THE MOOKTYAR I^R. 265 



siderations witli a Beloochce, who never con- 

 siders the loss of income which the appropria- 

 tion of great tracts of land for the purposes of 

 breeding game involves. This was carried to 

 such an extent during the Government of the 

 Ameers, that it was calculated that every head 

 of deer killed must have cost 800 rupees ; and 

 this is said to be no exaggeration, as some of tlie 

 richest land in Sindh was sacrificed in the 

 formation of Shikargahs, and such continues to 

 be the case in His Highness Meer Ali Moorad's 

 territory. Indeed I was assured by Hindoos 

 and Moosulmauns alike that his territory might 

 be doubled in value by judicious management; 

 but all agreed on one point, namely, that the 

 first step to improvement must be the removal 

 of his present Mooktyar Kar, or minister, not 

 only from that office, but also from the Meer's 

 territory, where he exercises a baneful degree 

 of influence, though detested by the people at 

 large, wliicli I shall hereafter notice. 



The Meer's jungles contain few trees of very 

 considerable size, and I believe this applies to 

 the jungles of Sindh generally. It is rare too 

 to meet with tolerably straight timber ; hence, 

 I dare say, has arisen the use of arches to an 



