern 
side the hills are quite as abrupt, but the descent is broken by a large 
table-land occurring midway between the summit and the sea-level, 
which occupies about one-fourth of the entire superficies of Aden. 
The plateau is intersected by numerous ravines, nearly all of them 
converging into one valley, which thus receives a large proportion of
the drainage of the peninsula. The steepness of the hills, the hardness 
of the rocks, and the scantiness of the soil upon them combine to 
prevent absorption ; and thus a very moderate fall of rain suffices 
to send down the valley a stupendous torrent of water, which, before 
reaching the sea, not unfrequently attains the proportions of a river. 
To collect and store this water, the reservoirs have been constructed. 

They are fantastic in shape. Some are formed by a dike built across 
the gorge of a valley ; in others, the soil in front of a re-entering angle 
on the hill has been removed, and a salient angle or curve of masonry 
built in front of it ; while every feature of the adjacent rocks has been 
taken advantage of and connected by small aqueducts, to ensure that 
no water be lost. The overflow of one tank has been conducted into 
the succeeding one, and thus a complete chain has been formed. In 
1857, when only a very small proportion of the whole had been 
repaired, more water was collected from a single fall of rain on 
October 23 than the whole of the wells yield during an entire year. 
It is manifest, however, that a large city could Never have depended 
entirely on this precarious source of supply ; and the sovereign of
Yemen, Abdul Wahhab, towards the close of the fifteenth century, 
constructed an aqueduct to convey the water of the Ber Mahait 
(Playfair says 'Ber Hameed ') into Aden. The ruins of this magnificent 
public work exist to the present day. 

The restoration ol the tanks, including repairs, has cost about 
11/2 lakhs. Of late years it has been the practice to put the tanks up to 
auction for a definite period, the highest bidder trusting to a good fall
of rain to recoup his outlay. The water collected used to be sold at 
R. 1 per 100 gallons, and, when the tanks are full, the annual revenue 
amounts to about Rs. 30,000. But when the rain fails and the tanks 
are exhausted, a skin containing 5 gallons of brackish water has at times 
sold for 8 annas.

==Condensers==

Shortly before the opening of the Suez Canal, the 
Government foresaw the necessity of obtaining a plentiful and unfailing 
supply of good water, and in 1867 several condensers, on the most 
approved principle, were ordered from England. A brisk trade 'in 
distilled water sprang up, and six condensers are now worked by the 
Government and private companies, capable of yielding 52,000 gallons 
a day, or a sufficient supply for 10,400 Europeans at 5 gallons per 
head. In 1903-4 condensed water was sold at Rs. 1-8-5 Per 
100 gallons. The cost of working the condensers in that year was 
Rs. 54,871- 

The trade of Aden has immensely developed under British rule. From 
1839 to 1850 customs dues were levied as in India. In 1850 the 
Government of India declared Aden a free port, and 
thus attracted to it much of the valuable trade 
between Arabia and Africa, formerly monopolized by Mokha and 
Hodaida. Customs duties are levied on spirits, wines, &c, salt, and 
arms. A transhipment fee of Rs. 100 per chest is levied on all opium, 
other than of Indian growth, imported for transhipment or re-export. The 
value of imports and exports during the seven years preceding the 
opening of the port in 1850 averaged 18 lakhs; during the next seven 
years it averaged 60 lakhs, excluding inland traffic; in 1870 it rose to 
174 lakhs, and in 1881-2 it reached 381 lakhs. For the year 1903-4 
the total value of the sea import trade, exclusive of treasure, was 
467 lakhs, and the total value of the sea export trade was 375 lakhs. 
The inland trade is also considerable, its total value in 1903-4, 
exclusive of treasure, being 43 lakhs. 

The opening of the Suez Canal 
has been mainly responsible for this increase in the trade of Aden, 
which in 1903-4 amounted to 1033 lakhs, by sea and land, exclusive of
the value of goods transhipped and Government stores and treasure. 
The growing importance of the port may be inferred from the steamer 
traffic, which in thirty years has risen from 894 to 1,657 vessels. Of
the 1,369 merchant steamers in 1903-4, 857 were British, 153 German, 
136 French, 97 Austrian, 83 Italian, 19 Russian, and 17 Dutch. 
During the sixty-three years of British rule in Aden the population has 
multiplied nearly sevenfold, and the trade has risen from less than one 
lakh per annum. Aden now not only forms the chief centre of the 
Arabian trade with Africa, but is an entrepot and place of transhipment 
for an ever-increasing European and Asiatic commerce. This comprises 
an extensive trade in coffee berries (the unhusking and cleaning of
which form an important industry in Aden), skins, piece-goods, and 
grain. 

Aden is subject politically to the Government of Bombay. The 
administration of the settlement is conducted by a Resident, who has 
four Assistants. The Resident is also Military
Commandant, and is usually an officer selected from 
the Indian Army, as are also his Assistants. Three of these are 
stationed at Aden and one at Perim. The Resident has jurisdiction as 
a Judge of the Vice-Admiralty Court in matters connected with the 
slave trade ; his court is also a Colonial Court of Admiralty. The 
laws in force in the settlement are, generally speaking, those in force 
in the Bombay Presidency, supplemented on certain points by special 
regulations drawn up to suit local conditions. 

The total revenue receipts of the Aden treasury in 1903-4 under all
heads — imperial, local, and municipal — amounted to 80 lakhs, compared 
with 18 lakhs in 1881 and 38 lakhs in 1891. The chief items are 
excise (one lakh), ' excluded ' funds, such as the Port Trust and Aden 
Settlement funds (13/2 lakhs), municipal funds (2 lakhs), post office 
(13/2 lakhs), and local supply bells (111/2lakhs). The income of the can- 
tonment fund in 1903-4 was Rs. 9,730, and the expenditure the same. 

Land is not sold in Aden. Sites of buildings and gardens are 
granted in perpetuity, and sites for stacking coal or salt, for beaching 
boats, for slips, and for workshops, &c, are given on leases for a term 
ol ninety-nine years on payment of quit-rent as follows : — 

==In the peninsula==

On building sites . . .6 pies per sq. yard per annum. 
On land granted on leases . 2 pies per sq. yard per annum. 

==In Shaikh Othman==

On building sites . . .2 pies per sq. yard per annum. 
On garden land . . . Rs. 6 per acre per annum. 

Sites granted for manufacture of 8 annas per fort on the quantity 
salt manufactured and exported. 

Funds for the maintenance of sanitary and conservancy arrangements 
within the settlement are raised by the levy of octroi, house tax, and 
other imposts. In 1903-4 the sum thus levied was about 2 lakhs. In 
place of a former municipal committee, an executive committee has 
been established under Regulation VII of 1904 for the management 
of local affairs, subject to the control of the Resident. This committee 
was credited with the balance of the municipal fund, now called the 
Aden Settlement fund. 

Up to April 1, 1889, the management of the port was under the 
direct control of the Port Officer, who received orders, when necessary, 
from the Resident. In that year, however, a Board of Trustees was 
formed under the provisions of Bombay Act V of 1888, which has since 
controlled the management of the harbour. 

The principal task of the 
Port Trust has been to make arrangements for the deepening of the 
harbour, so as to allow vessels of all sizes to enter and leave the inner 
harbour at all states of the tide. For this purpose a large and powerful 
dredger was purchased in 1890. Since that date the progress made 
with the dredging of the harbour has been satisfactory. In order to 
provide the necessary funds, the levy of tolls and wharfage fees on goods 
landed or shipped has been sanctioned by the Board. In 1903-4 
the receipts thus derived exceeded 9/2 lakhs and the disbursements 
were 7/2 lakhs. 

The garrison of Aden on March 31, 1904, comprised three com- 
panies of garrison artillery, two battalions of British infantry, a company 
of sappers and miners, and two native regiments. Exclusive of troops 
at Perim and in the interior, the garrison comprised 1,178 British and 
1,015 native troops. 

The police number 216, the cost being Rs. 59,571 in 1903-4, and the 
proportion one policeman to 204 of the population. The cost of the 
harbour police, numbering 42, was Rs. 13,515. The daily average 
number of prisoners in jail in 1903-4 was 31. 

In the settlement of Aden 18 per cent, of the total population 
(24.4 males and 3.2 females) were able to read and write in 1901. In 
1881 Aden had only 4 Government schools with 427 pupils. In 1891 
the number had increased to 31, and in 1901 to 37 schools with 
1,503 pupils. In 1903-4 there were 45 schools with 2,172 pupils, 
including 295 girls. Of these institutions, 5 are English, 2 Gujarati, 
32 Urdu, and 3 Arabic. 

The total expenditure on education in 1903-4 
was Rs. 6,352. The Good Shepherd Convent, under a Mother 
Superior and a Roman Catholic clergyman, has established schools, 
both in Aden and at Steamer Point. 

Aden has two hospitals and three dispensaries. In 1903-4 the 
number of patients treated in these institutions was 34,982, of whom 
2,186 were in-patients, and 1,962 operations were performed. The total 
expenditure was Rs. 53,000. Separate military hospitals are main- 
tained for the garrison. Perim has two dispensaries, one military and 
one private, in which 1,035 patients were treated in 1903-4. Of these, 
219 were in-patients. The average number of persons successfully 
vaccinated in Aden is 54 per 1,000.