Colonies of Kashmiri settled in the Panjab are known by their fair complexion, their peculiar dialect, their way of closely shaving the head, and wearing small skull-caps. These people have emigrated at various times from Kashmir. They are divided among themselves into several gradations, and, like all Musalman races, have no restrictions on marriage, except iromediate rela tions ; marriages with first cousins are not only allowable, but frequently occur. Tfiey are almost exclusively employed in the shawl trade. There are two classes in the profession, the master work men or Ustads, and the apprentices or Shagirds.
The former supply the capital, and theazprentices earn their livelihood by task-work. 'rhe more opulent Kashmiri not only keep large manufac tories for shawls, but trade in wool and other produce of Ladakh and Chinese Tartary. The rooms devoted to the workmen are long apart ments with looms placed in the centre, and benches ranged parallel fOr the weavers ; they are well lighted and airy ; the workmen, all males, sit hard employed the whole day, and sometimes enliven the labour by singing chorrums. They are a discontented and quarrelsome race, very defi cient in personal courage, but so litigious, that their disposition for law has become a proverb.
They speak a dialect intelligible only to them selves, though they are also conversant with the vernacular. The shawls of Nurpur and Tilaknath are not much prized ; the work is inferior, but the great cause of inferiority is the hardness of the water, which communicates a roughness t,o the shawls, greatly detracting from their marketable value. The Kashmiri themselves say that there is no water like the river Jhelum, and that the superiority of the shawls of the valley is mainly ascribable to the virtue of the water. The weavers of Kashmir possess also greater artistic qualifica tions, since none but the worst, who fail to get a livelihood in their native country, would consent to leave the charming valley for the heats of the Panjab and the discomforts of a strange country. The present population consists almost entirely of the descendants of original emigrants, and are now acclimated. They still retain the dress and dialect of Kashmir, and are constantly reinforced by new arrivals from the valley. In the cold winter months, the women adopt a peeuliar custom of carrying under their frocks little pans of heated charcoal, over which they warm their hands, and maintain the circulation, like English ladies with their muffs.
The shawls of Nurpur are scarcely ever found in the foreign market, while those of Amritsar and Gujerat are sold in London and in France in considerable numbers.
The Deputy Commissioner of Gujerat, writing in August 1864, reported that at the last sale iu London, the Gujerat shawls had sold at a loss of four aunas in the rupee, and those of Amritsar at a loss of eight annas; or 50 per cent., the Kashmiri genuine shawls realizing a profit of 25 per cent.
In Ludhiana there are as many as 500 shops of pashmina workers, giviug occepation to more than 1000 persons ; the regular pattern shawl is much less woven than plain pashrnina alwan, gloves, and stockings, etc., of pashmina thread. Of these fabrics about Rs. 70,000 worth are annually exported, but by far the largest manu facture is that of the shawls and chadars made of soft Rampuri wool, and which is often passed off as pashmina or genuine shawl-wool. Of these fabrics no less than Rs. 1, 30,000 worth are aanu ally made and exported. The import of real pashmina wool from Rampur amounts to about Rs. 30,000 or 40,000 a year, that of Rarnpuri wool about Rs. 20,000. A number of Rampur chadars are, however, made of real Kashmir pashm.
The Amritsar shawl-weaving approaches nearest in excellence to the Kashmir. valley. In this city several Europe,an merchants and agents have been supervismg the manufacture and furnishing designs. In the Amritsar district, according .to Mr. Cust, the total number of houses of Kashmiri shal baf ia 6,193, of which 5111 are in the city itaelf.
Amritsar, besides being the seat of manufac ture, is also an emporium of the Kashmir shawl trade. At ono time the shawl manufacture of Amritsar had so deteriorated, froin the use of mixed or adulterated pashm, that the trade was threatened with extinction in Europe, and in 1861 large meetings were held at Amritsar with a view to tho adoption of measures to prevent a lulterzttion, — a considerable and fraudulent admixture of coarse sheep's wool. On the other hand, it was maintained that the difficulty of ascertaining, by the tnost experienced judges, before shawl goods are washed and exposed for a while to the action of the air, the amount of a hnixture, if any, that may have taken place in the weaving of shawls ;—and it may be here men tioned that the length of the staples of sheep's wool offering went facilities in spinning the thread is the chief inducement to its being used, the pashin being very short, and consequently more difficult to spin ; secondly, the total indifference of the manufacturers to the frequent and urgent re nionatrance of the dealers against practices which they were assured would lead to the discovery of frauds that must affect ell interested in the trade and manufacture of shawl-wool goods.