OF THE HINDUS. '41 



liberality the Mat'h is indebted^ or in whose lands it is situated, assumes the 

 right of assisting and presiding at the election. 



The Mahants of the sect, in which the election takes place, are gene- 

 rally assisted by those of the sects connected with them : each is attended by 

 a train of disciples, and individuals of various mendicant tribes repair to the 

 meeting; so that an assemblage of many hundreds, and sometimes of thou- 

 sands, occurs : as far as the resources of the Mafh, where they are assem- 

 bled, extend, they are maintained at its expense ; when those fail, they must 

 shift for themselves ; the election is usually a business of ten or twelve days, 

 and during the period of its continuance, various points of polity or doctrine 

 are discussed in the assembly. 



Most of the Mai' lis have some endowments of land, but with the excep- 

 tion of a few established in large cities, and especially at Benares, the indivi- 

 dual amount of these endowments is, in general, of little value. Tliere are few 

 Mat'hs in any district that possess five hundred Bigahs of land, or about one 

 hundred and seventy acres, and the most usual quantity is about thirty or 

 forty Bigahs only : this is sometimes let out for a fixed rent j at other times, 

 it is cultivated by the Mafh on its own account ; the highest rental met with, 

 in any of the returns procured, is six hundred and thirty rupees per annum. 

 Although, however, the individual portions are trifling, the great number of 

 these petty establishments renders the aggregate amount considerable, and as 

 the endowed lands have been granted Mciji, or free of land tax, they form, al- 

 together, a serious deduction from the revenue of each district. 



Besides the lands they may hold, the Mafhs have other sources of sup- 

 port : the attachment of lay votaries frequently contributes very liberally to 

 their wants: the community is also sometimes concerned, though, in general, 

 covertly, in traffic, and besides those means of supply, the individual members 



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