INDIA. 



INDIANA. 



423 



for the final attempt when the leaders were 

 arrested. 



The whole of Western India seems to be hon- 

 eycombed with Brahmanical conspiracies. The 

 Bheels, a savage aboriginal tribe of Meywar, 

 in Rajpootana, were imposed upon by similar 

 stories of the malignant purposes of the census 

 to those which were told to the Sonthals, and 

 exasperated by the rigorous execution of the 

 license law ; and in April the tribes gathered, 

 killed a number of officials, and besieged a de- 

 tachment of Sepoys sent to suppress the riots. 

 In making peace with the Bheels the Govern- 

 ment agreed to remit the taxes, and grant all 

 the other demands of the Hill-men. 



The high-caste Brabmans are indefatigable 

 conspirators. The Mohammedans do not so 

 often engage in secret intrigue, but are addict- 

 ed to sullen and moody discontent, and are 

 constantly subject to fanatical influences, and 

 in danger of being wrought up to the point of 

 a general and desperate rebellion. These two 

 classes have during 1881 given the Government 

 in the Punjab and other parts of native and 

 British India much trouble by their quarrels 

 with each other. The Hindoos were in every 

 case the aggressors, and in many places at- 

 tacked the Mohammedans on the ground that 

 they sold and ate beef, which was an offense 

 to the Brahmans. 



The Viceroy's Council, the majority of whom 

 were nominated by the late Government of 

 Great Britain, protested strongly against the 

 evacuation of Candahar. The military author- 

 ities also advocated its retention as a valuable 

 strategical base, and the continuance of an 

 open British protectorate over Afghanistan as 

 a bulwark against a Russian advance toward 

 India. The Kuram was given over to the Turi 

 tribe, and the Kaibar to Afridi tribes, subject 

 to regulations, and with pledges of British pro- 

 tection. Candahar was delivered over to a 

 force sent by Abdurrahman from Cabool (see 

 AFGHANISTAN), and Pishin only remained in 

 possession of the British, out of all the occu- 

 pied territory. 



Several border outbreaks occurred during 

 the year, and British outposts all the way from 

 Burraah to Pishin were attacked. A large 

 military expedition marched against the Mah- 

 sud section of the Waziri tribe, who plundered 

 Tank and other villages in 1879. An engage- 

 ment occurred on May 3d, at Shahalum, near 

 Kanigoram, and a skirmishing resistance was 

 offered to the advance of both of the invad- 

 ing columns ; but when they reached their des- 

 tinations, Tank and Bunnoo, most of the chiefs 

 had made their submission. 



The Maharajah of Nepaul died in May, after a 

 reign of thirty-four years. His minister, Jung 

 Bahadur, dictated the policy of his whole reign. 

 He was succeeded by his grandson, whose 

 mother is a daughter of Jung Bahadur. 



W. P. Adam, who for his services as Liberal 

 " whip " in Parliament during the Conservative 

 rule was given the governorship of Madras, 



died in May, in the commencement of a prom- 

 ising career as an Indian administrator, for 

 which he was prepared by his former services 

 as Lord Elphinstone's private secretary in 

 Bombay. 



INDIANA. The biennial session of the 

 Legislature of this State commenced on Jan- 

 uary 6th and closed on April 16th. One of the 

 earliest measures of the Legislature was the 

 election of a Senator in Congress. The nomi- 

 nees were Benjamin Harrison, Isaac P. Gray, 

 and Gilbert De La Matyr. The vote of the 

 Legislature was : Harrison, 81 ; Gray, 62 ; De 

 La Matyr, 2. Harrison was elected Senator 

 from March 4, 1881. 



In the House, the following joint resolu- 

 tion was passed by & vote of 84 yeas to 1 

 nay: 



Resolved. By the General Assembly of the State of 

 Indiana, that our Senators and Representatives in 

 Congress are hereby respectfully requested to procure 

 the enactment of a law making provision for the sol- 

 diers of the Mexican War who have accepted in good 

 faith the results of the war of the rebellion, and 

 whose disabilities have been removed by act of Con- 

 gress. 



The words of this resolution exclude only 

 the President of the Confederate States. 



An important tax bill was brought before 

 the Legislature. It had been carefully revised 

 and considered, by the most experienced officials 

 in the State, and some of its provisions may af- 

 ford valuable suggestions in the preparation of 

 a similar law in other States. One of the prin- 

 cipal aims of the framers of the bill was to devise 

 some plan by which to assess and collect taxes 

 upon the large amount of property that has 

 hitherto escaped taxation, and, at the same 

 time, to avoid discrimination against any per- 

 sons or corporations. The assessment law is 

 so framed that no man can escape listing his 

 property without absolutely and willfully com- 

 mitting perjury, for which he will be liable to 

 heavy penalties. The deputy-assessors, as they 

 go from house to house, have the authority to 

 administer an oath to each person at the time 

 when the return is handed in. It is made an 

 offense, with heavy penalties attached, for a 

 man to convert property into greenbacks just 

 before the time of assessment, unless it can be 

 shown that this was not done for the purpose of 

 avoiding taxation. Then, again, as to Govern- 

 ment bonds, it is provided that each person 

 claiming exemption as the possessor of bonds, 

 must give, for the information of the assessor, 

 but not as a matter of public record, the num- 

 bers of the bonds held by him ; and thus will 

 be prevented the transfer of bonds from one 

 person to another on the day of assessment, so 

 that the same bond frequently does duty for 

 half a dozen members of the same firm, and 

 exempts from taxation property worth thou- 

 sands of dollars which ought to be taxed. 

 When the numbers of the bonds belonging to 

 a certain person are known, the same bonds 

 can not be used by another person, on the day . 

 of assessment, to claim exemption, without ex- 



