BEN 



210 



BEN 



ht., and near the meridian of 4 30', and has been found by 

 the Ordnance Trigonometrical Survey to be 3000 feet above 

 the sea. It does not, however, attain that height abruptly, 

 but by numerous steep slopes interrupted by narrow and 

 loping plaint. (M'CulUx-h's lliyhlaitdt and Wextern 

 Islandt ; Sinclair's ftalittical Account i>/ Smtlantt ; Sir 

 Thomas Dick Lander's Account o/ the Great Fbiotlt, &c.) 



BENARES, one of the eight distr.rts into which the 

 province of Allahabad is divided, lies between 25 and 26 

 N. hit., and 83 and 84 E. long. This district, or zamin- 

 dary. formerly constituted an appanage of the dominions 

 pf Oude, by whose vizier, Asoph-ud-Dowlah, it was ceded 

 in 1775 to the Hast India Company, as a compnnsatiou for 

 the aid which had been granted to him in the preceding 

 year, and by which he was enabled to reduce to subjection 

 the tributary chief of the Rohillos. In the following year, 

 1 776. this zamindary was granted to the Rajah Cheyt Singh 

 of Benares, subject to the payment of an annual tribute to 

 the company. The violation of this agreement on the part 

 of Mr. H.i-liii'.;s then governor-general of India, formed one 

 of the charges brought against him on the memorable occa- 

 sion of his impeachment by the House of Commons. 



In August, 1781, Mr. Hastings repaired in person to 

 Benares, and placed the rajah under arrest in his own 

 palace, whence he was rescued by his subjects. The natives 

 being unable, however, to make a successful stand against 

 thu English troops, the Rajah Cheyt Singh was depo-eil, 

 and bis nephew, a minor, set up in his stead, a I.UX'IT 

 amount of tribute being exacted from him, and the govern- 

 ment of the district being placed under officers who wore 

 made directly responsible to the governor-general and 

 council. The tribute, which was originally Bxed ut 2J,G6,l8b 

 Sicca rupees (about 280.000/.), was raised on this occasion 

 to 40 lacs of rupees (about 500,0007.) per annum. The con- 

 sequences of this measure are thus described by its author, 

 who passed through the country in February, 1784 : ' From 

 the confines of Buxar,' says Mr. Hastings, * to Benares, I 

 was followed and fatigued by the clamours of the disc-on- 

 tented inhabitants. The distresses which were produced by 

 the long-continued drought unavoidably tended to heighten 

 the general discontent, yet I have reason to fear that the 

 cause existed principally in a defective, if not a corrupt and 

 oppressive administration. I am sorry to add, that from 

 Buxar to the opposite boundary, I have seen nothing but 

 traces of complete devastation in every village.' 



The rajah has since become a mere stipendiary of the 

 company's government, which, in 1 795, took entire posses- 

 sion of the revenues, and proceeded to administer the affairs 

 of the district, making an annual allowance of about 12.000/. 

 to the rajah for his personal support. On the occasion 

 just mentioned the British government passed a regulation, 

 enacting that the last decennary assessment for the land 

 revenue, which had been made under its sanction, should 

 be considered as a permanent settlement. At the same 

 time the courts of judicature which were superintended by 

 native judges were abolished ; and in lieu of them wcro 

 established one city and three zillah courts, together witli a 

 provincial court of appeal, all similar in their constitution 

 and jurisdiction to the corresponding tribunals in the pro- 

 vinces of Bengal, Bahar, and OrUsa. By another regula- 

 tion the powers of the Sudder Dewanny Adawlut, and 

 Nizamut Adawlut, the supreme courts of the Company at 

 Calcutta, were extended over the district of Benares. 



The collet-titrate of Benares includes the three districts of 

 Benares, Ghazeepore, and Juanpore, of which Benares i the 

 least in extent, but the most important with regard to re- 

 venue, as appears from the following statement, given to the 

 Committee of the House of Commons which sat in 1&3J : 



Benares . 



Ghazcepqre 



Juanpore' 



Square miles. 



350 



.. 2.850 

 . 1,820 



132930. 



16,96, 899 rupees. 

 13,23,4-19 

 10,82,391 



5,020 41.02,739 



The district of Benares has Ghazeepore on the north 

 and east, Juanpore on the west, and Miriapore on the 

 south. The land is, for the most part, rich and well culti- 

 vated. Barley, wheat, and a species of peas are the prin- 

 cipal vegetables cultivated for the food of the inhabitants. 

 Flax is raised only for the oil expressed from its seeds. A 

 considerable quantity of sugar is made in the district, but 

 it* most profitable productions are iudigo and opium. 



The district is well watered by the Ganges and the Goomty 

 rivers, as well as by several small tributaries to those streams, 

 and having now enjoyed a long period of peace and security, 

 the inhabitants have realised the advantages offered by its 

 soil and climate, and the district exhibits many signs of 

 prosperity. For about nine months in the year (he climate is 

 temperate, and sometimes during the winter fires are found 

 agreeable in the bouses. During the three month.-, from April 

 to June hot winds prevail, and for a time destroy the verdure. 



Thu number of inhabitants in the di-tm-t H not known. 

 The population of the three districts 1nch form ll>> 

 lectorate has been estimated variously at I'vom thn-e lo five 

 millions, but all authorities appear to agree as to the l 

 its having rapidly increased ol lau \i-.n-. 



(Rennell's Memoir o/tt Map nf'Hinduttan ; Mill's 77, v- 

 tory of Jln'iJi India ; Letter .from li. S. Jon 

 the Chairman iif the Select Committee nn Ka.it 7m/i,i 

 A/airs, inserted in the Report of that committee in 1 s 



BENARES, the capital of the district of that name, is 

 built on the north bank of the Ganges, which here in. 

 fine sweep; tlie convex tide of the curve is that ou which 

 the city is built: 25 30' N. lat., and 83 1' E. long. 



Benares is celebrated as having been in antii-nl tunes the 

 scat of Brahininical learning. According to Major Rennell, 

 its antient name was Kasi. but there aie no notices con- 

 cerning it in the works of the antient geographers.' Dr. 

 : -.on speaks of the city as having been, ' from time im- 

 memorial, the Athens of India, the resilience of the must 

 learned Brahmins, and the seat both of science and litera- 

 ture.' Sir Robert Barker, who visited Benares in 1772, has 

 described an observatory there, in which he found instru- 

 ments lor astronomical observations of very large dimen- 

 sions, and constructed with great skill and ingenuity : tra- 

 dition attributes the building of this observatory to the 

 Emperor Akbar. 



The streets of the city are, for the most part, only a few 

 feet broad, and the houses, which are built of stone and 

 lofty, are so close together that the sun's rays can hardly 

 penetrate to the pavement. The streets are described as 

 being covered with every kind of filth, which renders the 

 place highly disagreeable as a residence to Europeans 

 \\ lu-n seen from the river the appearance of the city is 

 beautiful. The eye is pleased with the great variety of the 

 buildings, some of which are highly ornamented, and have 

 terraces on their summits; the view is greatly improved by 

 the numerous (lights of stone steps which lead from the 

 banks of the river to Hindu temples and other public build- 

 ings. The number of brick and stone dwellings is said to 

 exceed 12,000, besides which there are above 16,000 houses 

 built of mud. 



Many of the houses are of large dimensions. It is cus- 

 tomary for each story to be rented by a separate family, and 

 some of the buildings are thus said to contain each 200 

 inhabitants. Thu more wealthy Hindus live in detached 

 houses, with open courts, and surrounded by walls. 



Almost in the centre of the city is a large mosque, built 

 by Aurungzcbe on the site of a magnificent Hindu temple, 

 which he destroyed for the purpose of erecting the present 

 building : the mosque has two minarets, the height of which 

 is 232 feet from the level of the Gan- 



The dwellings of the European ru>idents are at Seerole, 

 about three miles from the city. This place was the - 

 of a tragical event in January, 17'J'.', when the <1< ; 

 nabob of Oude, irritated by the British govcrnim-i 

 quiring him to traiinli-r his residence from Benares U> Cal- 

 cutta, proceeded with a body of armed attendants to t'uo 

 house of the Company's resident, Mr. Cherry, whom they 

 natvd, together with lour other European gentlemen. 

 The nabob, Vizier Ally, made his escape with about 400 

 followers to Azimghur, but was taken in the December fol- 

 lowing and imprisoned in Calcutta. 



The native population of Benares is at all times very 

 great In 1803 the resident inhabitants were estimated to 

 amount to 582,000, and the number is now supposed to be 

 even greater. Nine-tenths of the population arc Hindus, 

 and the remainder Mohammedans. 



The sacredness of the city in the estimation of Hindus 

 makes it the constant resort of pilgrims from all parts of 

 Hindustan, and a great number of these devotees, being 

 exceedingly poor, subsist upon charity, and are consequently 

 often n-ducfd to a state of the greatest misery. According 

 to Mr. Tennant, 'hunger, wretchedness, and 'disease seem 

 to meet your eye in every direction.' A considerable num.- 



