PROPERTY OF University of Michigan Libraries 1817 ARTES SCIENTIA VERITAS THE HAND-BOOK BRITISH IND I A. f I t THE HAND-BOOK OF BRITISH INDIA: A GUIDE TO The Stranger, the Traveller, the Resident, AND ALL WHO MAY HAVE BUSINESS WITH OR APPERTAINING TO INDIA. BY uloga 16H. STOCQUELER, À ! AUTHOR OF “THE LIFE OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON," "THE MILITARY ENCYCLOPÆDIA, “THE MEMOIRS OF SIR WILLIAM NOTT," ETC. ETC. Third Edition, WITH NUMEROUS ALTERATIONS AND ADDITIONS. LONDON: WM. H. ALLEN AND CO., 7, LEADENHALL STREET. 1854. IDS . 557 / 8 Si .* .-* 2 u PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. The First Edition of this Hand Book was published exactly ten years ago. The Second rapidly followed upon the First; and the continual demand for the work has produced the Third. The Author is exceedingly glad of the opportunity afforded him in this, the Third Edition, of introducing a great many additions and alterations, rendered necessary by the manifold and marvellous changes which have taken place in India since 1844, or suggested by the obviousness of former unavoidable omissions. The acquisition of Scinde, the Punjaur, and of more territory in BuRmah, has given occasion for considerable mention of places scarcely referred to in the former volume. The compression of matter by the use of a smaller and closer type, and the excision of superfluous, because now obsolete, views of social usages and society, has afforded the means of describing the territories subordinate to the Madras and Bombay Governments, the Eastern Islands, Ceylon, and Kashmir,—none of which' were embraced in previous editions. vi PREFACE. Nor are these the only new features included in the pre- sent edition: since 1844 the Government of India has undergone a material change; commerce and civilization have marched onward; population has augmented; the armies have been increased, and their rules and regulations much altered; railways and the electric telegraph have been established, and the Ganges Canal completed and opened. None of the subjects arising out of these nume- rous changes have been disregarded. Appearing almost coevally with the operation of the Act which gives a new form and character to the Govern- ment of India, it is hoped that the "Hand Book," which records and reflects the progress of events, will continue to merit the reputation which it has enjoyed since the hour of its first appearance. In a work of this description, reference has necessarily been had to a great many publications which treat of India; and although at least one half the volume is original, and the result of the author's own experience of India and Anglo-Indian society, he readily acknowledges his obligations to the pages of Miss Roberts' "Scenes and Sketches in Hindostan," Bishop Heber's "Journal," Mrs. Postans' "Western India," the late Sir William M'Naghten's "MaJiomedan Law," the Topographical Reports of the Madras Medical Society, Milburn's "Oriental Commerce," Thornton's "Countries West of the Sutlej," the works of Orme, Mill, Wilson, Selkirk, and others. ADVERTISEMENT. Several subjects of importance will be found treated fully at page 417 to 427, and in the Appendix. They could not be introduced in the body of the work, in suitable places, because they were only in progress of completion while the previous sheets passed through the press. These subjects are:— 1. The Electric Telegraph in India. 2. The course—completed and intended—of the Railways. 3. The Ganges Canal. 4. The College of Civil Engineers, &c., at Roorkee. 5. The Rules and Regulations connected with admis- sion to, and retirement from, the Services, Furloughs, Civil and Military Funds, &c. The reader is requested to cancel the two paragraphs at pages 80 and 81, beginning, "The foregoing suggestions, &c."—because within the last month or two, the "General Screw Steam Navigation Company" has ceased to send vessels round the Cape of Good Hope. J. H. S. London, July, 1854. INDEX. Ardae, domestic duties of the, 120 Aboo, Mount, description of, 341 Acquaintances in India, 106 .Adam's Peak in Ceylon, 373 Addiscombe seminary, regulations for the admission of candidates, 444; of cadets^ -Assam, valley of, 268, 269 . Aden, description of, 89; population of, 90 Affghanistan, population of, 23 Afighanistans, hostilities with, 10 ; defeated by Sir John Keane, 11 ; expel the Bri- tish, 11; defeated by Generals Pollock and Nott, 11 ; their territory abandoned, 11 . Agra, the ancient city of, 226; architecture and public buildings of, 228, 229; re- mains of the palace of, 233; its gardens and suburbs, 232, 233; college at, 234; benevolent institutions of, 235 *• Agricultural Society at Calcutta, 165 Ahmedabad, the town of, 340 Ahmednuggur, the fortified city of, 340 Aimeer, the city of, 238 Albuquerque, Alfonso, the first European occupier of Goa, 332 et note. . Allahabad, voyage from Calcutta to, 187; city of, 212—216 Almorah, the military station of, 243 America, productions of sent to India, 33 Amritsir, the town of, 392 Arsenal, the, at Calcutta, 173 Arts and Sciences, low state of among the natives, 28 Asiatic Society, their meetings at Calcutta 161 A 112; at Calcutta, 179; at "Bombay, 322 „. Andaman, trade of with India, 35 -Animals, great variety of, 21 Anna, value of the coin so called, 39 - Arab population of India, 22 Arabic language most generally cultivated, 70 Arcot, south and north districts of, 294 Armenian population of India, the descend- ants of the Persian refugees, 22 Army of British India, 51—67; its influ- ence, 52; its strength, 44, 53; propor- tion of Europeans and Natives, 54; staff of the, 54; rules for admission to the, 55; emoluments of officers, 56, 5~. See Military Service. , Arracan, province of, 276; population of, Assay masters, rules for their admission into the East-India Company's Service, 481, 482 Attock, the fortress of, 307 Auckland, Lord, governor of India, 10 Ayah, domestic duties of the, 120 Ayer Etam, a district of Penang, 357 Ayer Tinjau, a district of Penang, 357 Bancoorah, military station of, 192 Bandel, settlement of, 192 Banians, the trading caste of Hindoos, 23 Bangalore, the city of, 302 Bank notes, circulation of, 40 Banks, number of in India, 40 Bar of India, 65 Barley, cultivation of, 20 Baroda, the town of, 340 Barrackpore, the military station of, 190 Bassein, the city of, 331; ruins of, 332, 333 Bawurchee, or cook, duties of the, 117 Bayaderes of India, 26 Amusements of the Indian population, 26, i-Bazaars at Calcutta, 186; at Bombay, 323 Beaa, one of the rivers of the Punjaub, 385 276; mountains of, 281 ; religion of, 281,A Bengalee language Beasts, wild, great variety of, 21 Bel gaum, the town of, 340 ] Bellary, district of, 304; geology of, 305 Benares, the apcient city of, 210, 211; voyage to, 192 Bengal, early successes of the English in, 7; various contests in, 8, 9 Bengal Presidency, various regiments of the, 53 ; the government, 121 ; territorial divisions for revenue purposes, 122; principal places in, 124 et seg. Bengal Civil Service Annuity Fund, 432 Bengal Military Fund, regulations of the, 457—468 Bengal Medical Retiring Fund, 469 Bengal Pilot Service, 488 i; animals and productions of, 283; its trade with India, 35 Berhampore, description of, 1Q2 et seg. Bhaugulpore, town of, 195 X INDEX. Bhurtpore, fortress of, reduced, 10 ; present state of, 237, 238 Bhyses, the trading caste of Hindoos, 23 Bihishtee, domestic duties of the, 118 Bills of exchange, 39 Birds, great variety of, 21 Bishop's College at Calcutta, 165 Black pagoda, near Poree, 273 Boat equipments for inland travelling, 98; hire of and supplies, J00; for public conveyance at Calcutta, 185 Bomray, trade and commerce of, 34; its imports and exports, 37; the city oCJ 317—319; the borahs of, 320; horse- dealers of, 321; sports of, 322; the bazaar, 323; native education in, 326, 327 i climate and population of, 329 Bombay Presidency, the various regiments of the, 53; government of the, 122; the regulation provinces of the, 123; terri- tory of the, 333; principal places and stations in the, 334 et seq. Bombay civil fund, rules of the, 438 Bombay military fund, rules of the, 474— 480 Bombay medical fund, 481 Bombay marine, origin of the, 58 Borahs of Bombay, 320 — Botanical Gardens at Calcutta, 168 Brahmins, the religious caste of Hindoos, 23 Bramha, the supreme god of the Hindoos, 23 British traders to India, 5 Broach, the town of, 340 Buckingham, Mr., introduces freedom of the press, 72 Budjerows, travelling by, 97 + Buildings, public, of Calcutta, 138—176; of Madras, 289; of Bombay, 328 Bundelkund, diamonds of, 214 Bungalows, for travellers, 244 Burdwan, colleries at, 192 Burmah, coast of, 275, 276 Burmese, contests with the, 9i 10; de- feated, 15; population of the, 23 ; cha- racter of the, 276; their manners and customs, 276—280; their costume, 280 Buxar, town of, 205 Cadets, rules for the nomination of at Addiscombe, 448 Calcutta, massacre at, 17; trade and com- merce of, 34; its imports and exports, 37; press of, 75 i general description of, 124 et seq.; ghauts of, 125; conventional divisions of the city, 127; business of, 128; streets, shops, &c, 129, 132; cli- mate of, 133; population of, 135; Eng- lish in, 136; Mahomedans and Hindoos in, 137; public buildings, institutions, &c, 138—176; religious, literary, scien- tific, and commercial societies of, 109 etseq.; botanical gardens at, I68; sai- lors' home, 171; hospitals aod associa- tions of, 172; the arsenal, docks, &c, 173 else?.; sports at, 179; a river voy- age from, to Allahabad, 187 Canal of the Ganges, 418 Canara, province of, 300 Canarese language peculiar to Mysore, 69 Cape route to India, undertaken by the Egyptians, the Carthaginians, and the Portuguese, 4 Caravansaries, magnificent remains of, 223 Carriages of India, 109 Carrying trade of India, 36 Castes of India divided into four great classes, 22, 23 Cawnpore, the civil and military station of, 217; Miss Roberts' description of, 217— 221 Cemeteries, Chinese, at Penang, 359, 360 Ceylon, trade and commerce of, 34; its exports and imports, 37; island of, 369; its productions, 370 et seq.; the various cities, towns, and villages of, 384 et seq. Chamber of Commerce at Calcutta, 172 Chandalas, the degraded caste of India, 23 Chandernagore settlement, 191 Chaplains, rules for their admission into the East-India Company's service, 481, 482 Chenaub, one of the rivers of the Punjaub, 386 Cherra Poonjee, the station of, 259 Chinese, hostilities with, and defeat of the, in India, 23 Chingleput district of Madras, 295 Chinsurah settlement, 191 Chitah, a British-Indian weight, 41 Chumar caste of Malabar, 298 Chuprah, civil station of, 205 Cingalese language spoken in Ceylon, 69 Cinnamon, the produce of Ceylon, 371 Civil engineers, college of at Roorkee, 421 Civil service of the East-India Company, 44 et seq.; its duties and emoluments, 49, 50 ; rules of the college at Hailey- bury for the education of civilians, 425; terms of admission for students, 428; furlough rules for the, 428 Civil service Bengal annuity fund, 432 Civil service fund instituted Oct. 1804, 434 Climate of India, 17,240; of Calcutta, 133; of Agra, 229 ; of Cherra Poonjee, 260; of Bombay, 349 i of Colombo, 378; of the Punjaub, 401 Clippers used in the Indian trade, 36 Clive, General, defeats the French and the Viceroy of Bengal at Plassy, 7; his fund for the military service, 450 Club-houses at Calcutta, 1S4 Coachman of a domestic establishment, 119 Cobra capella, the dancing snake of the East, 303 Cocoa-nut, the produce of Ceylon, 372 Coel, the civil station of, 223 Coimbatore, province of, 301 Coins of India, their respective values, 39 Cole language, 69 1 Colgong, village of, 195 INDEX. xi College at Agra, 234 College of civil engineers at Roorkee, 421 Colleges, &c, of Calcutta, 159 *t «?. —Collieries at Burdwan, 192 ..f. Colombo, the capital of Ceylon, 374; Ichurches of, 3"6; its commerce, 377; its climate, 378; its population, 380; its libraries and museum, 381; hotels, schools, &c. 382 Combermere, Lord, reduces the fortress of Bburtpore, 10 -^Dutch, their first attention to India, 5 East-India Company, its Directors the governors of British India, 43; their qualifications and salaries, 43 ; their rules and regulations for the civil, military, and naval services of the, Apf. 425—492 East-India College at Haileybury, rules of the, 425 et seq. East Indies, rules of precedence in the, 490 Commanders-in-chief, salaries of the, 44; J Eastern Islands of British India—Pe- their qualifications, 46 *"~ Commerce of India, 33—37; of Colombo, 377 Commercial Societies of Calcutta, 163, 164 Condoor, the station of, 313 Conveyances, public, at Calcutta, 185 Coolies at Calcutta, 185 Coorg, the principality of, 304 Copper coins of India, 39 Cornwallis, marquis, monumental inscrip- tion to, at Ghazeepore, 206 Corygaum, monument at, 337; battle of, 338 Cossim Ali Khan, palace of, 206, 207 Cossipore foundry at Calcutta, 174 "Hills, 259; climate of the, 260; nang, Malacca, and Singapore, 354 et aeq. (which see) Eastern Straits settlements, government of the, 123 Ecclesiastical Protestant establishment, 62; duties of the British clergy, 62; chaplains and their assistants, 63; their salaries, 63, 64 |"Education, native, of Bombay, 326, 327 Electric telegraph at Calcutta, 179 Electro • telegraphic communication in India, 417 Elephant dealers, 250 Elephantiasis, prevalence of, 19 Ellenborough, lord, governor of India, 12; his contests with GwalioT, 12—14 routes and approaches to the, 260 ; savage England, manufactures and productions of tribes of the.'2fio v-Cotton plant, cultivation of in India, 37 Courts of law, judges and Advocates of the, 65; their jurisdiction, 66 Cowrie, a small shell used as currency, 39 Cuddapah, town of, 305 Currency, silver the standard of, 39 ■ Cutch, territory of, 334, 342 Cuttack, a station in the Bengal presidency, 269 Dacca, city of, 254—256; suburbs of, 257; manufactures of, 257, 258 Dawk arrangements, 93 - - Delhi, the ancient city of, 238 Desert, crossing of the, 86 Dhan, a British Indian weight, 41, 42 Dhobee, domestic duties of the, l IS sent to India, 33 English, their first voyages to India, 5; obtain a charter for permission to trade, 5 ; their collisions with the French, 6; defeat the French, 7; their contests with Hyder Ali and Tippoo Saib, 8; their residence in Calcutta, 136 Equipments to India, 76 Etawah, ruins of, 224; gardens of, 225 Eurasians, the descendants of East Indians and Europeans, 22; character of the, 30; their employments, 31; their gene- ral deficiency, 31; list of those who have distinguished themselves, 31 European habits in India, 108 European population of India, 32 I'European traders to India, 3 Expenses of living, 107, 114, US Exports from Europe, America, and the 36* Diamonds of Bundelkund, 214 Dimhutty, the station of, 313 '^—'Diseases of India, 19 District Charitable Society at Calcutta, 165 Docks, &c, at Calcutta, 175 -"■■"Domestic expenditure in India, 107, 114, 115 Domestic life and usage?, 26, 27,113 Domestic servants, H6—120 _ \ Dorieling, town of, 26l ; great elevation of, I 202; temperature and climate of, 263— - 265; diseases of, 266, 267 . Dost Mahomed.—See Affghanistans. 4>um Dum, the artillery station of, 189, 190 Dup/eix, General, defeated by the English, 7 Durxee, domestic duties of the, 119 East, sent to India, 33, 34 Exports from India, value of, 36 Fan Am, the coin so called, 39 Field sports at Calcutta, 183 "Fish, great variety of, 28 'Flora, beauty and variety of the, 20 v'Food, rice and wheat the principal support of the population, 20 "Food of the Hindoos, 20,25 Fort St. George at Madras, 287 Fort William, college of, 165 Foundry, Cossipore, at Calcutta, 174 'France, productions of, sent to India, 33 French establish agencies in Pondicherry and Chandernagore, 6; their contests with the English, 6; defeated by General Clive, 7; population of in India, 23 Xll INDEX. — Fruits cultivated in India, 20 Funds, for various purposes, established at Calcutta, 164 - ' Funeral pyres, 188 Furlough regulations, 50; for the civil ser* vice of the East-India Company, 428; for the military service, 451; for the naval service, 483 Furniture for India, 107 'Futtehpore, numerous remains at, 216 Galle, the town of, 383 Ganges canal, 418 Ganjam district of Madras, 297 General Assembly's institution at Cal cutta, 159 Ghauts, the, of Calcutta, 125 Ghazeepore, town of, 206—209 Goa, the ancient city of, 332 Goitre, prevalence of, 19 Gold currency, scarcity of, 39 Goond language, 69 Gora Bunder, Portuguese monastery 331 Gough, Sir Hugh, defeats the Seikha, 15 Gour, ruins of, 194, 195 Government of India, 16, 43 et seq.; in the hands of the Directors of the East- India Company, 43 ; the number of local governments, 44; the system of, 44; the members of, 46; separated into four grand divisions, 121; municipal govern- ment at Calcutta, 186; government of the Punjaub, 402 Government house at Calcutta, 139 Grasscutter, domestic duties of the, 119 Gutta-percha, the produce of Singapore, 367 Guzerattee language, 70 Gwalior, town of, 235, 236; British con- tests with, 12; treachery of the Bate, 13; troops of defeated, 13, 14; treaty of peace with, 14 Harits, European, in India, 108 Hadjeeporc fair, 203, 204 Haileybury college, establishment of the, 48; rules of, for the education of civilians, 425 et seq. Hansi, the town of, 252 Hardinge, Sir H., governor of India, 15 Hastings, Marquis of, his government of India, 9 Hill tribes of the Cossyah hills, 260; of the Punjaub, 398 Himalayas, climate of the, 17 ; range of the, 245 Hindee, the popular language of Oude, 69 Hindoo college at Calcutta, 140; students of the,143 Hindoo metropolitan college, 144 Hindoo population of Benares, 211 Hindoos, the most numerous and ancient class of the population, 22, 23; separated into four great castes, 23; their religion, 23; character of the, 24"; their manners and customs, 25; in Calcutta, 137 Hindostan, climate of, 17 - Hindostanee, the general language of India, 69; most generally cultivated, 69 History of British India, 1 et seq.; early I history veiled in obscurity, 1; the , Tyrians, the Greeks, the Scythians, the . Tartars, the Mahometans, and the Great * Mogul, 2; intercourse with European states, 3 et seq.; Cape route, 4 Hives of Cashmir, 415, 416 Hog-hunting at Poona, 336 Holiday amusements, 112 Hooghly, left bank of the, 189; right bank, 191 Hookah-burdar, domestic duties of the, 120 Horse-breeding at Calcutta, 181 Horse-dealers of Bombay, 320 Horticultural society at Calcutta, 165 Hospital, the Presidency-general, 159 Hospitals at Calcutta, 172 lot winds of India, 240 Hotels at Calcutta, 184 Hulwah, a general term for sweetmeats, 250 note Hunting at Calcutta, 181, 182 Hurdwar, a place of great sanctity, 248; fair at, 250 Hutchinson, Frederick, high character of, 31 note Hyder Ali, his contests with the English, 8 Hyderabad, the capital of the Deccan, 306; governed by the Nizam, 307; medical school of, 308; city of, 342 Imports transmitted to India, 35 INDIA, BRITISH, general history of, 1—15 ; its extent, I6; government of, 16, 43; climate and productions, 17 et seq. j diseases of, 19; animals of, 21 ; popula- tion of, 22; castes and religion, 23; the Hindoos, 24; manners and customs, 26 et seq.; arts and sciences, 28 ; the Eura- sians, 30; commerce and trade, 33 et seq. s the currency of, 39; weights and measures of, 41; writerships, 47; civil- ians, 49; the army of, 51; the staff, 54; emoluments of officers, 56; the navy and marine, 58, 60; Protestant ecclesiastical establishment, 62; law and the bar, 64 et seq.; languages, 69; the press, 70; various routes to—the voyage, and over- land passage—travelling in, &e., 76— 101; society of, social habits, and domes- tic expenditure, 102—120; the govern- mental divisions of, 121 Principal Placeb in, 124 et seq.; presidency of Bengal—Calcutta, 124; Berampore, 192; Monghyr, 197; Patna and Dinapore,201; Benares, 210; Mirsa- pore, 212; Allahabad, 213; Cawnpore, 217; Lucknow, 321; Agra, 226; Delhi, 239; Meerut, 242; Dehra, 243; Almorah, 243; the Himalayas, 245; Simla, 246; INDEX. xiii Hurdwar, 248; Hansi, 252 ; Mfaow, 253; Indore, 253; Saugor, 254; Decca, 254; Dorjeling, 26l; Cuttack, &c, 269 et seq. The Burmese coast and Tenasserim provinces, 275; the Mughs, 277; Arra- can, 281.—Presidency of Madras, 285. —Bomray, 317. Ceylon, 369 ; the Pun- jaub, 385; Lahore, 389 i Mooltan, 393; Kashmir, 403. Progress of great works, 407; railway communication, 418; the Ganges' canal, 418; college of engineers at Roorkee, 421. Appendix.—the civil service, 425; furlough rules, 428; Bengal and Madras service annuity funds, 432, 437 i the mili- tary service, 444; furlough regulations, 451; Lord Clive's fund, 456; Bengal military fund, 457; Madras military fund, 469; Madras medical fund, 473; Bombay military fund, 474; Indian navy, 483; Bengal pilot service, 488; rules of pre- cedence in, 490 Indian navy, rules for admission to the, 483.—See Navy Indigo, cultivation of in Bengal and Behar, 274, 275 Indore, the capital of the Holkar Mah- rattas, 253 Indus, difficulties of travelling up the, 99; valley of the, 395 Institutions, &c. of Calcutta, 141 etseg. at Bombay, 329; at Agra, 235; at Madras, 290 Insurance societies at Calcutta, 164 Jappnapatam, the town of, 383 Jageer lands in Scinde, 344 Jail at Calcutta, 161 Jailum, one of the rivers of the Punjaub, 388; the town of, 401 Jama Masjid, the great mosque of Cashmir, 407 Jamsetjee Jeheebhoy, Sir, wealth and munificence of, 24 note Jelutong, village of, 361 Jesuits' college at Calcutta, 159 Jews of India, 22 Jeypore, town of, 238 Judges of the courts of law, 65 Juggernauth, temple of at Poree, 2"0—272 Jugglers of Madras, 303 Juliader, the town of, 401 Jumna Musjid, fortress of at Gwalior, 236 Jungheera, rock of, 196 Justice, obstacles to, in the courts of law, 67 Kaira, the town of, 340 -' Kandy, the town of, 383 Kashmir, valley of, 403; vegetation and seasons of, 404; rivers and lakes, 405; the city of, 406 ; tombs and mosques, 407; population of, 408, 410; land revenue of, 409; dress and food, 411; floating gar- dens, 412; natural productions of, 413 H seq. y Katries, the military caste of Hindoos, 23 Kattewar, treaty with the chieftain of, 333 Keane, Sir John, defeats the Affghanis- tans, 11 Khalapoor, station of, 334 '" Khassin, the savage nation of, 260 Khansama, or butler, duties of the, 116 Khidmutgar, domestic duties of the, 116 Khyrabad, the fortress of, 397 Kotagherry, the station of, 313 et seq. civil \ Kunkhul, a place of Hindoo pilgrimage, road to, 249 Kurrachee, a civil and military station, 342 Kyd, James, mechanical talents of, 31 note Laroratory at Calcutta, 153 La Martiniere institution at Calcutta, 155 Lahore, the city of, 389; its mosques, tombs, &c, 390; population of, 391 Land travelling in India, 91 Languages of India, 69 Law, courts of at Calcutta, 165 Laws of British India, history and founda- tion of the, 64, 65; the supreme or queen's courts, 65; the judges and advocates, 65 ; jurisdiction of the courts; 66; the Mahomedan law and its evils, 67; the different causes brought under revision of the, 67 .^Leprosy, prevalence of, 19 Letters of introduction, 79 Library, public, at Calcutta, 172 Lieut.-governors, salaries of the, 41, 47; their qualifications and duties, 47 Lorenco, Don, the Portuguese hero, esta- blishes himself in India, 332 Lowe Ammee, the Chinese contractor at Penang,357, 358 Luckia. the Bengalese washerwoman, 359 Lucknow, town of, 221 Madras, trade and commerce of, 34; im- ports and exports of, 37; sea-shore of, 286; fort St. George, 28/; public build- ings, 289; charitable institutions, ike, 290; jugglers of, 303 Madras presidency, the various regiments of the, 53; government of the, 122; general view ot the, 285; territory and various districts of the, 291 et seq. Madras civil service annuity fund, 437 Madras military fund, rules of the, 469— 473 Madras medical fund, 4"4 Madrusa college at Calcutta, 146 Madura district of Madras, 292 Mahabaleshwur hills, the sanitarium of Bombay, 349; their great elevation, 349: different routes to the, 351 ; climate of the, and its effect on health, 352, 353 Maharajpore, battle of, 13 Mahomedans, one of the great classes of the population, 22; their different pro- fessions, 23; Uicir religion, 23; in Cal- cutta, 137 xiv INDEX. Mahrattas, contests with the, 8, 9 Mahratta language, spoken at Gwalior, &c.,' 69 Malabar, province of, 297; the population and their various castes, 298; religion and sects of, 300 Malacca, the peninsula of, 36l; its pro- duce, 362; its mines, port, and climate, 363, 364 Malcolm Peth, village of, 350 Malay peninsula, trade of, with India, 35 Malay language spoken in Travancore, 69 Malayan peninsula, 354 Malda, the civil station of, 104 Malligaum, the town of, 340 Manar, island of, 384 Manufactures of England sent to India, 33; Indian, at Bombay, 329 Marching in India, preparations for, 91 Marine of India.—See Navy Marine insurance societies at Calcutta, 164 Marshman, Mr., his statement respecting the roads of southern India, 38 note; newspapers established by, 74 Mas ha. a British-Indian weight, 41, 42 Masonic lodges at Calcutta, 165 Masulipatam district of Madras, 296 Measures, British Indian, 42 Mechanic arts, skill of the natives in, 28 Mechanics' institution at Calcutta, 159 Medical college at Calcutta, 151 Medical and physical society at Calcutta, 172 Meerut, the civil and military station of, 242 Metcalfe hall at Calcutta, 144 Metropolitan college at Calcutta, 149 Mhow, the military station of, 253 Mibtur, domestic duties of the, 118 Military orphan institution near Calcutta, 159 Military service of the East-India Com- pany, rules for admission to the Addis- combe seminary, 444; furlough regula- tions, 451 1 officers returning to India, 454; officers retiring from service, 454; Lord Clive's fund for the, 456; regula- tions of the Bengal military fund, 457 T and benefits derivable from, 464; Madras military fund, 469; Bombay military fund, 474; and benefits derivable from, 475 Minerals, their great abundance, 22 Mines of Cashmere, 416 Mirzapore, town of, 212 Mithuranee, domestic duties of the, 120 Mohur, value of the coin so called, 39 Momunds of the Punjaub, 399 Monghyr, military station of, 196—200; voyage from to Patna, 200 Mooltan, the ancient city of, 393 Mopilla caste of Malabar, 298 Mosaic work, produced at Bombay, 330 Mughs, habits of the, 277; their marriages and funerals, 277, 2/8 ;iheir food, 270 Mun, a British-Indian weight, 41, 42 Musalchee, domestic duties of the, 117 Museum at Calcutta, 153 Mussulmans.—See Mahomedans Muttra, the military cantonment of, 238 Mysore, kingdom of, 301 Naih caste of Malabar, 298 Namburies, customs of the, 298 Navy of India, history of the, 68; its strength and composition, 59; table of salaries to officers, 60, 61; the service afloat, 6l ; Indian rules for admission to the, 483; regulations of the Indian Navy Fund, 484—488; Bengal pilot service, 488 Necessaries for the voyage to India, 77—80. Neilgherry hills of the Madras Presidency, I 312; four different stations on the, 312— 317; different points of access to the, 316, 317 Nellore district of Madras, 295 Newspapers, the first one established in t India, 70; freedom of the, 72, 73; es- t tablished by Mr. Marshman, 74; number -5 now in circulation, 75 Niadies, a low caste of Malabar, 299 Nicobar Islands, trade of with India, 35 Nizam, the states of the, 306; bis army, 309—312 Officers of the Army, their emolu- ments, 56, 57; of the Navy, 60. 61; re- turning to India, 454; retiring from ser- vice, 454—456 Ochterlony monument at Calcutta, 159 Oordoo, the popular language of Oude, 69 Ootacamund, the station of, 312 et seq. Ophthalmia, prevalence of, 19 Oriental traders to India, 2 Oude, state of, 222 Overland route, its advantages, 83; expen- 4 ses of the, 83—85; equipments for the, 84; provisions and accommodations for the, 88 Pagoda, the coin so called, 39 Palankeen travelling, 92 Paper-money of India, 39, 40 Pariahs, the degraded caste of India, 23; of Malabar, 299 Parsees, the descendants of the ancient 'Fire-worshippers, 22; character of the, 24; of Bombay, 323 Patna, voyage to from Monghyr, 200; city of described, 201—204 Pattamars, vessels used in the Indian seas, 36 Pay and allowances to military officers, table of, 56, 57; to naval officers, 60, 61 Pearl fisheries at Ceylon, 372 Pegu, trade of with India, 35 Penang, trade of, with India, 35; exports and imports of, 37; island of, 354; one of the richest in the universe, 355; town 1 of, 356; separated into various districts, 356, 3.17; Chinese tombs at, :*6o Peon, domestic duties of the, 19 INDEX. XV Persian Gulf, pirates of the, 9 Persian language most generally cultivated, 70 Persians of India, 22 Peshawer, the city of, 394 Pice, a small copper coin, 39 Pilgrimages to Allahabad, 215 Pilot service of Bengal, 488 Pindanies, contests with the, 9 Pinnaces, travelling by, 97 Plassy, the French and Surajah Dowlah defeated at, 7 Police, services of the, 45; defective state of the, 68; at Calcutta, 1S6 Poona, military station of, 334; its import- ance, 336 Poppy, cultivation of the, 20, 202 note Population of India, 22; of Aden, 90; of Calcutta, 135; of Benares, 211; of Bom- bay, 329; of Colombo, 380; of Cashmir, 408 Portuguese, the first of the moderns who doubled the Cape of Good Hope to India, 4; their expulsion, 5; present descend - ants of the, 22; their character, 29, 30; first establish themselves at Goa, 332 Presidencies, various regiments of the, 53 Press of India, state of the, 70; progress of the, 71; restrictions on the, 71; freedom of the, introduced by Mr. Buckingham, 72; character of the, 73, 75 Proa, a vessel used in the Indian trade, 36 Productions of India, 19, 20 Protestantism, state of, 62 Pulo Ticoose, a district of Penang, 356 Punjaub, country of the, 385; principal rivers of the, 385—388; chief cities and towns of the, 389 et seq.t its climate, 401 ; hill tribes ot the, 398; government of the, 402 Punniar, battle of, 14 Pusseree, a British-Indian weight, 41 Racks at Calcutta, 179, 180 Railway communications in India, 94, 418 Railways, recent introduction of, 38 note Rsjahmundrv district of Madras, 296 Rajmuhal hills, 194 Ravee, one of the rivers of the Punjaub, 387 Rawul Pindee, the town of, 396 Recruits, regulations as to the charge of, 454 Red Sea, route by the, 88 Regiments of the Presidencies, 53 Regulation and n on-regulation provinces of Bengal and Bombay, 122 Religions of India, 22, 23; of Malabar, 300 Religious edifices at Calcutta, 176 Religious societies of Calcutta, 163 Reptiles, great variety of, 21 Hham Bhag garden at Agra, 233 Bice, the staple food of the population, 20; cultivation of in India, 37 Hirer flats, 95 River travelling, 95, 187 Roads, deficiency of, 38; Marshman's statement respecting it, 38nore Roorkee, college of civil engineers at, 421; the workshop of, 422 Rose-water manufactory at Ghazeepore, 208 Routes to India, 76; overland, 83—90 Rupee, value of the, 39 Russia, her designs on India, 10 Ruttee, a British-Indian weight, 41, 42 Sailors' Home at Calcutta, 171 Salaries of the governor and commander- in-chief, 44; of the civil service, 49 Salem, province of, 300 Sanscrit, the sacred language of Hindostan, 23, 69 Sanscrit College at Calcutta, 145' Saugor, town of, 254 Schools of Calcutta, 163 Scinde, the three districts of, 342; produc- tions and revenue of, 344, 348 ; popula- tion and manners, 345; climate, 340, 347 Scindians, hostilities with, and defeat of the, 12 Sea, travelling by, in India, 101 Secundra, suburb of at Agra, 233 Seer, a British-Indian weight, 41 Seikhs, war with, and defeat of the, 15; population of the, 23; ugliness of the women, 251 Sepoys, bravery of the, 29 Sepoy Line, a district of Penang, 357 Serampore settlement, 191 Seringapatam, the fortified town of, 304 Servants of domestic establishments, 99, 116—120 Shasters, the sacred books of the Hindoos, 23 Shikarpore, military station of, 343 Ship-building, &c. at Calcutta, 175 Shipping, in which the trade of India is carried on, 36; number of vessels used, 37 Ships, on the selection of, 76 Sholapore, the military station of, 339 Shopkeepers, &c, of Calcutta, 177 Sikrigullee, the village of, 195 Silver, the standard currency, 39 Simla, town of, 246; road to, 247 Singapore, trade of with India, 35; exports and imports of, 37; island of, 364 ; trade of, 365; its sugar plantations, 366; yields the gutta-percha tree, 367 Sircar, domestic duties of the, 120 Sirdar-bearer, domestic duties of the, 117 Skinner, Col., high character of, 31 note Small-pox, the scourge of Hindostan, 19 Sobraon, battle of the, 15 Societies, religious, literary, scientific, and commercial, of Calcutta, 163 et seq. Society of India, 102 et scq*; gaiety of, 104; social converse, 105 Soojah Shah, the exiled sovereign of AfF- ghanistan, supported by the British, 10 [ Soudras, the trading caste of Hindoos, *23 xvi INDEX. Sports at Calcutta, 172 Staff of the Anglo-Indian regiments, 54, 55 Staunton, Capt., his great bravery, 338 Steam machinery at Calcutta, 178 Steamers to India, 80 Suez, description of, 87 Sugar-cane, cultivation of the, in India, 37 Sugar plantations of Singapore, 366 Sundt, Mr. Hugh, scientific talents of, 31 note Surajah Dowlah, defeated by General Clive, 7 Surat, the town of, 310 Surgeons, assistant, qualifications required, 450 Sutledge, one of the rivers of the Punjaub, 385 Syce, or groom, domestic duties of the, 119 Sylhet, town of, 258 Taj Mehal, tomb of at Agra, 229; de- scribed, 230—232 Tamul, language spoken in the south-east part of the Peninsula, 69 Tanjong Tokong, a district of Penang, 356 Tanjore, province of, 202, 293 Tatties, use of, 240 Teir caste of Malabar, 298 Telegraphic communications, 417 Telougoo language spoken in the Nizam's territories, 69 Tenasserim provinces, their extent, 283; soil and aspect of the, 284 Tinnevelly district of Madras, 291 Tippoo Saib, his contests with the English, 8 Tola, the unit of the British-Indian pon- derary system, 41, 42 Tombs of Cashmir, 407 Town Hall at Calcutta, 147 Trade of India, 33—37; carried on in various kinds of craft, 36; impediments to, 38; various articles of, at Hurdwar fair, 251 ; of Singapore, 365 Trade Association at Calcutta, 172 Traders, early Oriental and European, 2,3; of Calcutta, 177 Travancore, district of Madras, 297 Travelling in India, 91 ; by palankeen, 92; by railway, 94; by river fiats, 95. 96 » by budgerows or pinnaces, 97; by sea from one part of India to another, 101 Treasury notes, 39 Trees, the great variety of, 20 Trichinopoly, military station of, 293 Trincomalee, the town of, 383 Trunks, necessary for the voyage to India., 78 Tulligaon, station of, 335 Vasco de Gama first doubled the Cape to India, 4 Vedas, the sacred books of the Hindoos, 23 Vegetables cultivated in India, 20 Vessels.—See Shipping and Navy Vizagapatam district of Madras, 296 Vines of Cashmir, 414 Vitastha, the chief river of Kashmir, 405 Voyage to India, necessary equipments for the, 77, 78; pastimes during the, 80; reflections on the, 81; pleasures of the, 82; up the Indus, difficulties of the, 99 Vuzeerabad, town of, 400 War, ignorance of the natives in the art of, 28 ; their natural bravery in, 29 Weights and measures, British-Indian, 41, 42 Wellesley, Marquis, his government of India, 8 Wheat, the principle article of produce, 20 Widows burnt on the funeral pile, 29 Women of India, their deplorable condi- tion, 29 Woods, various kinds, produced at Ceylon, 373 Works, public, progress of, 407 Writers* Buildings at Calcutta, 149 Writerships, establishment of, 47, qualifi- cations for, 48; importance of, and emo- luments, 49, 50 THE HAND-BOOK OF INDIA, SECTION I. OUTLINE OF THE HISTORY OF BRITISH INDIA. The attempt to comprise within a few pages anything approaching to an accurate sketch of the main incidents which have distinguished the history of the British empire on the continent of Asia, would prove so perfectly futile, that the following rough outline is offered rather as an apology than a substitute for the record which should be preliminary to a picture of India as it is. By no process of condensation could the contents of the pyramids of volumes which have been written to portray the progress of our power, from the hour when the first factory was established in. India, to that which placed the Punjaub, Pegu, and a portion of the Burmese empire at our feet, be reduced within the compass of a reasonable library, much less com- prised in a brief chapter of a single volume. Our excuse must therefore be, in venturing upon even a very slight abstract, that we wished to form, for the benefit of the stranger who may never have bestowed any attention upon India, a connecting link between the history of the country and its remarkable position at the present moment. The early history of the vast continent of India is veiled in obscurity. The wonderful subterranean remains of archi- tecture which exist to this moment in the western parts of the country demonstrate that they must have been inhabited by a people not inferior to the Babylonians and the Cushites in antiquity, and a knowledge of the arts of peace; but we B 2 THE ORIENTAL TRADERS. obtain no information respecting the inhabitants, although the historians of ancient Egypt have endeavoured to connect them with the victories of Sesostris. All that we know for certain is, that the Tynans carried on a trade with India by means of the Red Sea, and that the Greeks, beginning with Alexander and ending with Antiochus, penetrated as far as the upper part of the Ganges,* taking possession of large tracts of country upon either side of the Indus; that the dominion of the Greeks was succeeded by that of the Scythian nomades, who invaded Bactria, and that these, in their turn, were driven out by the Tartars. Next came the Mahometans, under Mahmoud of Ghuzni, who, about the year 1000, carried into effect his father's project for the conquest of India, and, after a series of aggressive expeditions, established Mussul- man authority from the west of the Ganges to the province of Guzerat. From this time until the middle of the eigh- teenth century, the power of these invaders augmented, and the whole continent gradually fell under their yoke; the government of the various provinces being vested in na- waubs, who exercised sovereign control, with a reservation of obedience or fealty to the supreme power of the Great Mogul, who reigned in absolute despotism at Delhi. But in all these conquests and political aggrandisements, no European power took the slightest share. The intercourse with India, from the time of the expulsion of the Greeks, was confined entirely to commercial operations. The Egyptians and the Romans followed the Tyrians, sending their argosies down the Red Sea to the coast of Malabar, and receiving, in ex- change for their commodities, the rich stuffs, drugs, dyes, gold, silver, ivory, &c., which formed the staples of "Western India. The conquest of Egypt by the Saracens threw the whole trade into the hands of the latter, who made great efforts to extend it by carrying their enterprise beyond the extreme point of the peninsula of India to the islands of the Eastern Archipelago, thence to Siam, and ultimately to China. But the Saracens held no intercourse with Europe. Closing the port of Alexandria against the Christian trader, they preferred transmitting their return cargoes to Constantinople, through Asiatic Turkey and the Black Sea. * Embassy of Megasthenes. THE EUROPEAN TRADERS. 3 The city of the Sultan, consequently, soon became the great mart for East-India and China produce, and to it the eyes of the Venetian and Italian states were directed. For a long time, however, the antipathy which the Christians and Mahometans bore to each other formed a bar to com- mercial intercourse of any kind; at length, the cupidity of the califs overcame their religious hatred, and a traffic commenced, which, while it gratified the anxiety of the Europeans to possess the products and manufactures of the East, conferred wealth upon the mercantile followers of the Prophet. In this state the trade with India continued until the Crusades gave territorial possession and influence to the southern European powers, and converted the expeditions, which were originally of a holy character, into commercial and secular enterprises. Partly by means of conquest, and partly through negotiation, the whole of the East-India trade at last passed from the Saracens into the hands of the Italians, and the port of Alexandria, until then closed by Mahometan hatred, was reopened to the ships of the Me- diterranean. Florence, Genoa, and Venice were the first to reap the fruits of the great monopoly; but the latter, by deputing an ambassador to India, to open a communication with ports until then not known even by name to the Euro- peans, obtained exclusive supplies and benefits, which soon gave them an immense preponderance over their neighbours. To these advantages were shortly to be added the diminu- tion of the Genoese trade by the destruction of Constan- tinople, where they had established themselves to the entire exclusion of the Greeks. Thus, at the close of the fifteenth oentury, Venice supplied nearly all Europe with the pro- ducts of the East, and soon raised herself, by her wealth, to an eminence that excited the jealousy and hostility of sur- rounding nations. Great efforts were made by several states —the Dutch, the Germans, and the Spaniards—to obtain a share in this vastly lucrative commerce; but neither in- trigue nor the most tempting offers made to the rulers of Egypt and of Syria could shake the stability of Venetian power. Events, however, occurred, perfectly independent of commercial rivalry, which struck at the root of the great monopoly, and almost entirely diverted Oriental commerce into new channels. Christopher Columbus had discovered r 2 4 THE CAPE ROUTE. America, and the Portuguese had found a way to India round the Cape of Good Hope.* In 1497, the king of Portugal deputed Vasco de Gama to India, to ascertain whence the riches of the Venetians were drawn, and to endeavour to open a trade with the same sources by the route available to the ships of Portugal. The mission was successful; the key to vast wealth was now obtained, and the Portuguese lost no time in improving their opportunities. Fleet after fleet was fitted out; every port in India was visited ; possession was forcibly taken of several places upon the Malabar coast, the islands lying between Madagascar and the Moluccas, and the island of Ormus, in the Persian Gulf; and a papal grant was obtained, confirming the prior discovery of the Portuguese, and thereby checking for a time the rivalry of other Catholic nations. Prodigious efforts were made by the Venetians, supported by the Mameluke government of Egypt, and subsequently by the Sultan, to counteract the advantages obtained by the Portuguese, but all was in vain. While, on the one hand, the latter defended with great skill and bravery their acquisitions in India and the Gulf of Persia from their enemies in the Red Sea and the coasts, they, on the other, continued to pour into Europe the products of the Oriental world in quantities and at a price against which the Venetians could not possibly contend. For more than a century the trade remained in the hands of the Portuguese. But the high road which * It is worthy of remark, that almost all the European authors assign exclusively to the Portuguese the credit of having been the first nation which doubled the Cape; but according to Herodotus, Neco II., one of the Pharaohs, who lived twenty-one centuries before the era of Portuguese enterprise, caused a fleet of triremes to be fitted out, which, steering down the Eed Sea, passed into the Southern Ocean, and, rounding the Cape, came up the west coast of Africa, returning to Egypt throughthe Straits of Gibraltar. Pliny likewise records that Hanno, a Carthaginian, circumnavigated the continent of Africa, from Gades (the modern Cadiz) to the extremity of the Arabian Gulf, and wrote all the details of the voyage in the Punic language, when Carthage was at the height of her prosperity. The principal fact relied upon as establishing the truth of the Egyptian and Carthaginian navigators is, that they severally represent the sun as rising upon their right hand when they faced the north, as they sailed along the coast of the African continent,—a circumstance which could not have happened unless they had doubled the Cape. THE BRITISH TRADERS. 3 they had discovered was open to all the world beside, and it „ was not to be supposed that they would retain exclusive right of way longer than it might suit the convenience of other nations to yield them the privilege. Accordingly, we find that as the maritime power of Holland increased, and her domestic cares diminished, the Dutch found it worth their while to turn their eyes to India. The example of Holland was speedily followed by England, who, under the reign of Elizabeth, obtained leisure from foreign quarrels and religious discord, for commercial schemes of magnitude. From the hour of the arrival of these Protestant powers, the Portuguese date the downfal of their influence in India. Through the combined efforts of religious zeal and the con- scious possession of superior physical force, they had been guilty of great oppression wherever they had planted the nationalflag, and had consequently raised up enemies amongst the natives, who were only too glad to afford support to any other Europeans whose interest came in collision with those of the Portuguese. Contests soon ensued between the new visitors and the old settlers, and the result was the expul- sion of the latter from nearly all their positions, and the perfect annihilation of their commercial relations with the East. The English, obtaining from their own sovereign a charter* permitting them to trade to the East Indies, and securing ito them a monopoly of the advantages of such commerce, directed their attention in India to the establishment of factories, under the protection, and with the consent, of the different potentates then ruling over her shores. On the Coromandel and Malabar coasts, and on the banks of the Hooghly, they planted their feet as humble traders. Bombay, which had been acquired by the Portuguese, was soon after ceded to the English, as part of the dowry of the Infanta, who became the consort of our Charles II.; and very shortly afterwards the chartered merchants commenced a trade with China, whose tea was acquiring a certain degree of popularity in Great Britain. The success of one company of merchants suggested the formation of another, to whom the British government, in its distress for money, likewise * A.D. 1602. 6 THE FIRST WAR. granted a charter; but as this led to disputes abroad, and materially affected the interests of the new trade, a union of the two contending companies was effected in 1702. The prosperity of- Holland and of England naturally exciting the jealousy of France, an East-India company was formed by the French, who sent out ships, and soon obtained permission to establish agencies in Pondicherry and Chander- nagore. These three nations, with the Danes and the Spaniards, who had also acquired small possessions, now constituted the European trading community in India, and through their enterprise and rivalry, the whole of the Western tworld was supplied with everything that the rich soil of the East, and the ingenuity and industry of her in- habitants, could produce. Some little molestation to their trade was occasionally offered by the barbarous and covetous princes in whose territories they were located, and small bodies of soldiers were therefore allowed to be maintained by the home government to protect the factories, around which defences were erected. But it was not until the year 1745 that the corner-stone was laid of those occur- rences which converted the humble traders, content to de- fend their property from outrage, and to follow their com- mercial pursuits in peace and security, into warriors and politicians, and finally rendered them masters of the entire empire of India. In the year 1746, the Nabob of Arcot having died, the succession of his son to, the musnud was disputed by a cousin named Mirzafa Jung. This pretender, mistrusting his own strength, applied to Dupleix, who com- manded the French troops in India, for assistance, which was promptly afforded, under the hope and expectation of reaping certain advantages from the connection, should the aid solicited prove effective. The legitimate heir to the musnud, and the Nabob of the Carnatic, Anaverdy Khan, on the other hand, sought the support of Major Laurence, who was in command of the British soldiery in the Carnatic, and Major Laurence did not turn a deaf ear to the appeal. Hence arose a collision, which, with only occasional intervals of peace, has continued for nearly a century, until power after power has succumbed to the British arms, and what was gained by defensive warfare has been maintained by treaty, and consolidated by good government. Every victory clive's conquests. 7 obtained from the French and the Mahometan sovereigns, in whose behalf they fought, brought with it an extension of British privileges and the cession of additional territory. The government at home, to aid the merchants in their contest, sent out reinforcements of troops and ships. The French authorities in a similar manner recruited their forces abroad, and it was not until ten years had elapsed from the date of the first outbreak, that the latter sustained a com- plete and decisive defeat. This took place "at Plassy, in Bengal. Dupleix, the French chief, had acquired immense power through his espousal of the cause of Mirzafa Jung, and now aimed at the establishment of universal dominion in India. But Clive, a young captain, who had succeeded Laurence (now returned to England) in the command of the forces, attacked and took Arcot, the capital of the Carnatic, defended it afterwards against an immense force, and esta- blished for himself a high military reputation, which he subsequently augmented by a series of successful operations. Large tracts of country in the south were gradually ceded to the English. Clive was made governor of Fort St. David's. Events however called him to Calcutta. A frightful mas- sacre of Englishmen, merchants and factors, had taken place in that town. Surajah Dowlah, the viceroy of Bengal, who hated the English, and who coveted the wealth their in- dustry and enterprise had enabled them to accumulate, sought a quarrel with them, and laying siege to their fort and fac- tories, seized upon and shut them up in a small apartment, and 123 out of 146 were suffocated. Such cruelty called aloud for vengeance. Clive headed a force against the Nabob; it was small, but compact and disciplined,—the thirty-ninth regiment (primus in India) formed a part of the gallant band—and pursuing the Nabob to the vicinity of Moorshed- abad, gave him battle, and defeated an army of 40,000, on the plains of Plassy. From this hour (1757) the establish- ment of the British empire in India may be dated. But new and permanent enemies had arisen while Clive and his successors laboured in Bengal. The great chieftains who divided the sovereignty of the Deccan, the Carnatic, in short the whole peninsula of India not occupied by the British, beheld with dismay the growth of the new European power, and formed alliances for its destruction. Hyder Ali, 8 HYDER ALI AND TIPPOO SAIB. a political adventurer and soldier of fortune, undertook the lead in these measures, and proved a formidable antagonist. He wrested several of their possessions from the English, wasted much of their territory with fire and sword, threat- ened Madras, and, compelling a large British force to lay down its arms, massacred nearly every man. For thirteen years were the whole resources of the British applied to re- sist this warrior, who, aided by the French, between whom and the British a war had arisen in Europe, vigorously pro- secuted his operations, now gaining certain advantages, and anon suffering severe defeats. Hyder Ali died in 1782, but his son, Tippoo Saib, continued to wage war with the English, and they likewise found abundant employment in a contest which had arisen with the Mahrattas, on whom, for certain considerations, it was deemed expedient to attempt to force a rajah that they had expelled. It would be vain to attempt to follow the course of history through the multitudinous wars which were dovetailed into each other from the hour when Lord Oornwallis, in 1792, deprived Tippoo Saib of half his territory. Scarcely was the sword sheathed in one quarter, than it was drawn from the scabbard to chastise a new enemy in another direction. Sir John Shore (afterwards Lord Teign- moutk), who succeeded Lord Cornwallis as Governor-General of India, was engaged in a war with the Rohillas. The Marquis Wellesley, in 1798, found Tippoo Saib actively employed in new intrigues against the British, while the confederated Mahratta chiefs directed their hostility to our power in the west and north of India. Aided by his bro- ther the great Duke of Wellington, and General Lord Lake, the marquis applied his energies and the resources at his command to the destruction of these formidable opponents, and although their operations were guided and directed by able officers, engineers, and artillerists, he entirely destroyed the power of Tippoo, annexed his dominions to those of the East-India Company, broke the Mahratta confederacy, and added 33,000 square miles to the British possessions. The Marquis Wellesley was succeeded in his govern- ment by Sir George Barlow and Lord Minto, whose rule was more distinguished by domestic dissensions, intrigues, and the settlement of the provinces acquired, than by campaigns against external foes. The Marquis of Hastings assumed THE INDIAN ARMY ORGANIZED. 9 the reins of government in 1813, and during his adminis- tration found it necessary to take the field against the Pindarries, the kingdom of Nepaul, and a host of Mahratta chieftains, whose restless spirit had induced them to violate the engagements they had entered into, and to endeavour to re-establish themselves in independent authority. After a long campaign, the Pindarries were exterminated, an advan- tageous peace was made with the Nepaulese, and many states, hitherto independent, were compelled to become tributary to the Company. The effect of the policy of the Marquis of Hastings was to spread peace throughout India, and the attention of the government was now turned to the means of consolidating the vast empire which had been won by the sword. The army which had proved strong enough for con- quest in detail, was not of sufficient extent to preserve the territory intact and suppress fresh attempts at insurrection. It was therefore largely augmented (in 1824), and as the close of the long war which had devastated Europe for a quarter of a century now placed many experienced soldiers at the disposal of the government for employment in the colonies and elsewhere, advantage was taken of the circumstance to put the troops in India under the command of some of those generals who had most distinguished them- selves in the field against Napoleon and his generals. The result of this arrangement was soon obvious in the con- version of a somewhat irregular, but brave and devoted force, into a large, well-organized, and admirably disciplined army, capable of bearing a comparison with the most effective troops on the continent of Europe. Scarcely, however, had the country rested from the turbulence of war, and the troops been dispersed over the empire to occupy posts which best protected the people in their peaceful pursuits, and held in check the quarrelsome disposition of neighbours, when the trumpet again sounded the alarm. In 1820 an expedition was despatched to the Persian Gulf, under Sir W. Keir Grant, to put down the pirates who infested its shores. In 1821, another force, under Sir Lionel Smith, proceeded thither to avenge the trea- chery under which a garrison belonging to the first had been put to the sword. In 1824, the Burmese obliged the government of Lord Amherst to despatch an armament 10 THE WAR IN AFFGHANISTAN. against them, to punish their invasion of British territory; whence ensued a contest which lasted for two years, termi- nating in the surrender by the Burmese of 50,000 square miles of territory, and their agreement to pay ten crores of rupees towards the expenses of the campaign. In 1826, Lord Combermere, then commander-in-chief in India, reduced the fortress of Bhurtpore, and took prisoner its intriguing possessor, whose machinations threatened to disturb the peace of Upper India. From this time, and for twelve years subsequently, the operations of the military were confined to petty warfare in the country of the Coles (Bengal), in the rajahship of Coorg, in Rajpootana, and the unsettled districts in the south of India ; but in 1838, events arose which gave employment to nearly every soldier in the service, and led to à campaign attended with disasters to which a British army had hitherto been strangers. The designs of Russia upon the English possessions in India had for a long time been a subject of suspicion and of discussion. Excepting, however, in the instance of her advances upon the Persian frontier, nothing had occurred to awaken particular alarm, or render any measures, beyond those of the commonest pre- caution, at all necessary. But in 1837 it became apparent that her emissaries and agents were at work in Affghanistan, to foment and keep alive disputes between the Ameer ruling in Cabul and the government of the Punjaub, with which we were on terms of amity; and there was good reason to suppose that if we did not interfere to check the progress of the quarrel, the Affghans would approach, by force of conquest, near enough to India to precipitate a dangerous collision between the British and the power that was suspected of instigating them to aggression. Overtures of friendship were consequently made to the Ameer of Cabul, Dost Mahomed; but failing of effect, it was resolved to send an army to dethrone him, and to place on the musnud, in his room, an exiled sovereign (Shah Soojah), who would be more favourable to our views, and in whose kingdom we might be permitted to retain a force that should at once protect him in his seat and oppose a barrier to advances from the north. Accordingly, an army of 15,000 men, under Sir John Keane, was despatched, during the govern- ment of Lord Auckland, to place Shah Soojah upon the THE WAR WITH CHINA. throne, and to enter into alliance or friendly arrangements with the people occupying the large tracts of country lying between India and Affghanistan. Sir John Keane went, saw, and conquered, and returned to England to enjoy, in a peerage and a pension, the reward of his easy victory. Shah Soojah maintained his sovereignty for three years, with the continual help of British bayonets; but at the end of that time, the chieftains, whose power had terminated with his restoration, combined to dethrone him and expel his allies ; a measure which they were enabled to effect, partly through the division of counsels in the British camp, and partly through the extreme severity of the season. Our troops were driven to capitulate, and marching out of Affghanistan in the depth of winter, destitute of supplies and ammunition, were assailed in the mountains and massacred almost to a man. This sad blow to our arms was avenged a year after- wards by a fresh body of troops under Generals Pollock and Nott, acting under the directions of Lord Ellenborough, who had now become Governor-General of India; but the original purposes of the first expedition having been frus- trated, and further interference in the affairs of Affghanistan offering no compensation, either in present or prospective security, for the great expense of occupation, the country was desolated and then abandoned. While these events were taking place to the north-west of India, occupation was found for a considerable proportion of the army in China. The Chinese government had insulted a British envoy, imprisoned British subjects, and sequestrated and destroyed British property. To chastise these outrages, obtain indemnification for the pecuniary injury, and security for future commercial dealings, expeditions were fitted out, and after a contest of two or three years' duration, a peace was obtained, under circumstances as honourable to the arms of Great Britain as it has proved fruitful of advantage to her trade. Here, it was supposed, strife and bloodshed had reached a termination, and in the confidence of this belief the Governor- General proclaimed perpetual peace in Asia, declaring his purpose of abstaining from all intervention in foreign affairs. Hardly, however, had the pacific declaration been published in every corner of the empire, when it was found necessary 12 i THE GOVERNMENT OP GWALIOR. to punish the Scindians for alleged treacherous conspiracies against a part of the force retiring from Southern Afghanis- tan, and for certain overt acts of hostility subsequent to our evacuation of that country. The ameers of Scinde refused the satisfaction demanded at their hands, took arms, attacked the British residency at Hydrabad while negotiations were yet on foot, gave battle to the small army under Sir Charles Napier, which had been employed to sustain the demand for reparation, were defeated, and their territory became a part of the British empire! Subsequently, towards the close of the year 1843, the British government found it necessary to interfere with the state of Gwalior to enforce the fulfilment of that portion of the treaty which regulated the succession to the musnud. The death of the Maharajah, and the serious disruption which resulted therefrom, rendered this state the scene of hostilities, and caused a complete alteration in the govern- ment. The Baee, the widow of the late prince, herself a girl of thirteen, belonging to a family of historical distinc- tion in Mahratta annals, had adopted a boy of eight as her son. An application was made, as usual, to the British government, as standing in the position of the Mogul emperors, and enjoying the paramount authority in India, for the confirmation of this choice. Lord Ellenborough gave his sanction both to the adoption and to the appoint- ment of the Mama Saib as vizier. Soon after, the Dada Khasgee obtained the confidence of the young Baee, by a seraglio intrigue, and ignominiously expelled the minister of our approval, and placed the country in a hostile attitude towards the British government. Remonstrances were offered, but to no purpose. Our government was set at open defiance in the face of India, and we had but two alternatives before us: that of vindicating our authority, by whatever means the obstinacy of the durbar might render necessary, or of relinquishing our paramount influence from the mountains to the sea. An army of exercise was assem- bled on the Gwalior frontier, to give weight to the represen- tations of our minister; but his efforts to restore pacific relations entirely failed. The Gwalior army of 20,000 disciplined troops, with 200 pieces of ordnance, animated with the recollection of former triumphs, had meanwhile BATTLE OF MAHARAJPORE. 13 become unmanageable by the durbar. Our own neighbour- ing province of Bundlekund had been for nearly two years in an unsettled state, and the anarchy at Gwalior had tended to keep up the spirit of insurrection. It was impossible for our government, responsible as it was for the security of its own subjects and the peace of India, to remain quiescent, with a hostile durbar and a mutinous army within 100 miles of its northern capital. As the season for military operations ap- proached, the remonstrances of the Governor-General became more urgent, but the only effect they produced was to restore harmony between the Gwalior court and army. The Governor- General proceeded to Agra, and ministers were sent from Gwalior to meet him; but there was so evident a manifestation of the usual Mahratta perfidy in all their negotiations, that our army was ordered to take the field and march towards the capital. There is every reason to believe, by a comparison of dates, that the messengers who were despatched to the Lahore durbar to urge an inroad into our territories, were sent at the same time that the envoys set out for Agra to meet Lord Ellenborough with their hollow promises. As the army advanced, the Mahratta negotiators were instructed to assure Lord Ellenborough of the entire sub- mission of the Baee and her councillors, and his lordship was induced to halt three entire days, in daily expectation of her coming into the camp, together with the young prince. But far different were the designs of the court. The time thus gained was devoted to the most active preparations for resist- ance. The young Baee appeared like an Amazon, super- intending the despatch of troops, punishing the lukewarm, and animating her followers by every consideration of honour and profit to resist to the death. The Governor-General's eyes were at length opened by shots fired on Colonel Sleeman, who had called at Gwalior on his way from Bundlekund to the camp; and our troops advanced to the city. Soon afterwards they came unexpectedly on the batteries which had been erected during the night, at Maharajpore, unknown to us; and a bloody engagement ensued. It was perhaps the first time in which our troops were nearly matched in number by those of the enemy, and this was also one of the best-contested battles the natives have ever fought with us. The bodies of the enemy lay in heaps around their guns, and NEW TREATY WITH GWALIOR. nothing but British valour carried the day. Another battle was about the same time fought at Punniar. We were vic- torious in both instances. The kingdom of Gwalior was prostrate at our feet; but we contented ourselves with a new treaty (for the appropriation of territory was at the moment an unpopular subject with the Home government), of which the following is an analysis. Article 1 recapitulates and confirms old and superannuated treaties, except so far as they may be altered by the present engagement. Art. 2 states that the durbar engages to appropriate the revenues of sixteen districts, to the extent of 1,300,700 ruj)ees for the support of the British subsidiary force. Art. 3 provides, that if the revenues of these districts exceed eighteen lacs of rupees, the surplus shall be paid over to his highness; if it fall short, the deficiency shall be made good by him. Art. 4 provides that the civil administration of these districts shall be conducted by British officers. Art. 5 declares the sums due by the state of Gwalior to the British government, and provides for their payment. Art. 6 provides that the army of his highness shall be reduced to 9,000 men, thirty-two guns, and 200 gunners, and that immediate steps shall be taken to disband the rest of the troops. Art. 7 orders that his highness shall make good to the disbanded troops a gratuity of three months' pay. Art. 8 provides that the Maharajah's minority shall cease with his eighteenth year, and that the persons intrusted with the administration during his nonage shall act on the advice of the British resident on all matters whereon advice shall be offered, and that no change shall be made in the cabinet council without the consent of the British resident. Art. 9 enumerates the members of the cabinet council. Art. 10 provides that Tara Baee, the Maharajah's mother, shall receive three lacs of rupees a year for her maintenance. Art. 11 pledges the British government, as heretofore, to exert its influence and good offices to maintain the just territorial rights of the Maharajah and his subjects existing in the neighbouring or other states; and Art. 12 gives the ratification of the treaty by the respective plenipotentiaries. Such is the nature of the treaty concluded with Gwalior. In the year 1845, Runjeet Sing, the founder of the Sikh empire in the Punjaub, having died, and his immediate sue- WARS WITH THE SEIKHS AND BURMESE. 15 cessors having met 'with violent deaths, the military force of the Punjaub became greatly disorganized. Their pay being much in arrear, and their chiefs incapable of control- ling them—the sovereign an infant, and the queen mother regent, an unscrupulous and intriguing woman,—the Seikhs now clamoured to be led across the river Sutledge, that they might have an opportunity of plundering the British pos- sessions. Every effort was made to restrain so mad, auda- cious, and unjustifiable a step, but without avail. They assembled in great force and invaded the Cis-Sutledge pro- vinces. Sir H. Hardinge, the then Governor-General, ad- vanced with a small force, commanded by Sir Hugh Gough, to repel the incursion. Three severe battles were fought, in each of which the Seikhs were defeated; but it was impos- sible to drive them across the Sutledge without a reinforce- ment of troops. These were sent for. Previous to their arrival, the Seikhs had strongly intrenched themselves on the left bank of the Sutledge, near the village of Sobraon. Reinforced, the British attacked and penetrated the line, drove the Seikhs into and over the Sutledge, and pur- sued them to Lahore, where they submitted. A government was now established at Lahore under British surveillance, but the helplessness of the king, a minor, left the country at the mercy of the sirdars or chiefs, one of whom caused the murder of British officers at Mooltan, while others revived hostilities, and assumed a menacing posture. New opera- tions now became necessary; Lord Gough, for then Sir Hugh had been raised to the peerage—advanced with a considerable army against the Seikhs—defeated them signally at Goozerat, dispersed and disarmed them—and the Punjaub was by the new Governor-General, the Earl of Dalhousie, at once annexed to the British dominions. In 1852, the Burmese governors of Rangoon oppressed British subjects. Redress was sought by every pacific and legitimate means, but without avail. An army and a fleet were there- fore equipped for Burmah, and after a prolonged campaign a large portion of the territories of the king of Ava was con- fiscated, and added to the British territory. Not including such possessions as may result from the last- mentioned contest, the total area of "British India," which comprehends also Scinde, the Punjaub, the Jullunder Doab, 16 GOVERNMENT OF INDIA. and Tenasserim, is estimated at 800,758 square miles. To this may be added the native states tributary to or pro- tected by the British government, which are computed at 508,442 square miles; making a grand area of one million and one-third square miles. In the foregoing sketch, we have confined ourselves en- tirely to a rough and hasty narrative of the progress of con- quest. The outline of history, rude as it is, would, however, be still more imperfect were all mention to be omitted of the various measures which had gradually been introduced to render the tenure of the country firm, and to confer upon the people a better description of civil government than that which had been displaced. In 1784, a bill was passed by the parliament of Great Britain, placing the government of India under a Board of Control, composed of the king's ministers. This measure, while it in some degree affected the patronage of the Company, afforded a guarantee of pro- tection to the people, and strengthened the hands of the local authorities in their quarrels with the French and the native powers. Between 1760 and 1773, charters were granted, establishing commissions for the trial of pirates at all the presidencies; and in 1774, a Supreme Court of judi- cature was established in Bengal, with powers co-extensive with the courts in England. Courts of justice were likewise erected at Bombay and Madras, and by 1837, each presidency, and the settlement of Penang, had its Supreme Court. In 1813, the trade to India was partially opened to the public under certain restrictions; and in 1833, the trading mono- poly of the East-India Company was entirely abolished; the country thrown open to European adventurers of all classes; places of trust made accessible to the natives and people of all denominations; the ecclesiastical establishment aug- mented, and the number of members of the Supreme Council increased. The press in India has since then been freed; education is spreading its effects over the country; the glorious principle of religious liberty is recognised; profes- sional assassination, infanticide, and human sacrifices have been abolished; lawless and predatory tribes have been civilized; slavery is abrogated; a magnificent canal, 800 miles in length, has been nearly completed; railroads have been commenced at the three presidencies; an electric teler CLIMATE OF INDIA. 17 graph has been laid down; and native empiricism has been superseded by European science taught at medical colleges. The vast products of the soil are, under the influence of useful societies and active officers, evolving and improving; and the formation of a regular steam communication between England and India by the old channel of the Red Sea, is promoting the cause of good government and general improve- ment, by bringing the empire nearer to its rulers, and to the people from whose intelligence and sense of justice she has derived strength and virtue, knowledge and civilization. CLIMATE.—PRODUCTIONS. Over so extensive a tract of country as that comprised within the limits of British India, it is not to be supposed that the climate is uniform in its temperature, or that the seasons change everywhere at the same period. The preva- lence of particular winds, the existence of chains of moun- tains, the alternations of forests and tracts of land where vegetation is comparatively scanty, exercise material influ- ence in India, as elsewhere; while the difference of latitude is not, of course, without its ordinary effects in yielding various degrees of heat and cold. The sun burns with equal intensity in the north and the south, but the soil and the wind determine the quality of its action. The north of Hindostan is cold, mountainous, sandy, and barren; the south is hot, level, moist, and fertile. Nevertheless, the extreme points of the country have their varieties of season —periods when the bracing hyperborean atmosphere tempers the meridional regions, and the Himalayas change their coating of snow for a rich and verdant garment. In Bengal, for example, during the months of November, December, January, and February, the days are clear and fine; the air pure and elastic; the north wind bracing; the nights are foggy, but not a drop of rain, excepting, perhaps, a partial shower at Christmas, falls during the four months. At such a season, the European constitution, harassed and broken by a long continuance of moist and oppressive weather, becomes invigorated; the appetite and strength, which had pre- C 18 CLIMATE OP INDIA. viously failed, return, and the whole frame becomes light and springy. Vegetable nature partakes of the generally salubrious effects of the season, and garden plants now shoot up with freshness and vigour. In March, the weather begins to grow warm; the sun is powerful, but is prevented from being oppressive by strong and steady southerly winds and occasional storms, known by the name of north-westers. April resembles March, excepting towards the close of the month, when the wind gets warmer, and the thermometer ranges between 75° and 90°. May brings with it burning winds, alternated by close, still, and oppressive weather, trying alike to vegetable and animal nature. With June commence the periodical rains, which begin to fall about the middle of the second week, and continue without inter- mission until the end of September. At first, the relief from excessive heat and aridity is agreeable and beneficial, but after a few weeks' rain, the excessive humidity of the atmosphere, accompanied by a cold easterly wind, or undis- turbed by any zephyrs, is most unpleasant, and productive of disease. In the west of India, the climate resembles that which is here described as common to Bengal, with this difference, that the cold is less bracing and the heat less oppressive. Gentle sea-breezes blow for the greater part of the year from the south and west, rendering salubrious the Malabar coast; while the level country above the Ghauts, or western chain of mountains, derives advantage from the purity of atmosphere consequent upon its elevation. In the south of India, upon the Coromandel coast, the heavy rains fall somewhat later than in Bengal and to the westward, but in all other respects the climate approximates closely to those districts. As we proceed northerly, the climate becomes more temperate. Agra, Delhi, Meerut, and Kur- naul, are all more moderate than the southern provinces, though the hot winds which blow during the months of April and May are extemely oppressive and pernicious. In Central India, those parching winds are felt in only a mo- derate degree; and during the rains, the range of the ther- mometer is very small, seldom falling below 70° at night, or rising above 75° in the daytime. In the cold season (De- cember), it has been known as low as 28°! The diseases most common to India are fever, dysentery, DISEASES OF INDIA. 19 liver complaints, and cholera morbus. These annually sweep away their tens of thousands, the latter disease baffling the skill of the most eminent physicians, and leaving even the theory of its causes enveloped in doubt and uncertainty. But there are a multitude of other diseases peculiar to the country, though less fatal in their general results. Elephan- tiasis, or the swelling of the leg, is common to the natives in every province. In the hilly districts, goitre is very pre- valent, and opthalmia afflicts myriads in the upper provinces, where the soil is sandy, and the people careless of their per- sons. Leprosy is often seen in the most hideous form; and rheumatism counts its victims amongst the thinly-clad and exposed poor during the rainy season. Biles, ulcers, inflamma- tions, and a peculiar eruption, popularly called prickly heat, are extremely prevalent, more particularly amongst Euro- peans, whose habits of life are less regulated by climate than consists with a proper regard for health and longevity. In- fluenza and diseases of the lungs sometimes make demands upon the leech's skill, but they do not present themselves in the formidable guise which distinguishes their appearance in more northerly regions; neither do hooping-cough, the measles, or other complaints, afflict infants so severely as the same maladies in England. Still the mortakty amongst the newly-born is considerable, arising in some measure from convulsions, teething, fever, &c., but more commonly from the ignorance of midwives, and the carelessness, if nothing worse, of native nurses. Small-pox was a terrible scourge to the population of Hindostan; but its ravages are now diminishing, thanks to the philanthropic exertions of the medical officers in the East-India Company's service, who have zealously laboured to introduce vaccination. It is the custom to speak of India as a country of great wealth in respect to its natural produce. There is no doubt that the soil is susceptible of vast powers of production, if properly fertilized and cultivated, but it is perfectly prepos- terous to call that country rich which is only partially visited by the hand of the husbandman, and which is so capricious in its fruitfulness, even where the labour of tillage has been bestowed upon it, that scarcely a year elapses in which a part of the land is not desolated by famine. Deduct the immense tracts overrun with noxious jungle, or occupied by 20 PRODUCTIONS OF INDIA. swamps, or composed entirely of sandy and sterile land, or unavoidably left waste, and the residue scarcely suffices to support the assertion that India is moderately wealthy, much less that she is generous and abundant. The great staple of the lower and southerly parts of India is rice, which consti- tutes the food of a vast majority of the population. In the upper country, wheat is the principal article of produce to the same useful end. Barley, gram, and other pulses, are likewise grown in large quantities, and are consumed indif- ferently by man and the beasts of the field. Following these in importance are the cotton and the mulberry tree; the indigo and tobacco plants; the sugar-cane and the cocoa-tree; for their produce is convertible to purposes of commerce, and composes the true riches of the country. The poppy is largely cultivated in the province of Behar, and in Central India, whence is manufactured the opium of which the East-India Company preserve a monopoly, as they do also of the immense quantities of salt manufactured for common consumption. Of the fruits and vegetables grown in India, the principal, are the mango, the pine-apple, the plantain, pomegranates, lemons, oranges, puinplenosas, grapes, tamarinds, plums, figs, almonds, guavas, loquats, leechees, custard-apples, citrons, melons, jacks, sour sops, potatoes, cabbages, cucumbers, yams, brinjalls; a great variety of vegetables, compounded of the cucumber and the melon tribes; and where climate assists the labours of the agricultural and horticultural societies, all the produce of the kitchen-gardens of Europe. The Flora of India is gay but scentless; the flowers opening at dawn of day are robbed by the sun of their fragrance at the moment that he drinks the dew-drops which bespangle them. In the forests we find the teak-tree, the mighty banian, whose branches spread over acres, yielding a grateful shade to the traveller, and a rendezvous for the wild denizens of the woods; the bamboo, the saul, the palm, and a vast affluence of timber, convertible to building purposes, fuel, and the construction of boats, all connected, covered, choked, by masses of vegetation, in the form of high grasses, gigantic shrubs, and luxuriant creepers. These, and a countless variety of roots, herbs, and small trees, bearing spices and drugs, constitute the sum of the Indian vegetable kingdom. THE ANIMALS OF INDIA. . 21 The animal creation partakes of the exuberance of the sister world. Of tame and domestic beasts, India possesses the elephant, the camel, the horse, the ox, the ass, the mule, the dog, the cat, the goat, the sheep, the hog, the buffalo, the ichneumon, the rabbit—all, however, inferior in size to the animals of Europe, consecrated to the service of man. Of wild beasts, the jungle produce an immense number, and of different species. The principal are the tiger, lion, leo- pard, panther, rhinoceros, boar, bison, deer, wolves, jackals, bears, foxes, wild cats, hyenas, &c. Reptiles are likewise extremely numerous, from the enormons boa-constrictor, which makes a single meal of a heifer, to the scorpion and the centipede, which infest alike the houses of the rich and poor, in populous town or in wretched hamlet. The rivers of India, and the seas which wash her shores, abound with fish, which afford cheap and nutritive food to her millions. The delicious pomphret, the delicate bummelow, the seer and rock fish, the prawn and the sole, are found upon the coasts; the hilsa, the bekhtee, the mullet, the whiting, the delicate mango-fish, the oyster, the lobster, craw-fish, and shoals of the most minute members of the piscatorial cre- ation, swarm in the great rivers. But they are not without other enemies than man. The alligator and the porpoise assist the gull and the stork to destroy countless myriads; the former animal, which often grows to the length of fifteen feet, occasionally visiting the banks of rivers likewise, to bear off a stray cow, a human being incautiously bathing near his haunts, or any smaller living object that offers meat for his capacious maw. The feathered part of the creation is of corresponding magnitude, in point of numbers and diversity, with the rest of the wonderful offspring of Nature's hand; from the eagle, exercising sovereign sway in the mountains of the north, to the solemn and stately hargillah (adjutant), which aids the vulture to perform the useful office of scavenger in the south. The ornithological inha- bitants of Hindostan comprise almost every known variety: to name them all would be an impossibility, within the pre- scribed limits of this section, comprehending as they do the domestic fowls of Europe, the birds of prey common to all climates, a prodigious number of game-birds, and innumer- able tenants of the grove, whose plumage is as unrivalled 22 POPULATION OF INDIA. for its splendour as their song is unparalleled by the sweetest s notes of the warblers of the West. The mineral world has scarcely been explored—that is a labour which is reserved for the present, or mayhap the next generation. Coal, and iron, and tin, have been found, and the mines containing them are being worked; but gold, and silver, and copper, are believed to exist in many districts, and when capital has been brought to bear upon the exca- vations, countless wealth may be found deposited. POPULATION.—MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. The estimated population of India is 152,000,000. This, however, is a very rough computation, for no census has ever heen taken of the inhabitants, nor, if a judgment may be formed from the extreme difficulty of ascertaining the num- ber of residents in towns which have for the longest period formed part of the British possessions, could a fair census by any possibility be prepared. The estimate is probably offered as the aggregate of returns from the local officers of the different districts, who have hazarded a guess founded upon the rough calculations of their native subordinates. The natives of India may be divided into two classes—the Hindoos and the Mussulmans; the former of whom are the pure and legitimate descendants of the aborigines, and the latter the offspring of the successive generations of Maho- metan conquerors. In addition to these great classes, of which the Hindoos are in the proportion of four to one of the Mussulmans, there are many tribes who have established themselves in India originally as traders, or who have found shelter from foreign persecution, and are now become part and parcel of the gross population. Such are the Parsees, descendants of the ancient Guebres, or fire-worshippers; the Armenians, formerly refugees from Persian persecution; the Arabs, Jews, Persians, chiefly traders from the Red Sea and Persian Gulf; the Portuguese, coloured descendants of the early conquerors; the Eurasians, or East-Indians, offspring of English, Dutch, French, and Danish -connection with Hin- doo, Mussulman, or Portuguese females; the Chinese, settlers CASTE AND RELIGION. 23 from the Celestial empire; Burmese," chiefly employed in menial pursuits; Seikhs and Affghans, merchants from the y neighbouring states; the English, soldiers, civil officers, merchants, agriculturists, lawyers, seamen, ecclesiastics, &c.; French, merchants and agriculturists; a few Americans, and others from the Western world. The Hindoos are separated into four great castes, or re- ligious divisions—Brahmins, Katries or Rajpoots, Bhyses, and Soudras. Of these, the former occupy the highest place in the esteem of their countrymen. To them are intrusted the performance of religious ceremonies and the instruction of the people, and they alone are permitted to read the Ve- das, or sacred books. Extraordinary privileges are accorded to them; and when they are detected in crime, a milder punishment is inflicted than would fall to the lot of any other caste. The Katries are of royal and military descent. Bhyses, or Banians, are the trading class, and the Soudras comprehend the labourers and artificers. These four castes are subdivided into an infinite number of smaller tribes or sects, differing in some degree from the highest and mostortho- dox in matters of religion and in domestic usage; while a fifth great class, called Pariahs, or Chandalas, comprehends all who have violated some leading principle in the religion of the other four, and have been banished the society of the faithful; and all who follow the lowest professions in the scale of Indian society. The religion of the Hindoos, which indicates these distinctions and regulates the actions of their lives, is contained in certain books, called the Vedas, or Shas- ters, written in the Sanscrit language. It is pretended that these volumes are the work of an inferior deity, named Brimha, descended from Bramha, the supreme god. They inculcate certain moral precepts, but are more precise in de- scribing the forms and ceremonies, the charities and regimen, of the Hindoo, and constitute, in fact, the foundation of a system of idolatry and superstition, transcending in extra- vagance the worship of the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians. The Mussulmans, who are for the most part traders, sol- diers, police-officers, menial servants, seamen, &o., profess the religion of Mahomet, and observe the ceremonies of the Ramazan, the Buckra Eed, the Mohurrim, &c.; but the great 26 AMUSEMENTS OF THE PEOPLE. fisherman, &c., divest themselves of all their upper clothing and a great proportion of the lower, as soon as they com- mence their diurnal toils. Returning to their homes at the close of the day, the ceremony of prayer and ablution is repeated, preparatory to the evening meal, and the hours, until bedtime, are passed in the zepana, or, in other words, in the pleasure of domestic intercourse; for though the laws of polygamy obtain among the Mussulmans and a proportion of the Brahmins, and concubinage is tolerated by all classes of Hindoos, the great majority are satisfied with the affections of one wife and the caresses of a family of children. In truth, there are few people in the world over whom the paternal affections éxercise more potent sway than the inhabitants of British India. The young men pass much of their leisure in the interchange of visits, gambling, and the society of the fair. There are few public entertainments amongst the natives. They do not worship Terpsichore; they do not sing, but regale themselves with the performances of a certain class of dancing, or nautch girls, who go through a series of pantomimic evolutions to the accompaniment of their own songs and a trio of sitars, or rude violins, played hy bearded auxiliaries. A more monotonous exhibition can scarcely be imagined ; but it suits the drowsy and inactive genius of the Hindoo, and is therefore much patronized, especially upon the occasion of great religious festivals, marriage ceremonies, &c. These bayadères, with the jugglers, who are wonderfully expert ; snake-charmers, wrestlers, tumblers, fireworks, kite-flying, illuminations, puppet-shows, and occasional dramas, of which mythological subjects, or the ridicule of the English, constitute the matériel, form the whole of the out-door amusements of the natives, excepting at the presidencies, where the educated people share in the entertainments peculiar to Europeans. The dwellings of the better order of the natives are spacious, but, excepting in the infrequent instances of a partiality for the European style of decoration, their furni- ture is simple. The mat, the carpet, and the cushion, cover the floors ; mirrors, a few framed prints, and some wall- shades decorate the walls. Their beds consist of a simple mat, or mattress, spread upon the floor, or upon a raised pallet, termed a charpoy, over which gauze curtains are DOMESTIC USAGES. 27 sometimes hung, to protect the sleeper from the musquitoes. Their domestic utensils are chiefly of copper or of silver. In vessels of such material, or in earthen pots, the meals are prepared, and served up on circular flat dishes, placed upon the ground, over a cloth of the commonest texture. The cook (where the food is not dressed by the females of the house) is a person of the same caste as the master, and the greatest care is used, that, while the culinary operations are going on, no person of an inferior sect touches, or even approaches, the utensils. Water is drunk from small copper vessels, but the lips are not permitted to touch the edge of the cup, which is accordingly held an inch or two above the mouth, while the liquid is poured, as it were, into the throat. After each refection, the hookah is brought, and smoked with the gusto which distinguishes the Turkish use of the chi- bouque, or the European indulgence in the cigar. Nor is it merely at meal-times that smoking is resorted to by the native. He will quit his business to enjoy an occasional whiff, and seldom repairs to his couch until the fumes of tobacco have made the tour of the chambers of his brain. If patriotism is not a principle with the Hindoo-and when was patriotism ever co-existent with foreign govern- ment he is at all events sufficiently attached to his home to be averse to locomotion on a grand scale. Curiosity seldom leads him beyond the district in which the accident of birth or the nature of his vocation has established him. He has no passion for travel, and rarely even allows the most pressing suggestions of self-interest to carry him beyond the seas ; for such peregrinations would involve, by throwing him amongst the impure, the possible forfeiture of caste.* In the fulfilment of a sacred vow, or in the hope of propitiating the Deity, pilgrimages will occasionally be performed to places remarkable for their sanctity; and in prosecution of these enterprises, neither fatigue, privation, nor expense is . * Moor, in his “ Pantheon,” records an instance of the re-admission among the faithful of certain Hindoos who had paid a visit to England, but the indulgence was purchased at a heavy pecuniary sacrifice, and by a degrading process figurative of regeneration. More recently, the voyage of the enlightened Dwarkanath Tagore was visited by the penalty of expulsion from his family circle ; and a Nepaulese chief who came over on a mission to the Queen, was, upon his return, denounced as one who had lived among the unclean, and forfeited his caste. 2G AMUSEMENTS OF THE PEOPLE. fisherman, &c., divest themselves of all their upper clothing and a great proportion of the lower, as soon as'they com- mence their diurnal toils. Returning to their homes at the close of the day, the ceremony of prayer and ablution is repeated, preparatory to the evening meal, and the hours, until bedtime, are passed in the zenana, or, in other words, in the pleasure of domestic intercourse; for though the laws of polygamy obtain among the Mussulmans and a proportion of the Brahmins, and concubinage is tolerated by all classes of Hindoos, the great majority are satisfied with the affections of one wife and the caresses of a family of children. In t truth, there are few people in the world over whom the paternal affections exercise more potent sway than the inhabitants of British India. The young men pass much of their leisure in the interchange of visits, gambling, and the society of the fair. There are few public entertainments amongst the natives. They do not worship Terpsichore; they do not sing, but regale themselves with the performances of a certain class of dancing, or nautch girls, who go through a series of pantomimic evolutions to the accompaniment of their own songs and a trio of sitars, or rude violins, played by bearded auxiliaries. A more monotonous exhibition can scarcely be imagined; but it suits the drowsy and inactive genius of the Hindoo, and is therefore much patronized, especially upon the occasion of great religious festivals, marriage ceremonies, &c. These bayaderes, with the jugglers, who are wonderfully expert; snake-charmers, wrestlers, tumblers, fireworks, kite-flying, illuminations, puppet-shows, and occasional dramas, of which mythological subjects, or the ridicule of the English, constitute the materiel, form the whole of the out-door amusements of the natives, excepting at the presidencies, where the educated people share in the entertainments peculiar to Europeans. The dwellings of the better order of the natives are spacious, but, excepting in the infrequent instances of a partiality for the European style of decoration, their furni- ture is simple. The mat, the carpet, and the cushion, cover the floors; mirrors, a few framed prints, and some wall- shades decorate the walls. Their beds consist of a simple mat, or mattress, spread upon the floor, or upon a raised pallet, termed a charpoy, over which gauze curtains are DOMESTIC USAGES. 27 sometimes hung, to protect the sleeper from the musquitoes. Their domestic utensils are chiefly of copper or of silver. In vessels of such material, or in earthen pots, the meals are prepared, and served up on circular flat dishes, placed upon the ground, over a cloth of the commonest texture. The cook (where the food is not dressed by the females of the house) is a person of the same caste as the master, and the greatest care is used, that, while the culinary operations are going on, no person of an inferior sect touches, or even approaches, the utensils. Water is drunk from small copper vessels, but the hps are not permitted to touch the edge of the cup, which is accordingly held an inch or two above the mouth, while the liquid is poured, as it were, into the throat. After each refection, the hookah is brought, and smoked with the gusto which distinguishes the Turkish use of the chi- bouque, or the European indulgence in the cigar. Nor is it merely at meal-times that smoking is resorted to by the native. He will quit his business to enjoy an occasional whiff", and seldom repairs to his couch until the fumes of tobacco have made the tour of the chambers of his brain. If patriotism is not a principle with the Hindoo—and when was patriotism ever co-existent with foreign govern- ment 1—he is at all events sufficiently attached to his home to be averse to locomotion on a grand scale. Curiosity seldom leads him beyond the district in which the accident of birth or the nature of his vocation has established him. He has no passion for travel, and rarely even allows the most pressing suggestions of self-interest to carry him beyond the seas; for such peregrinations would involve,,by throwing him amongst the impure, the possible forfeiture of caste.* In the fulfilment of a sacred vow, or in the hope of propitiating the Deity, pilgrimages will occasionally be performed to places remarkable for their sanctity; and in prosecution of these enterprises, neither fatigue, privation, nor expense is * Moor, in his " Pantheon," records an instance of the re-admission among the faithful of certain Hindoos who had paid a visit to England, but the indulgence was purchased at a heavy pecuniary sacrifice, and by a degrading process figurative of regeneration. More recently, the voyage of the enlightened Dwarkanath Tagore was visited by the penalty of expulsion from his family circle; and a Nepaulese chief who came over on a mission to the Queen, was, upon his return, denounced as one who had lived among the unclean, and forfeited his caste. 28 ARTS AND SCIENCES IK INDIA. regarded for a single moment,. Nay, where a powerful religious fervour operates, the Hindoo will set aside every worldly consideration, and either become an ascetic, or, covering his person with ashes, and suffering his hair and nails to grow, wander over the vast continent, depending for a scanty subsistence upon the alms vouchsafed to him by the pious and superstitious. Whatever may once have been the state of the arts and sciences amongst the natives of India, they are now con- fessedly at a very low ebb. Their architecture is tame, monotonous, mixed, and irregular, though the carving of the ornamental parts may be exquisitely beautiful; their carts, carriages, boats, and agricultural machinery are all rude, cumbrous, and rickety; their drawing and painting set at defiance form, perspective, light, shade, and harmony; their astronomy is a puzzle; their notions of geography crude and limited, and their medicine a quackery. On the other hand, they are ingenious as workers in gold, silver, and ivory; and their achievements in ship-building, under the guidance and tutorage of the intelligent Parsee, have elicited the admiration of the European shipwright. For his skill in embroidery, and the fabrication of the finest muslins, the native of India has likewise obtained a name ; but his repu- tation in this respect, and as a fabricator of rattan and osier basket-work, is more than counterbalanced by the worthless- ness of his attempts at the manufacture of every description of hardware, leather, glass, the implements of trade, crockery, and common cloths. And if in the cultivation of the arts of peace the native of Hindostan has failed to occupy high ground, still more limited is his knowledge of the art of war. With the lance, the matchlock, the sword, the bow and arrow, for his weapons, he has never been capable, unaided by Europeans, of organizing a system of tactics, or of introducing into his armies a controlling discipline, at once the source of strength in the peaceful garrison, and formidableness in the field of battle. Trusting to the crushing effect of the fierce onslaught of numbers, he has disregarded alike the import- ance of a series of complicated manoeuvres and the virtue of calm and steady resistance, and as a natural consequence, he has, in all his wars, been overcome by small and compact THE WOMEN.—THE PORTUGUESE. 29 bodies, who relied upon union, moral courage, and the lights of science. That he is deficient in personal courage it were a scandal to pronounce, for while the history of the conflicts during the past century, which have followed the first dissen- sions between the European and the native in the south, records innumerable instances of personal intrepidity upon the part of the hordes opposed to the British, our own experience of the sepoys, through whom we have won the country, supplies us with hundreds of thousands of reasons for testifying to their valour, constancy, and fidelity. The condition of the women of India is deplorable, if judged by European views of the right of the sex to at least a moral equality with the lords of the creation. Debarred the advantages of even the most elementary branches of education, the upper classes are held captive in the harem, passing their hours in personal adornment, idle chat, or (if mothers) in performing the duties of nurses; while on the lower classes are imposed menial offices, household drudgery, and labour in the fields and markets. In no grade of society are the women permitted to eat with their husbands, or to enjoy the society of other males, or to marry again, if left widows. Until recently, and even now, where British rule does not extend, conjugal slavery went beyond the grave, or rather the funeral pile (for the Hindoos burn their dead), and the widow had no alternative but to immolate herself with the dead body of her husband, or sink in the estimation of her caste, and become the family drudge. In the foregoing crude and imperfect outline, the usages of the two great classes of which the population of India is composed, have been sketched. The other races are, for the most part, too insignificant, numerically, or approach in many instances too nearly to the Hindoo and Mussulman, to merit special description in this volume. There are, how- ever, three—the Portuguese, the Eurasians, and the Euro- peans—who are worth particular notice. The Portuguese may be known by his sallow countenance, slovenly gait, and mimicry of European fashion. His gar- ments are the worst-shaped things imaginable, and where colour is admitted, it is of the gaudiest tint; he affects a swagger, and desires to pass as a man of style and taste. Nothing can be more dirty and despicable than the Portur THE EURASIAN EMPLOYMENTS. 31 in sculpture, in navigation, in. law, in arms, in agriculture, in eloquence, in literature, in science, they have not only not acquired the slightest reputation in Europe or in India (with the two or three "exceptions of a Skinner* in war, a Kydt in the higher mechanics, a Hutchinson J in executive qua- lities, and a Sundt § in surveying), but they have not even endeavoured to acquire it, because their constitutional tem- perament is, by nature's own decree, a bar to the endeavour. Clerkships in the public offices is the line of employment which the body of them look to, and which is manifestly the one best suited to their quiet and unambitious turn of mind . We are aware that they have laboured, and do still labour, under difficulties of position which might have repressed the advancement of a more aspiring race, and this has shallowly been urged in refutation of the opinion that they are inca- pable of achieving greatness. But has it ever been observed that they have been incessantly trying to elevate themselves in the social scale, or have they not been quiescent, and apparently attached to the sub-official employment which so easily gives them food 1 || It is nothing, in the way of argu- ment, to point to a few individual instances of activity of mind, and successful striving against obstacles to advance- * Colonel Skinner, commanding a body of irregular horse, raised by himself, and stationed at Delhi. The corps rendered important services in the Mahratta and Findarree campaigns. t Mr. James Kyd, the son of General Kyd, constructed dockyards of some extent, and gave great attention to the mechanical arts. X Mr. Frederick Hutchinson has lately been appointed collector of Bombay, a highly important and lucrative post. § Mr. Sundt was a protSge of Sir J. Malcolm's. He was a beautiful draughtsman, and a highly scientific man. II In reply to this, we may be reminded of their having petitioned Parliament to open to them new paths of distinction; but what were those paths? Why, the easy and sure ones (for livelihood) of the Company's regular service, which incur no speculative risk, and render necessary no greater average of daily labour than they had always per- formed, and still do perform. The army is in general an indolent life for all who choose to be indolent; but how came it that the Eurasians, if a naturally energetic and vigorous-minded race, did not enter the more arduous lines of life, which were always open to them in their several grades? The reason is obvious ; and it is no refutation of our argument to show that they made an effort to be rendered eligible for the Company's service, when they have never as a body been found to be active mechanics, industrious agriculturists, enterprising seamen, or daring politicians. 32 EUROPEANS IN INDIA. ment. The character of the body at large is to be estimated by the conduct and propensities of the body at large; and it would be as true to assert that Englishmen were neither enterprising nor intrepid, because individuals there are among them who are neither the one nor the other, as to maintain that Eurasians are energetic, or laudably ambitious of that distinction which energy and genius can alone acquire, because a few out of the whole class have evinced those qualities, —but even those few not in a degree which would have attracted wonder in England. The European, by which we more particularly mean the native of Great Britain, may not change his soul with his skies, but his manners assuredly undergo, in India, a remark- able metamorphosis. Accustomed in youth to habits of obedience to authority, deference to superiors, and civility to equals, he cannot support with becoming equanimity the comparatively elevated position in which he finds himself placed. Invested at once with authority, or treated by his personal domestics, and the traders with whom he may traffic, with abject humility, he naturally conceives a much higher opinion of his own merits than he ever entertained before, and hence is begotten an overweening amour prapre, which thenceforth, more or less, influences his character through life. With this difference, however, and the adop- tion of a costume and habits peculiar to the climate, the European is much the same as we find him elsewhere. Energetic and active, courageous and speculative, he per- forms the duties intrusted to him, or carries out his own plans of personal advantage, in a manner which excites the admiration and confidence of the people around him, and serves the country of his adoption. He is the upright and inflexible judge, the brave and adventurous soldier, the dauntless and skilful navigator, and the calculating and enterprising merchant. Even his pastimes partake of the loftiness of his character, for he fearlessly encounters the tiger in his lair, does battle with the wild boar, the bison, and even the untamed elephant, and, "witching the world with noble" equitation, ardently encourages every pursuit that serves to improve the horse, and render him more ser- viceable to the purposes of man. All that the Englishman might do, or might have done, for the benefit and advance- EXPORTS TO INDIA. 33 nient of the people who have fallen under British rule, has not, however, been accomplished. For more than one half of the period of our dominion, the natives were treated as a people who existed only as ministrants to temporary British interests; we drained the country of its wealth, and offered no compensation for the heavy appropriation. But a better spirit has arisen of late years, and a sound and liberal policy is gradually taking the place of the narrow system of govern- ment which erst rendered British rule in the East a bye- word and reproach. "VVe have only now to express a hope that every man whose fortune may carry him to India will consider it personally incumbent upon him to return, in some degree, the blessings of ease' and competence, which the residence in the country may ultimately confer upon him, by an endeavour to improve the condition of its interesting population. COMMERCE. The external trade of India comprehends not only the commercial intercourse between the various ports in Europe and America with the three presidencies of British India, but the trade carried on by the people of the western coasts, from Scinde to Cape Comorin, and thence to the mouth of the Ganges, and by the people of the Eastern Archipelago and the Burmese coasts, China, Siam, Sumatra, the Dutch settlement of Java, &c., with each other. England sends to India a large proportion of her manu- factures—iron, piece-goods, copper, lead, mule-twist, hard- ware, wines, malt liquors, stationery, haberdashery, books, saddlery, jewellery, glass, cheeses, hams, preserves,—in fact, every sort of production adapted to the wants of civilized life, and to the temperature of the country. France furnishes wines, preserved meats, millinery, porce- lain, and, in a lesser degree, the manufactures of her brilliant metropolis. From America, India receives timber, sheeting, spermaceti, candles, ice, fruits, furniture. In exchange for these commodities, Europe and America receive such of the vast and various productions of India as D 34 EXPORTS FROM INDIA. are convertible to useful purposes in more northern and western climates. The ports to which their vessels speed are not in themselves sources of merchantable commodity, so much as emporiums for the fruits of other parts of the East, and channels of transit trade, for which their positions so particularly qualify them. It will facilitate the descrip- tion to place under their respective heads the articles which each is thus enabled to export, instead of enumerating the various sources of supply Bomray, as the recipient of the trade of the gulfs of Persia and Arabia, and the northern parts of Western India, sup- plies cotton and piece-goods from Guzerat; opium from Malwa; tea, ivory, silk, lac, gold and silver filigree-work, from China; cornelians, from Cambay; ghee, grain, oils, put- chock, seeds, tobacco, and soap, from the northern coast; shawls, drugs, and horses, from Scinde, the Red Sea, and Bus- sorah. From the coast of Canara, Bombay derives rice, pep- per, betel and cocoa nuts, sarda, cassia, and turmeric; from the Malabar coast, coir, ginger, ambergris, pepper, teak tim- ber, cowries, cardamoms, coculus Indicus, colombo-root, ele- phants' teeth, fish maws, sandal-wood, tamarinds, turmeric, wax, zedoary, coffee, coarse white piece-goods, nankeen; and from the Maldives, dried fruits, tortoise-shell, and some rude and trilling manufactures. Ceylon yields cinnatnon, coffee; cocoa-nuts, coir, oil, wild honey, arrack, areca-nuts, cotton, tobacco, timber, ornamental woods, precious stones, ivory, drugs, dye-stuffs, oleaginous seeds, copperas, pearls, and precious stones of an inferior quality. Madras is the emporium of the trade from Cape Comorin and the whole of the Coromandel coast. Thence we derive piece-goods, called calamaganzies, aunniketches, &c., made of a hard long-grained cotton; long cloths, palampores (light counterpanes of printed cotton), coarse plain cloths dyed with the chaya root, Chicacole muslins, Ellore woollen carpets, Jehapoor salt, Masulipatam tobacco, Vizagapatam ivory, rice, dholl, wax-oil, and a proportion of the produce of the Straits of Malacca. Calcutta, the head-quarters of the trade of Bengal, Beharj and Orissa, and of the provinces east, north, and north-west of those extensive districts, exports indigo, saltpetre, sugar, IMPOSTS. 35 rice, annatto, arrow-root, opium (chiefly sent to China), wheat, terra Japonica, tamarinds, talc, sugar-candy, raw silk, silk piece-goods, flax, ghee, hemp, ginger, hides, horns, lac, lac-dye, oil of roses, rum, safflower, dried fruits, munjeet, black salt (bit nober), borax, castor-oil, chillies, cochineal, coriander, and piece-goods, such as baftas, cossas, dorias, ma- moodies, &c., from Patna, Allahabad, Lucknow, Central India, and Lower Bengal.. At the four above-mentioned ports the external trade of all India may be said to be concentrated. We have enume- rated the productions of the continent, but every part of the coasts and islands to the eastward and the south are also tri- butary to their stores in a greater or lesser degree. For ex- ample, she receives from— Arraccm—Eice, elephants' teeth, wax, wood-oil . and coarse piece-goods. Pegu—Teak timber, in balks; keel-pieces, mast fishes, planks, and sheathing boards (all from Eangoon); precious stones, iron, copper, tin, lead, wood-oil, earth-oil, wax, dam- mer, elephants' teeth, cutch, silver, naphtha and asphaltum. Andaman and Nicobar Islands—Timber for building pur- poses, masts of ships, dyes, cocoa-nuts, oil, birds' nests, tor- toise-shell, ambergris, &c. Malay Peninsula and the Islands of Singapore and Penang —Tin, biche de mer, bees-wax, birds-nests, fish maws, rice, rattans, shark fins, areca and pepper, gold dust, camphor, and all the produce of China, Cochin China, and Siam. At the last-named islands, also, the produce of the Eastern Archipelago may be obtained; but as this is for the most part transmitted either to India or to China, for consumption there, it is scarcely necessary to include it in the commerce with Europe. To complete the description of the produc- tions of the gorgeous and wealthy East, the main items of this local trade from port to port may be enumerated, but the reader is requested to bear in mind, that, to avoid repetition, many articles are omitted which may be found in common at each of the islands :— Agal, argus feathers, balacharry or agapi (shrimp caviar), gourd-seed, gum benjamin, black wood, kyapootee oil, canes, clove bark, copper, cossumba, ejoo, gambia, shells, lignum aloes, rattans, sago, wood-oil, dragons' blood, patch leaf, brim- D 2 36 INDIA SHIPPING. stone, silks, sugars, ivory, salt, betel-nut, tobacco, indigo, from Java and Manilla; nutmegs, oil of nutmegs, and mace, all from Banda; cloves and oil of cloves, from Amboyna; birds of paradise, missoy bark, pearls, pearl-shells, tortoise-shells, and many curious birds, which the Papuans (of Mysol, New- Guinea,. &c.) have a particular way of drying; diamonds, gum copal, civet, and timber, from Ternate, Timor, Borneo, &c.; sapan wood, precious stones, copper, and tutenague, from Siam. The value of the exports of merchandise from India to the United Kingdom, Prance, and America, the gulfs of Persia and Arabia, and different parts to the eastward, not including China, is about 11,000,000^. from Calcutta alone. In addition to this, treasure to the amount of a third of a million ster- ling is annually exported. The declared annual value of British produce and manufactures imported in that quarter, including China, is about 6,000,000?. sterling. It has increased progressively to that amount since 1833, when the trading privileges of the East-India Company were abolished. At that time, the value was not more than three millions and a half. The trade with India is carried on in various descriptions of craft. The French and Americans employ vessels of from 300 to 600 tons burthen. Liverpool and the Clyde send out vessels of similar tonnage, while those built and employed by the London merchants range from 400 to 1,200 tons. The trade between Bombay and China employs teak-built ships of 500 to 700 tons measurement; that from Calcutta to China is carried on in a small description of vessel, ordi- narily denominated a clipper, and construoted for the recep- tion of chests of opium and tea. They are, for the most part, very fast-sailing craft, well manned, and skilfully com- manded. The coasting trade between Cambay, on the shores of Guzerat, to the termination of the Malabar coast, is carried on in rude, ill-fashioned native boats, called pattamars, with high poops ; and a similar description of vessel, called a^dlwny, voyages between Madras and the points of the Coromandel coast. The vessel in chief use in the straits of the Eastern Archipelago is called a proa, and much of the trade with the Persian and Arabian gulfs is borne in buggalows and dows. The number of vessels employed in the carrying trade INLAND TBADE. 37 between the United Kingdom and the ports in the East Indies is about 700. Of this number there were entered inwards from— Calcutta, in 18S2 293 Madras .. .. 53 Bombay.. .. .. .. .. .. 91 Ceylon 53 Singapore and Penang .. .. .. 39 The number of vessels which sailed in the same period to India was— Calcutta 17* Madras 30 Bombay 89 Ceylon 23 Singapore and Penang .. .. .. 34 The inland trade of India comprehends the intercourse between one portion of the British dominions and another; the trade of the latter with the tributary and independent states of Hindostan, and the commerce along a land frontier of 2,000 miles in length. The neighbouring states can obtain few foreign or tropical productions but through their commercial connection with us. Corn, cotton, oil-producing plants, and sugar, are the principal articles of this inland trade. Rice, which is grown in such vast abundance up to the twenty-fifth degree of latitude, and the millet and pulses cultivated beyond those limits, are chiefly consumed upon the spot. The cotton-plant, which is of almost universal production in India, from Ceylon to the Himalaya Moun- tains, furnishes material for a prodigious variety of fabrics; and the sugar-cane, which for the most part is grown in the valley of the Ganges, supplies a sugar which is consumed in very considerable quantities in the form of sweetmeats. Besides these main articles, there are a great number of others, such as indigo, salt, opium, silk, tobacco, saltpetre, oils, and oil-skins, drugs, hides, lime, timber, &c., which are objects of the inland trade. These various commodities are paid for by the productions of the coasts, such as spices, teak- timber, sandal-wood, and coarse piece-goods; in the produc- tions of foreign tropical countries of Asia, and in the produce and manufactures of Europe and China. The tropical or 38 INTERNAL CARRIAGE. foreign commodities which are obtained in exchange for the Indian produce consist of the areca-nut, spices, metals—iron, zinc, tin, copper, and lead—woollens and cottons. The ex- tent of the inland trade, in other words, the amount of home manufacture and home consumption, it is extremely difficult to ascertain. The odious tax which formerly existed, under the denomination of transit-duty, and which furnished a clue to the computation, has been abolished, and nothing now remains to check the, spirit of industry, and bring forth the choicest fruits of the soil of India. There is no doubt, however, that, in proportion as facilities for the transport of goods from one part of the vast country to another are augmented, and the charges of trade thereby lessened, an additional impulse will be given to enterprise. At present, excepting the rivers Ganges, Berampooter, Jumna, Gunduk, Casi, Gagra, Goomtee, Soane, Betwah, Chumbul, Taptee, Nerbuddah, Mahe, Sabrematta, Godavery, Krishna, Cavery, the Indus, and the Irrawaddy, the greater part of which, by the way, are only suited to canal-navigation, few effective channels of inter-communication exist. There are not many good carriage-roads in any part of India; * the bridges are generally small, and few in number, though the rivers or streams over which they are thrown are very numerous; the ferries are rude, unsafe, and by no means common, f The carriage of the inland trade is as imperfect, slow, and expensive as the ground over which it traverses is rough and impracticable. Uncouth and primitive carts, drawn by oxen, the strength of eight of which animals is only equiva- lent to that of a good English cart-horse; pack-bullocks, ■ camels, pack-horses (in the north-west), small horses and * Mr. Marshman, in a pamphlet recently published, states that in the south of India are districts with 700 miles of roads, and that the district of Cawnpore is intersected by 500 miles of road in ex- cellent repair. The great trunk road from Calcutta to Peshawur will be 1,430 miles in length ; but these roads are more adapted to military than commercial purposes. They do not run through the great cotton-producing districts. t Railways are only just now being introduced into India. Twenty- three miles of railway, from Bombay to Tannah, have recently been opened. On the 9th of June, 1853, the first sod of the Madras Railway was turned. The East-India Railway is in course of construction from Calcutta to the coal districts of Rajmahal, with the intention of carry- ing it to Upper India; but this will be the work of many years. THE CURRENCY. 39 jackasses (in the hills), comprise the means of land trans- port; and on the rivers, large boats, of a burthen varying from fifteen to 150 tons, -with rude and coarse sails, oars, and track-ropes (when wind and tide are adverse), constitute the ordinary craft. On the Ganges, iron steamers, the pro- perty of the Government and of private associations, ply between Calcutta and Allahabad, but the rate of freight is so high, and so large a proportion of the space appropriated to cargo is occupied by baggage and special supplies for the Europeans in the interior, that they can scarcely be included in an enumeration of the river trading-vessels. The standard currency of continental India consists of silver, in coins of the value of about two shillings, and called the rupee. There are copper coins, called pice (four of which represent the anna, the sixteenth part of a rupee), and four- tmna pieces, which constitute the quarter of a rupee. Of gold, there is scarcely a single coin in circulation. The mohur, which is represented by sixteen rupees, may occa- sionally be obtained, and certain coins in existence in the southern parts of India, called pagodas and fanams, may also be seen from time to time, but the exceeding rarity of all these moneys authorizes the assertion that in India gold forms no part of the currency. In native transactions, use is made of the cowrie, an exceedingly small shell of the Cyprea species, imported as an article of trade from the Maldive and Laccadive islands. Five thousand one hundred and twenty cowries go to the rupee, whence an inference may be drawn of the extreme poverty of the natives. Paper- money forms a very small proportion of the Indian circula- tion. Bills of exchange, termed hoondees, are employed as a means of remittance, and are obtained from the native bankers, or shroffs, who are to be found in all the large towns. They are generally written upon small pieces of glazed yellow paper, in a character not easily decipherable by any but the parties whom they more immediately con- cern, namely, the agents and correspondents on whom they are drawn, and who are scattered in every part of India, the Punjaub, Affghanistan, and Persia. The rest of the paper- money consists of Treasury notes, bills which the Govern- ment permits its civil officers to issue, for an equivalent, to facilitate the remittable operations of their own servants and 40 THE BASKS OF IITDIA. others who may wish to avail themselves of the accommoda- tion. The paper-money which circulates in India in the form of bank-notes amounts to a very inconsiderable sum. The banks at the several presidencies are permitted to issue notes, but as they are not all regarded as legal tenders in payment of revenue, the great channel into which, if gene- rally current and recognised by the government, they would ultimately flow, their circulation (comparatively small under any circumstances) is materially restrained. The vast capital employed upon the commerce of India is drawn from a variety of sources. England contributes a very large proportion ; her merchants depute parties to estab- lish mercantile houses at the several presidencies and ports, and supply them with the means of purchasing produce, encouraging agriculture and local manufactures. The natives;, as banians or dubashes (a species of broker to the European houses), or as merchants on their own account, furnish the remainder of the resources. Formerly, all these parties added the business of banking to their other pursuits, and thus derived immense appliances for commerce from the aggregate deposits of their constituents; but the rashness of speculation, the prodigality of personal expenditure, and the incautiousness with which loans were afforded to parties in all classes of society, and involved in every description of business, led to a bankruptcy that was almost universal, scattering injury far and wide, and striking a fearful blow at the credit of the Indian merchant . Banking, therefore, is now, with comparatively insignificant exceptions, confined to institutions established exclusively for the operations under- stood by that term. There are now eight banks in India,— the Bank of Bengal (chartered), the Madras Bank (char- tered), the Agra and United Service Bank, the Bombay Bank, the Delhi Bank, the Simlah Bank, the Dacca Bank, and the North-West Bank of India. These, for the most part, have branches and agencies at Calcutta, and in other parts of India. There is besides the Oriental Bank, whose head- quarters are in London, but which has branches at the several presidencies, and at Ceylon, China, and Mauritius. The chartered banks are, to a certain degree, connected with the state, and are, in part, managed by government officers; the joint-stock banks rest their claim to support upon the WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 41 ground of a wealthy co-partnership, each member of which is liable, to the full extent of his means, for the claims upon the institution. BRITISH INDIAN WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. The unit of the British Indian ponderary system* is called the tola. It weighs 180 grains English troy weight. From it, upwards, are derived the heavy weights, viz. chitdk, seer, and mun, or maund; and by its subdivision the small, or jeweller's weights, called mashas, ruttees, and dlums. The mun (or that weight to which it closely accords in value, and to which it is legally equivalent in the new scale) has been hitherto better known among Europeans by the name of bazaar maund; but upon its general adoption, for all transactions of the British government, it should have been denominated the British maund (in Hindee, Ungrezee mun), to distinguish it at once from all other weights in use throughout the country. The pusseree is, as its name denotes, a five-seer weight, and therefore should not form an integrant point of the scale; but, as its use is very general, it has been introduced for the convenience of reference. The seer (weighing 2 lbs. 6 ozs. troy) being the commonest weight in use in the retail business of the bazaars in India, and being; liable, according to the pernicious system hitherto prevalent, to vary in weight for every article sold, as well as for every market, is generally referred to the common unit in native mercantile dealings, as " the seer of so many tolas" (or siccas, barees, takas, &c.); the standard, or bazaar seer, being always eighty tolas. \ The chitak, (weighing 1 oz. 17 drs. 12 grs.) is the lowest denomination of the gross weights, and is commonly divided into halves and quarters (called, in Bengalee, kacha); thus * The advantages of this system are— 1. That the' maund formed from the modified weight would he pre- cisely equal to 100 English troy pounds; and 2. That thirty-five seers would also be precisely equal to seventy-two pounds avoirdupois; thus establishing a simple connection, void of fractions, between the two English metrical scales and that of India. 42 LINEAR AND SQUARE MEASURES. marking the line between the two series, which are otherwise connected by the relation of the seer, &c., to the tola. The tola is chiefly used in the weighing of the precious metals and coin; all bullion at the mints is received in this denomination, and the tables of bullion-produce (as seen in the foregoing pages) are calculated per 100 tolas. It is also usual at the mints to make the subdivisions of the tola into annas (sixteenth) and pie, in lieu of mashas and ruttees. Mashas (weighing fifteen grains), ruttees (1-875 grains), and dhans, are used chiefly by native goldsmiths and jew- ellers. They are also employed in the native evaluation by assay of the precious metals; thus ten mashas fine signifies ten-twelfths pure, and corresponds to "ten-ounce touch" of the English assay report or silver. There is a closer ac- cordance with the English gold assay scale, inasmuch as the ninety-six ruttees in a tola exactly represent the ninety-six carat grains in the gold assay pound, and the dhan, the quarter grain. The accordance of a mun weight with the 100 lbs. troy of England affords a ready means of ascertaining its relative value in the standards of other countries employed in weigh- ing the precious metals, since tables of the latter are gene- rally expressed in pounds troy. Linear and Square Measures or India. Place. Denomination. Agra, Presidency, Standard llahy guz, assumed at Standard Beega of Western Provinces = 60 x 60 guz. = 3,600 guz Local guz. varies from 32-8 to 33 25, aver Ell = 27} inches, foot — Hath = 18 inches, the guz = Beega =20 cottahs of 16 chittaks Cottah .. Cliitlak .. Portuguese covado Mauney, 60 x 40 feet Cawney = 24 mauney Guz (from 28 to 32) , of 20 wusaa Batavia, Bombay, Calcutta, Goa, Madras, Malwa, Value in Eng. I 33 inches. 3,025 sq. yds. (| acres). 32-625 inches. 12-36 ditto. 27 ditto. 1,600 sq. yds. 720 sq. ft. = 80 sq. yds. 45 sq. ft. =5 sq. yds. 26-66 inches. 2,400 sq. ft. 1-3223 acres. 30-00 ditto. 2 roods nearly. 43 SECTION II. THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA. The jealousy with which the legislature watches over the exercise of political power when delegated to British subjects in distant dependencies, and the extreme difficulty of manag- ing an immense extent of territory abroad through a single secretary of state, have created a mass of gubernatorial ma- chinery for British India, which is as costly as it is unwieldy. That it moves at all, is rather owing to the boldness of the local governors, who often act as emergencies dictate, pre- ferring future obloquy to the evils of present delay, than to any particular harmony in the arrangement of the component parts of the complex mechanism. The political government and patronage of India are placed by act of parliament in the hands of the directors of the East-India Company. There are eighteen directors of the East-India Company, ten or more of whom constitute a "court." Of this number, six are appointed by the Crown, three from among persons who have served in India for ten years at least; of the remaining twelve, six must be in-- dividuals who have resided in India for ten years. The possession of the sum of 1,000?. in East-India stock is the sole money qualification of a director, and he may also be a member of parliament. These directors receive each a salary of 5001, per annum, the chairman and deputy- chairman, 1,000?. each, per annum. The East-India directors are controlled by a Board of Commissioners in England, composed of her Majesty's Mi- nisters, the President receiving a salary of 5,000?., per annum. The nature of the control exercised by the President is very arbitrary. He can at any time send a despatch of an autho- ritative character to the local governments of India, with or without the consent of the directors, and is absolute on questions of peace or war. A survey of the map of the British possessions in India will satisfy the most cursory observer that it would be per- fectly impossible to govern so vast a tract of country from any single point, however advantageously situated such a 44 DISTRIBUTION OF GOVERNMENT. position might be. From Cape Comorin in the south, to Peshawur on the Indus in the north—from Kurrachee, the chief port of Scinde in the west, to Prome, in Burmah, in the east,—every inch of ground acknowledges British rule, or is, directly or indirectly, subject to British influence. Hence the necessity for placing the territory under several distinct governments, all, however, subordinate to one supreme ruler or governor-general, aided by a council, who in their turn are checked and controlled by the home powers. These local governments are five in number :—the Go- vernor-General of India; the Governor of Madras (or Fort St. George); the Governor of Bombay; the Lieutenant- Governor, or Governor of the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal; the Lieutenant-Governor of the North Western Provinces. Each of the governors of presidencies is assisted by a council of two civil members, in addition to a military member, who is also Commander-in-Chief. There is likewise a Legislative Council, for the making of laws, which consists of a member from each Presidency and Lieutenant-Governor- ship, who may have been ten years in the civil service; the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William; one of the other Judges of the Supreme Court,— and, when necessary, two extra councillors, who, however, only sit and vote at the meetings of the council convened for making laws and regulations. The salaries of the Lieutenant-Governors of Bengal and the North Western Provinces are 10,000?. per annum each; of the ordinary members of Council, 8,000?.each; and of the Legislative Councillors, 5,000?. each. The armies of the three presidencies have distinct Com- manders-in-Chief; but the officer who commands the Bengal army, is called "Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in India," and when necessary, exercises supreme and exclusive control over the troops at each presidency. His salary is 10,000? . per annum, in lieu of all other pay and allowances. To assist the Supreme Government of India in fulfilling its important trust, a highly-educated civil service, consisting of some hundreds of members, is placed at its disposal by the home administration, and an army of about 250,000 men, principally natives of India, commanded by European officers, and divided into regular infantry, irregular and local horse MODE OF GOVERNMENT. 45 and foot, and a due proportion of artillery, engineers, and sappers. The police duties are performed by large and well- trained bodies of natives, guided and directed by British officers, selected from those most remarkable for courage, in- telligence, and a knowledge of the native character. The manner in which the business of government is carried on will appear to those who are familiar with the method of proceeding in England tedious and changeable, almost all transactions being conducted through the medium of official correspondence, carried through a variety of channels. But this is the unavoidable result of the responsibility of the local administration to the two supervising authorities in England. When every thing has to be formally reported to the controlling power, every thing must necessarily be placed an record; and, as reference may continually have to be made to the official communications on the spot, the original documents are retained, and copies, in duplicate, forwarded to the Court of Directors and the Board of Commissioners for the Affairs of India. The voluminous correspondence between the Government and its officers is, therefore, multi- plied by four, and sometimes oftener, thus rendering the machinery of the secretariat extremely cumbrous and costly. The method of transacting public affairs in India may be thus briefly described. Every officer of Government charged with the management of political, financial, military, muni- cipal, revenue, police, ecclesiastical, judicial, marine, medical, or other matters, either addresses the authorities direct (ad- vising, reporting, or soliciting instructions and assistance), or through the functionaries and boards intrusted with the immediate control of the several departments of the execu- tive. These communications, amounting to many scores per diem, are laid by the respective secretaries to the Government before the Council Board, and they are duly discussed, and orders issued thereupon, in conformity with the sentiments of the majority of the members. The initials of the Council on the back of the letter of the authority addressing them direct, are, in the majority of instances, a sufficient guide to the secretarial officers; but where the question discussed is of importance enough to elicit elaborate or precise expres- sions of opinion, the members of the Government place on record separate minutes, from the aggregate of which the 46 MEMBERS OP GOVERNMENT, decision or ultimate resolution is deduced. On these latter occasions, where the council is much divided, the governor- general, or governor, has power to adopt his own views, even though they may be at variance with those of the whole body of his colleagues; but this is a prerogative exercised only in cases of great emergency, the more ordinary course in such circumstances being, to refer the disputed question to the arbitrement of the home authorities. It will be obvious, from this concentration of the govern- ment of so vast an empire, that the members of the admi- nistration must be men of very considerable and varied at- tainments; for though they may not originate the multitu- dinous measures carried into effect almost daily for the good of the country and the integrity of the British possessions, they must possess a capacity for determining upon the pro- priety of yielding assent to propositions submitted for their consideration. Care, therefore, is taken to select for the functions of government as great a variety of ability as so small a council is susceptible of containing. The governors are generally chosen from the statesmen in the mother-coun- try who have manifested a taste and capacity for public bu- siness, and to whom Indian affairs are not entirely caviare, or from the" public servants of the East-India Company, whose high character, long services, and extensive local expe- rience, point them out as peculiarly fitted for the important trust. The commanders-in-chief, in almost every instance, have earned distinction in the wars of Europe, Asia, or Africa, and are familiar with the science of organizing and disciplining large forces. They carry with them to India a thorough knowledge of the principles of civilized warfare, and an ac- quaintance with the interior economy of an army —qualities which, combined with a stern sense of duty and a lofty chi- valry, atone for the temporary absence of local knowledge, and enable them, while acquiring requisite information, to impart a wholesome spirit to the legions intrusted to their command. The other members of the Council are gentlemen of the civil service, who have served for many years in re- venue, judicial, political, or secretarial offices,—or in all of those branches,—and acquired therein a high official repu- tation. In the Supreme Council there are two additional members, one of whom is selected from the senior officers, WRITEKSHIPS. 47 for his superior acquaintance with the affairs of the Indian army, and his regard for its interests, and the other for his legal attainments and familiarity with the principles of Bri- tish polity. The salaries of all these officers are liberal, but not more than sufficient for the degree of state which is al- most inseparable from exalted life in India, and for the annual contribution to useful and charitable public objects. The Governor-General receives 25,000? per annum, and is pro- vided with a splendid palace at Calcutta, and a rural residence at Barrackpore, sixteen miles from the presidency. The go- vernors of the other presidencies (Madras and Bombay) re- ceive 12,000?. a year, and are similarly domiciled. TheJLieutenant-Governor of the North-Western Provinces and the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal each receive 10,000?. The ordinary members of the Supreme Council receive each 8,000?. per annum; the Legislative Councillors each 5,000?.; of Madras and Bombay, each 6,000?.; the Commander-in- Chief, 10,000?., and very often the off-reckonings of a regi- ment of which he may be the colonel. For a considerable number of years after the East-India Company had acquired large territorial possessions in India, the gentlemen sent out to fill the various civil offices of the government were selected without any peculiar references to qualification. A writership was considered a provision for life, if not a source of large ultimate fortune; for if the salary was not liberal, the opportunities of gain, by means of trade and other less honourable proceedings, were numerous; while a knowledge of languages and of official business would, it was considered, be acquired in due course of time. The evil working of this loose system, however, at all times par- tially obvious, was the more apparent as the demand for talent augmented, and rigid integrity and an independence of native connection became a sine qua non of good govern- ment. It was then that the Company began to devise plana of home education for parties aspiring to serve them in the civil departments abroad. Character, connections, and a certain stock of knowledge, were declared the essential concomitants of a writership, though merely preparative to othe^r qualifications, of which the candidate was to possess himself in India This declaration was a material step towards the improvement of the service; but it was not 48 THE CIVIL SERVICE. until the year 1809, when the college of Haileybury; in Hertford, was founded, that the education of the future civilian resolved itself into a system, the adherence to which has since been uniform. A few years ago some exceptions to a collegiate education were made in favour of young men who had earned much distinction at some of the other great public schools or colleges, and who were honoured with pre- sentations of Indian appointments by Presidents of the Board of Control, or Chairmen of the Direction, anxious to promote individual merit; but until the present year all the civil officers in the service of the East-India Company were obliged to receive instruction at the Haileybury College, the nomination to which was dependent upon regulations and preparatory instructions. By the Act passed in last year, the civil service has been thrown open to public competi- tion, under rules and regulations which will be found in the Appendix. On the arrival of a writer at either of the presidencies, he is allowed a twelvemonth to master one of the languages principally required in the transaction of public business. During this interval he draws the unemployed salary of three hundred rupees per mensem, and a small sum for a moonshee. When the period allotted, or supposed to be allotted, to special Oriental studies has expired, the student presents himself to a local board of examination. If he passes with tolerable credit, he is pronounced qualified for the public service, and is at once "attached," in a subordinate capacity, to the establishment of a judge, a collector, or a magistrate, or, in remarkable instances of great interest, to the secretariat, customs, or accountant-general's department, at the presidency to which he may be nominated. Should the candidate, however, fail to obtain a certificate of qualifi- cation from the examiners; in other words, should he, through natural incapacity or indolence, be unsuccessful in displaying the requisite amount of Oriental learning, he is sent back to his studies for six weeks, at the end of which period he must either establish the possession of the requisite qualifications, or he is shipped to England, as a hopeless subject, and deprived of his appointment in the Company's service. When we consider the immense extent of the territorial DUTIES AND EMOLUMENTS OF CIVILIANS. 49 dependencies of the East-India Company, and the circum- stances of the vast population by which they are occupied, it is not difficult to conjecture that the civil officer who desires to acquire honour for himself and his masters, and to make his native fellow-subjects participate in the blessings of good government, has an awful and an arduous task imposed upon him. He has frequently to exercise authority over a district comprising an area not inferior in extent to three or four of the largest provinces in Great Britain (in some instances a space as large as the whole of Ireland has been under the control of one man); and as he has only two or three European assistants, and a body of native functionaries—on the trustworthiness and activity of which latter, by the way, perfect reliance cannot always be placed—his heavy responsi- bility and severe labour may be tolerably well understood. It is true that he has his head-quarters at some central station, whither suitors, land-rent payers, applicants for redress, &c., repair in crowds; but the importance of personal investiga- tion into the affairs of a district begets the necessity for loco- motion, and as India does not as yet offer the same facilities for rapidity of movement as Great Britain or the United States, the judge, magistrate, or collector, is compelled peri- odically to travel into remote, and often unhealthy parts of the country; living in tents, and regaling on such fare as the neighbouring villages can supply, or he may have been enabled to transport from his permanent domicile. But the civil service has its agrimens, as well as its in- conveniences. The salaries are large, varying from 5001. to 10,000? . per annum; and the furlough allowance and re- tiring annuity handsome and all-sufficient. The leading civilian is the acknowledged head of the society of whatever place he may be stationed at, while the juniors are regarded, as much from their position as their generally superior attainments, with deference and respect. The sports and pastimes peculiar to the country (hunting, shooting, racing, &c.) are accessible to him upon a scale of magnificence and affluence unknown to the English sportsman, who ranges the fields with his gun and a brace of pointers, and seeks no nobler game than the partridge or the hare. If he is in the political line, occupying the office of resident at a native court, he holds a position neither less honourable, less E 50 FUKLOUGH REGULATIONS. responsible, nor less associated with the elegancies of life (rendered accessible by his large salary), than a British ambassador on the continent of Europe. In this, and indeed in all the other offices of trust, he acquires a fitness for serious avocations elsewhere; and this capacity, supported by the renown he has earned, frequently recommends him for responsible offices upon his return to England.* But of all the advantages of the position of the civilian, none are so enviable as the opportunities afforded him of spreading happiness amongst the thousands of human beings placed under his protection. Through his instrumentality, the cause of education, and, therefore, of Christian enlighten- ment, may be advanced—his charities, judiciously dispensed, will save myriads from starvation—and the encouragement he has it in his power to give to the labourer by building bridges, constructing roads, and draining lands, will confer the blessing of employment upon the industriously disposed, while it gives an impulse to the internal commerce of the country, and diffuses health in regions of disease. A vague allusion has been made above to the furlough and retiring advantages of the civil service. A more parti- cular description of them seems called for. At each presi- dency there are funds to which civilians contribute a per centage upon their salaries, and other public emoluments, to entitle them to retire after twenty-two years' actual service in India, upon an annuity of 1,0001. Should they be com- pelled by ill health to quit the service before the expiry of that period, they receive lesser sums, 250?. per annum for more than ten and less than fifteen years' service; 5001. for upwards of fifteen years, and less than the full regulated period. And if sickness drives them permanently to Eng- land before they have even completed ten years' service, they are paid a donation of 500?. After ten years' service, a civilian is allowed a furlough to Europe for three years, receiving during that interval, 500?. per annum—always supposing that the number of gentlemen who may avail * The appointment of Sir C. Metcalfe to the government, succes- sively, of Jamaica and Canada, of Sir H. Pottinger to the office of envoy extraordinary to the Chinese court, and of Sir C. Trevelyan to the secretaryship of the Treasury, are the best illustrations of the fact. THE ARMY. 51 themselves of the privilege does not exceed a prescribed limit (seventeen annually from Bengal, nine from Madras, six from Bombay); but should he be obliged to seek a restoration to health before the expiry of the specified period, he then receives only 2501. per annum, and 2001. on account of passage-money. Some charges in the furlough rules are in contemplation, and should they have been carried out before this volume issues from the press, they will be found in the Appendix. In addition to these provisions, all of which, it should be remembered, are accompanied by conditions duly set forth in sundry codes of regulations, there are funds which particu- larly provide for the widows and children of deceased civil functionaries, upon a scale sufficiently liberal to remove all scruples concerning settlements from the minds of hesitating spinsters, in the first instance, and to relieve husbands and fathers from any anxiety upon the subject of their widows and orphans, in the second. In conclusion, it may be mentioned, that any civil servant who, on proceeding to England on leave of absence, shall fail to return to India before the expiry of five years, is dis- qualified for further service, unless it be found that such continued absence was the result of sickness or infirmity, or unless his return is sanctioned by a vote or resolution passed at a meeting of the Proprietors of East-India Stock. Another circumstance which involves the penalty of dis- missal at any period during the service of a civil officer is, the discovery that his appointment in the first instance was obtained by any pecuniary or other corrupt arrangement with the party in whom the presentation lay. The only exception to the penalty is, the free and voluntary disclosure of the transaction when a Director of the Company has been implicated therein. THE ABMY. It has been contended of late years, by some public writers, that we hold India entirely by the force of opinion; that is to say, that we are permitted to rule simply because the principles of justice and equity, and a respect for the e 2 INFLUENCE OF THE AKMT. religions usages of the thousands under our sway, are carried out to the fullest extent compatible with human frailty. On the other hand, it has been argued that our empire is held entirely by the sword; and our wars, victo- ries, and their political results, have been pointed at as evidence of the soundness of the theory. Truth lies, in most cases, between extremes, and there seems little reason to doubt that such is its proper position in the present instance. The highest opinion that might be entertained of our character as governors, would of itself, we apprehend, avail but little in the retention of the country against the schemes of disaffected or designing men, if it were not backed by a well-organized and judiciously-distributed physical force. If there were no descendants of the countless chieftains who once held possession of the country, eager, upon any pretext supported by opportunity, to assert fanciful claims to terri- tory or to privileges; if there were no frontier foes, whose incursions it were necessary to resist or prevent, as much for the sake of the peace and happiness of the people as for the maintenance of British supremacy; there would still be evil powers within the heart of the empire against whose machi- nations the greatest amount of political integrity could not successfully contend. The Hindoo and the Mussulman are priest-ridden; the Hindoo and the Mussulman are alike avaricious. What elements more potent than priestcraft and avarice to excite a populace to rebellion i While the zemindar's disinclination to pay his rent ignited the spark of insurrection, on the one hand, there would not be wanting the ambition and the self-interest of the Brahmin, and the savage religious fervour of the Moollah, to fan the flame, upon the other. The sword, therefore, is an indispensable agent in the retention of India; and it is a happy thing for the populace of that empire, that the mercy and humanity which distinguish the administration of the civil government attemper the steel by which the sedition of the disaffected and the incursion of the foreign foe are invariably chastised. A rough statement has been given above of the strength of the armies of the several presidencies. A more precise estimate is essential in a work of this description. The Indian Army, the most remarkable phenomenon in the history of the world, since conquerors thought of making the vanquished the means of their own perpetual STRENGTH OF THE ARMY. 53 subjugation consists, in round numbers, of three hundred thousand men, of all arms, thus divided :— . 120 230 ::: 1,420 4,160 Regiments in her Majesty's service, lent to the East-India Company, infantry and light dragoons, comprising (men and officers) 20,000 BENGAL PRESIDENCY — Three brigades of horse artillery 1,100 Seven battalions of foot ditto 2,250 Ten regiments of native cavalry 5,150 Three regiments of European infantry 3,000 Seventy-four regiments of native infantry (sepoys) 88,600 Six extra regiments.. 6,000 Sappers and miners, and engineer officers 890 Surgeons.. Assistant surgeons .. .. .. Veterinary surgeons .. .. 18 - Native doctors .. 222 Ordnance and commissariat warrant officers MADRAS- One brigade of horse artillery 400 Four battalions of foot ditto Eight regiments of native cavalry .. Three regiments of European infantry 2,800 Fifty-two regiments of native ditto ... 44,200 Engineers and sappers 500 Surgeons .. 73 Assistant surgeons .. 160 Veterinary surgeons 10 BOMBAY One brigade of horse artillery 400 Two battalions of foot ditto .. 750 Three regiments of native cavalry .. 1,500 Three regiments of European infantry 2,800 Twenty-six regiments of native ditto .. 30,000 Engineers and sappers 400 Surgeons .. .. 50 Assistant surgeons .. 105 Veterinary ditto .. The remainder of the army consists of eighty-nine irregu- lar and local corps, body-guards, militia, &c., officered from the line, and amounting to some 60,000 men. The officers are 215 in number. There is a considerable body, also, of invalids and veterans ; but as they cannot, in fairness, be in- cluded in the physical strength of the government, there is no necessity for taking particular account of them. ::::::::: ::::::::: ::: ::: ::::::::: ::::::::: 54 THE STAFF. Out of the 300,000 men who compose the East-India Company's troops in India, not more than 7,800 are European officers; and, of this number, at least 700 are generally absent on furlough, and a great many are on the staff, or in charge of' local corps, or otherwise employed. The proportion of regimental effective officers is therefore extremely small; and although they are aided in the ordinary routine duties of a garrison by the native commissioned officers, and experi- ence little trouble in managing the happy and tractable sepoy. in cantonments, their numerical deficiency has exposed armies to serious risks in the field, where the example of European intrepidity has been of the last consequence in rallying na- tive troops at a critical juncture. At the battle of Meanee, fought in 1843, it was remarked by the commander of the forces engaged (Sir C. Napier), that the fall of a European officer was invariably the signal for sepoy-faltering, and that if others had not been at hand to at once supply the place of the stricken leaders, the action must have had a different and far less glorious termination. Situations on the general staff, to which officers are eligible after four years of actual service in India, and a passage through the ordeal of an examination in one of the native languages, are handsomely endowed, the salaries varying from two hundred to forty thousand rupees (4,000?.) per annum; the incumbent, however, in some cases relinquishing a pro- portion of his regimental emoluments. In former times, and especially upon the settlement of a newly-conquered country, military men were frequently selected to fill the important civil offices of revenue collectors, magistrates, superintendents of police, political agents, &c.; but the very natural jealousy of the civil servants, and the demand for the professional services of soldiers, caused the selection to be discontinued as a system The government, however, still finds it neces- sary to avail itself of the aid of military officers in the civil branch, more particularly in the departments of police, in tracts of country recently evacuated by regular troops. But apart from these offices, the staff provides honourable and lucrative employment in a variety of ways. The departments of the adjutant, auditor, quartermaster, surveyor, paymaster, judge-advocate, and commissary general; the offices of bri- gade-major, aide-de-camp, barrackmaster, secretary to the Military Board, clothing-agent, superintendent of studs, &c., TABLE OF PAY AND ALLOWANCES, FOR A MONTH OF 30 DAYS. 56 IN GARRISON OR CANTONMENT. IN THE FIELD. Pay. Tent allowance. House Rent, if only in Receipt of Half Batta, and not provided with Quarters. Gratuity. TOTAL. Horse Allowance. Pay. TOTAL Half Batta. Gratuity. Tent allowance. Horse allowance. Full Batta. 30 Rs. | Rs. a. pill Rs. a. p. c750 1180 00|a300 00 – 300 745 0 0 240 001 - 225 575 00 180 00 - 901 333 8 0 120 00 36 60199 00 60 0 0 24 45 155 00 48 0 0 12 333 8 0 Rs. | Rs. Rs. a. p. |d30 7501280 00 30 600 1020 0 0 450 780 0 0 180 411 0 0 120 254 0 0 90 200 0 0 411 0 0 Captain............ I TER III European Infantry. Colonel, not a general Rs. a. p. Rs. officer on the staff .. a300 001 - 130 Lieutenant-colonel .... 240 001 - Major ......... 180 0 0 — 120 00 36 Lieutenant ......... 60 00 Ensign .......... 48 00 Surgeon, as captain .. Assistant-surgeon, as lieutenant ......... European Artillery. Colonel of a battalion 300 001 - Lieutenant-colonel .... 240 00 – 100 Major ....... . 180 0 0 - 60 0 80 Captain ....... .. (6140 00 36 37 8 50 1st lieutenant ........ 6 700 0 24 | 25 0 30 2nd lieutenant ....... 16 60 0 0 12 25 ol 25 Surgeon and assistant- surgeon...........) ant- As in the European Infantry. Engineers (the same as the Artillery). EMOLUMENTS OF OFFICERS. 1990 oll 254 0 0 I oo c750 1180 0 0 30000- 3001 745 00l 240 00 - 225 575 0 0/180 00 - 90 353 8 0||6140 00 36 60 209 0 0 670 00 24 45 167 0 0 16 60 0 0 12 750 1280 0 0 600 1020 00 450 780 0 0 180 431 00 120 264 0 0 90 212 0 0 – 100 80 120 c750 1467 8 0||0397 80 – 120 300 948 4 0||6278 4 0 - 120 | 225777 13 4||0232 13 41 — 90 520 6 4||6179 6 4 36 60 333 8 0|| 6109 8 0 289 5 416 97 5 4 520 6 4|. 120 750 1467 80 120 600 1148 40 922 13 4 | 560 6 4 363 8 0 309 5 4 560 6 4 ooroo 333 801 363 8 0 341 00 Native Cavalry. Colonel.... 10397 80 200 0 Lieutenant-colonel ....1278 4 0 150 0 Major ......... J6232 13 4 - 120 0 Captain ............ 6179 6 41 36 Lieutenant...... ... |0109 8 0 24 Cornet.............. 16 97 5 4 Surgeon, as captain .. Assistant-surgeon, as lieutenant ........ Veterinary surgeon ... Native Infantry. Colonel, not a general officer on the staff .. | 300 001 - 200 0 Lieutenant-colonel.... 240 001 - 150 0 Major ............. 180 00 - 120 00 ..... 120 001 36 Captain ............ Lieutenant.......... 60 0 0 24 50 01 Ensign 48 0 0 12 50 0 .......... Surgeon, as captain .. Assistant-surgeon, as lieutenant ...... 97 00 c750 1280 0 0 300 001 - 800 820 00|| 240 00 - 225 635 00 180 00 – 90 371 0 0% 120 00 36 60 224 000 60 0 0 24 180 0 0 48 0 0 12 371 001 1280 00 600 1020 00 450 780 00 180411 00 | 254 00 200 00 411 00 EMOLUMENTS OF OFFICERS. 30 25 224 0 0ll 254 (a) Pay and batta are per diem allowances. (6) The same for any month. (c) Colonels in regimental rank are allowed full batta at any station. (d) Horse allowance only granted to field officers of artillery, engineers, and infantry, while in the actual performance of regimental duty. Officers of inferior rank, when actually commanding corps of infantry, will continue to draw horse allowance, as heretofore sanctioned. N.B.—Tent allowance is not allowed to the chief engineer, or adjutant of engineers. INDIAN NAVY AND MAKINE. INDIAN NAVY AND MARINE DEPARTMENT. Arout half a century ago, when the Coromandel and Malabar coasts were visited by pirates and French privateers, and the trade between the Persian and Arabian gulfs and India was interrupted by rovers who hoisted the black signal of the professional freebooter, or the scarcely less suspicious blood-red flag of the ostensible Arab trader, the East-India Company kept up a flotilla of gun-brigs. They were called, for the most part, cruisers; and their officers and crew com- posed a body, then known by the name of The Bombay Ma- rine. The men were, for the most part, drawn from the merchant-vessels in the harbour—the officers were sent out by the Court of Directors as midshipmen, whence they rose by gradation to the rank of captains. The history of our trade in India, and of our political occupation of the country, presents many brilliant proofs of the skill and prowess of the Bombay Marine, whether in con- flict with hordes of desperate pirates, or in more organized operations, in conjunction with other sea and land forces, against the strongholds of enemies on the shores of India, Persia, or Burmah. But there is no question that the state of discipline on board those cruisers was low; the rank of the officers, relatively with that of the members of other warlike professions, was undetermined; the pay and allowances were insignificant; and altogether there was a deficiency of that pride and self-respect, without which no service can ac- quire the esteem of the rest of civilized mankind, or advance its own consequence amongst contemporary professions. To remedy this state of things, an effort wa3 made, and with complete success, during his late Majesty William the Fourth's occupancy of the office of Lord High Admiral, to exalt the character of the marine by giving it the title of The Indian Navy, and honouring it with the control of an experienced officer of the British navy. In all respects—uniform, emolur ments, rank—it was placed upon a just level with the royal service; and although this salutary change came at a time when maritime war in the East had ceased, and steam had begun to facilitate the communication of the eastern with the Western world, and therefore to demand of the naval NAVAL STRENGTH AND COMPOSITION. 59 officer science and moral courage, in addition to, if not in substitution of, prowess, there is no doubt that the service very largely benefited by the experiment. The Indian navy now consists of 150 officers, of whom six are captains, twelve commanders, forty-eight lieutenants, and the remainder mates, midshipmen, and pursers. The staff- offices, and the situation of superintendent, are filled, at the pleasure of the home government, by experienced members of the British navy, or retired officers of the famous mercan- tile marine of the East-India Company of Merchants. The fleet, officered and commanded by the Indian navy, amounts to forty vessels, of which more than one-half are armed steamers variously employed in keeping up the communica- tion between India and China, India, the Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf, China and the Red Sea, Bombay and Sinde, and in the navigation of the Indus. The remainder of the vessels are sailing sloops, brigs, and schooners, employed on surveys, or in the protection of trade in the western gulfs and the Straits of Malacca. Great and important service has been rendered in the survey department by officers of the Indian navy ; amongst the most illustrious of whom stand the names of Captain Lloyd and Captain Moresby; to the former, the merchant service is indebted for some invaluable charts of the dangerous approaches to the shores of Bengal, and of the intricacies of the mighty Ganges; while to the latter belongs the honour of having ascertained and pro- claimed the full extent of the perils of the Red Sea, the Maldives, and the Malabar Coast, and rendered that plain sailing which had previously been avoided as difficult and hazardous navigation. The pay and allowances of the Indian navy are subjoined; the rules which regulate their furloughs, retirement, &c., will be found in the Appendix. [TABLE. 60 PAY ADD ALLOWANCES. Table of Salaries to Officers in the Indian Navy and Marine Department, wider the Presidency of Bombay. APPOIIflJTEKT. 8AIABIES. BEHABKS. Us. a. p. Superintendent 2600 0 0 450 0 0 In addition to the net pay of his rank. Assistant Superintendent... Master Attendant 1260 9 0 600 0 0 670 0 0 400 0 0 1st Assistant do 2nd do do 3rd do. do. ("The pilots residing in the Fort are 1 allowed, in addition, Bs. 80 per Pilot, Senior 200 0 0 120 0 0 108 0 0 Do. 2nd Class, each < month house-rent, and those at 1 Colaba, Bs. 60 per month, if not I occupying public quarters. Do. 3rd and 4th do. each ... Store Receiver & Accountant 380 0 0 250 0 0 800 0 0 680 0 0 130 0 0 110 0 0 76 0 0 In addition to the payof purser, Ks.120 Inspector Master Builder 2nd do. Includes an allowance of Rs. 80 as [draughtsman of the Dockyard. 1st Assistant 2nd do 3rd do Asst. Scy. Milty. Board (Marine Branch) 650 0 0 300 0 0 Inclusive of naval pay and allowances. Draughtsmen Indian Naval Storekeeper... Assistant Storekeeper Signal Officer at Light-house Sup. of Dockyd. St.-engine 1285 12 11 330 0 0 120 9 0 200 0 0 100 0 0 467 0 0 Draws in addition to net pay of purser, [Bs. 120. Assistant ditto Bs. 4 per day, in addition to the pay [of an invalid lieut. Surgeon Indian Navy Commodore at Surat 1390 0 0 Includes Rs. 90 house-rent, and Rs. 20 palankeen al- lowance. Pay Rs.900 Table allowance 400 House-rent 90 1390 Commodore in Persian Gulf 1300 0 0 Pay 900 Table allowance 400 1300 Persian Interpreter to do ... 200 0 0 90 0 0 60 0 0 In addition to the net pay of his rank. Commodore's Clerk Superintendent of Pattemars [TABLE. SERVICE AFLOAT. 61 Table of Pay to Officers of the Indian Navy. BANK. AMOrilT. BANK. When employed afloat. Ba. p- When employed .float. Rs. a. P. Captain, 1st rate \ Do. 2nd do. / "* A. 900 e 0 Asst. Surgeon in charge \ of ship J 306 10 0 Com. 3rd do. \ Do. 4th do. / B.{ 80Q 0 0 Servants' wages 12 0 0 600 0 0 Do. when unemployed ... 206 10 0 Lieut. 1st fifteen Do. 5th; do. ... ■•a 400 0 0 Do. all other • •• 176 0 0 Parsers, 2nd rate ... • .. 146 0 0 When unemployed. Captain' 270 0 0 Do. 3rd do. ... 260 0 0 400 0 0 Clerk in charge, pay Its. 60 Commander 300 0 0 Allowance 60 100« Senior Lieut, first fifteen \ on the list J ISO 0 0 Mates C. 60 0 0 Junior ditto 120 0 0 Midshipmen .» 60 0 0 Pursers 120 0 0 Captain's Clerks ... ... 60 0 0 Midshipmen SO 0 0 Iron Steamers. Indus Flotilla. Ks. •i. p- Second-class Vessels. Rs. ft. p. Commander ... 600 0 0 Acting Master 226 0 0 t Lieutenant ... 146 0 0 Second 100 0 0 .(■Assistant Surgeon 308 10 0 tPurser 260 0 0 First-class Vessels. Third-class Vessels. Acting Master- 260 0 0 Acting Master 200 0 0 Second 100 0 0 Second 100 0 0 Note.—Officers sick on shore allowed house-rent as follows ;— Lieutenant and Purser 90 I Es. 3 per day. Midshipmen 601 2 do. A. If employed on shore Ks. 600 B. Ditto 422 C. In addition to the net pay of their rank. * With additional half batta. t In addition to full batta. The remainder of the maritime establishment of the East-India Company consists of a body of pilots employed to navigate the Hooghly, a master attendant's establishment at Calcutta, and another at Madras (with subordinates on the coasts), whose business it is to preserve beacons and landmarks for navigators, assist vessels in distress, regulate transports in government service, control the pilots, &c.; and a few steam-vessels which ply between China, Arracan, Moulmein, the Malacca Straits, Madras, and Calcutta, for the occasional rapid conveyance of packets, treasure, stores, troops, or great state officers. i 62 THE PROTESTANT ECCLESIASTICAL ESTABLISHMENT. As good morals are an essential ingredient in good govern- ment, and a well-endowed, active, and pious body of Chris- tian ministers necessary to the maintenance and encourage- ment of sound morality, the ecclesiastical establishment of British India, is properly regarded as one of the most impor- tant arms and instruments of the executive. The principle of protection to the Protestant church, so long recognised by the government of Great Britain as indispensable to the common weal, is therefore carried out in India to the fullest possible extent. While the British legislature limits itself to the preservation of Protestantism in the person of the sovereign, the endowment of Protestant institutions, the selection of members of the Protestant persuasion to fill great public offices, and the enforcement of taxes for the partial support of the church, the government of India builds churches at its own expense, and takes upon itself the entire support of the English and Scotch (established) clergy. Three bishops, as many archdeacons, and upwards of one hundred Protestant chaplains, are spread over British India; and their several incomes, varying from 600?. to 2,000?. per annum (the bishop of Calcutta receiving as much as 4,000£ per annum), are paid monthly from the state coffers. The chaplains generally receive their appointments at the hands of the Court of Directors in England, but it is within the competency of the bishop of Calcutta to admit to holy orders young men who have studied at the college on the banks of the Hooghly, founded by Bishop Middleton in 1820, and to nominate them to share in the duties which devolve on the chaplains generally. The number who have been thus admitted is, however, small, as the college scarcely supplies enough to fulfil its own original purpose, namely, the pro- pagation of the gospel among the heathen by means of missionaries. The duties of the British clergy in India are by no means light: excepting at the chief towns of Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, and the great military cantonments of Lahore ^awn- pore, Meerut, Poonah, Secunderabad, and Bangalore, but one chaplain officiates at each station; on him, consequently, de- CHAPLAINS AND ASSISTANT CHAPLAINS. 63 volves not merely the performance of all the parts of divine ser- vice, but the ceremonies of baptism, marriage, and burial; the duties of visiting the hospital and the chamber of the sick man at places very remote from head-quarters; the superintendence of schools and charitable institutions; the assisting mission- aries of the Church of England in the translation and dif- fusion of the Scriptures (but this is not a compulsory duty); and generally affording co-operation in every description of good work within his sphere. These combined offices severely tax the time of the Christian minister, leaving him but little space for reflection or recreation; but it does not appear that temperate and systematic men sink under the accumulation, even in so fierce a climate as that of India; and there is this comfort in store for the district clergyman, that every vacancy in the senior ranks places him higher on the list, and brings him nearer to the enviable possession of a chaplaincy at the presidency, with comparative leisure, and a harvest of marriage, burial, and christening fees. The regulations for the admission of chaplains into the service of the East-India Company are as follow :— Candidates for appointments as assistant chaplains must have been two years in orders, and must not exceed forty years of age; and at the time of appointment are required to produce their letters of orders, deacon and priest, as well as a testimonial, signed by three beneficed clergymen, and a medical certificate; the appointments are made subject to the approval of the archbishop of Canterbury or the bishop of London. Chaplains are required to enter into covenant, and to give a bond for 500?., jointly with two sureties, for the due fulfil- ment of the same. Under the deed of covenant, chaplains are required to subscribe to the Military Eund at the presidency to which they may be attached. Chaplains must proceed to their destination within six months from the date of the Court's resolution by which they were nominated; and in failure thereof, without leave obtained from the Court, their appointments will lapse. The salary of an assistant-chaplain, which position is generally retained for about seven years, does not exceed QQOL per annum; and for the first year several deductions 64 LAWS, POLICE, THE PKESS. are made on account of donations and subscriptions to certain funds from which he, or his surviving family, should he die die prematurely, will ultimately derive particular benefit. After eighteen years' service, including a furlough on sick certificate, and on private affairs, a chaplain is per- mitted to retire upon the pay of a major, viz. 292?. per annum; after ten years' service (if compelled by ill health to quit the service), on the half-pay of a major, viz. 173?. 7 s. 6c?. per annum; and after seven years (by a recent decision), on 63?. 17s. 6c?. per annum; and their widows to one-half that sum. When a chaplain has served seven years, he is allowed a furlough to England, receiving during such absence the pay of captain, viz. 191?. 12s. per annum. The widows of chaplains who have actually served fifteen years in India receive pensions as widows of majors. The Military Funds allow to subscribers a sum for their passage-money and equipment, if they are not in a position to incur expenses on these accounts from their own purses, or entitled to draw upon the government treasury; and to the widow of a chaplain, who is not in possession of a certain specified sum, they allow passage-money, and a pension, varying according to the presidency to which the chaplain may have belonged, from 120?. to 205?. 6s. 3c?. per annum. LAWS, POLICE, THE PRESS. While a body of experienced lawyers and well-informed civil servants are engaged in the preparation of a code of laws applicable to India, and, pending the completion of their labours, procure from time to time the passage of enactments which provide for temporary difficulties, we must consider the system of judicial administration in our Eastern possessions as in a partial state of transition. Enough of the intentions of the law commissioners has, how- ever, been shadowed forth, to warrant the impression that the great framework of the laws will be left intact; that the sytem of jurisprudence now extant will only be modified to suit the improved state of society, and that simplification will supersede the complexity which at present obtains. The laws which prevail at this moment in India are based THE BAR OP INDIA. G5 upon the Mahomedan code, excepting at the three presiden- cies and the islands of Penang and Ceylon, where, within certain narrow limits, the British laws are administered upon precisely the same principles, and regulated by the same statutes as govern our courts in England. Much of the ancient Hindoo law having reference to questions of title, inheritance, succession, marriage, adoption, and caste, has entered into the Mahomedan system, but no separate and well-defined Hindoo code has existed from the date of the consolidation of the Moslem power. But two distinct systems of laws are therefore current throughout the length and breadth of British India. The Supreme, or Queen's Courts, at the three presidencies and the islands, consist each of three judges,* selected by ministers from the practising barristers in England. The selection has often been eminently judicious. Sir William J ones and Sir James Mackintosh have a European reputa- tion. The advocates of the courts consist of men who, hav- ing been called to the bar in England, are induced, by the hope of realizing an independence, to transport themselves to India. They are, for the most part, men of average capacity; but there have been instances of great talent adorning the courts, especially that of Calcutta; and it is to the honour of the profession that when public questions have arisen, in which the government and the governed were antagonistic, the Bar have almost invariably been found ranged on the weaker side, employing their eloquence and their energy to baffle oppression, and wring from the execu- tive the concession of great privileges. To the brilliant exertions of the Calcutta bar, the Indian community are indebted for effective resistance to an iniquitous stamp act, for the liberty of the press, for the free ingress of intelligent and independent Europeans; and, in point of fact, for very many advantages, unconnected with the laws, which have inspired the natives with a greater degree of self-respect, and rendered Englishmen as secure of their birthrights in India as they are in their native land. The attorneys, like the * There are but two judges at present sitting in the Bombay Court, and as no disposition has for some time past been shown by the horns authorities to appoint a third, it is supposed that the number will henceforth be permanently limited to two. F CO JURISDICTION OP COURTS. barristers, have, for the most part, received their education and served their apprenticeship in London; but of late years a good many have been admitted who began as articled clerks in local offices; and it must be confessed, that if they are deficient in the higher qualities which distinguish a soli- citor, their familiarity with the character and language of the natives gives them advantages which their competitors are many years in acquiring. The extent of the jurisdiction of the Supreme Courts is not so exactly defined as to silence all discussion upon the point, but, generally speaking, their respective charters have settled their powers as to the nature of the law they are at liberty to administer. These are extensive. Every case, which in London would be heard either in the Court of Queen's Bench or Common Pleas, Admiralty or Ecclesiastical Courts, Courts of Chancery, Exchequer, or Insolvency, comes under the cognizance of the Supreme Courts in India, and from their decision there is no appeal but to the Queen in Council. Unlike the judges of the Company's courts, the administrators of the law in the Queen's courts are totally independent of the local government. Brute force .might, in extreme cases, be opposed to the execution of their decrees; but their offices cannot be taken from them, on the one hand, as a punishment for the stern and upright execu- tion of their duty; nor, on the other hand, could they be tempted by anything the highest authorities have it in their power to bestow, to deviate from the straight path chalked out to them by the dictates of conscience and the obligation of their oath. The Company's judicial establishments in the interior of Hindostan consist of a great number of courts, of various degrees of power and responsibility. At each presidency are Supreme Native Courts, consisting of four judges each, chosen from the most experienced officers in the judicial line. At the principal stations are courts of circuit. In every zillah, or district, and in each great and populous city, there is a single judge. Besides these, there are assistant judges, registers of zillahs, who hold courts; and many native petty judges, under the appellations of sudder ameens and moonsiffs, the former term signifying "chief arbitrator," and the latter "a justice," or one who distributes justice. OBSTACLES TO JUSTICE. G7 From the inferior courts lie appeals to the courts of circuit, and from the courts of circuit to the presidency courts, in all civil causes of any considerable amount, in questions of real property, and even in personal actions involving a cer- tain sum of money; and from the courts of circuit refer- ences are necessary to the superior tribunal, in criminal con- victions involving life or transportation. The Mahomedan law (as we have said above), modified by innumerable regu- lations, rules, and ordinances, passed by the government from time to time, is the law of all these courts; and if it were possible to carry out its provisions to the letter, the people would have less ground for the complaint that justice, as administered therein, exists merely in name. But the obstacles to a correct administration of the law are immense. The ignorance of the native pleaders; the corruption of the omlah, or native officers of the courts; the prevalence of perjury among all classes of native witnesses; the impossi- bility of checking oppression in the execution of decrees; the consumption of justice in the progressive system of appeal from the lowest upwards, which holds out a tempta- tion to litigation by multiplying the chances of success ; the imperfect knowledge possessed by the Anglo-Indian judges of the multitude of dialects, and of the customs, manners, and ideas of the natives—constitute so many serious impe- diments to the healthy course of law, that justice, to use the words of an enlightened writer upon the subject, becomes a "perfect caput rnorluum, not worth the having." The causes which chiefly engage the attention of the judicial officers in India arise out of failure to pay revenue, disputed succession or inheritance, breach of contract, debt, and trespass. The crimes they have principally to try are larceny, robbery on the highway, burglary, murder, forgery, piracy, and perjury. The punishments which they are com- petent to inflict are death, imprisonment, labour on the roads, transportation to the Straits of Malacca, and confisca- tion of property. Juries, composed of Europeans, Eura- sians, and educated natives, are empanelled to try criminal causes only in the presidency Queen's courts; but the insti- tution is unknown in the interior, excepting in the form of a pmcJiayat, or jury of five individuals, who are occasionally f 2 68 THE POLICE OF INDIA. called in to aid the judge, as assessors, in cases of doubt and difficulty. The police in India is probably the worst preventive or detective establishment of any in the world. The activity and zeal of magistrates and superintendents are almost entirely neutralized by the apathy, cowardice, and corruption of the posse comitatus. The force is sufficiently large, con- sisting, as it does, of thousands of thannadars, chokeedars, burkundauzes, pykes, &c. &c., with all the grades of rank and pay that can stimulate activity and preserve discipline, and armed well enough to encounter any number of brigands, and suppress any popular mutinies ; but the inherent defects in the native character minimize the utility of the officers, and render them, in many parts of the country, more of a curse than a blessing to the myriads of the poorer orders. Bound by the ties of caste, apprehensive of the vengeance of a culprit's relatives, greedy of the douceurs which can be wrung from an offender, or a reluctant witness, unmindful of truth, constitutionally indolent, and secure, by distance, from the immediate swveillam.ee of their superiors, they volunteer no steps that militate against their individual interests, and execute no imposed duty with independence, integrity, or alacrity. Thus, the difficulty experienced by the judges in administering the law is materially enhanced, and the people pay a heavy tax for the maintenance of an institution with which, under present circumstances, they could, with rare exceptions, most easily dispense. But one remedy for this state of tilings appears to exist, and that is, the employment of some hundreds of Europeans as inspectors and superin- tendents of police in all the districts. Well-disciplined and intelligent soldiers would be the fittest persons for this de- scription of office, which would, at the same time, be a reward for good conduct, and a motive for the enlistment of young men from the respectable classes now struggling for existence in England. At the presidencies there are a few European constables and bailiffs, and their great efficiency supplies an unanswerable argument in favour of the exten- sion of such description of control to every town and popu- lous village in the country. LANGUAGES. 69 THE LANGUAGES OP INDIA. The earliest of the languages known to and used by the people of India is the Sanscrit, or Sunscrit. It was the lan- guage of the Brahmins, and used by them in the preparation of the Vedas or Sacred Books. The character in which it was written was called the Deva Negri. Neither the lan- guage nor the character are now in use, although traces of both are to be found to a considerable extent in the nume- rous languages spoken and written in the East. Between the Indus and Ceylon, no less than twenty-one distinct lan- guages are employed in different provinces, some of them partaking of the character of those of the countries upon the frontiers, and others, especially the Hindostanee (or Moors, as it is often called), founded entirely upon the Persian, in- troduced by the Mahomedan conquerors. Independently of the Hindostanee, which is more or less spoken throughout the empire, there are twenty-one distinct tongues in use in India. The Cingalese language is spoken only in Ceylon. In Travancore Mcdayalim is in use. Tamtd is the language of the south-eastern part of the peninsula. The Canarese or Karnota is peculiar to Mysore. In the eastern part of the Nizam's territories, to the Coromandel Coast, we find the people speaking Teloogoo or Telinga. From Bombay in the west, to Nagpore in the east, and throughout the districts lying between the Nerbudda and the Kistna, Mahratta is general ; it is also the language of Gwalior. Bengalee is of course the language of Bengal—as Cashmerar, Punjabee, Sindee, Colatee, Asamese, and Nepalese are severally the lan- guages of the States whence they derive their names. The Cole and Goond tongues are current in the tract of country lying between the 19° and 24° parallels of latitude, and 80° and 85° long; bounded on the west by the Deccan, on the north-west by Oude and Rajpootana, on the east by Cuttack, and the north-east by Bengal. In Oude, Oordoo and Hindee are the popular languages; and Hindee, with its various dialects, is likewise the language of the extensive provinces of Bajpootana and Bundlecund. The people of Burmah, of Bhotan, and Belooch, have languages of their own, deriving their appellations from the several countries PROGRESS OF THE PRESS. 71 the hands of their active foes, the struggling princes and their French allies, which might be turned to the disadvan- tage of British interest. The progress of conquest, however, and the complete annihilation of all European power in India, save that which the English possessed, diminished the fears arising from the general diffusion of news. Accord- ingly, in or about the year 1816, the propriety of freeing the press became the subject of frequent debate. But the executive opposed any alteration upon totally new grounds. It was now pretended that our dominion mainly rested upon the respect in which the government was held, and that that respect, according to the authorities of the time, could only be maintained by adding a tender regard for the infirmities of public men to the pompous displays which the revenues were employed to keep up. Regulations were therefore made, protecting from public comment the acts of bishops, judges, governors, commanders-in-chief, and numerous other functionaries; and by way of extending the shield of pro- tection over the whole fry of employes, a clause was ingeni- ously introduced by some governments, prohibiting all dis- cussions which were calculated to interfere with the harmony of society!—a comprehensive term, the purport of which was not misunderstood. Under the operation of these re- strictions, the press of India was for a long time a mere receptacle for advertisements, innocent extracts from English papers (in which police reports and trials for crim. con. enjoyed a marked preference over political disquisitions), shipping arrivals, details of balls, fetes, and reviews, criti- cisms on amateur theatricals, the government gazettes, and occasional letters deprecating some small local nuisance. About the year 1820, however, the papers began to wear a new aspect. The legitimate purposes of a public press were first asserted, it is believed, by Mr. Buckingham; and influ- enced by his example—though not approaching him in bold- ness of tone—the Calcutta press began to question the wis- dom of some of the acts of government, and the immaculacy of sundry of its favoured officers. The sensation occasioned by this sudden assumption of moral and political power, in a community of whom passive obedience to orders and tacit submission to laws were from habit and necessity the chief characteristics, may be imagined. The Europeans, all at 72 FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. once reminded that freedom of opinion was an inalienable birthright, hailed Mr. Buckingham as a deliverer; and in the ecstasy of their delight at being liberated from the shackles which bound their tongues and pens, they forgot that there was scarcely one amongst them who might not sooner or later feel the inconvenience of too much publicity. Not quite so regardless of the consequences of this bold emancipation were the elderly gentlemen who held respon- sible offices under the government. To them, the operation of the freedom of the press presented itself in its most fear- ful colours, and they immediately applied the whole weight of their personal and official influence to a counteraction of the assaults of this formidable hydra. But the Marquis of Hastings, then governor-general, had publicly declared that a good government had nothing to fear from the light;—he avowed that he courted or dared investigation into his pub- lic acts; and thus, while his bearing gave no countenance to the anxious endeavours of the bwreaucracie and staff by whom he was surrounded, it animated with fresh courage the spirited Buckingham and his now numerous and intrepid adherents. Mr. Buckingham, and the fate of his efforts to assert the freedom of the press of India, have been so often before the public, that it is needless to recapitulate them here. Suffice to say, that, after two or three years of unexampled success as a journalist, a timid locum tenens of the reins of govern- ment deported him to England, and for a time checked the adolescent press. But the darkness that followed was not of long duration. Lord Amherst allowed the editors of his day a tolerable latitude of expression. Lord William Ben- tinck, his successor, permitted them, during his seven years' administration, to say or publish anything they pleased, and declared that he considered the press a valuable adjunct of the government; yet, with singular inconsistency, to the last moment of his rule he clung with unaccountable tenacity to his power of "coming down upon the press." Sir Charles Metcalfe, who temporarily succeeded Lord William, at once and sans/agon freed the press; Lord Auckland, the succeed- ing governor-general, not only recognised the act of his predecessor (though the Court of Directors gave him, it is said, power to annul it), but, in a variety of ways, promoted CHARACTER OF THE PRESS. 73 its prosperity and enhanced its utility. From that hour (1835) to the present, the Indian press has enjoyed a freedom scarcely surpassed by that in which the press of our native country rejoices. It is difficult to compute the exact circulation of all the papers in India, for the tendency to exaggeration on the part of proprietors is as rife in India as in England; but it may be safely asserted, that the number of subscribers of the dailies, weeklies, &c., combined, does not exceed 10,000.* The character of these papers, with the exception of those professedly in the interests of religion, is pretty much the same. The editors are for the most part educated and inde- pendent men, who, having no interests but the cause of truth, and the welfare and entertainment of society, to promote, and being perfectly unconnected with the govern- ment, freely express their sentiments upon every public question that may arise. The contents and order of arrange- ment of the papers are tolerably uniform. One-fourth, or rather more, of each journal, is appropriated to advertise- ments; these are followed by local correspondence, extracts from contemporary publications, the government general orders, announcing appointments, promotions, &c. acts of the legislative council, &c. Next we have two or three columns devoted to editorial lucubrations upon the topics of the day; and these are succeeded by items of Indian news, or news from China, the Cape of Good Hope, New South Wales, Mauritius, &c., winding up with copious extracts from the English papers. Indeed, such is the avidity with which the Indian exile devours intelligence from his native country, that when an" overland packet arrives from England, the editors find it their best policy to exclude almost every- thing for two or .three days, in order to make room for abundant selections. The public appetite, however, is soon satiated, and the dailies then fall into the old track. Besides the presses whence the newspapers, the weekly, monthly, and annual periodicals issue, there are several in India which limit themselves, almost exclusively, to the printing of books, pamphlets, &c.; and as they are chiefly directed by experienced Englishmen, they often turn out * Assuming that each paper circulates among five persons, there are 50,000 readers in India. 74 THE NATIVE PRESS. works equal in their topography, paper, &c., to the best offspring of the London publishers. Of these establishments the Bishop's College Press, at Calcutta, unquestionably stands at the head. It was originally set up for the pur- pose of reprinting the Holy Scriptures in the native languages, and other works tending to the enlightenment and conversion of the Hindoos; but as these did not occupy the entire time of the printers, an extension of its business was suggested, and it now prints books and periodicals, pro- vided their tendency be not immoral. The native papers constitute a remarkable feature of the Calcutta press. They owe their origin to Mr. Marshman, the son of the celebrated Dr. Marshman, who, some thirty or forty years ago, started the Sumachar Durpun, a weekly paper in the vernacular language. The large support which it immediately received from the natives led to its publica- tion in the Bengalee and English languages (each alternate column being a translation of its neighbour); and in the year 1837, the proprietor was encouraged to put it forth three times a week. But in the mean while other native papers had started into existence. Some attacks upon the Hindoos, in the columns of the Durpun, originated the Vowmoody, of which the late Rajah Rammohun Boy was one of the editors. It defended the Hindoos, while it endeavoured to instruct them. But the Rajah was not sufficiently orthodox for his colleagues: he soon began to oppose himself to some of the rites and ceremonies of the Hindoo religion, which, if not actually enjoined by the shasters, or sacred books, had been hallowed by custom. Amongst other usages, he assailed the suttee" or self-immo- lation of widows upon the funeral pile. This led to the withdrawal of one of the stanchest of his coUaborateurs, who immediately established a third paper, the Chundrika,, having for its object that pure conservatism which resists the progress of intelligence, and maintains the worst absur- dities and most odious tyrannies in all their time-honoured integrity. The Gowmoody expired on the departure of Rammohun Roy for England. The impulse, however, had been given to the native press, and a multitude of journals were consequently soon ushered into existence, some of them originating with the ex-students of the Hindoo college, who ITS CHARACTER. 75 had been imbued with rather extravagant notions of political freedom; and others springing from the orthodox party, or from sycophants who had learnt that something was to be gained by publicly chanting the praises of sundry rajahs ; or from libellers, who panted for a channel of vituperation; or from the necessitous, who found, in the circulation of a paper, the means of subsistence and the opportunity of literary distinction. About thirty papers, which sprung into exist- ence under such auspices, have since expired, after a brief and unsatisfactory career. Five only are now before the public, circulating, weekly, about 2,000 copies altogether. This is, indeed, but a very small drop of civilization in the vast ocean of ignorance and superstition, but it is idle to suppose that it is altogether without its beneficial effects. From the extreme parsimony of the natives, it may be con- jectured that all these papers are subscribed for by clubs, and that, consequently, the 2,000 copies have, on an average, 20,000 readers. To inoculate this number with habits of reflection, to draw their attention to higher objects than the accumulation of money, the indulgence in sensual pleasures, or the study of the superstitions and ceremonials of a mis- guiding religion, is something gained to the cause of humanity. The character of the native press, setting aside the heats and personalities of controversy, is creditable to its conductors. There is an evident anxiety on the part of each journalist to render service to the cause of good govern- ment. The honest, and active, and philanthropic civil functionary receives his due meed of praise, while the iniquities of the unjust steward, and his crowd of corrupt omlah,* are boldly exposed and animadverted upon in the strongest terms permitted by the law of libel. That more of the purposes of a press are not fulfilled by the native editors, is owing principally to the poverty of the young men who have embarked in the journalist's profession. There can be no doubt, however, that, in process of time, the wealthier classes will become alive to the great impor- tance of supporting the press; and we shall find large capitalists yielding the means of establishing correspondence with all the districts in India, of translating large propor- * The native officers of the courts of law and revenue. 76 SELECTION OF SHIPS. tions of the best English journals for transference to the columns of the native papers, and of maintaining the in- tegrity and independence of the editors. There are a considerable number of native presses extant, which are limited to the printing of almanacs, books, cata- logues, handbills, &c. Of these no particular account is necessary. There are also several lithographic presses, one of which belongs to the government, and is used to multiply copies of official correspondence, maps, &c. The others are private property, and are kept in constant employ. The native papers at Madras and Bombay are very few in number, and insignificant in circulation and influence. SECTION III. THE ROUTES TO INDIA—EQUIPMENTS TRAVELLING IN INDIA PREPARATIONS FOR THE OUTWARD VOYAGE IN A SAILING VESSEL, VIA THE CAPE. As a person unacquainted with Indian shipping, that is to say, with the vessels which habitually sail between Eng- land and India, will have considerable difficulty in making a good selection, and may, moreover, be too much occupied with bidding farewell to friends, to be able to spare time for the superintendence of all the details connected with the embarkation of baggage, fitting-up a cabin, &c., it is advis- able that he should at once betake himself to an East-India agent's house. This proceeding will save him a world of trouble. The agents are often personally acquainted, not only with the qualities of each desirable vessel, but with the characters, tempers, and savoir /aire of their respective commanders. We would, however, earnestly recommend passengers desirous of quiet and comfort, to give injunctions to the agent to select a cabin on the lower deck of a ship; for though not so light and airy as the upper cabins, especi- ally in bad weather, there is no disturbance from the continual walking and shuffling over-head, the dropping coils of rope, &c.; and, besides, the cost of the lower cabins EQUIPMENT FOR A VOYAGE. 77 is somewhat less. On the homeward voyage the upper cabins are preferable in every way, as the vessels are then deeply laden, and it is scarcely safe to open the port-holes of the lower deck for the admission of air and light. The passage being engaged, and the average price, eighty pounds,* duly paid, the next object which engages attention is the purchase of cabin furniture and the outfit. In the selection of these, the passenger will be prudent always to keep in mind the possibility of converting them to useful pur- poses in India. Thus, a sofa, with drawers beneath it, is preferable to a swing-cot, because it can be rendered service- able in a house, whereas the uses of the latter terminate with the voyage. But, perhaps, the following list, applicable to almost any condition of life, will sufficiently indicate the ab- solute necessities of the traveller. We will merely premise, that it will be good economy to require of the agent that the cabin furniture and fittings-up shall be procured of the up- holsterers at the East-India Docks, in preference to any of the professional outfitters :— A sofa, with mattress, pillow, and a chintz covering for the day-time; a folding-chair or camp-stool; a wash-hand stand complete, with ewer, basin, soap-dish, &c.; a hanging lamp; a looking-glass, with sliding cover; a swing-tray ; a chest of drawers, in two pieces, the upper part having a ledge around the top, for the purpose of holding a small collection of books, or preventing articles from falling off; a foul- clothes bag (a cylindrical cane basket is better, but it generally occupies too much room in a side-cabin); an oil-cloth, or carpet, for the cabin (this is merely for the sake of appearances. The bare deck is cleaner, cooler, and offers a firmer footing when the ship is rolling or pitching). Equipment of a single man for 100 days, something above the computed duration of a voyage :— Eight dozen shirts; three dozen night ditto; ten pairs of sheets (size of the sofa); one dozen pillow-cases; one blanket; one counter- pane; six dozen towels; three dozen silk pocket-handkerchiefs; six pairs of loose cotton drawers, for sleeping or bathing in; a couple of brown Holland blouses; a blue camlet jacket; two pairs of merino, camlet, or gambroon trowsers; two dozen pairs of white jean trowsers; two dozen white jean jackets; two dozen white jean waistcoats; three * A single man in a side-cabin below seldom pays more, though 901. is generally asked. An upper, or poop-cabin, costs, for one person, 120/. ; and the stern cabins, which accommodate a married couple and a child, pay in proportion to the number of persons. 78 NECESSARIES AND TRUNKS. dozen pairs of cotton socks; cloth coats, trousers, and waistcoats, at discretion (the stock in possession of a passenger when he is leaving England will suffice); a hat, in leathern box, for Indian wear; a straw hat; a blue cloth forage-cap; two black silk stocks or cravats; a dozen pairs of white kid gloves (these articles are very dear in India: those which may be obtained for Is. 6d. in the Strand, cost three rupees in Calcutta); a couple of morning gowns; two pairs of shoes; two pairs of boots; one pair of slippers; a dressing-case and Russian leather writing-case, suitably filled ; three pounds of'Windsor Boap; six pounds of short wax-candles ; a bucket and rope (serviceable in drawing up salt water whenever wanted); a brush-case and blacking, boot-hooks and shoe-horn; a sponge and sponge-bag; a japanned jug, basin, soap-dish, and tooth-brush tray. I These are preferable to a China set, which is liable to break, or to pewter vessels, which soon look dirty, and are not easily cleaned. General instructions to the tradesman from whom the wash-hand stand may be bought, will ensure its being fitted up with every convenience. The foregoing list embraces the actual necessaries of a bachelor on the voyage to India by a sailing vessel . For pur- poses of pastime or study numerous additions may be made, suitable to the means and inclinations of passengers. Fowl- ing-pieces, rifles, fishing-tackle, colour-boxes, musical instru- ments, books, scientific instruments, telescopes, cards, chess and backgammon boards, are taken, and an outline map of the route, published by Messrs. W. H. Allen & Co., Leadenhall Street, is often added ;* but were it considered expedient to enumerate all the articles that fancy, taste, artificial wants, or peculiar pursuits may suggest, our list might be swelled inimitably. The trunks in which clothes for the voyage may be packed, should depend upon the capacity of the traveller. If he be a military or medical man, and therefore liable to march about the country, bullock-trunks, specially made and sold at the outfitters', are preferable, as they are permanently use- ful. But for persons in the civil service, indigo-planters, merchants, clergymen, &c., the portmanteau or tin box, eigh- teen inches square, would answer all purposes. The tin boxes can be carried in India by the banghy-bearers, or running-por- ters, who accompany palankeen travellers across the country. Of the money which a passenger may carry with him, * Marking the track and progress of the voyage on this map every day, after the captain has taken his observation a/nd made it twelve o'clock, is a common and by no means uninstructive amusement. LETTERS OF INTRODUCTION. 79 sovereigns should always be preferred. Twenty pounds will suffice; for all beyond that, if any be necessary, a letter of credit had better be taken. Letters of introduction, to which so much importance was once attached, are now of comparatively little account in India. The establishment of hotels and boarding-houses has rendered persons on their first arrival less dependent than they formerly were upon the accommodating spirit of the re- sident community. Add to this, the great ease with which people of respectability get acquainted with one another at those places of entertainment, and at other public reunions; to say nothing of the entree to the government-house, which is promptly accorded to all who are entitled by their rank in the social scale to leave their cards; and it will be readily understood that even for the purposes of agreeable intercourse no introductions are essential. Those who imagine that letters of recommendation will tend to their professional advance- ment, form an erroneous estimate of their utility. Neither governors, judges, nor commanders-in-chief, are much in the habit of paying attention to the particular requests of absent friends, unless the latter are very anxious to see their pro- teges put forward, and have the means of reciprocating the civility of the authorities abroad. A prime minister, perhaps, would not ask a favour of a governor in vain: nor would a wealthy merchant in the city be likely to have his injunctions disregarded by his own agent. In the above instructions regard has only been had to the wants of a single man proceeding to India. To a certain extent the same suggestions will apply to the other sex, for there can be little variety in cabin furniture and the principal accessories to the toilette; but in regard to costume, distinct details are obviously necessary, as there is scarcely anything in the attire of one sex which corresponds with the garments of the other. The following, therefore, may be regarded as a fair and reasonable wardrobe for a lady, but can be aug- mented, if necessary, according to the affluence or wishes of the party :— Six dozen chemises; four dozen night ditto; four dozen pairs of drawers; four dozen pairs of thin cotton stockings; two dozen, &c. of silk stockings; eight flannel petticoats; three pairs of stays; six white dressing-gowns ; six coloured ditto; two dozen night-caps; five 80 THE SCREW STEAMERS. dozen pocket-handkerchiefs; one dozen of net neckerchiefs; four dozen of towels; six pairs of black silk stockings; four printed morning dresses, worn at breakfast; a black silk dress at dinner; a slight coloured silk, or any cheap material, for dress on Sundays (as these dresses generally become unfit for wear after the voyage, the less cost in the purchase the better); black silk or cotton petticoat for every day's wear; an ordinary cloak, and common straw bonnet, to wear on deck; shoes and dressing slippers: small silk neckerchiefs; collars, caps, gloves, and mittens, according to taste; quilling-net and piece- net; ribbons of low price and different colours ; hair powder; pins of various sizes; needles, buttons, hooks and eyes, tape and bodkins, cotton-reels, scissors; a good supply of papillote paper; Windsor soap and wax-candles, pomatum, smelling-bottle, hartshorn, aromatic vinegar, aperients, and a case of Cologne water; a dressing-case and writing- desk, both properly furnished. The pastimes and employments of ladies depend so much upon taste, that it is impossible to offer any but general hints regarding the implements of entertainment most suitable to the leisure of a voyage. Knitting and netting,* carpet and crochet work, drawing, books, and music, constitute the ordi- nary occupations, which, however, may be varied ad libitum. Musical practice will much depend upon the presence of a piano-forte. If there be not one in the vessel, belonging to the captain, we do not recommend a female passenger to allow of her own, supposing her to possess one, being unpacked for cabin use. The damp sea air and the motion of the vessel are calculated to seriously damage the delicate machinery of a Broadwood or Zeitte, even though it be clamped and fast- ened and clothed, to suit the climate of the tropics. The foregoing suggestions apply to persons proceeding round the Cape by sailing vessels. Should they prefer going to India in one of the screw-steamers, which now take the same route, they will only require the same amount of equip- ment as the passenger by the Overland B,oute. The screw- steamers leave Southampton, for Calcutta, on the 13th of each month, and reach the latter place, after stopping at se- veral places (including the Cape, Mauritius, Ceylon, and Madras) en route, in sixty days. The terms are as follow:— To Ceylon. To Madras. To Calcutta. One person 81i. 82/. 10s. 90/. Ditto, occupying a double cabin.. 161/. 102/. 115/. Two persons in a treble cabin .. 1922. 205/. 220/. * For these purposes silver needles are recommended, as the moisture of the fingers at a high temperature is calculated to rust the imple- ment. VOYAGE TO INDIA. 81 • "Writers, cadets, and other young persons going to India for the first time, are charged eighty pounds each in a general cabin, where two others are berthed. Wines, beer, and spirits are not included. A fee of two pounds for each adult, and one pound for each child, is payable to the steward. All particulars regarding baggage, &c., may be obtained at the Screw-steam Company's Offices, No. 2, Royal Exchange Buildings, City. THE VOYAGE TO INDIA. The prospect of an imprisonment on board a ship for three or four months, with no more agreeable view, externally, than a vast expanse of sea and sky, is to many minds perfectly appalling. Those who have been accustomed to much con- finement in town or country, from the nature of their busi- ness or the inclemency of the season, have still found time pass lightly in the midst of profitable occupation, the com- panionship of books, or the centre of a happy family circle; but in the narrow limits of a trading vessel, cast amongst strangers, deprived of the necessity for labour, and oppressed with the painful feelings attending a separation from home and valued friends and relatives, they anticipate a wearisome and monotonous existence. The picture which fancy draws is, however, found, on close inspection, to be much less charged with gloomy objects than it appears to be in the distance. The excitement and bustle ever attendant upon the business of a ship, the common interest and sympathy which draw people together who, otherwise, would maintain towards each other the characteristic reserve of Englishmen, the evanes- cent nature of the griefs which assail the youth of both sexes at the commencement of a career replete with hope and no- velty, rapidly create a favourable change in the views of the outward-bound, and prepare the mind for a cheerful endu- rance of the inconvenience of a protracted voyage. Few, indeed, are the men and women, who in their after-life do not look back upon the voyage to India as one of the greenest spots in memory's waste. For the devotee of science, there is perpetual entertainment in tracing the progress of the vessel, in observing the practical use of the compass, in G 82 PLEASURES OF THE VOYAGE. taking lunar and solar observations, marking the changes of climate, the phenomena of the sea's phosphorescence, the uses of the complex machinery of a ship, &c. The sportsman will find ample employment for his gun when the gigantic albatross and the sportive Cape pigeon career around and about the vessel in search of prey; and the fish-hook and the harpoon may not unprofitably be brought into requisition to snare the monster shark or slay the brilliant dolphin. He who is neither a votary of science nor of sport will resort to books, cards, music, and the various games which exercise ingenuity and produce gentle excitement. These will plea- santly while away many hours of the day ; and a walk on the quarter-deck, or a merry polka, when the presence of a band and of a sufficient number of lady passengers admits of such an enjoyment, will often consume a long evening in the tropics, and stimulate health while they promote good fellow- ship. Meals, on board ship, are also more a matter of enter- tainment than of business, and are prolonged beyond the ordinary duration, because, they contribute to the exhaustion of leisure. Then amateur theatricals serve occasionally to diversify existence; and the accidental rencontre of a vessel homeward bound awakens family recollections and associa- tions, and sends the passenger to his writing-desk to report progress, and proclaim all's well. It sometimes happens that either from previous arrangements, connected with the land- ing of passengers and cargo, or with the embarkation of fresh accessions of both, or from stress of weather, deficiency of water or provisions, the vessel puts into the port of Madeira, the Cape of Good Hope, or any of the islands which stud the route between the Azores (inclusive) and the Indian coast. These are pleasant breaks in the voyage which may be turned to profitable account by an observant traveller, and at all events serve as a brief recreation and an agreeable souvenir for the irreflective. At Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope, there are hotels and boarding-houses, where accommodation may be obtained at the rate of about a guinea a day, includ- ing the expense of a carriage to the villages and vintages within a few hours' drive of the town. There are no "lions," so to speak, at the Cape. A public library offers the means of whiling away an hour; and a ramble about the streets, amidst a motley population of Dutch colonists, British officers, THE OVERLAND ROUTE. 83 Negroes, and Indians, affords entertainment to the eye un- accustomed to diversified costumes and complexions. The ascent of Table Mountain is a feat which some adventurous visitors take pleasure in accomplishing; and if a fine view of the bay and surrounding country is deemed an object of interest, it is certainly to be obtained by the mere trouble of the ascent. THE OVERLAND PASSAGE TO INDIA. The passage to India, vid the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, has been rendered so facile of late years by the con- struction of magnificent steamers, the property of the Oriental and Peninsular Steam Navigation Company, that great numbers of persons give it a preference to the route round the Cape of Good Hope. It has the advantage of being an infinitely more expeditious method of reaching India, and of being less wearisome by reason of the per- petual change of scene which it presents between England, passing the coast of Spain and Portugal, Gibraltar, Malta, Egypt, Aden (and if bound to Madras or Calcutta), Ceylon and the continent of India. In point of expense, there is but little difference in the two routes, for what is saved in passage-money vid the Cape, is spent in the additional outfit rendered necessary by the length of the voyage. One, hun- dred and Jive pounds (105?.) is the lowest sum paid for a single berth in a cabin in any of the great steamers to Alex- andria, for a passage across the desert to Suez in one of the vans, and thence in another magnificent vessel to Calcutta. The same passage to Ceylon costs 951, and to Madras lOOi If the party is proceeding to Bombay, a passage is secured (including the trip over the desert) to Aden, and there a Government steamer is monthly in waiting to proceed directly to Bombay. The cost of this partial voyage is 701.; and 301. more, payable at Aden, is the charge of the Bombay steamers for the remaining portion of the trip. The steamers of the Oriental and Peninsular Company leave Southampton upon the 4th and 20th of each month, and passages may be engaged on application at their office. The passage money includes an excellent table, wines, liquors, servants' fees, and the carriage of three hundred-weight of G 2 84 OVERLAND EQUIPMENT. personal baggage. For personal use on board the steamer, very little baggage is really necessary. Under the present arrangements in the large steamers of the Peninsular and Oriental Company, there is no occasion for bed or table linen, a sofa, washhand-stand, looking-glass, boot-hooks, jugs, tumbler, blacking and brushes, writing-desk, or books : all these are provided in the steamers. Take with you only six dozen shirts, three dozen pairs of socks, a couple of brown Holland blouses, two dozen pairs of white pantaloons, a couple of pair of merino or gambroon trousers, six dozen pocket handkerchiefs, two dozen pairs of long drawers, a forage-cap, a straw hat, shoes, slippers, and your razors and tooth-brushes. We say nothing of waistcoats, boots, cloth coats and trousers, cloak or great coat, because the stock which a man may have with him when he engages his passage will generally suffice; but it will be prudent to be provided with a mat or rug, a pillow, and a quilted counter- pane (or resai), for it is very probable that, when the passen- ger gets into a warm climate he will prefer sleeping on deck, and the steamer bedding is not allowed to be used for that purpose. The best packages are, beyond all question, port- manteaus and a carpet bag; for besides being more easily stowable in a cabin {one may generally be kept there), they can bear a good deal of tumbling about in holds and baggage- rooms, on camels' backs, and in river-steamers, while the wooden chest or trunk is very liable to get knocked to pieces or wetted through. Ladies who may proceed by the Southampton steamers, to Alexandria, en route to India, will proportion their equip- ment accordingly. If they will go back a few pages to the list of articles suggested for the sea voyage, and divide that list by two, they will arrive at something like a reasonable conclusion as to what may be really necessary for them. Some parties prefer going through France and Italy on their way to India. There is no doubt that the pleasure of the trip is greatly heightened by taking such a route, if the countries have not been visited upon any previous occasion, though it is not unattended by inconvenience. In the event of the adoption of such a route, all the baggage requisite for the sea trip, upon the Red-sea side of the isthmus of Suez, should be sent previously by the Southampton steamer, EXPENSES OF THE VOYAGE. 85 consigned to some reputable house at Alexandria. There is a material difference in the charge for luggage, if it is understood that the Indian half of the journey "will be accomplished in one of the Oriental and Peninsular Steam Navigation Company's vessels. After going through France, if the traveller purposes terminating his land journey at Marseilles, he will find the steamers of the Company leaving ou the 10th and 26th of each month for Malta, whither he can proceed to await the Southampton steamer, or go on at once in the French vessel to Alexandria. In the event of a possible detention at either place, and he has bis option, we would recommend his proceeding to Egypt without delay, as the time of detention there may be more profitably spent, though possibly not more agreeably, for an introduction to any respectable parties at Malta insures the visitor much hospitality. Should the outward-bound tra- veller extend his journey to Italy, he may calculate on finding Neapolitan steamers either at Genoa, Leghorn, or Naples, once, or oftener, every ten days, and in one of these he will obtain a quick and comfortable passage to Malta, touching at one or more of the ports in Sicily. The cost of the passage for a single man from Marseilles to Malta is 7L 10s. ; from Naples to Malta about H.; a French steamer charges 11?. more, independently of the table, from Malta to Alexandria; and the Oriental and Peninsular Company \Ql. for the latter trip, or 17?. from Marseilles to Alexandria; the English vessel supplying a liberal table and wines without further charge. The charges for second-class passengers are considerably lower; but we assume that all for whom this book is written are not likely to be satisfied with a secondary class of accom- modation. If persons who are on their way to India, having at some previous time seen Italy and France, are now desirous of extending their knowledge of Europe in another direction, it will be competent for them, on paying the whole amount of their passage to India to the Oriental and Peninsular Steam Navigation Company, to proceed free of charge in the Company's Peninsular steamers, to the coast of Spain and Portugal, visiting Vigo, Oporto, Lisbon, Cadiz, pulation of 14,612,296 persons. The three non-regulation provinces, Ganjam, Vizagapatam, and Kurnoul, contain an area of 3,243 square miles, with a population of 241,632. The native states subordinate to the Madras government, are Cochin, Mysore, Travancore, and Vizagapatam, covering 50,637 square miles, with a population of 4,691,230. The Bombay presidency is under the government of— A Governor and President of the Council; Two Civil members of the Council; A Commander-in-Chief, who is at the same time a member of the Council. In the Bombay presidency are thirteen regulation, and NORTH-WEST PROVINCES. 123 three non-regulation provinces :—Surat, Broach, Ahmedabad, Kaira, Candeish, Tannah, Poonah, Ahmednuggur, Sholapore, Belgaum, Dharwar, Rutnagherry, and Bombay Island, constitute the regulation collectorates; Scinde, Sattarah, and Angria's Colaba. comprise the non-regulation divisions. The former contain a population of 8,151,049 souls over an area of 57,405 square miles; the latter have a population of 2,333,968, and an area of 62,660 square miles. The native states subordinate to the Bombay government are Baroda, the Guicowar's dominions, Kattywar, Pahlumpore, Cambay, Ballasinore, Dhurumpore, Baroda and Siickeen, the Daung Rajahs, Peirt and Hursool, Kolapore, Sawunt Warree, Maheecaunta, and other petty states in the neighbourhood; Cutch, Akulkote, certain states in the Sattarah dominions, and numerous jaghiredars in the Southern Mahratta country. These states are embraced in an area of 56,320 square miles, and contain 4,613,225 souls. The north-western regulation provinces, subject to the jurisdiction of a Lieutenant-Governor, comprise Delhi, Meerut, Rohilcund, Agra, Allahabad, and Benares, the area of which is 71,972 square miles, with a population of 23,199,668. The non-regulation provinces embrace the Bhattee country, including Wuttoo, the pergunnah of Kole Kasim province, the Jaunsor and Bawar province, the Dehrah Dhoon province, Kumaon (including Ghurwal) province, Ajmere province, and British Nimour province. The area covered by these is 13,599 square miles, and the population exceeds 600,000. The Eastern Straits' settlements, managed by resident Councillors, are Penang province, Wellesley, Singapore, and Malacca. The total population of these settlements is 202,540 ; their superficies in square miles 1,575. The Foreign settlements in India are reduced to those of the French and the Portuguese. The French consist of Pondicherry, Carical, Yanaon, Mahe, and Chandernagore; the Portuguese only hold Goa, and the islands of Damaun and Diu. 124 SECTION VI. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRINCIPAL PLACES IN INDIA. THE PRESIDENCY OF BENGAL. Calcutta—Berhampore—Monghyr—Patna — Benares—Mirzapore— Allahabad — Agra — Cawnpore — Luckaow — Delhi -— Meerut — Landour — Alinorah, &o. Foe greater convenience of reference, we will take each presidency separately, commencing with Bengal, as the most important, and following the river route to begin with— Calcutta.—The first view of Bengal-India gives the longing voyager a dreary pang of disappointment, owing to the low, ugly, and inhospitable shores of Saugor Island, at the entrance to the Hooghly, with scarcely a sign of cheering civilization, or any tokens of a thickly-populated land. This desolate appearance, and the corresponding sensation which it excites in the stranger's breast, arise from the peculiar circumstance of there being no town at the mouth of the river, nor any mark of one as far as the eye can reach. Sail on, however, in the true hope which should always sustain adventurous spirits, and you will be richly rewarded for your primary disappointment. Viewed from the magni- ficent bend of the river, denominated Garden Reach, where the town first opens on the approaching vessel, the coup (Twil is one of various and enchanting beauty. Houses like palaces are studding the bank on the proper left of the river, and a verdure like that of an eternal summer renovates the eye, so long accustomed to the glitter of the ocean. Anon, on your left, appears the semi-gothic Bishop's College; and in front of you, every moment growing more distinct, are beheld a forest of stately masts, a noble and beautiful fortress, a thousand small boats, of shapes new and undreamt of by the visitant, skimming over the stream ; the larger vessels of the country, pleasant to look upon even for their strange dis-symmetry and their consequent unwieldiness; the green barge or budgerow, lying idly for hire, and the airy little THE CALCUTTA GHAUTS. 125 bauleahs. with their light venetian'd rooms. There cannot be a scene more beautiful, connected with the bustle and business of life, and the heart of the traveller feels light within him as he views it. As you advance up the river, you observe architectural decorations, resembling gates, on the left or northern bank. These are ghauts, or landing-places. The first is Prinsep's Ghaut, erected to commemorate James Prinsep, one of the most eminent men of his day, who fell a sacrifice to his ardour in the pursuit of science. It is a huge and ugly pile. Not far from this is a monument of Saracenic architecture, composed of the cannon taken at the battles of Gwalior and Punniah, and designed to commemorate those events. Higher up is Ttajchunder Doss's Ghaut, a large, neat, and commodious landing-place, the nearest point of convenient debarcarion for persons proceeding to Chowringhee. The wealthy native at whose expense it was built, has not failed to perpetuate his own name, as well as that of the Governor- General under whose administration it was constructed, by a marble tablet placed over the entrance from the land side. Within a few yards of this ghaut stands the steam-engine which supplies with water the aqueducts, from which some of the more patrician streets of the town are watered. It is one of the most useful establishments in the City of Palaces, and the only wonder is, that in the metropolis of so great an empire, which yields a revenue of twenty crores of rupees a year, it is the only steam-engine erected for this important object ; and that, of the streets which might be benefited by it, more than half are without aqueducts, and are rendered obscure by clouds of suffocating dust, during many months of the year. We next come to the Chandpaul Ghaut—named, it is sup- posed, after one Chandur PaL who once kept a little grocer's shop in its vicinity. It is here where India welcomes and • bids adieu to her rulers. It is here that the Governors- General, Commanders-in-Chief, the Judges of the Supreme Court, the Bishops, G, ETC. 175 trusses, covered with planks and copper sheathing. Down the east side of the room is arranged the beautiful mill- work and machinery, sent out by the Hon. Court, consisting of twelve boring and turning lathes for ordnance, divided into two parts, which can be worked either together or separately by two small steam-engines in adjoining rooms. Down the west side a range of lighter lathes has been put up for all the small miscellaneous work which the foundry has now to execute. The ordnance boring and twining lathes are of an entirely novel self-acting principle, by which the piece of ordnance is turned as well as bored by the machinery itself; an inven- tion which reduces the amount of manual labour two-thirds, whilst it insures a greater accuracy of the line of metal. On the north and south of the boring-room are the rooms for the vice-men, carpenters, and finishing departments. The water for the supply of the steam-engines is brought from a tank in another yard, at a distance of more than 200 feet, by means of a siphon of five-inch bore made in the foundry, which is believed to be the first instance known of a siphon having been successfully used upon so large a scale. At a short distance from the boring-room, connected by a covered passage, is situated the casting or smelting-house, furnished with cupola blast-furnaces for the smelting of iron, of which a good deal is now manufactured in the foundry, and the large reverberatory furnaces for the smelting of the gun-metal, in the construction of which a great improve- ment has been made, the metal being now smelted in about half the time formerly required in the usual description of air-furnaces. Adjoining the smelting-house are the moulding sheds and blacksmiths' department, together with other .store-rooms, forming a spacious square inclosure around the principal building. The Docks, Ship-Building, &c.—In India, ship-building 'for foreign voyages was scarcely known until the settlement in it of Europeans, under whom it made great progress; the architectural parts being supplied by them, and the principal part of the manual labour performed by native artificers, under the instructions of the former, as in the present day. Pribr to the year 1780, Bengal was almost entirely de- pendent on Surat, Bombay, Demaun, and Pegue, for shipping, 176 RELIGIOUS EDIFICES. The earliest specimen of a regular Calcutta-built ship was produced in the year 1781, and named the Nonsuch, measur- ing 483 tons, and so constructed as to answer as a vessel of war, or a merchant ship : she was lost while heaving into dock at Sulkea, in 1802. From 1781 to 1800, twenty-seven ships, measuring 14,714 tons, were built at Calcutta. From 1801 to 1821, there were built at Calcutta and adjacent to it, 223 ships, measur- ing 101,908 tons. Since the last-mentioned period, ship-building has greatly declined in Bengal. This is accounted for by an increased influx of ships from Great Britain, in consequence of the free trade ; which ships are for the most part constructed and sailed at a cheaper rate than ships built in India, and manned with lascars. The first dry dock constructed at Calcutta was a small one at the Bankshall, in 1790, for the government pilot vessels ; subsequent to which, several large docks were built at Howrah and Sulkea ; in 1803, the Kidderpore dock was founded. Previous to the construction of these dry docks, ships were hove down at Calcutta when their bottoms required repair. Since the formation of the Strand Road, shipbuilding has been confined, with the exception of the extensive dockyard at Kidderpore, belonging to the Joint Stock Company, to the western side of the river, at Howrah and Sulkea ; at either of these placey ships and vessels, of different descrip- tions and magnitude, may at all times be seen in the various stages of completion, and others in dock undergoing repair. RELIGIOUS EDIFICES. — With the list of these we shall complete the enumeration of all the public establishments and edifices in Calcutta. THE CATHEDRAL (St. Paul's), erected at an expense of 50,0001., at the instance of Bishop Wilson-(opened in October, 1847), the Old Cathedral (St. John's), the Scotch Church, the Old (mission) Church, St. James's Church, the Free School, or St. Thomas's Church, the Scotch Free Church, St. Peter's Church (Fort William), a pretty Gothic building, with a beautiful painted window, St. Thomas's Church, Howrah, the Catholic Cathedral, the Roman Catholic Church (Durrumtollah), the Roman Catholic Church (Boitaconnah), TRADERS, SHOPKEEPERS, ETC. 177 the Greek Church, the Armenian Church of Calcutta, the Loll Bazaar Baptist Chapel, the Circular-road Baptist Chapel, the Independent Union Chapel (Durrumtollah), the Hindos- tanee Church, the Simlah Church (about two miles from Calcutta, where a converted and ordained Hindoo officiates), the Mahomedan Mosque (in Durrumtollah), the Orphan Refuge Church, on the left bank of the Hooghly. Such is an outline of the prominent public features of the metropolis of British India. Of what concerns the private life of the resident, much has been said in the portion of this work appropriated to a description of society, social habits, and domestic expenditure ; but much remains to be told of the minor features of Calcutta, which have more or less a bearing upon civilized existence. It is difficult to classify them, or arrange them in any particular natural order; they are, therefore, given in the sequence in which they occur to us. TRADERS, SHOPKEEPERS, &c.—Some idea may be formed of the quantity of business done in Calcutta, and of the extent to which the wants of civilized residents are supplied, from the following list of people in trade, &c., within the town :- Of houses of agency there are 128. Commission-agents, eighteen. . Corn and oil millers, three. Greek merchants, four. Jew merchants, sixteen. Mogul merchants, eighteen. Armenian merchants, fifteen. Arab merchants, eleven. Parsee merchants, seven. Banian merchants, eight. Prin- cipal Hindostanee shroffs, twenty-eight. Principal Bengalee shroffs, fourteen. Native agents and ship captains' Banians, twenty-five. There are fifteen presses (English), besides others of inferior note, with five native presses. There are, also, six English lithographic presses, not including those worked by natives. Almost all the presses execute copper- plate printing. There are two circulating libraries. Of booksellers, six, with many native. Of bookbinders, four, with many native. Of seal and gem engravers, two. Of paper-manufactories, three. Of public auctions, seven. Of house and land registry offices, one. Of silk and indigo marts, three. Of bakers, eight, with many native. Of sur- geons (unconnected with the service), two. Of surgeon- apothecaries, three. Of surgeon-dentists, seven. Of chemists 178 TRADERS, SHOPKEEPERS, ETC. and druggists, eight. Of mid-wives, eight, -with numerous native. Of soda-water manufactories, thirteen, -with a few native. Of artists, ten. Of musical instrument repairers, fourteen. Of professors of music (violin), seven; guitar teachers, four; violoncello ditto, three; pianoforte ditto, eight. Of dancing-masters, three. Of band suppliers, seven, with several others of an inferior grade. Of music ware- houses, three. Of ship-builders, six. Of engineers, mill- wrights, &c., two (civil). Of ship-chandlers and rope-manu- factories, four. Of house-builders, thirteen, with numerous native. Of coach-makers, fourteen, with many native. Of cabinet-makers, six, with many native and Chinese. Of general shopkeepers, twelve, with a host of native. Of general hardware-stores, one, very many native. Of wine- merchants, twenty-two, with a very great many native. Of bakers, provisioners, oilmen, &c., eleven, with numerous native. Of cigar-manufacturers, seven, with very many native. Of boarding-houses and hotel-keepers, twenty- four, besides several private, and those of inferior nota Of chop-houses, four. Of jewellers, silversmiths, &c., four, with very many native. Of watchmakers, nine, with several native. Of gun-makers, three. Of carvers and gilders, nine, with a few native. Of milliners and dress-makers, nine. Of tailors and habit-makers, nine, with many native. Of hair- dressers and perfumers, three, with very many native. Of boat-agents, three, with a few native. Of veterinary surgeons and stable-keepers, eleven, with many native of the latter. Of boot, shoe, and harness makers, seventeen, with very many Christian, Chinese, and native. Of leather-manufacturers, five. Of undertakers and stonemasons, eight. Steam Machinery.—Formerly the exportation of machi- nery from Great Britain was prohibited; but for some years past, articles of this nature have been freely imported into India. Steam-engines of different powers, with all their appurtenances, and various other machinery imported from Great Britain, for the manufacture of sugar, oil, saltpetre, paper, and other purposes, are now procurable in Calcutta at reasonable prices. The Bengal government set the first example of introducing extensive machinery, in the erection of the New Mint at Calcutta, which is filled with the best specimens of the skill and genius of Watt. SPORTS OF CALCUTTA. 179 The first steam-engine set up in Bengal (it is believed) was that on the bank of the river, at Chaundpaul ghaut, for the purpose of raising water from the Hooghly, to lay the dust of some of the principal streets of the city contiguous to the Government-House. The fluid passes from the engine- well into a large brick-built reservoir, and from it into aque- ducts constructed on one side of the road. On approaching Calcutta, the smoking chimneys of steam-engines are now seen in every direction, on either side of the river, presenting the gratifying appearance of a set of numerous extensive manufactories, vying with those in many British cities. The Electric Telegraph has lately been introduced into Calcutta, and keeps up communication between that city and Diamond Harbour. It will soon be spread over India, for forty Europeans have been sent out to assist Professor O'Shaughnessy, the superintendent, in laying down lines throughout the Presidency. The Spoets of Calcutta—The English have been famous throughout the civilized world for carrying with them, as the snail does his shell, their own country sports and amuse- ments; nor does the City of Palaces, despite all obstacles of climate, form an exception to the general rule. Accordingly, Calcutta can boast of its race-course and its hunt; cricket, archery, and rackets also have their votaries; and regattas occasionally enliven the banks of the Hooghly. The first record of the existence of racing in Calcutta may be dated from the origin of the Bengal Jockey Club, in 1808, from which time, until the cessation, caused by the general stagnation of everything, owing to the great failures in the year 1832, there were annual race-meetings in December of each year, a continuation of which was held at Barrackpore, in January following. In 1832, however, they entirely ceased, until their regeneration in 1836, since which period one, and in some instances a second, meeting has been held annually. The race-course itself forms part of the esplanade surrounding the glacis of Fort William, and is adorned with a handsome race-stand, where, on a cold race-morning in January, the beauty and fashion of Calcutta delight to congregate, and around which the motley groups may vie in point of singu- larity, though not in number, with Epsom on a Derby day. The wealthy Hindoos in their carriages, and the stately, 180 CALCUTTA RACES. sedate-looking Mussulmaun, are alike present to view the tumasha, as it is called: strange contrasts indeed are there, as in one corner may be seen the slim, wasted form of a Newmarket jockey, elbowing a fat ghee-fed Baboo; in another, the grandson of Tippoo Saib conversing familiarly with the owner of a favourite. The races, like other amusements in the East, commence at sunrise; and unless retarded by the fogs, which occasion- ally during the cold season envelope the whole plain until dispersed by the sun's rays, are usually over by ten o'clock; thus enabling all classes, from the Governor-General to the sircar, to attend and enjoy the sport without trenching upon their daily avocations,—a circumstance which, in a place where none are idle, contributes mainly to the support of the turf. In former years, racing was discountenanced by the higher authorities, even to such an extent that any servant of government engaged in the turf was compelled to adopt a nom de guerre, to prevent his being a marked man; and so it remained until the administration of Sir Charles Metcalfe, who, with that liberality extended alike to all classes, took off the ban, and in the year 1835-36 the handsome gift of a piece of plate by the Governor-General was announced. This example was annually followed by Sir Charles's successor, Lord Auckland,- who, with his family, made a point of attending the races. Since 1842, however, when Lord Auckland returned to England, the races have enjoyed but little of the patronage of the Governor-General. Lords Ellenborough, Hardinge, and Dalhousie seldom remained for any length of time in Calcutta—and they were, during their stay in India, chiefly engrossed by the wars of Scinde, Gwalior, the Punjab, and Burmah. The class of horses most generally employed on the turf is the Arab, of which numbers are annually imported from the Persian Gulf to Bombay, and thence to Madras and Calcutta. Their chief characteristic as race-horses is their bottom and powers of endurance, rather than actual speed, rendering them peculiarly adapted for the description of races in vogue in Calcutta, which are seldom less than two miles, and often extend to three-mile heats. Of imported English cattle, there are but few specimens, but little encouragement being held out for their importation, as a HORS&BREEDING. 181 succession of years has proved them so superior with any weights or distances to any other class of horse in the coun- try, that competition with the slightest chance of success is nearly useless. From the Cape of Good Hope, horses are also occasionally imported, though very rarely with sufficient success to warrant repetition of the experiment. New South Wales has also furnished a few competitors, and from the general progression of all matters in that colony, it appears probable that India will be indebted to it for horses inferior only to the imported English. The breeding of horses in an Indian climate for turf purposes has been attempted in various instances by private individuals, though with very rare success; the transitory nature of the residence of gentlemen in that country being obviously opposed to the success of an undertaking which, to bring it to perfection in the Indian climate, would consume many years; the necessity also for constant renewal of the blood, whether English or Arab, without which the breed degenerates into weeds, renders the affair expensive, while its necessary tediousness forbids hope of reimbursement within a reasonable time. From the government studs of Haupper, Ghazeepore, &c., horses occasionally make their appearance on the turf, though from the impurity of the blood, which is never pure through more than three gene- rations, they generally Ml in endurance, though instances have been seen of extraordinary speed, for short distances. The uncertainty of temper, of which all horses bred in the country more or less partake, is also against them. Maugre all these obstacles, a large breeding-stud was maintained for a considerable period by Mr. Sawers (a gentleman of the medical service), though not with the success so enthusiastic a votary of the sport of the turf deserved; this gentleman having regularly run horses both at Calcutta and in the provinces for thirty years. Hunting, properly so called, on the footing of fox-hunting in England, is, though a complete exotic in the East, exten- sively pursued throughout India. Every large station, whether in Bengal itself or the Upper Provinces, usually boasts its pack of hounds. To the "Calcutta hunt," however, the palm of superiority has been awarded, both from the better adaptation of the country about Calcutta for hunting, 182 THE CALCUTTA HUNT. and from the style in which the hunt-club is maintained. The hunt itself has existed since the year 1820, and is com- posed and managed, like the turf, exclusively by amateurs. The kennels, situated at Alipore, the southern suburb of Calcutta, both in convenience, extent, and appearance, might vie with the best in the mother-country : thirty couples of hounds, selected from the draughts of the best kennels in England, are annually imported at a cost of 200 to 250 rupees (twenty to twenty-five pounds) per couple; the management is vested in a committee of three gentlemen, with the usual adjuncts of huntsmen, a gentleman selected from the club, and secretary. The hunting season commences in November, and is considered to end in April; but during the first month of the rainy season, June, the pack regularly meet. It would surprise the denizens of the chase in England, who proceed leisurely to the eleven o'clock meet, to hear that their brethren in the East conclude their day's sport ere theirs is begun. Such, however, is the fact : the chase-loving Anglo- Indian rises by candlelight, drives himself to cover, either at Dum Dum or Gowripore, a distance of eight or nine miles, where the hounds having also performed their journey in a spring van, throw off at sunrise, half-past five, and probably finish their second jackal by nine o'clock, returning home to breakfast by ten. The substitute for the English fox is the jackal—somewhat larger in size, and when fairly put to a stretch, nowise inferior in speed; his nature too is similar, as he partakes of the love for poultry so strongly displayed in his English prototype. The country, technically so called, consists of plains or generally cultivated gardens, raised to avoid the inundation consequent on the rainy season; jungles of bamboos densely planted, in which the Indian village is situated, and which require no small skill on the part of the rider to hounds to thread when going the pace. The fences chiefly comprise bank, or rather mud-wall,—a kind of raised embankment usually from three to four feet high, with large ditches on either side,—being the boundaries of the respec- tive gardens,—or bamboo-rails, about the height of an English sheep-hurdle; and almost the only drawback to Eastern hunting is the frequency of patches of jungle, which occasion either a check or a change of jackal; and the diffi- culties of pushing the jackal through the villages, unless the FIELD SPORTS. 183 hounds be close at his brush, frequently mar the best pro- spects of a run. Horses of all descriptions make their appearance at the course side, from the little wiry Arab to the imported hunter; and it is frequently found that the former is the better adapted to a country where the ground is occasionally of the consistency of baked bricks, than the latter, whose feet were never meant to be battered; for this reason, the light weights usually have the best of it, and the pluck of the little Arab, which carries him over ditches large enough to engulf him- self, rider and all, cannot be too much admired. The breeding of hounds, though attended with some success on the hills, has been found quite impracticable in Calcutta; and indeed there would appear to be something in the climate inimical to the very constitution of the English fox-hound, as it is with difficulty their live3 are preserved through the hot and rainy season ; and it seldom happens that out of the previous years' importation nine or ten couples remain to greet their new brethren on their arrival. That terrible scourge the dil-i-baz, or palpitation of the heart, makes great havoc; diseased liver is also among the frequent curses of the kennel, inso- much that those hounds which may, by dint of the apothecary's shop, bring their blue-pilled carcases to the cover side, after the second season in India, never manifest the dash and eagerness by which the English fox-hound is so pre-eminently distinguished. All field sports, with the exception, of course, of tiger- hunting, &c., may be attained easily at a short distance from Calcutta/—hog-hunting parties frequently beset the jungles at Budge Budge. Capital snipe-shooting may be had by crossing the Hooghly, at almost any time of the year; and by going a couple of days' journey into the country, the determined sportsman may meet with plenty of buflaloes, and taste the sweets of an encounter with a leopard. Fish- ing, save angling in the tanks preserved by wealthy natives, exists not in or about Calcutta :—no purling streams contain trout, and the best fish, the " rooe," is caught much in the same fashion as carp and tench in England. The cricket and racket clubs are both most popular in Calcutta; the former amusement is pursued regularly throughout the cold season, i.e. from October to April—and a very promising 184 HOTELS AND CLUBS. eleven can be mustered when the duties of office will permit; indeed, such as would do no discredit to Lord's and the Marylebone. The ground appropriated to cricket is also part of the esplanade, parallel with the river Hooghly, and is kept in excellent order. Every cold-weather evening, during the drive, may be seen the practice going on, i. e. master hitting and bowling, and blackey fagging. The native holidays afford time to the amateurs for playing matches, which constantly take place with the Dum Dum and Chinsurah elevens: they are usually well contested, the rival eleven chiefly consisting of officers and private soldiers of the artillery or Queen's regiments; and it must be a poor regiment that cannot muster an eleven: failing these adversaries, the Civil Service or the Etonians versus the Calcutta Club furnish materials for a contest. The Racket Club, as may be supposed, consists but of a limited number of members, and the game is played the whole year round, during the hot season and rains (when dry enough) in the afternoon, and during the cold season, early in the morning. The court is situated at the end of the Chowringhee Road, and is divided into two separate courts to the east and west, commodious and in good order. Regattas, or other rowing matches, between the boats' crews of the different vessels in the port, frequently take place during the cold weather, and the monotony of the evening drive is varied by the contest. The immense strength of the current in the Hooghly renders it unfitted for rowing- parties, notwithstanding there have been crews formed both for pulling and sailing, though the amusement has never attained general popularity. Hotels and Hotel Charges.—There are several hotels in Calcutta, the first of which are Spence's and The Auckland. The charges in all are pretty much alike, the difference in economy being generally attended by a material difference in comfort. The expense of living does not exceed ten pounds (100 rupees) per mensem, which includes a bed- room, and three meals per diem at the table d'hote, not including wines, &c. Bengal Clur-House.—There is a handsome establishment under this denomination in the Chowringhee-road. Gentlemen are elected by ballot; and the entrance and annual subscrip- tion entitle them to occupy rooms, to take their meals, play PUBLIC CONVEYANCES. 185 cards or billiards, read newspapers, hic delineation. The most perfect and handsome churches now remaining at Bassein are those of St. Paulo and St. Francis: both have square towers, with cloisters and priestly residences attached; but the most exquisite remnants of the past are to be found in the interiors of beautiful chapels, where, through a vista of ruined arches, the eye dwells on the richly wooded scene beyond, and nature, in, her sunniest dress, contrasts with the dark and mouldering stone, which she, like a laughing child decking his gray and aged sire with summer blossoms, hangs with bright lichens and many-coloured weeds. In strolling among the ruins of Bassein, the foot of the traveller will occasionally strike against a flat and humble block, or his eye rest on a richly-chiselled tomb, whose inscrip- tions afford abundant matter for philosophic meditation on the decline of the eastern power of Portugal and the changed and humbled character of her chivalrous and daring sons. Tradition and romance have shed a charm of enchanting interest around the ancient history of that singular people, which is here touchingly recalled, as the traveller's eye traces many names which he at once must recognize as claiming ancestry with the noble blood of the first amongst those who fought for and established their country's power on the Indian soil. The names of Don Lorenco,* of Alfonso Albu- querque^ of many of the greatest and noblest heroes whom the policy of Portugal selected to fix her empire in the East, cannot be read without emotion; the more so when, sur- rounded by ruin and desolation, the relics of a power itself tottering in decay. Of the immense oriental empire of Portugal, little now remains but Goa, its ancient capital; still, indeed, a fine and curious city, but inhabited by a class far different from these, the early delegates of their sovereign's power. Hondura and Severndroog, with the important chain of forts once guarding the shores of the Southern Concan, look desolate and bleak, amid the dash and roar of old Ocean's surges; while the great fortress of Diu, which the chivalrous Nuno da Cunha first gained for an ungrateful * Don Lorenco encountered first the Turkish armada near Diu. t In J515 Albuquerque took the important seaport of Goa, and established it as the seat of the Portuguese government. THE BOMBAY TERRITORIES. 333 master,* has become a comparatively small and unimportant spot: and the churches of St. Paulo and St. Francis, with the lovely chapels of Bassein, in whose aisles, perhaps, the descendants of the great Apostle of Indiat lifted up their voice in prayer for the idolatrous nation among whom they dwelt, will soon be noted but as a heap of rubbish. Besides Gora Bunder and Bassein, the caves of Karlee, on the island of Salsette, the villas at Ambolee, on the same island—which, by the way, is connected with Bombay by a superb causeway, built, at an expense of 17,50(M., by Lady Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, and over which runs the first railway opened in India—afford subjects of interest and pleasant places of resort to holiday-people and strangers. Connected with Bombay by another causeway, at the south-westerly corner of the island, is the smaller island of Colaba, where there is a gun-carriage manufactory, an obser- vatory, a lighthouse, and barracks for a regiment of infantry. Here also is a church built to commemorate the officers killed in Affghanistan. The territory subject to the authority of the Bombay government comprises in the south (as far as Goa, the last remnant of the Portuguese territories), Dapoolee, Severn- droog, Rutnagherry, Mai wan, Vingorla (all reduced fortresses in the Southern Con can), to Belgaum in the east; and in the north, Surat, Broach, Baroda, Kaira, and Ahmedabad, in ( Guzerat, as far as Palunpore, on the southern border of the Shekawuttee territory. Baroda is under the Guicowar, a native prince, long on a friendly footing with the British Government, at whose court we have a resident and a subsi- diary force. East of Pahinpore, distant about one hundred miles, lies Neemuch, the most westerly cantonment ^belong- ing to the Supreme Government, and occupied by Bengal troops. West of Baroda is the peninsula of Kattewar, where a political agent resides, with a small body of troops at his bidding, in the central cantonment of Raj cote. The treaty with the chieftain of Kattewar is offensive and defen- sive. He has the right to claim protection, internal and * John III. of Portugal, 1546. t Francis Xavier. 334 POONA. external, from the British, and we do not interfere in the management of his own affairs, though bound to assist him in realizing his claims from his own subjects. A similar treaty exists with the Guicowar of Baroda. Separated from Kattewar by a gulf is the Runn and territory of Cutch, bordering upon Scinde. Cutch, governed by a Rao, who is supreme in his own territory, has long been tributary to the British authority, which has retained a resi- dent and a proportion of troops at Bhooj. Its chief impor- tance, as a friendly state, has arisen from the circumstance of its having formed a species of barrier between our possessions in Western India and the territory of Scinde. The latter exists now as a portion of the British empire, won by the sword, and maintained at a terrible cost of life, through sickness among the troops who occupy the principal stations of Hyderabad, Sukkur, Shikarpore, &c. The principal stations in the Bombay Presidency are Poona, Sattarah, Belgaum, Malligaum (Kandeish), Ahnied- nuggur, in the Deccan; Surat, Baroda, Ahniedabad, Kaira, B&jcote and Deesa, in Guzerat; Booj in Cutch; Hyderabad, Kurrachee, Sukkur, and Shikarpore, in Scinde. Those stations which lie to the east, north-east, or south-east of Bombay, are connected with the presidency by good roads; in pro- ceeding thither, therefore, the traveller has the choice of marching or going by dawk. With the north and south stations the communication is generally by water, in steamers, pattamars, or occasional ships. Poona is at once the nearest and the largest military station. It is distant ninety-eight miles from Bombay, and is reached by boat and dawk, or boats and mail carriage. A boat carries you across the harbour of Bombay to Panwell, the nearest village on the continent. The traveller thence commences his journey to Poona. The first stage to Khalapoor over a lovely country, is only interesting to the stranger from its contrast with the crowded city Aspect of Bombay. The alternation of jungle with paddy (rice) fields and poor but picturesque villages constitutes the main features of the scenery for the first eighteen miles; but when at Khalapoor, the foot of the ghaut, or mountain, is reached, the sublime begins to take precedence of the beautiful. It is advisable, if travelling in the cool season, BOMBAY TO POONA. 335 from October to March, to leave Panwell at about three in the morning, for the first stage is then accomplished by eight A. m., and the ascent of the ghaut can be commenced at an hour when the magnificence of the scenery can be contem- plated to advantage. The varied foliage which covers the mountain's sides; the deep, rocky ravines; the lofty ascent by a well-constructed road; the occasional rencontre of the laden elephant and burthened camel; the song of birds; the costumes of the native pedestrian traveller, or the equip- ment of the wealthier merchant, squatted in his singularly- constructed car; the pensioned or tributary Mahratta chief- tain, with his little band of retainers, bristling with arms, constitute a varied picture which pleasantly beguiles the way- farer of his fatigue. At Karlee, at the top of the ghaut, one-half of the journey to Poona has been accomplished, and here it may be as well to halt and take breakfast. The bungalow, or resting-house, at Karlee is advantageously situ- ated, commanding a superb view of a part of the western ghauts on the one side, and of the table-land to the east- ward. There is a remarkable cavern in the vicinity of Kar- lee, hewn on the face of a precipice, about two-thirds up the sides of a steep hill, rising, with a very scarped and regular talus, to the height of about 800 feet above the level of the plain. The excavations consist of a temple, and many smaller apartments and galleries, in two stories, some of them beautifully ornamented. A ruinous temple of Siva serves as a gateway to the gore. A singular building stands on the right hand of its portico. Within the portico are colossal figures, in alto-relievo, of elephants bestridden by mahouts, and mounted with howdahs. There are many columns within the cave, with capitals resembling bulls, and surmounted each by two elephants. Tulligaon, and the country on either side, are next passed during the night; but it may be as well to mention, for the guidance of those who may prefer travelling in the day- time, that excepting an occasional temple, a tank constructed by devotees, there is not a single object worthy of particular inspection. The road lies through a gently-undulating country, extensively cultivated, and the atmosphere is won- derfully clear and pure, by reason of the elevation of the land. At Tulligaon there is a bungalow corresponding in THE CORYGAUM OR KORIGAON PILLAR. 337 nullahs, and jungles. The chase is prolonged, over a wide extent of country, for half an hour or more: sometimes the boar gets away; sometimes, driven to his last shifts, he turns about and gallantly charges his foes. Then comes the criti- cal moment. If the Arab swerves, or the spear is untrue, a fearful gash in the belly or a leg of the horse assures the boar escape, at least from one opponent; if otherwise—if the horse obeys the bridle, maintains his stand, and enables- the huntsman to deliver his spear just above the shoulder of the boar, the grey monster dies, and while his tusks adorn the tent or bungalow of the victor, his fat sides furnish forth a repast with which domestic pork-chops will bear no kind of comparison. In some parts of India*our sportsmen throw the spear—in others they thrust or job it. Controversies upon the relative merits of these systems were rife in the Bombay and Bengal Sporting Magazines; but it is difficult to say which plan is admitted to be the most efficacious. Midway between Poonah and Seroor stands the Corygaum monument, erected to the memory of the officers and men who fell in one of the most remarkable conflicts on record, during the last Mahratta war. Mr. Horace Wilson thus tells the story.—" The detachment left Seroor on the 31st of December, 1818, at six in the evening, and by ten on the following morning, had ascended some high ground about half way to Poona, overlooking the village of Korigaon, and the adjacent plains watered by the Bheema river. Beyond the river appeared the whole of the Peishwa's forces, estimated at 20,000 horse and 8,000 foot. Captain Staunton immediately determined to throw himself into Korigaon, which being surrounded by a wall, and protected on the south by the bed of the river, offered shelter against the Mahratta cavalry, and might enable him to resist any force of infantry that could be brought against him. As soon as his movement was descried, his intention was anticipated by the enemy, and a numerous body of their infantry, chiefly Arabs, pushed for the same point. Both parties reached the place nearly at the same time, and each occupied a part of the village, the British the northern and western, the Arabs the southern and eastern portions. The Arabs obtained possession of a small fort, which gave them the advantage; but good positions were secured for the z 338 BATTLE OF CORYGAUM. guns, one commanding the principal street, the other the banks of the river. By noon the preparations of both par- ties were complete, and a desperate, and seemingly hopeless, struggle ensued. The first efforts of the British were directed to dislodge the enemy from that portion of the village which they had seized; but their superior numbers enabled them to repel the several vigorous assaults made for that purpose, and Captain Staunton was obliged to confine his objects to the defence of his own position. The Arab infantry became in their turn the assailants, and while some maintained a galling fire from the fort, and the terraced roofij of the houses, others rushed along the passages between the walls surrounding them, leading to the British posts, with desperate resolution. They were torn to pieces by the discharge from the guns, which were served with equal rapidity and pre- cision, or they were encountered and driven back at the point of the bayonet by the equal resolution of the defenders. In these actions, the few officers commanding the troops were necessarily exposed to more than ordinary hazard. They were eight in number, including two assistant surgeons, who were more usefully employed encouraging the soldiers, than in attendance on the wounded, and who shared with their brother officers the peril and honours of the day. In addition to the dangers and trials of the engagement, the men were much distressed by want of food and water, and by the fatigues of their previous march. Towards evening, the situation of the party became critical. Lieutenant Chisholm, of the artillery, was killed; many of the artillerymen were killed or disabled; Lieutenants Pattinson; Conellan, and Swanston, and Assistant-surgeonWingate, had been wounded, and Captain Staunton, with Lieutenant Innes, and Assistant- surgeon Wylie, were the only officers remaining effective. At this time one of the guns was captured, and the enemy penetrated to a Choultry, a building for travellers, in which many of the wounded had been deposited. The ferocity of the assailants vented itself upon the helpless men who were thus within reach, and many of them were barbarously slain. Amongst them, Mr. Wingate was cut to pieces, and Lieu- tenants Swanston and Conellan were about to share the same fate when the surviving officers, at the head of a jwirty of their men, charged into the Choultry, bayoneted every one TRIUMPH OF STAUNTON. 339 of the enemy who was found within it, and put those with- out to flight. The gun was recovered by a sally, headed by Lieutenant Pattinson, although at the time mortally wounded. A second wound disabled him; but his example had been nobly followed, and the Arabs were driven back with great slaughter. Notwithstanding their success, the loss had been so great, and the exhaustion of the troops was so excessive, that some of the men, both Europeans and natives, began to consider resistance hopeless, and expressed a desire to apply for terms of surrender. "Their commanding officer, however, convinced them their only hope of safety lay in a protracted defence, and that to surrender would doom them to certain destruction from barbarous foes, exasperated by the loss which they had suffered. This exhortation animated the troops to persevere, and the Arabs, disheartened by the ill success of their re- peated assaults, intermitted their exertions, and about nine drew off, leaving the entire village in possession of the de- tachment. "During the night water was procured, and arrangements were made for the renewal of the defence. But the Peishwa, learning that General Smith was approaching, considered further delay unsafe, and at daylight of the 2nd of January, his whole force was in motion along the Poona road. Not being aware of the advance of the fourth division, Captain Staunton thought it advisable to march back to Seroor. The enemy attempted to entice him to cross the river into the more open country, by sending fictitious messages from Poona, urging him to hasten his march in that direction, and he pretended to entertain the purpose of complying with the request. Towards nightfall, however, having pro- cured conveyance for his wounded, he set off for Seroor, which he entered the following morning, with both his guns, and all his wounded, with drums beating, and colours flying; thus having set a memorable example of what is possible to a resolute spirit, and of the wisdom of resistance in the most desperate circumstances." Leaving Poona, the road runs south-easterly to Sholapoke, nine stages, averaging sixteen miles each, through a fertile, well-governed country. Sholapore is another military station, at the eastern boundary of what were the dominions of the z2 MOUNT ABOO. 341 the Guzerat frontier. It is a dry, hot, intensely arid place. The sun comes down "in right earnest upon the waste, and there is need," says Lieut. Eastwick, "of many a fold of twisted muslin round the white topee to keep off his impor- tunity." The soil is of fine, warm sand, into which you sink at every step. Yet there is a charm in the place for the lovers of sport. The spur, and the spear, and the deadly- 'grooved rifle are never idle. Lions as well as tigers abound in the jungle on the banks of the Banass. It is rare that these beasts are harboured together, but here, assuredly, is an exception to the rule. Mount Aroo, a detached mountain of the Aravuli range, is situated forty miles north-east from Deesa. It towers over the neighbouring mountains, like a tall leader in the front of his line. It is worth the ascent, which has been of late years frequently made. The height is about 4,000 feet, and the summit is reached only with a great effort, for the sides are craggy and precipitous. Most travellers who have tried to reach it on foot have been beaten, and only too glad to avail themselves of the assistance of the Bheels, and their bamboo chairs. Once on the mountain's brow, and the toil of ascent is fairly recompensed. "I can imagine," writes a recent traveller, "no scene more beautiful . The far view over the unbroken plain beneath; the fantastic rocks around crowned and clustered over with the rarest plants and flowers; the strange white temples with their grotesque figures and quaint embellishments; the clear, peaceful lake, over which uods many a drowsy pinnacle, hallowed by Hindoo legend, —these are things to be gazed on—not described." Aboo has been from ancient times a place of pilgrimage to the Hindoos. Its natural advantages, and the remarkable beauty of its scenery, must have recommended it from the . earliest ages to a religion which delights to sacrifice on the mountains, and to hallow any lake or stream. The highest peak is called Gooroosikur, or the " Saints' Pinnacle," because certain saints in the Hindoo mythology are said to have made the summit their abode. The temples adorning Aboo have been built within the last few centuries, by the Jains. They are of white marble, ornamented with innumerable figures and the richest tracery. The range of the thermo- meter at Aboo in the hottest months in the year is 342 CUTCH AND SCINDE. fifteen degrees below the ordinary range on the plains in its immediate vicinity, and as winds are constantly blowing, the climate is altogether more favourable to a European constitution. West of Guzerat, across the Runn, we enter the sandy province of Cutch, which is bounded on the north by Ajmere on the south by the sea, and on the west by the Indus. The Runn is an immense morass, covering 8,000 square miles— the rest of the province consists of an irregular hilly tract. The whole face of the country near the hills is covered with volcanic matter. The province is not fertile—water is scarce and brackish. The chief production of Cutch is cotton. Iron, alum, and coal are also found. The inhabi- tants are chiefly Jahrajahs of Scinde origin, the most de- graded of the natives of India. The pilots and mariners, however, are noted for their skill, and something is done on the coast in the way of ship-building. The chief towns in Cutch are Booj and Mandavie. Scinde is portioned off into three divisions, or districts,— Kurrachee, Hydrabad, and Shikarpore. The first mentioned is the favourite station, and certainly has the advantage of the sea air; but it is doubtful whether this is not counter- balanced by the scarcity of good fresh water, which must ever be experienced near the coast. This is more particularly felt if large numbers of troops are located on the spot. For a small civil station it is particularly adapted, but it is not a good site for the head-quarters of the province, from not being central. The buildings erected for the accommodation of the civil and military branches of the service are very numerous, and though a few good houses may be seen here and there, generally speaking they fall short of what are to be seen in other stations in India. The barracks are hand- some buildings, and well situated ; but the greatest ornament to the station is its Horticultural Garden, which does great' credit to those who have taken so much trouble and care in bringing it to perfection. The right bank of the Indus forms the principal boundary line of the district, to a few miles above Sehwan. Hydrarad is a collectorate, or Sudder station. The city is large, and on a hill immediately to the north of the fort. When the filthy state of the town is taken into account, it SCINDE. 343 may be considered tolerably salubrious. The Hydrabad dis- trict includes all land between the left bank of the Indus and the desert, and northward as far as where the territories ceded to Ali Morad commence. Shikarpore is the remaining civil station. Some of the gardens in its neighbourhood are well laid out, and though far from an enviable place, still, compared with Sukkur, the military station, it may be looked upon as a paradise. The district extends northward to the boundaries of the foreign states both on the right and left bank of the Indus. These several stations have more or less troops, with the usual staff; and also a collector of revenue, with one or two deputies, a superintendent of police, and a well-organized police force, both horse and foot. Several deputy collectors are in the interior stationed from thirty to fifty miles apart, who also act as magistrates. The soil near the banks of the river is in many places of a loose sandy description; but where this does not form the principal characteristic, it consists of a fine loamy rich clay, exceedingly fertile; large tracts of land are impregnated with nitre, and of course valueless for agricultural purposes. The hills are composed of sandstone, and therefore barren; still in the distance they form a pleasing background to the view, and a relief to the eye. Some of the limestone occa- sionally met with, is of a variegated nature—red and green hues. Numerous fossil sea shells have been discovered in these hill3, full 200 miles from the sea. Irrigation is principally effected by river and canal water; wells are very seldom resorted to. During the height of the flow of water,which lasts about two months, little or no exer- tion is necessary for leading them to any approximate land. At other times the Persian wheels are used ; these are of a most deplorably clumsy construction, generally worked by a camel, whose tali ungainly form looks most miserable, and even ludicrous, when harnessed to the apparatus blindfolded, and stalking round and round all day ; the trough that receives the water from the pots on the wheel is so badly formed, that full a moiety returns from whence it came, thus causing double labour. When the river gets very low, and the waters have to be raised fifty or 100 feet, it is usual to have a reservoir midway; and in that case two wheels and 346 CUSTOMS CLIMATE. fond of dyeing the hair. The better class of Scindians wear a long shirt, of fine or coarse cloth, agreeable to the circum- stances of the wearer, which reaches nearly to the ankles, and is unconfined by any waistband—also loose drawers underneath. All the poor and working classes have an enor- mous quantity of superfluous clothes on, generally dyed blue, and they wear them round the waist. Indeed, so enveloped are they, that had they been inhabitants of a cold region, they could not have required more clothing than is now resorted to. The better class of females follow the practice of the Egyptian women, and when walking abroad are covered with an immense piece of cloth in the shape of an extinguisher, which is gathered together on the crown of the head, reaching to the soles of the feet, having small eyelet holes perforated in front, before the eyes, to enable them to see their way; these envelopes are of white cloth, and the wearers look like so many walking ghosts. The population suffers greatly occasionally from epidemic disorders, as is the case in all parts of India, and therefore must be calculated upon accordingly. Climate.—Sjo much prejudice exists in disfavour of the climate of Scinde, that any individual attempting to speak in its favour has a fair chance of not being credited. In the country we have seen as many sturdy, old, grey-headed men in the villages, as are to be met with in any portion of the Company's dominions. Some of the staff1, and others, have resided in the province from three to seven years, and enjoy as good health as they could have done had they been in any favoured station attached to the Bombay Presidency. In a good house, well secured by glazed doors and windows, and with a single tatee, the temperature during May and June will not exceed 83°, and without the latter, 86°, or 88°. Good houses are, however, rare. A few are to be found at Kurrachee, one at Hydrabad, and one or two at Sukkur. During all the hot season, that is, from the 15th of April to the end of November, such an occurrence as a hot night is seldom known; on the contrary, the nights are cold, and officers, living in well-situated localities, find it necessary to use more covering at night than they would think it expe- dient to require in England in the summer months. From October to the middle of April the weather is charmingly CLIMATE SCENERY. 347 pleasant, and from the middle of November to the same period in February the cold is intense, morning and evening, for India. The extreme heat complained of at Sukkur, can be accounted for by the position of the cantonments. All the barracks and officers' houses are situated on barren calca- reous formations—they can hardly be designated hills ; these rocks become so hot at mid-day that none can walk on them barefooted with impunity. The heat is retained, more or less, the whole night; and the place never becomes cool, except for the few months of cold weather. It is not just to judge of the whole province from a residence at this awful station. A far more pleasant and agreeable locality could have been selected for a military station a few miles lower down the stream, where the banks of the river are very high and firm, and the scenery romantically pretty, with the advantage of being 10° or 15° cooler. The dust that prevails in Scinde is, perhaps, more distressing than any degree of heat. But, by artificial contrivances, and some expense, the European resident is not inconvenienced. Dust equally prevails in many of the military stations in the North-Western Provinces, particularly those on the banks of the Sutledge ; but houses with every convenience and com- fort have been constructed, at any expense, at those stations, to insure comfort from the external enemies, heat and dust. Scenery.—The traveller who only penetrates a few miles on either side of the Indus would pronounce Scinde a sterile country, and devoid of all picturesque beauties. Such, how- ever, is not the case, and though not very rich in forest scenery, still, very handsome groves of trees are to be met with. Some of the views on the banks of the small winding tributary rivers—more particularly at the season of the in- undation—are charming to the eye; the foliage of the trees along the banks being rich in the extreme. In the neigh- bourhood of Hydrabad, for many miles along the winding Fullailee, this is the case. The river view of Sukkur, Buk- kur, and Koree, with the Rocky Island, is also exceedingly imposing as you approach from the south. It would form a rich painting, if transferred to canvas at the time of the rise of the river. At Khyrpore, the residence of Meer-Ali Moorad, are numerous beautiful gardens, which would be an ornament in any part of the continent. The babool-tree 348 PRODUCTIONS CARRIAGE. {Mimosa Arabica, et Fa/rnesiana) attains great perfection in Scinde, such as is not to be met with in any other part of India. Occasionally the banian-tree {Ficus Indica) is found, but is by no means common. Some inferior specimens of the peepul {Ficus religiosa) are seen, and are valued according to their scarceness by the Hindoos. The elegant neem-tree (Melia Azadirackta) makes up, however, by its richness, for the poverty of those just enumerated, and vies with the babool in giving effect to the sylvan views. Many other shrubs are scattered about; and in orchards, the mangoe- tree thrives remarkably well, and the fruit is as well flavoured as any to be found in this country. The view of the fort and citadel of Hydrabad is also very imposing from a dis- tance; they are well-elevated on a limestone rock. Numerous articles of export, such as indigo, saltpetre, buffaloes' hides and horns, goat skins, &c., are procurable in large quantities, and remunerative prices, between Hydrabad and Mooltan, principally near the latter place, it is to be owned; but then, at such prices, and at such an advantageous weight, that the expense of river carriage will fall very light. The indigo is very fine, and the saltpetre very pure. The buffaloes' hides are also large, and of the best description. With the exception of the direct road from the city of Hydrabad to Roree, there is nothing worthy of the name in Scinde. Wheeled carriage is unknown: indeed the face of the country is so cut up by canals and watercourses, that no wheeled conveyances could be used. Camels, bullocks, asses, an-wood, satin-wood, sandal-wood (Santahvm album); some of the foregoing woods are very beautiful, but they do not equal in beauty the mahogany, maple, black walnut, curled birch, cherry tree, and others, which are commonly employed for cabinet-work in America and Europe. Sapan-wood (Casalpinia sapan), to which add, though it be not a forest-tree, the dye-root called chay; this is a plant cultivated for the roots alone, which furnished the colouring matter of the durable red for which the chintzes of India are famous: the wild plant in Ceylon is considered preferable to the cultivated, and the right to dig for it is farmed out. This dye-stuff has been tried in Europe, but not with very advantageous results. The highest mountain in Ceylon is Adam's Peak. It is about 8,000 feet above the level of the sea, and has seldom been ascended, because of the difficulty of the latter part of the ascent, which is quite perpendicular. To the followers of Buddha and Mahomet, the summit of the mountain is equally the centre of attraction, as the monument of the life and existence of an extraordinary man. The former assert that on one of Buddha's visits to the island, he left the impression of his foot, as an evidence of his power and an object of worship for his followers; the Mahomedans, on the other hand, contend that Adam, after spending his paradisaical happiness in Ceylon, endured there hj.s penance likewise, subsequently to his fall, by .standing on the summit of the peak on one foot for a long series of years, and that hence arose the impression. But were there even no traditions of the sort to hallow the mountain, its extreme height, its peculiar shape, and the distance to which it can be seen at eea, would alone render it worthy of attention to all who visit the island . The foot impression upon the summit has probably had a longer period of reputed sanctity and worship * 374 COLOMBO. than any other object of reverence in the East; but, according to a late traveller, the impression, like most other natural curiosities of the same kind, is a complete deception. The summit of the mountain is rocky and surrounded by a wall about five feet high, in the shape of an irregular hexagon, by the side of which a level path has been formed, encircling the'rocks, which rise to a height cf about eight feet in the centre (on the top of which is the holy foot-print), and which are again overtopped by the wooden temple surmount- ing it. "In the rock itself," writes a recent visitor, "there is no indentation resembling a footstep, and were it not that some judicious devotees have made a good use of mortar and a trowel, the visitor would gaze for a long time before he would fancy he saw anything of the kind. Even, as it is, were the plastered separations of the toes removed, one would be much more ready to take it for the impression of a door with a semicircular top than for that of a foot; it is about four feet and a half long, by two feet and a quarter broad. During the months of visitation by the pilgrims, it is pre- served, by a metal cover glittering with glass diamonds, from the too inquiring gaze of unbelieving or wavering sceptics. The border which makes the outline of the impression is about four inches broad, made of coarse lime, painted; and the temple which surmounts the imposition is about six feet by five in extent. It is supported by chains running from the corners of the roof to the outside 'of the walls, where they are firmly fastened to the rock." Colomro—the capital and seat of the British govern- ment in Ceylon, is situated on the north-west coast, in 6° 56' north latitude, and 79° 49' east longitude, and 368 miles south-west of Madras. It is a commonly received opinion that the name was derived from a mango-tree (of that species which the Singhalese call colomba) which stood conspicuous at this place in olden times. Knox adds that the Portuguese, in compliment to Columbus, the celebrated navigator, changed it to Columbo or Colombo. This etymology is, however, inadmissible, for in the Singhalese grammar, "Sidahartha Sangraha," the word Colomba is explained as signifying a "sea-port," and also "a fort;" and in the former sense it seems to have been applied to the metropolis of the island, from its maritime situation. The fort of Colombo is situated COLOMBO. 375 on a small projection of land washed by the sea, about two- thirds of its extent. Though not very extensive, it is strong both by art and nature, and embraces a circuit of nearly a mile and a quarter. The ramparts are very strong, having eight principal bastions, and a number of lesser works com- municating one with the other all round. At the foot of the ramparts, on the inside, is a boundary which extends round the whole fort, and communicates with the bastions and soldiers' barracks, and also affords, at the different angles, open spaces for their private parades. The whole of the fort is surrounded (except that side which is next the sea) by a deep ditch or fosse ; and adjoining the covert-way, and at the foot of the glacis, is a lake having communication with the Mutwal river. In the interior of the fort are several straight and regular streets, with smaller ones crossing at right angles; the former being ornamented with double rows of sooria- trees, which afford a delightful shade. The residence of the governor, the King's House, is in King Street, and behind it is the Lighthouse, a beautiful edifice, the light of which is ninety-seven feet above the level of the sea, and in clear weather may be seen as far as the light is visible above the horizon. All the Military Offices, the Commissioner of Revenue, the Vice Admiralty Court, with the General Post Office, are within the fort; there are, besides, an English church styled St. Peter's, a library, a medical museum, a hospital, two hotels, and numerous shops. The lake at the back of the fort, before alluded to, almost insulates the town, connected as it is with the Mutwal river by canals; and a lock having been formed at St. Sebastian's, the inland navi- gation is carried through the fort to the sea-beach. In the centre of the lake is a tongue of land, denominated Slave Island, from the use to which it was formerly applied by the Dutch. It is numerously covered with cocoa-nut and other trees, which afford an excellent shade. That part nearest to the fort is very cool, being only separated from the sea by an isthmus, usually called the Galle Face. Communication with this place with either the town or the fort is very easy by land, passing over a very pretty little stone bridge, which opens to the south end of the Galle Face, near the village of Colbetty, or by boats which cross the lake in all seasons. Slave Island is the head-quarters of the Ceylon Rifle 376 CHURCHES AND CHAPELS. Regiment, and there are some tolerably good houses, usually occupied by the officers of this regiment. Here also are the Ceylon and Oriental Banks, the Savings' Bank, and the Council Room, where also is the Office of the Colonial Secretary. Colombo has a small harbour in the form of a semicircle, but it is not capable of admitting vessels exceeding 200 tons; ships therefore of larger burdens are anchored in the roads. During the prevalence of the south-west monsoon (from April to October), the best anchorage is found in from seven to eight fathoms, with the lighthouse bearing south by east, half-east, and the Dutch church east by south; and in the north-east monsoon (from November to April), it is more convenient to anchor in six-and-a-half fathoms, the lighthouse bearing south, or south-half-east, and the Dutch church east-south-east. The town or pettah of Colombo is regularly built, and divided into fifteen streets, which run east and west, and the others cross them at right angles. Each street has its particular name, which is generally notified in a conspicuous manner at the corner. The houses are built of cabook, and neatly whitewashed with chnnam; some of them have two stories, and all are lofty, and present rather a good appearance. Among the public buildings may be named the Supreme Court-house, the Offices of the Provincial Judge, magistrate and fiscal, a Gaol, and a Cutcherry, where the collector of the district transacts business: but none of them merit particular notice. There is also a Library belonging to the burghers, a Small-pox Hospital, a Masonic Hall, two theatres, and numbers of religious edifices. The Wolfendahl Church (usually called the Dutch Church), erected by the Dutch governor, Gollenesse, in the year 1746, is a lofty building in the form of a cross, and stands on a hill in the centre of thei town. It belongs to the Presbyterians, who are chiefly descendants of the Dutch, and has an excellent organ, but there is so powerful an echo in the building, that the words of the preacher are almost unintelligible. By order, of Sir Robert Brown rigg, the remains of several Dutch governors, who had been interred in the fort, were removed, with every mark of respect, and deposited in this church. The Malabar Episcopalian Church, called St. Thomas's, stands likewise on a hill, near the Chitty's quarter, the front facing the sea. It COMMERCE. 377 is a neat building, erected by Sir Robert Brownrigg; and to this was added a commodious school-room for the use of the children belonging to that class of inhabitants. St. Paul's Church, which belongs to the Portuguese Protestants, is a neat structure, near Kayman's Gate, having been built by sub- scription, chiefly through the zeal of Archdeacon Twisleton. In the quarter occupied by the washermen stands their church, and besides this, there are several other places of worship in the suburbs of the town, belonging to the esta- blished religion; there are numerous chapels belonging to the Roman Catholics, the Wesleyan Methodists, and the Baptists; the principal chapel for the Roman Catholics is situated in the suburbs, and is called St. Lucia; the Vicar- general resides here, and the annual conference is held on the 15th of August, when the missionaries (who belong to the congregation of the Order of St. Philip-Nein of Goa) are changed from one station to another; the Wesleyan Chapel is about a mile from the fort, and in form an amphi- theatre (after the model of the Brunswick Chapel at Liver- pool), with three rows of elevated seats nearly all round. It is furnished in that style of neatness and simplicity, suitable to a missionary place of worship, and is capable of accom- modating from 500 to 600 auditors. The Hindoos have two temples, one in the Silversmith's quarter, and another in Sea-Street, but they are neither splendid nor richly endowed, as on the continent* of India. The Mahomedan mosque at Marandhan presents an appearance of grandeur, but the ono in the Moors' quarter greatly exceeds it in splendour, having a beautiful minaret in front. There are several bazaars, or market places, for fish, flesh, fruits, garden-herbs, &c.; there are also two steam-engines, and several native presses, used for manufacturing cocoa-nut oil. The commerce of Colombo, both external and internal, is very extensive and increasing :—the exports to Europe are cinnamon, pepper, coffee, cocoa-nut oil, plumbago, cordage, arrack, cardamums, elephant-tusks, deer-horns, tortoise-shells, ebony, satinwood, &c.; and the imports are cotton piece- goods, flannel, hosiery, hats, wine, beer, brandy, hams, salt- provisions, confectionery, perfumery, chocolate, preserves, SDuff, earthen ware, cutlery, glassware, ironmongery, stationery, paint, oilman's stores, medicines, and, in short, everything of 378 CLIMATE. European manufacture. The exports to the British colonies consist of arrack, coffee, areca-nuts, copperas, cocoa-nuts, nookah-shells, coir, nissera-laths, beche-de-mer, shark-fius, fish-oil,