.64 HINDOOSTAN. 



tive of rice ; abundance of cotton also grows in the drier parts. The 

 principal places in the first are Tinevelly and the fort of Palamcot- 

 tah, which last has in its neighbourhood a peculiar manufacture of 

 muslin. At Madura various kinds of linen cloths are manufactured, 

 Madura and Palamcottah are garrisoned by English troops ; but the 

 revenues of the country are collected by the nabob of Arcot, 



Tanjore is a little kingdom lying to the east of Madura ; the soil is 

 fertile, and its prince was rich, till plundered by the nabob of Arcot, 

 and some British subjects connected with him. Within it lies the Da- 

 nish East India settlement of Tranquebar, and the fortress of Nega- 

 patam, which was taken from the Dutch, during the war before the 

 last, and confirmed to the English by the treaty of peace : the capital 

 city is Tanjore. 



The Carnada, or Carnatic, as it is now called, is well known to the 

 English ; it is bounded on the east by the bay of Bengal; on the north 

 by the river Kistna, which divides it from Golconda; on the West by 

 Visiapour ; and on the south by the kingdoms of Messaur and Tan- 

 jore ; being in length from south to north, about three hundred and 

 forty-five miles, and two hundred and seventy-six in breadth from east 

 to west. The capital of the Carnatic is Arcot, belonging to the naoob 

 of Arcot. The country in general is esteemed healthful, fertile, and 

 populous. Within this country upon the Coromandel coast, lies fort 

 St. David, or Cuddalore, belonging to the English, with a district 

 round it. The fort is strong, and of great importance to our trade. 

 Five leagues to the north lies Pondicherry, once the emporium of the 

 French in the East Indies, but which has been repeatedly taken by the 

 English, and as often restored by the treaties of peace. 



Fort St. George, better known by the name of Madras, is the capital 

 of the English East India company's dominions in that part of the 

 East Indies, and is distant eastward from London about four thousand 

 eight hundred miles. Great complaints have been made of the situ- 

 ation of this fort; but no pains have been spared by the company in 

 rendering it impregnable to any force that can be brought against it 

 by the natives. It protects two towns, called, from the complexion of 

 their several inhabitants, the White and the Black. The White town 

 is fortified, and contains an English corporation of a mayor and alder- 

 men. Nothing has been omitted to amend the natural badness of its 

 situation, which seems originally to be owing to the neighbourhood 

 of the diamond mines, which are but a week's journey distant. These 

 mines are under the direction of a Mogul officer, who let them out by 

 admeasurement, and inclosing the contents by palisadoes ; all dia- 

 monds above a certain weight originally belonged to the emperor., 

 The district belonging to Madras, extending about forty miles round, 

 is of little value for its produce. Eighty thousand inhabitants of vari 

 ous nations are said to be dependent upon Madras ; but its safety- 

 consists in the superiority of the English by sea. It carries on a con- 

 siderable trade with China, Persia, and Mocha. 



Pullicate, or Poulicat, lying to the north of Madras, belongs to the 

 Dutch. The kingdom of Golconda, which, besides its diamonds, is 

 famous for the cheapness of its provisions, and for making white wine 

 of grapes that are ripe in January, has already been mentioned. Gol- 

 conda is subject to a prince called the nizam, or soubah of the Dec- 

 can, who is rich, and can raise one hundred thousand men. The capi- 

 tal of his dominions is called Bagnagar, or Hydrabad, but the king- 

 dom takes its name from the fortress of Golconda. East-south-east of 



