Salem City
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Salem City
Head-quarters of the District and taluk of the same name in Madras, situated in n 39' N. and 78 10' E., 206 miles by rail from Madras city. It lies in a picturesque valley, bounded on the north by the Shevaroys and on the south by the Jarugumalais. The Tirumanimuttar river, flowing through this valley, contributes to the wealth of greenness which is the great charm of the landscape. Salem contains the usual offices, a small college, and one of the seven Central jails of the Presidency The residences of the officials, except of the Collector whose house is in the native quarter, are pleasantly situated on high ground along the road to Yercaud, which is only 14 miles distant by the old bridle-path.
The city is straggling and extensive, being about 4 miles long and 3 broad. Its population in 1901 was 70,621, and it ranks as the fifth largest place in the Presidency. Of the total, Hindus numbered 63,444, Musalmans 5,811, and Christians 1,365. In 1871 the population was 50,012; in 1881, 50,667; and in 1891, 67,710. A serious riot took place here in 1882 between the Muhaminadans and the Hindus, the question involved being the old one of the right of a Hindu procession to pass a Musalman mosque.
Salem was made a municipality in 1866. The receipts and expenditure dunng the ten years ending 1902-3 averaged about Rs. 77,000 and Rb 70,000 respectively. In 1903-4 the income was Rs. 90,000, the chief items being house and land taxes , and the expenditure was Rb 1,00,000, including medical services and sanitation (Rb. 39,000), education (Rs. 23,000), and public works (Rs. 20,000). The great want of the city is a proper water-supply Several schemes have been inves- tigated, but only recently has a promising one been discovered.
Salem formerly had an evil reputation as a hotbed of cholera, and in the autumn of 1875 there were 2,039 attacks and 840 deaths in the short space of six weeks. Weaving in silk and cotton is the chief local industry, but is on the decline. In the distress of 1891-2 the weavers suffered greatly and emigrated in large numbers, the demand for then pi eductions having fallen off owing to the scarcity of money among their usual clients. Government started a special scheme for their relief, by undertaking to pui chase cloths from them on a system which left them a margin foi subsistence.
