INDIA, BRITISH. 



395 



913 ; 11 semi-monthly, circulation 107,900 ; 72 

 monthly, circulation 490,808; 2 bi-monthly, 

 circulation 11,000; 3 quarterlies, circulation 

 12,000. 



The total number of libraries was 13,570, 

 containing 3,323,914 volumes. Of these, 9,865, 

 with 2,399,309 volumes, were private, and 3,705, 

 with 924,545 volumes, other than private, in- 

 cluding 79 circulating libraries containing 75,352 

 volumes. 



The number of religious organizations of all 

 denominations was 4,298, having 3,459 edifices, 

 with 1,201,403 sittings, and property valued 

 at $22,684,283. The leading denominations 

 were : 



INDIA, BRITISH, a dependency of Great 

 Britain in Asia. In extent and population it 

 is about equal to the Continent of Europe with- 

 out the Kussian Empire. Measuring about 

 1,900 miles from north to south, and some 1,500 

 miles from east to west, it has a total area of 

 1,556,990 square miles, and a population of 

 about 205, 912,000, the number of persons to the 

 square mile varying from 600, in some parts 

 of Oude and the lower provinces, to 10 in some 

 of the hill districts; two-fifths of the country 

 (646,147 square miles, with 46,245,888 inhab- 

 itants) consist of independent native states, 

 whose chiefs acknowledge the supremacy of 

 Great Britain, and, to a certain extent, are 

 subject to its control. The remaining three- 



fifths comprise British India proper, with an 

 area of 910,853 square miles, and a population 

 of 159,660,000 inhabitants. British India proper 

 is divided for administrative purposes into eight 

 provinces. The term "presidency," which is 

 applied to the provinces or governments of 

 Bengal, Madras, and Bombay, is no longer ap- 

 plicable to the present condition of affairs, and 

 positively misleads in the case of Bengal. It 

 is a relic of the time when the three settle- 

 ments of Fort William, Fort St. George, and 

 Bombay, each under the authority of a presi- 

 dent, may be said to have comprised the whole 

 of the British possessions in India. Its use 

 now frequently leads to the mistaken opinion, 

 that British India is still divided into three 

 presidencies, whereas it comprises eight prov- 

 inces, each under its own civil government, 

 and each entirely independent of the others. 

 The eight provinces are : I.Bengal; 2. North- 

 western Provinces; 3. Punjab; 4. Central Prov- 

 inces ; 5. Oude ; 6. British Burmah ; 7. Madras ; 

 8. Bombay. To these must be added the prov- 

 inces of Mysore (inclusive of the little state of 

 Coorg), Hyderabad, and Sinde, which, though 

 contributing to the revenue of India, are gov- 

 erned on the English system. The supreme 

 Government in India consists of the Viceroy 

 or Governor-General, aided by a Council of 

 five members, besides the eominander-in-chief. 

 Its business is conducted in five separate de- 

 partments: Financial, Home, Foreign, Military, 

 and Public Works. Madras and Bombay are 

 under governors; Bengal, the Northwestern 

 Provinces, and the Punjab, under lieutenant- 

 governors ; the Central Provinces, Oude, and 

 British Burmah, under chief commissioners. 



The area and population of the several prov- 

 inces are, according to the latest official pub- 

 lication,* as follows : 



The population of the chief towns, accord- 

 ing to the latest accounts, was as follows : 



Calcutta 616,249 



Bombay 646,636 



Hyderabad 400,000 



Madras 395.440 



Lucknovv 284,779 



Patna 284,132 



Benares 200,000 



Delhi 152.400 



Joudpore. . 



150,000 



Moorshedabad 146,963 



Baroda 140,000 



Bangalore 132.000 



Ahmedabad 130,000 



Agra. 125,262 



Bareilly 111,332 



Nagpoor 111,231 



Cawnpoor 108.798 



Bhurtpoor 100.000 



Dhar 100.000 



Fyzabad 100,000 



Masul ipatam 100,003 



The revenue and expenditure of British In- 

 dia, from 1868 to 1873, was as follows: 



* All the figures are taken from the " Statistical Ta- 

 bles relatin"- to the colonial and other possessions of the 

 United Klnsdom. Part XIV., 1869" (London. 1871), except 

 the population of Madras, which is that of the official cen- 

 sus of 1871. The figures given in another official publi- 

 cation, the " Statement exhibiting the Mornl ;md Material 

 Progress and Condition of India, during the Year 1868- 1 69 " 

 can partly not be harmonized with the figures of our table. 



