408 



INDIA, BEITISH. 



which lasted from the early part of January 

 till April. 



INDIA, BRITISH, a vast empire in Asia, 

 equaling in extent the continent of Europe 

 without Eussia. The area of the region in 

 which the supremacy of England is acknowl- 

 edged, is estimated at 1,558,254 square miles, 

 with a population of 240,000,000. The popu- 

 lation varies in density from TOO persons to 

 the square mile in some parts of Oude and the 

 lower provinces of Bengal to 10 in some of 

 the hill districts. About two-fifths of the 

 country consist of independent native states, 

 whose chiefs acknowledge the supremacy of 



Great Britain, and are, to a certain extent, 

 subject to its control. British India proper 

 comprises the remaining three-fifths. It was 

 in 1874 divided, for administrative purposes, 

 into nine provinces, viz., Bengal, the North- 

 western Province, the Punjab, Oude, the Cen- 

 tral Province, British Burmah, Assam, Ma- 

 dras, and Bombay. Assam, which had been 

 ceded by Burmah in 1825, formed part of the 

 jurisdiction of the Lieutenant - Governor of 

 Bengal until 1874, when it was made a sepa- 

 rate province. The area and population of the 

 nine administrative divisions were, according 

 to the latest dates, as follows : 



The following table exhibits the amount of ports of each one of the nine provinces during 

 the revenue, expenditures, imports, and .ex- the year 1872-'73 : 



In addition to these nine provinces, there 

 are the two provinces of Mysore and Berar, 

 which, are governed on the English system, 

 though they do not contribute to the imperial 

 revenue. Mysore was taken possession of by 

 the English in 1834, to put a stop to the mis- 

 rule which prevailed under the late Maharajah, 

 and will continue to be governed by them dur- 

 ing the minority of the present young prince, 

 whose education has been confided to an Eng- 

 lish officer. The province is under the charge 

 of a chief commissioner, who has charge also 

 of the little state of Ooorg. Mysore and Ooorg 

 are the principal coffee-producing districts of 

 India. Berar, which lies north of the domin- 

 ions of the Nizam of Hyderabad, was placed 

 in the hands of the English in 1853, in pay- 

 ment of certain arrears due to the British 

 Government. The province forms part of the 

 charge of the British Resident of Hyderabad. 

 The surplus of revenue over the expenses of 

 administration is handed over to the govern- 

 ment of the Nizam. The area and population 

 of. My sore, Ooorg, and. Berar, are as follows: 



The native states of British India, though 

 not constituting a part of the British domin- 

 ion, are more or less under the control of the 

 Anglo-Indian Government. Their area and 

 population are as follows : 



The most important of the native states is 

 Hyderabad, with an area of about 80,000 

 square miles, a population of about 11,000,000, 

 and an annual revenue of about 1,655,000. 

 Then comes Maharajah Scindia's state of Gwa- 

 lior ; then Baroda and Jeypoor. The united 

 military force of the native states is estimated 

 at 100,000 men. 



The whole number of schools in British In- 

 dia, in 1872 and 1873, excluding the native 

 states and Burmah, was 40,700, giving in- 

 struction to 1,280,940 scholars, at a cost of 

 758,337. Government schools exist in regu- 



