INDIA. 



403 



native, aggregating 90,094 tons. The whole 

 number i.f ( Irarances were 5,472, aggregating 

 4,282,470 tons, of which 2,335 vessels, of 1 

 854 tons, were British; 977, of 148.903 tons, were 

 British I IK I inn ; f >!.">, of 408,904 tons, were foreign ; 

 and I ..")!."), ,ii si,n.V> tons, were native. Of the 

 entries, 1,048, aggregating 2,019,283 Ions, and 

 of tin- clearances, 1,208, aggregating 2,412,341 

 tons, were of steam vessels passing through the 

 Suez ("anal. 



Hail roads. The'numberof miles of railroads 

 in operation in March, 1892. was 17,504, and the 

 number of passengers carried during the year 

 was 122,855,387, against 114,082,240 in the pre- 

 ceding year ; while the freight moved aggregated 

 20,158,953 tons, against. 22,012,718 tons, during 

 the previous year. The working expenses amount- 

 ed to Rx 11,303,847, which was 47-02 percent, of 

 the gross earnings ; and the net earnings real- 

 ized were Rx 12.730,432, giving an average re- 

 turn on the capital expenditure on working 

 lines of 5'70 per cent., against Rx 10,310,913 net 

 earnings, and 4-85 per cent, return for the pre- 

 ceding year. The total expenditure of the state 

 on railroads, including lines under construction 

 or survey, amounted to Rx 227,009,705. 



Posts and Telegraphs. During the year 

 ending March 31, 1891, the post-offices handled 

 288,000,477 letters, postal cards, and money or- 

 ders, 24,935,308 newspapers, 1,901,547 parcels, 

 and 10,375,319 packets. The revenue was Rx 

 1,402,748, and the expenditure Rx 1,390,535. 

 The length of the telegraph lines was 37,070 

 miles, with 113,512 miles of wire, and the 

 number of paid messages was 3,507,100. The 

 receipts were Rx 781,034, and the expenses Rx 

 703,980. 



The National Congress. The Indian Na- 

 tional Congresses were organized while the Mar- 

 quis of Ripon was Viceroy, as a means of making 

 known to the Government in an orderly but 

 forcible manner the wishes and views of the 

 native population in political affairs, and for the 

 purpose of securing a larger native representa- 

 tion in the administration of the Government. 

 The first Congress convened in 1884. These Con- 

 gresses have been held annually since that time. 

 The eighth met at Allahabad 'on Dec. 30, 1892, 

 with 700 delegates, under the presidency of W. 

 C. Bonerjee, of Calcutta. The Congress adopted 

 four resolutions: (1) That, while accepting Lord 

 Cross's Councils act as intended to give the peo- 

 ple of India a real representation in the legisla- 

 tive councils, it regretted that the act does not 

 in terms concede to the people the right of elect- 

 ing their own representatives. (2) That simul- 

 taneous examinations for the- civil service should 

 be held in England and India. (3) That serious 

 mischief has been done to the country by the 

 combination of judicial and executive functions 

 in the same officials. (4) That, in view of the 

 diversity of opinion on the currency question, 

 the Congress hoped that, unless forced to do so, 

 the Government would take no steps to change 

 the currency standard. 



Burmese Frontier Troubles. The Kachin 

 tribes, a hardy and warlike people who occupy 

 the mountainous northeastern districts on the 

 borders of Upper Burmah, early in January, 1893, 

 made repeated attacks upon a British exploring 

 party which was making its way in a northeast- 



erly direction from Bharao to establish a fortified 

 post at SiniH, in the Kachin hills, and on the 

 N'ampoung river. In one of these attacks Lieut. 

 Dent was dangerously wounded. After the port 

 was established at isima it was invested by the 

 Kachins, 1,000 strong, and in a sortie Capt. Mor- 

 ton, who was in command of the post, was killed. 

 The post was strengthened, and an attempt 

 was made to open the road between Si ma and 

 Nhrang, but after some severe fighting the road 

 was abandoned to the Kachins. The lighting 

 continued at and around Sima through January 

 and most of February, the forces consisting at 

 first entirely of the native military police, but 

 eventually it was determined to send re-enforce- 

 ments of both native and British troops, and 

 near the end of February the officer in command 

 reported that the rising was crushed, and that 

 the submission of all the villages around Sima 

 was complete. 



Meantime trouble with the Kachins had 

 broken out in the Northern Shan States, where 

 the Kachins besieged Theinni, and killed Lieut. 

 Williams and a native officer who proceeded 

 against them at the head of a column of military 

 police. In this case, however, a force of British 

 and native infantry was promptly sent out, and 

 the rising was quelled. There was also some 

 fighting with the tribes in the Chin hills, but 

 they were brought to submission and disarmed. 

 In April the Kachins round Sima raided several 

 villages, driving out the police, who had been re- 

 enforced from the fort, and compelling them to 

 retreat to Sima. Strong re-enforcements were 

 sent to the fort at Sima, and the rebel tribes 

 were driven from its vicinity, but no further 

 operations against the Kachins east of the Irra- 

 waddy were undertaken. This termination of 

 the campaign was considered very unsatisfactory 

 in Burmah, as a number of rebellious villages had 

 not been visited, and no adequate punishment 

 had been inflicted. It was generally believed 

 that the Kachins had been encouraged, if not 

 actually assisted, by the Chinese authorities, as a 

 Chinese officer in a handsome laced uniform was 

 found among the killed near Sima. 



Religious Riots. The magistrates of Ran- 

 goon, the chief city of Burmah. in deference to the 

 Hindu population, by whom the cow is regarded 

 as a sacred animal, prohibited cow-killing near 

 the Hindu temple during the Bakri Id festival 

 in June, and in resentment of this the Moham- 

 medans began, on the 22d, to make riotous dem- 

 onstrations, which culminated three days later 

 in an attack on the police. The principal offi- 

 cials were on the spot, and made strenuous ef- 

 forts to quiet the mob; but the rioters charged 

 the police with stones and fired upon them with 

 fatal results, and the recorder of Rangoon or- 

 dered the police to fire upon and charge the mob. 

 The rioters suffered a loss of 20 killed, while 

 many were seriously wounded. This did not 

 suffice to subdue them, and a regiment of sol- 

 diers was called out. which cleared and occupied 

 the main streets. Afterward, through the effort* 

 of leading Hindu and Mohammedan merchants. 

 quiet was restored. Similar riots occurred dur- 

 ing the festival in A/imgar. A mob stoned the 

 police, seriously injuring the district sujH>rin- 

 tendent, whereupon the police opened fire, killing 

 and wounding many of the rioters. Great alarm 



