BENGAL BENGER. 



499 



of time, by an intermixture with Hindoo women, 

 converts, and children, whom they purchased during 

 a scarcity, and educated in their own religion. There 

 are also a number of the descendants ot the Portu- 

 guese, and of various other nations; and, in spite of 

 the checks held out by the British against coloniza- 

 tion, it is probable, that, in the course of another 

 century, their descendants will become so numerous, 

 that it will be necessary to permit them to become 

 cultivators of the soil. 



The thermometer, part of the year, in B., is as 

 high as 100 degrees, and the climate is injurious to 

 European constitutions. The year is there divided 

 into three seasons, viz. the hot, the rainy, and the 

 cold : the former begins in March, and ends in June ; 

 the rains then commence, and continue till October ; 

 after which it becomes cool, and the weather con- 

 tinues pleasant for four months. 



Of the ancient history of B. we have no authentic 

 information. It is said to have been sometimes an 

 independent kingdom, and at other times tributary to 

 Magadha (Behar.) In the institutes of Akbar, a 

 list of sixty-one Hindoo kings is given ; but the 

 number of years assigned to many of the reigns does 

 away its credibility. B. was first invaded and con- 

 quered by the Afghan Mohammedans in A. D. 1203, 

 and continued tributary to the emperor of Delhi till 

 the year 1340, when Fakher Addeen, a confidential 

 servant of the governor, murdered his master, and, 

 having seized the reins of government, threw off his 

 allegiance, and took the title of sultan Sekunder. 

 From this period till 1538, B. remained an independ- 

 ent kingdom, when it was conquered by Shere Shah, 

 who shortly after annexed it to Delhi. From the de- 

 scendants of Shere Shah it was conquered by the 

 emperor Akbar, and continued subject to Delhi, or 

 nominally so, till the year 1757, when it fell into the 

 hands of the British, who have gradually changed 

 its form of government, and introduced a code of re- 

 gulations, founded on the Hindoo, Mohammedan, 

 and English laws, by which impartial justice is ad- 

 ministered to all the inhabitants, and toleration grant- 

 ed to all religions, owing to which the country im- 

 proves, and the population increases. The cities of 

 Gour, Tonda, Rajemahil, Dacca, and Moorshedabad 

 have each, at various times, been the capital ; but, 

 since the conquest of it by the English, Calcutta is 

 become the seat of government. 



The government of this presidency is vested in the 

 supreme council, consisting of the governor-general 

 and three counselors. The former is appointed by 

 the king ; the latter are chosen by the court of 

 directors from the civil servants of at least twelve 

 years' standing. For the administration of justice, 

 there is one supreme court at Calcutta, six courts of 

 appeal and circuit, and forty-six inferior magistrates, 

 stationed in as many different towns or districts. The 

 circuit courts are formed by three judges, with an 

 assistant, and native officers. Criminal cases are 

 tried by the Mohammedan law, in form and name, 

 but so modified as to approach nearly, in fact, to the 

 British ; and capital sentences are confirmed by the 

 wzamat adalat, or supreme court at Calcutta. The 

 district magistrates or judges, as they are often called, 

 have each a registrar, and one or more of the junior 

 civil servants, as assistants, with native lawyers, 

 Mussulman and Hindoo. An appeal lies from their 

 sentence, in almost all cases, to the provincial court. 

 The average size of a district in this presidency is 

 about 6000 square miles. In civil causes, the respec- 

 tive codes of the Mohammedans and Hindoos are 

 generally followed. In 1793, regular advocates, 

 educated at the Mohammedan and Hindoo colleges 

 fit Calcutta and Benares, were appointed to plead in 

 UC*e courts. Their fees are regulated by law. 



Written pleadings are allowed, and written evidence 

 must sometimes be admitted, on account of the dis- 

 inclination of the Asiatics to have women appear iu 

 public. 



Domestic slavery is permitted by law, but the 

 slaves are kindly treated. The number of these 

 slaves it has been thought unsafe to ascertain. 

 Their marriage is never impeded ; but few children 

 are sold, as it is reputed discreditable to sell them, 

 and their manumission is considered an act of piety. 

 Parents themselves, who are reduced by famine, &c., 

 are usually the persons who supply the slave-market. 

 Inability to provide for their children, not the desire 

 of gain, seems to be the real motive of this horrid 

 custom. Slaves, like freemen, are under the protec- 

 tion of law. 



The Mohammedans may be estimated at one- 

 seventh of the whole population. Various estimates 

 of the population have been made at different times, 

 but rather from conjecture than from well -authenti- 

 cated documents. The sum total for Bengal appears 

 to be 25,306,000, and there are strong reasons for 

 believing this number to be short of the real amount. 

 The number of native troops, called seapoys (sipahis) 

 or soldiers, was, in 1811, 207,579, besides 5875 in- 

 valids. The non-commissioned officers are natives, 

 those who have commissions are Europeans, and the 

 number of the latter in this presidency, at the time 

 above mentioned, was 2024. About 22,000 of the 

 king's troops are also stationed in India, and occasion 

 an expense to the company of about 160,000 per 

 annum. 



Before concluding this article, it may be proper to 

 observe, that the Dutch possess the town of Chin- 

 sura, the French, Chindunagore, and the Danes, 

 Serampore, with a small territory adjoining each. 

 These towns are situated on the Hoogly river, from 

 fifteen to twenty-five miles above Calcutta. 



BENGEL, John Albanus, a famous German theolo- 

 gian, born in 1687, at Winneden, in Wurtemburg, 

 studied at Stuttgart and Tubingen, and, in 1713, be- 

 came a preacher and professor at Denkendorf. His 

 chief studies were the fathers of the church and the 

 New Testament. He died, after having been ap- 

 pointed to several offices, in 1752. B. was the first 

 Lutheran theologian who applied to the criticism of 

 the New Testament a comprehensive spirit, which 

 embraced the subject in its whole extent, and mani- 

 fested the poWer of patient investigation which the 

 study required. His suggestions for the correction 

 of the text are particularly valuable. In some of his 

 observations, his judgment has been led astray by 

 his inclination to mysticism. His explanation of the 

 Apocalypse has given him, with some persons, the 

 fame of an inspired prophet ; with most people, that 

 of an enthusiast. He was esteemed for his private 

 virtues. 



BEXGER, Miss Elizabeth Ogilvy, was born in 1778, at 

 Portsmouth, in England. She was the daughter of a 

 purser in the navy, who died in 1796, and left his wife 

 and daughter with a slender provision. In 1802, she 

 removed with her mother to London. She soon 

 attracted attention by her verses, and Miss Sarah 

 Wesley early became her patron. She composed 

 some theatrical pieces, which did not meet with suc- 

 cess. Mr Bowyer, the engraver, employed her to 

 write a poem on the Slave-Trade, which, with two 

 others, was published in quarto, with engravings, in 

 1812. She successively published memoirs of Mrs 

 Elizabeth Hamilton, memoirs of John TobiiT, the 

 dramatist, and notices of Klopstock and his friends, 

 prefixed to a translation of their letters from the 

 German. These writings were followed by the his- 

 tory of Anne Boleyn, which was translated into 

 French, and the memoirs of Elizabeth, queen of 



