as an indemnity, only to the restitution of the wood employed
in the construction of the house--the chief item of expense in Nushki
constructions.

Cotton goods, blue, red and white, seem to command the greatest sale of
any articles in Nushki, after which the local trade consists of wheat,
almonds, barley, carpets (from Sistan), wool, _kanawes_ (cloth from
Meshed), and cloths imported from England, mostly cheap cottons; camels,
dates, etc.

The transit trade of Nushki is, however, very considerable. The
Government returns of the trade that passed through Nushki during the
year from April, 1900, to April, 1901, showed an aggregate of
Rs.1,534,452, against Rs.1,235,411 for the preceding twelve months, while
two years before (1898-1899) the returns barely amounted to Rs.728,082.
Last year, 1901, the trade returns made a further jump upwards in the
nine months from April to the end of December, 1901, the imports
amounting to Rs.680,615, and the exports Rs.925,190, or an aggregate of
Rs.1,605,805, which is very satisfactory indeed.

So much has been written of late about Nushki, especially in connection
with the new railway, that I have very little to add. I most certainly
think that, strategically and commercially, Nushki is bound to become a
very important centre, and, as far as trade goes, eventually to supplant
Quetta altogether, owing to its more convenient position. The projected
railway from Quetta to Nushki will be a great boon to caravans, both from
Afghanistan and Persia, because the severe cold of Quetta makes it very
difficult for camels to proceed there in winter, and camel drivers have a
great objection to taking their animals there.

For any one looking ahead at the future and not so much at the present,
it seems, however, almost a pity that the newly sanctioned railway should
not join Nushki with Shikarpur or Sibi instead of Quetta, which would
have avoided a great and apparently almost useless detour. Nushki will be
found to develop so fast and so greatly that, sooner or later, it will
have to be connected in a more direct line with more important trading
centres than Quetta. Quetta is not a trading centre of any importance,
and is merely a military station leading nowhere into British territory
in a direct line.

However, even the Quetta-Nushki railway is better than nothing, and will
certainly have a beneficial effect upon the country it will pass through.
From a military point of view the railway as